Diary of a Lottery Winner's Daughter (11 page)

‘Oh yes,’ said Mum,’ apparently that cat lives here. I was talking to the neighbours earlier. They tried to look after it when the old man went into a home but it kept coming back here. They’ve been feeding it but it won’t move in with them, so it looks like we’re stuck with it.’

My first instinct was to rush over and give the cat a huge hug, but I got the feeling it would have been insulted. You have to be careful and respectful of cats and earn their trust gradually. I wanted to tell Mum how pleased I was that we now had a pet cat but I was having trouble swallowing my mouthful of cookie.

Mum glanced at the half finished biscuit and then at me. ‘Are you feeling okay?’ she asked.

In truth, I wasn’t. I wanted to stay and talk to Mum about the new neighbours and Annabel and Stacy but I didn’t have the energy.

‘Actually, I feel a bit rough,’ I told her.’My throat hurts and I’ve got a really bad headache.’

Mum came and felt my forehead. ‘Oh dear, I think you’re coming down with something.’

Thursday 4th November

Mum was right. I’ve been really ill. I had to have the rest of the week off school. The first two days I spent in bed with a temperature and fever. I couldn’t help thinking it served me right for wishing I could have some more time at home. I know I’m being stupid but I can’t help noticing that every time I accidentally make a wish, it somehow comes true. I’ve drawn a new height line on my bedroom door frame and every night I say,’ I wish I was taller,’ before I get into bed.

Spencer poked his head round the door to see if I was all right earlier but he wouldn’t come in and chat. He said he didn’t want to catch my lurgy because he didn’t want to miss any school. He must really like that new school of his. If he was still at Avon Comp he’d be in here like a shot trying to pick up my bugs so he could get time off.

It hasn’t exactly been peaceful in the house this week because Mum and Dad have got the builders in. They’re turning the downstairs loo and boot room into a shower room. Because my bedroom is at the back of the house it’s fairly quiet in here and Missy, which is what I’ve called our new cat, has been hiding in my room because of the disruption downstairs.

Yesterday my temperature had gone down and I ventured downstairs with my duvet and snuggled up on the sofa in front of the telly. I fell asleep watching an old black and white film and woke up at half past two when the builders started drilling just down the corridor. I waited until after three o’clock when I reckoned Lauren would be home, then phoned her. I wanted all the gossip from school and to find out what I’d missed. I was surprised she hadn’t rung me at all. When we were in the old house she used to come round every night to check I was okay whenever I was ill. Annoyingly her mobile was switched off so I rang her house. Her mum answered and said Lauren wasn’t there and would be back around six. I was dying to ask Pam where she’d gone but it sounded unnaturally nosy, so I just said I’d ring back later.

As I put the phone down Spencer arrived home. I was hoping he’d come and watch telly with me and tell me about his new school but he said he had homework and disappeared upstairs. I’ve hardly seen Spencer since we moved. He only seems to come out of his room to eat and go to school.

Then I had the idea that perhaps Lauren wasn’t home because she was coming to visit me. But wouldn’t her mum have said something? Unless it was a surprise. Maybe she’d turn up any minute. It only took twenty minutes on the bus.

By four o’clock I decided she probably wasn’t coming. By five o’clock I was certain she wasn’t coming but I still positioned myself on the sofa so that I could see down the drive. By six o’clock I knew she definitely wasn’t coming. I waited until ten past before I rang her again. This time she picked up the phone.

‘Hi,’ I said.

‘Oh, it’s you.’

I waited but she didn’t ask me how I was or if I was better so I came straight to the point.

‘I rang earlier but you were out. Where did you go?’

‘Oh, you know . . .’

‘No.’ I didn’t know, obviously, or I wouldn’t have asked. If she’d gone round to Stacy’s, like I was beginning to suspect, why didn’t she just tell me?

‘Nowhere special. Anyway, how are you?’ she finally enquired, though I got the feeling it was more to change the subject than because she actually cared. We talked about school for a bit then she said she had to go because it was her teatime.

‘Why don’t you come round Friday night?’ I said. ‘We could get a film and I’ll ask Mum if you can stay the night.’

I didn’t really think Mum would agree as I was ill but I hoped I could persuade her on the grounds that it would make me feel better.

‘I can’t come on Friday,’ said Lauren. ‘I’ve got something on after school, but I’ll come and see you on Saturday and bring you all the work you’ve missed.’

‘Thanks,’ I said, but I think my sarcastic tone was lost on her.

After we’d said goodbye, I hung up and stood there wondering what Lauren’s got on tomorrow night that’s more important than visiting her best friend.

Chelsea arrived home then, and I realised how I hadn’t seen much of her either. She’d stopped sulking in her room and now she seemed to be out all the time. I wondered where she went, but there was no point asking her because I was sure she wouldn’t tell me.

She looked different, I thought; sort of rich. She’d had her hair cut and I noticed her nails were done. And was that a tan . . . ?Mum will go spare if she thinks Chelsea has been to a tanning salon. It’s more likely to be out of a bottle. I’m pretty sure she’s hanging out on the estate with the girls from the flats, and by the look of it, they were spending all their time preening.

‘What are you staring at?’ Chelsea said to me.

‘You look like you’ve just spent a week in Spain,’ I told her.

‘Huh, chance would be a fine thing,’ she said and disappeared up to her room.

Friday 5th November

It just occurred to me, when I wrote today’s date: Bonfire Night! That’s why Lauren can’t come tonight - because she’s probably going to the bonfire and fireworks that they always have down at the community centre on the Ratcliffe estate. Why didn’t she just say so? Am I being overly paranoid or was she keeping quiet because she doesn’t want me turning up? I know it’s for Ratcliffe estate residents only but surely I could go. Imean Grumps still lives there and he could take me. When I suggested this to Mum, though, she said there was no way I was going out because, if I was too ill to go to school, I was too ill to go to a bonfire party.

Spencer and I watched the fireworks going off randomly all over the city from his bedroom window. I tried not to think about Lauren having a good time with Stacy back home on the estate. Funny how I still think of the estate as home. Maybe Sophie was right and you can never take the estate out of the girl.

When I got into bed I checked my phone and there was a message from Lauren. It said:
Meet me tomoz 12. 30 outside Harvey Nicks.

We don’t usually go there - it’s in the oh so posh Cabot Circus and we usually go to The Galleries. Not that it matters. I’m just happy I’m finally going to get to spend the day with Lauren without Stacey getting in the way. It’ll be just like old times.

Saturday 6th November

I think I have just experienced the worst day in the whole of my life. I wasn’t going to write about it because it was so awful and I don’t ever want to be reminded of it; but I need to put it down so I can make some sort of sense of it. What just happened? I’ve got a feeling I’ve been totally stitched up.

First, it took me all morning to persuade Mum that I was well enough to go out. I had to do loads of chores to convince her.

I got to town a bit early so I walked around the shops for a while and then went and stood in front of Harvey Nichols. I was so busy looking for Lauren that I didn’t notice Stacy until she was right in front of me. At first I didn’t recognise her because she had so much make-up on. Her mascara was so thick it made me shudder just to look at her eyelashes. Like her eyes aren’t big enough in the first place. Now she looked more like an owl than a rabbit - her fake nails looked like talons. In fact,
I
began to feel like the rabbit; frozen in horror. Why does she always have this effect on me?

Then a horrid thought occurred to me. Had Lauren invited her along as well? God! Why would she do that? Was I the only one who found Stacy creepy and repellent? Well, when Lauren turned up I’d make my excuses and go home. Then again, that would make me look like a wet blanket and it would mean that they would be together having a fun time. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight if Stacy thought she could waltz in and take my best friend.

‘Lauren’s not here,’ she said.

It took a few moments for this to sink in. ‘Oh.’ I couldn’t think what else to say.

Stacy gave me that sweet smile of hers and linked arms with me. ‘She’ll be along later but she wants me to look after you until she gets here.’ She soon dropped my arm though. The height difference made it too uncomfortable for her. We must have looked like an odd pair;me so short and her so tall.

For the next couple of hours we looked round the shops. Or rather Stacy did and I tagged along wondering when Lauren was going to turn up. I tried to call her when Stacy went to the loo, but she must have had her phone switched off because it went straight to voicemail. I didn’t bother leaving her a message. I’d try again later.

Stacy was totally into clothes. We must have gone into every clothes shop we passed and tried on every single thing in every shop. At least that’s what it felt like. I did make her go into Waterstone’s but she got bored after about ten seconds and said,’ What’s the point of books? It’s bad enough that we have to read them at school. God, don’t they sell magazines in here? It’s okay for you. You can afford to waste your money.’ So I gave up.

Stacy hadn’t actually bought anything all day and she’d been making comments about how nice it must be to be rich and be able to afford anything you wanted. I ignored all these remarks because I know they were aimed at me. Actually, I did have quite a bit in my bank account which Dad had helped me open because I’m saving up my pocket money so I can get Spencer a birthday present and that War Hammer stuff is really expensive.

I decided that I was going to head off home. If Lauren wanted to shop with Stacy then she was welcome to her. I’d had enough. If she made one more remark about what
she’d
do if
her
mum had won the lottery and what
she’d
buy I might just end up hitting her.

‘I’ve got go now,’ I told Stacy.

Then, just at that moment Stacy said,’ Oooh, that’s my phone vibrating,’ and got it out of her pocket. ‘It’s Lauren. She says she’s on her way and we’re to meet her in Starbucks in half an hour.’ I was tempted to go home anyway but decided I could probably survive another half hour. Perhaps I could persuade Lauren to get rid of Stacy so we could have our usual shopping trip which didn’t involve every clothes shop in Bristol. We liked to mooch around in The Body Shop and Lush, trying out all the free samples and usually ended up smelling like a fruit salad. It was fun just buying little things like pens and hair slides and chocolate. Trailing round looking at clothes was not my idea of a good time. I could do that with my mum.

And that’s when it got weird.

Stacy had dragged me into a changing room with her. She was going on and on about how great the clothes were and how she
had
to have them. I wasn’t paying too much attention except to notice that she might be tall but she didn’t have much of a chest to speak of. And then Stacy grabbed
my
bag and started stuffing the clothes into it.

‘What are you doing?’ I squeaked.

‘Don’t panic,’ she said,’ it’s dead simple. Look.’ She opened her bag and pulled out a library book. ‘When we walk out the shop and the alarm goes off, I stop and wait for the assistant then tell her that my library book has set the alarm off. See?’

I was busy pulling the clothes out of my bag.’There is no way you’re putting those in my bag,’ I told her.

‘Don’t be so chicken,’ she hissed. ‘I used to do it all the time in London. It’s easy.’

‘It’s stealing!’

‘It’s all right for you to preach! You can afford to buy them. Well, we’re not all as lucky as you. I’m not leaving this shop without them so, if you won’t have them in your bag, you’ll have to do the explaining about the library book,’ she said, thrusting it at me.

I still don’t know why I didn’t just tell her that I didn’t have to do anything if I didn’t want to and then walk out. It might have had something to do with the fact that she was standing between me and the cubicle door, but I wonder if it was also because I did actually feel slightly guilty.

In fact, it was at that moment I realised I’ve been feeling guilty ever since we won the lottery. I don’t know why. I just have. Like we didn’t deserve it or something, or maybe going from poor to rich over night takes a bit of adjusting to (not that Chelsea seems to have a problem adjusting, or Spencer for that matter. What’s wrong with me?) Anyhow, the upshot was I ended up buying the clothes. Stupid, I know, but at the time it seemed like the sanest thing to do. Stacy just stood there grinning while I paid for them with my new debit card.

‘Oh, Charlotte, that’s so kind of you. Thank you. You didn’t have to, you know.’

Yeah, right.

When we finally got out of the shop I stormed off in the direction of Starbucks and Stacy, following behind said,’ Oh, there goes my phone again.’

Just wait until Lauren hears about this, I was thinking. This will put her off Stacy for sure.

‘Lauren can’t come after all,’ said Stacy.’What a shame. Still, we’ve had fun, haven’t we? Do you fancy a coffee in Starbucks anyway?’

I can’t remember exactly what I said but it had to do with me going home immediately. Stacy didn’t argue. I guess she’d got what she wanted.

The minute I got home I tried ringing Lauren’s house but there was no reply. Iwas standing in the hall, biting my nails and wondering how I could get hold of Lauren when Mum came out of the passage door.

‘Charlotte! Where did you go? I thought you’d gone to meet Lauren.’

‘I did.’

‘So how come she turned up here with the work you missed last week? What is going on?’

I mumbled something about there being a mix up and shot up to my room.

Now I’ve written it all down some things are a bit clearer. Firstly, Lauren obviously doesn’t know anything about my trip into town today or why would she have turned up here? In that case, it can’t have been her who texted me last night telling me to meet her. Obviously it was Stacy. What’s more, Stacy must have Lauren’s phone.

Now I think about it, I’ve never seen Stacy with a mobile phone at school and the one she kept getting out today was identical to Lauren’s. So all those texts she kept getting from Lauren were made up to keep me from going home. The phone was switched off, which is why it didn’t ring when I tried to call Lauren. And why didn’t I wonder why Lauren kept calling Stacy instead of me?

I feel so stupid, the whole day was one big set-up. And I fell for it. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to buy those clothes for Stacy. What was I thinking? That must have been her intention all along: to get ‘the rich kid’ to fork out.

But something else is bothering me. That story about the library book setting the alarms off. If that was true, why didn’t the alarms go off every time we went in and out of the shops? And if it wasn’t true, that must mean that Stacy was setting me up to get caught for shoplifting. If everything had gone according to her plan, it would have been me with the clothes in my bag and I don’t doubt for a minute that she would have acted all innocent. Why would she do that to me?

Lauren obviously doesn’t know anything about all this so I need to get hold of her and tell her about the shoplifting and how Stacy nicked her phone. Then maybe she’ll realise what a freak Stacy is and stop being friends with her.