Diary of a Lottery Winner's Daughter (20 page)

Friday 24th December

The most amazing thing happened tonight, although it wasn’t so much ‘the thing’ that was amazing as my reaction to it.

The party was in full swing and Annabel and I decided to grab some food and take it up to my room. There was a new book I wanted to show her and I had to give her the present as well.

Spencer was in charge of the music and he’d just put some really corny Christmas songs on. ‘Do they know it’s Christmas?’ was playing as we went up the stairs.

‘More to the point, do they care?’ said Annabel. I had to laugh. She was right; it might be a charity song to help the victims of famine in Africa, but why would they care about Christmas when they were starving? That was the thing I liked best about Annabel. She didn’t take anything for granted and always made me see things in a different way.

We found Missy sitting on my bed, keeping out of the way of all the noise and feet downstairs. Annabel made a fuss of her while I found the book I wanted to show her.

We’d just finished eating all the food when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

The door opened and Lauren walked in. ‘Your mum said you were up here.’

I just stared at her. She began to look a bit uncomfortable. Annabel got up and muttered something about going to check on her mum. Missy followed her out the door and I noticed her tail was twitching. She doesn’t like strangers.

Lauren plonked herself down on the beanbag that Annabel had just left. I don’t think she’d even registered that Annabel was there and it made me angry. I realised I still hadn’t said anything but I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t spoken to Lauren for weeks.

Lauren was shifting about in the beanbag trying to get comfortable. They’re meant for relaxing in and she was looking far from relaxed.

‘Look,’ said Lauren,’ I want to apologise. I’ve been really mean. I don’t know why.’

I still couldn’t think what to say. Apart from,’ Yes, you have, now go away.’ But I didn’t, so Lauren carried on.

‘The thing is . . . I don’t know . . . I think I was cross with you for moving away. And then Stacy came.’ She paused, trying to find the right words. ‘It was all her fault really.’

I wasn’t sure those were the right words. How could it be
all
Stacy’s fault? Lauren had been there too. She’d chosen to be mean as well.

Lauren seemed to realise what she’d said.

‘No, I mean . . . of course it was my fault, but Stacy told me you were slagging me off when you were in maths together and that you weren’t sure you wanted to associate with people from the estate, now you were rich and everything, and then you went and bought her all those new clothes and I thought you were trying to buy her friendship and wanted to be friends with her instead of me.’Lauren stopped to draw breath.

I shut my mouth because it was hanging open.

‘And you believed her?’ I asked, with as much outrage as I could.

‘She’s very persuasive,’ said Lauren. ‘Then I went shopping with her and she nicked some stuff. I thought we were going to get caught.’

‘So you believe me now? About me buying those things for her so she didn’t steal them?’

‘I
knew
it was true,’ shrieked Lauren.’She swore you insisted on getting them for her. She said you wanted to show off about how much money you had.’

I wanted to shout at her. Why hadn’t she listened to me, not Stacy? Then none of this would have happened.

Lauren carried on,’ I’ve really missed being friends with you. Stacy isn’t the same. She’s only interested in boys and make-up and stuff, and what people are wearing. When she came over for the night, all she wanted to do was go on Facebook all the time. And when I suggested a film she only wanted to watch horror movies which I hate. Please, Charlotte, can we be friends again? Best friends, best friends whatever, best friends forever.’

A vision of Spencer pretending to stick his fingers down his throat and throw up popped into my head. It was only a few months ago that we’d made that pact, but it felt like a lifetime away and now it sounded really silly.

‘Okay,’ I said.

Lauren shrieked and threw her arms round me. ‘Really? Do you mean it?’

A part of me wanted to tell Lauren that I didn’t want to be her friend any more because she’d hurt me too much. I wanted to hurt her back. But another part of me wanted nothing more than to be friends like we used to be. Lauren was so familiar she was almost like a sister. And I knew, from having Chelsea as a sister, that even though you don’t necessarily like them all the time, you can’t help loving them.

There was just one thing I needed to know.

‘What about Stacy?’ I said. ‘I don’t want her hanging around. I can’t stand her.’

Lauren was fiddling with the ornaments on my mantelpiece.

‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ she said. ‘Stacy won’t even be at school next term. She’s moving back to London. Her mum doesn’t like it here.’

I wanted to shout and scream. Lauren didn’t want to be friends with me again because she’d missed me! She just didn’t want to be alone when her precious Stacy went back to London. I was about to tell her I’d changed my mind and she could go to hell, but she’d picked up the present I’d bought for Annabel which I’d left on the mantelpiece and had been about to give to Annabel when Lauren had come in. She was reading the label tied to it. I’d written:
To the best friend a girl could have.

‘Is this for me?’ said Lauren.

She had to be joking! I grabbed the present out of her hand. Lauren looked startled. I guess I had what Spencer calls ‘the rabid tiger’look on my face. She took a step backwards.

‘Can’t you read?’ I said. ‘It says -
To the best friend a girl could have
- and the last time I looked that wasn’t you.’

‘So who is it for then?’ said Lauren.

‘I bought this for Annabel,’ I told her.

She looked confused for a moment. ‘What, Annabel as in the fat geeky girl? Why?’

‘In case you haven’t noticed,’ I said through gritted teeth,’ things haven’t been too easy for me just lately and Annabel, who isn’t fat by the way or in any way geeky, has been there for me when I needed her.’ I finished pointedly.

Lauren looked guilty, but only for a nanosecond. ‘Things can’t have been that bad,’ she said. ‘I mean your mum won the lottery for God’s sake! How hard can that be?’

The compulsion to scream finally got the better of me. When I’d finished I carefully put the present back on the mantelpiece and turned to Lauren.

‘Well,’ I said, a lot more calmly than I was feeling,’ Dad lost his job which he loved, Spencer had trouble getting used to his new school, Chelsea . . . well, let’s just say Chelsea ran away and I had to chase halfway across the country looking for her,’ this was an exaggeration, obviously, but I was getting into my stride now,’ and I had to move away from my best friend!’ I hoped I didn’t sound too much like a ‘poor little rich girl’ so I carried on quickly.

‘The worst thing is - I could have coped with all that - if my so-called best friend hadn’t deserted me and started being horrible for no better reason than my mum just happened to win the lottery.’

‘That wasn’t the reason!’ said Lauren.

‘Well, what was the reason then? I’m dying to know. And don’t tell me it was because I changed because I didn’t.’

Lauren didn’t say anything for a full minute.

‘Okay,’ she said finally,’ I admit I was jealous of you, moving here to this big house - and I know it was silly of me - but I was cross with you for moving, even though it wasn’t your fault, and then Stacy came along . . .’

‘And you decided you didn’t need me any more?’

‘It was all those things she said about you. I thought they were true.’

‘A true friend would have asked me. A true friend wouldn’t have believed them in the first place . . .’I didn’t want to go on, I was tired of all this. I wanted to go and find Annabel and give her the present.

‘Look,’ I said. ‘It doesn’t matter. I know what Stacy’s like but I can’t believe you were taken in by her. I’m glad she’s going back to London. Good riddance to her. If you want to hang out with me and Annabel when we go back to school then that’s fine, but if you can’t accept her then you’ll have to do without me.’

Lauren opened her mouth to say something but I didn’t want to hear any more.

‘I’m going downstairs now, there’s a party on,’ I said, then I walked out and left her standing there.

I know our friendship will never be the same again but I don’t want us to be enemies. All the same, there is a tiny part of me that’s hoping that she won’t want to hang out with me and Annabel.

Sunday 26th December

Christmas Day was totally mental. I think Mum and Dad were trying to make up for all the years they hadn’t been able to afford to give us much.

I got a computer, all to myself, and a huge heap of other stuff, including a new MP3 player and a smartphone.

Spencer got a new bike and a heap of War Hammer stuff and Chelsea got money so she could get the things she wanted for herself.

Mum told Chelsea she couldn’t use any of it to pay her back. She had to earn the money she owed. Chelsea didn’t mind. She loves her new job at the Health Spa.

They also bought us all a Nintendo Wii and a load of games we could play on it together.

Missy got a new collar with diamonds on it. Not real ones, obviously. Mum hasn’t lost her mind.

Grumps got a new pair of slippers, because that’s what he always gets and Dad said he’d be unhappy with anything else.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better Mum handed us all an envelope. Chelsea ripped hers open and started screaming. I tore mine open to see what all the fuss was about and inside was a piece of paper with
One Holiday to Florida
written on it. Mum brought out a load of brochures about all the things we could do when we got there. Chelsea made a grab for them then chucked one to me. It was for
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

All the stuff - the computer and the holiday and the phone and the MP3 player - is great but, if anyone asks me, the best thing about winning the lottery is that you really know who your friends are. And to think that if it wasn’t for the lottery I would never even have spoken to Annabel.

Chelsea just came into my bedroom. She’s never been in here before.

She’s been teasing me mercilessly about the wishes thing ever since our chat in the caravan. I think it’s pretty mean of her, considering it was me who went and rescued her.

She looked around at my new bed and the huge bookcase with all the books and the beanbags and the fireplace and blue flowery wallpaper.

‘Hmm,’ she said eventually,’ it’s very. . . you.’ She paused. ‘It’s nice, I like it.’Which is as much of a compliment as I’m ever going to get off her.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ she said,’ in case you’re still worried about the wishes and everything being your fault . . . ‘

I wondered how she knew that I still worried about how I had to be careful about what I thought in case I accidentally made a wish I didn’t mean.

‘. . . Well, if you think about it, everything happened because Mum won the lottery; us moving - which meant you got your own room and Spencer went to a new school and all that stuff with me - and don’t start thinking that Mum won the lottery just so all those wishes could come true, because technically Mum won the lottery before we went on holiday and before you went anywhere near that gypsy machine. I just thought you should know because I bet you’re still worrying, so stop it.’ And then she left.

So I’ve decided to put all that magic nonsense behind me from now on. At least that’s what the front part of my brain is thinking. I’m trying to ignore the bit at the back.

Spencer bought me a new diary for Christmas. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I’m not going to write one any more. I don’t really need to. One of the reasons I kept this one was because I needed to put down all my crazy thoughts, the sort that Lauren said were my imagination getting carried away. Well, now I can share them with Annabel because she has them too and she doesn’t think I’m deranged.

I gave Annabel the bracelet and she loves it. I’m going to get one for myself and every time the little bell charm rings it will remind me how important it is to be loyal to your friends.