Viva Alice! (10 page)
Authors: Judi Curtin
E
ddie and Lorna dropped Alice off at her mum’s place first. Grace and I got out of the car too, and the three of us hugged like we weren’t going to see each other for a hundred years.
‘See you both tomorrow?’ said Alice when she finally pulled away.
‘Sure,’ said Grace, climbing back into the car. ‘I’ll call over for you.’
I hesitated for a second. I’d spent all of the flight home worrying and trying to make up my mind.
‘About Melissa,’ I said. ‘I’m still not sure …’
‘Hey,’ said Alice. ‘Don’t sweat it. We’ll talk tomorrow, and remember, Megan, you’re my
friend, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.’
‘Thanks, Al,’ I said, and then I gave her another quick hug and climbed back into the car.
* * *
‘OMG,’ said Grace. ‘That’s just … OMG!’
I was busy cuddling Domino, and at first I couldn’t see what she was talking about..
‘OMG,’ was all I could say when I looked up.
The front windows of our house were all decorated with tiny Spanish flags, and on the door was a huge banner saying –
WELCOME HOME, MEGAN.
‘I’m going to die,’ I said. ‘I’m going to totally die.’
Gavin smiled at me. ‘I think that’s a very sweet banner,’ he said, making me feel a tiny, tiny bit better.
Grace leaned out of the window to get a
better look. ‘It’s cute,’ she said. ‘And isn’t it good to know that your family missed you?’
‘It is?’ I asked. ‘And why did they have to miss me so publicly?’
Before I could say anything else, the front door of my house was flung open and Mum came racing down the path. She was making a squeaky happy noise, and her heavy boots made her sound like a stampeding herd of elephants. Her hair was all messy, she was wearing an ancient, raggy apron. There was a big floury mark on her forehead. Domino wriggled out of my arms and ran and hid under a bush. I wished I could follow her.
Mum grabbed me and hugged me so hard I thought my ribs were going to break. Then she let me go and leaned into the car to shake Eddie and Lorna’s hands.
‘Thank you so much for bringing my baby back to me,’ she said. ‘I hope she was good and helpful and not too demanding. I hope she didn’t make a nuisance of herself.’
‘She was the perfect guest,’ said Lorna. ‘She’s welcome to join us on holidays any time.’
‘She didn’t do a single thing wrong the whole time we were there, did you, Megan?’ said Eddie.
‘Er, no,’ I said. ‘Absolutely not. Thank you for everything. I had a lovely time.’
‘Maybe you’d all like to come in for a cup of herbal tea?’ said Mum then. ‘I’ve made a special welcome home cake for Megan.’
Eddie hesitated. He loves cake – but then, in his world, cakes are made of nice stuff like chocolate and marshmallows.
‘It’s carrot and courgette cake,’ said Mum with a big smile.
‘Thanks, but no,’ he said quickly. ‘We need to go home to unpack.’
‘The cake is sugar and fat-free,’ said Mum.
‘Well in that case, we
definitely
need to get home,’ said Eddie, before Lorna dug him in the ribs with her elbow. Eddie groaned and started the car.
‘Bye, everyone,’ I said. ‘And thanks again. See you tomorrow, Grace?’
‘Great,’ she said.
Eddie started the engine and Mum and I waved until they had driven around the corner at the end of our road.
Mum put her arm over my shoulder, and half-dragged me up the path, like I was going to vanish into thin air if she let me go. When we got to the front door, I could see that the welcome home banner was made of cut-up milk cartons and an old pair of tights.
‘Isn’t it lovely?’ said Mum. ‘I found the instructions on the internet, and Rosie and I spent a whole morning making it.’
Suddenly I felt cross. Why couldn’t I have cool parents like Lorna and Eddie?
‘Mum!’ I said. ‘That is totally embarrassing and OTT. You’re forgetting that I was only in Lanzarote for a week. It’s not like I’ve come back from a two-year expedition to the top of Mount Everest. Why do you have to make a
big deal of everything?’
And then something terrible happened. Mum’s face went all crumpled, like she was going to cry. ‘We missed you, Megan,’ she said. ‘That’s all. And we wanted to do something special to welcome you back. I thought you’d be happy.’
I felt really, really bad. ‘Sorry, Mum,’ I said. ‘I’m just tired after the journey. The banner is lovely. It was nice of you and Rosie to make it for me.’
Mum smiled. ‘Really?’
I smiled back at her. ‘Absolutely,’ I said.
As I let Mum lead me into the house, I wondered how soon I could take the banner down and hide it in the darkest corner of my bedroom.
Some things are too embarrassing for words.
T
wo days later, I called over to Alice’s place.
‘Megan!’ said Veronica when she opened the door. ‘How are you? How is my favourite party planner?’
She lunged at me with a big hug, and I had to duck to avoid her sharp fingernails which came dangerously close to my eyes.
Before I could answer her question, she asked another one. ‘Do you know I’ve been telling all my friends about you and how you saved Jamie’s party? You could go into business,
and make a fortune. You could do birthdays and confirmations and even weddings when you get a bit older. I can help you to draw up a business plan if you like.’
‘Er, thanks, Veronica,’ I said. ‘I’ll get back to you about that.’
I used to think that Veronica didn’t like me, and that kind of scared me. Now she really, really liked me, and for some reason, that scared me even more.
Alice came into the hall and rescued me. I followed her into her room, and lay on her bed.
We listened to music for a bit, but we didn’t talk much.
After a while she checked the time on her phone. ‘It’s nearly three o’clock,’ she said. ‘Melissa will be waiting. We should ……’
‘I know,’ I said, standing up. ‘We should go.’
‘It’s not too late,’ she said. ‘You can still change your mind.’
We’d talked about if for hours and hours the
night before. In the end I’d agreed that the two of us were going to meet Grace at Melissa’s place to put Alice’s plan into action. Alice had even called Melissa and told her all about it. When we made the decision, it had seemed like a great idea. Now though, in the cold light of day, I wasn’t so sure any more.
‘
You
should still try to help Melissa,’ I said. ‘But maybe I shouldn’t go with you. Maybe it’s best if you and Grace go without me.’
‘You’re the one who will have to make that decision, Meg,’ she said. ‘I totally think you should come though. If you do this, you’ll be the one taking control. You’ll be showing Melissa that you’re not afraid of her.’
‘But I
am
afraid of her.’
She hugged me. ‘That’s not the point. Dad says that only fools never feel afraid. Brave people feel afraid, but they don’t let that stop them from doing the right thing. You’re brave, Megan – you always have been.’
I pulled away from her.
‘I think I can do this,’ I said.
She laughed. ‘You can
totally
do this. Now let’s go. Grace and Melissa will be waiting.’
As I walked along, part of me felt mature and strong and grown-up.
But in the back of my mind I could hear a mean, sneaky voice:
Once you do this, there will be no going back.
If this plan works, Melissa will be back in a big way.
What if you’re making the biggest mistake of your whole life?
* * *
Melissa’s house was huge, with a big gravel driveway, and two fancy shiny cars parked outside. Alice and I stood on the front doorstep, next to two giant-sized trees in pots.
‘I feel like a little girl in a fairytale,’ I whispered nervously. ‘I feel like I’ve come to confront the wicked witch. I feel like, if I’m not
careful, I’m going to get turned into a lizard or a stick insect or something.’
Alice giggled. ‘Melissa’s just a girl like you and me,’ she said. ‘Sometimes I think you forget that.’
She held her finger near the shiny brass doorbell.
‘But I know you’re scared,’ she said. ‘And I totally get why. Say the word, Megan, and we’ll turn around and forget this whole thing. We can act like none of this happened – ever.’
‘But Grace is on her way, and Melissa will be waiting. You promised her we’d be here. You promised we’d help her.’
‘I know I promised,’ said Alice. ‘And I don’t like breaking promises – but if I have to, I will. I can tell Melissa that we’ve changed our minds. I won’t have to explain why. We can just walk away.’
‘But …’
‘Don’t you get it, Megan?’ said Alice. ‘I’m not going through with this unless you’re
absolutely sure about it. You’re my very best friend in the whole world. I know that if I live until I’m five hundred, I couldn’t possibly find another friend like you. I would never, ever do anything to hurt you.’
I smiled. With Alice as my friend, I could do anything I wanted.
‘Go for it,’ I said. ‘I’m ready.’
Alice smiled at me too as she pressed the doorbell. A jangling sound echoed through the house. Then there was a moment’s silence, followed by the click clack of footsteps.
The game was on.
* * *
Melissa opened the door and brought us inside. I’d never been in her house before. It was all shiny and bright and cold – a bit like a show house that no one had ever lived in. Melissa looked totally cool in a very fancy top and jeans, and her hair was all swishily shiny and
perfect. She looked pale though, and worried.
‘Let’s not do anything yet,’ she said. ‘Let’s just wait here until Grace shows up.’
That was fine with me. We could spend the whole day hanging out in her hall, if that’s what she wanted.
Melissa kept fiddling with her fancy gold bracelet and looking nervously towards the back of the house. Knowing that she was scared made me feel a small bit better.
We stood in the hall for what felt like ages. I had lots of time to look at the fancy carpet on the stairs and the fancy stained-glass windows and the fancy chandelier with its cold, twinkly light.
Then the doorbell rang loudly and I jumped.
Melissa opened the door. ‘It’s Grace,’ she said, like that was a big surprise.
The four of us stood in the hall. I felt embarrassed and scared and unhappy all at once.
‘Maybe we could go to town or something,’ said Melissa. ‘I’ve got money, and I could treat
us all to hot chocolates and then we could go to the cinema.’
That sounded good to me, but Alice shook her head.
‘Sure,’ she said firmly. ‘That sounds like a really good plan, Melissa. I’d love to go to town and drink hot chocolate and see a movie – but not yet. First we’ve got a job to do, and I think it’s time we got started.’
‘Er, I suppose you’re right,’ said Melissa. ‘Mum and Dad are in the kitchen.’
Melissa led the way, walking slowly, like she was going to a funeral or something.
She stopped at the kitchen door, which was closed. She put one hand on the doorknob, but she didn’t turn it.
‘I think we need to discuss this a bit more,’ she said, ‘it’s not good to rush into things.’
For once in my life, I found myself agreeing with her.
‘Melissa’s right,’ I said, trying not to choke on the most unexpected words I’d ever said.
‘Maybe we should………’
Alice rolled her eyes. ‘You guys!’ she said. ‘We’ve got a plan and we’re sticking to it. Now step aside, Melissa, we’re going in.’
Melissa stepped aside, and Alice turned the knob of the kitchen door and I tried to ignore the million butterflies that were battling it out in my stomach.
T
he kitchen was about the size of my whole house. Everything seemed to be made of metal or glass or shiny marble. It hurt my eyes a bit.
Melissa’s mum and dad were sitting at opposite ends of the kitchen table, looking really busy typing stuff into their laptops.
‘Hey, Mum and Dad,’ said Melissa. ‘These are my friends, Alice and Megan, and you know Grace already.’
‘Hello, girls,’ said both parents, without even looking up.
Then we all stood there for a bit, feeling totally awkward.
In the end, Grace pulled something from her pocket, and unfolded it. ‘Here, Melissa,’ she said. ‘Here’s the new brochure from our school – the one I was telling you about. Look, there’s a picture of the new hockey pitch. It’s got this super-modern surface – we’re the first school in Munster to have one like it.’
‘That’s really cool,’ said Melissa. ‘Let’s have a look.’
I wasn’t paying much attention to the brochure, or to Melissa. I was watching her parents, who hadn’t looked up from their work, not even for a single second. While Melissa studied the brochure, the only sound was the clicking of laptop keys.
Sometimes my mum drives me crazy, the way she wants to know every single detail about my life. When I bring friends over, she force-feeds them with healthy treats and asks totally inappropriate questions about their feelings.
Suddenly I felt that was a bit better than Melissa’s parents, who didn’t even seem to know that we were there.
I could see that Alice was getting edgy. She pulled the brochure from Melissa’s hand and held it in front of her mum’s laptop screen.
‘Look,’ she said. ‘You should read this, so you can see all the great things about our school. There’s a page on the drama society, and the music society, and here’s a bit about a school trip to the science fair, and here’s the home ec room – our teacher is brilliant, and home ec is my favourite subject, and I think I’m quite good at it, and here’s …’
Melissa’s mum finally looked up. She stared at Alice like she was a bit crazy.
Grace stepped forward. ‘It’s a great school,’ she said. ‘We came second in the hockey league last year, and our debating team is in the national finals next week.’
Alice was nudging me, and I knew I had to say something. Only trouble was, Grace and
Alice had already said all the things I’d planned to say. My mind was a blank, which is never really a good thing.
Everyone stopped talking, like they were waiting for me to say something very clever.
I looked desperately around the room, and saw a newspaper on a chair in the corner. Suddenly I had a flash of inspiration.
‘Er … I saw something amazing about our school in the newspaper last week,’ I said.
‘What was that?’ asked Alice smiling at me like I was some kind of idiot.
‘Er … it said that one of our past pupils has just been made vice-president of the biggest computer firm in America. It’s a brilliant job, and she was really lucky to get it.’
Now, for the first time, Melissa’s dad looked up from his laptop. ‘That’s very interesting,’ he said. ‘Computers are the future. If you want to get on these days, a good grounding in computers is essential.’
‘Vice-president?’ said Melissa’s mum. ‘That’s
very impressive. You can always tell a good school by where the graduates end up.’
Alice grinned at me, and I was starting to feel good, when her mother said, ‘Now, Melissa, as you can see, Dad and I are rather busy, and we’ve wasted enough time with this chit-chat. Maybe you’d like to take your friends into the living room, and you can watch the DVD I bought you yesterday.’
‘Great,’ said Alice. ‘I love watching DVDs, but first ……’
Melissa was madly shaking her head at Alice. I could see that she’d changed her mind about the plan. I could see that she was still too scared to tell her parents how unhappy she was at her boarding school.
Alice ignored her, though, and continued, ‘I think Melissa has something she wants to say to you.’
Melissa looked like she was going to die, but Alice gave her a look that managed to be sympathetic and scary all at the same time. When
she looks at me like that, I know there’s no point in resisting.
‘Mum, Dad,’ said Melissa, in such a weird voice that both her parents looked up at the same time.
‘I need to tell you something,’ she said.
‘What is it, darling?’ said her mum, in a concerned voice, looking at her watch at the same time.
‘I don’t want to go back to boarding school for second year. I want to change to the local school, where Grace and Alice and Megan go.’
‘But that boarding school is the best in the country,’ said her mum.
‘And you’re so happy there,’ said her dad.
‘And you’ve made so many friends,’ said her mum.
Now Melissa’s voice was all choky. ‘I’m
not
happy there,’ she said. ‘I’ve
never
been happy there.’
‘But you said …’ began her mother.
‘After you spent all that money on fees, I
didn’t want to tell you the truth,’ said Melissa. ‘I didn’t want to make you angry. So all this time I’ve been pretending. I haven’t got any friends in boarding school – not a single one. I hate it there. I want to leave. Please let me leave.’
Now Melissa collapsed into loud sobs. Her skin went all red and blotchy and she didn’t look perfect or confident or scary any more. She just looked sad and lost. I wondered how I’d ever been afraid of her.
‘You poor baby,’ said her mum.
‘My little darling,’ said her dad.
They both came over and hugged her for a long time. They patted her hair and stroked her back and whispered in her ear. It was a bit embarrassing, standing there watching them. I guessed they had forgotten we were there.
I looked at Alice and Grace. It was time for us to leave. As the three of us tip-toed towards the door, Melissa and her parents untangled themselves.
‘I didn’t realise that the local school was so
good.’ Melissa’s mum was saying. ‘It must have improved after your sister left.’
‘I didn’t realise it either,’ said her dad. ‘Vice-president of a huge computer company, I have to say I
am
impressed. I’ll phone the school tomorrow and see about enrolling you for September, Melissa. How does that sound?’
Melissa started to jump up and down, making these funny, giggly noises.
Alice, Grace and I didn’t wait to hear Melissa’s answer. Our job was done. We closed the door behind us, and left.
* * *
‘You did it, Alice!’ said Grace as we walked along. ‘You really did. You’re amazing.’
‘It wasn’t just me,’ said Alice. ‘You two did as much as I did.’
‘But it was your idea,’ I said. ‘You’re the one who wanted to help Melissa in the first place, and you’re the one who came up with the plan.’
‘I didn’t think it was going to work at first,,’ said Alice. ‘I was beginning to think we were wasting our time. Melissa’s parents didn’t seem to care about the new hockey pitch, or the debating team or the music society.’
‘Yeah,’ said Grace. ‘I thought it was turning into a total fail. I thought maybe we were making things worse for Melissa instead of better.’
‘You’re the one who made it work in the end, Meg,’ said Alice. ‘It’s so lucky you’d seen that thing about the super-computer woman in the newspaper.’
I didn’t answer.
‘Meg?’ said Alice. ‘Did you hear what I said? Don’t you think it’s totally lucky that ……?’
Alice stopped walking and stared at me. Sometimes she has this funny way of looking at me, like my thoughts are on the outside, just waiting for her to notice them.
‘No way,’ she said.
I smiled.
‘OMG!’ said Alice. ‘Just OMG!’
‘What?’ asked Grace.
‘Megan made up the whole thing about the computer vice president. You’re a genius, Meg. You really are.’
‘Thanks,’ I said sweetly.
‘How did you think of it?’ asked Alice.
‘Well I was desperate,’ I said. ‘You and Grace were saying all this amazing stuff, and none of it was working. Melissa’s parents were barely listening to a word you said. And then you nudged me to say something, and all I could see was the newspaper and their two laptops, and suddenly I realised that the only way to their hearts was through their computers.’
‘That was clever,’ said Grace. ‘But won’t Melissa’s parents find out that you made the whole thing up? And what’s going to happen then?’
Alice grinned. ‘Hopefully, by the time Melissa’s parents discover the truth, it’ll be too late. Melissa will have got what she wanted. She’ll
be in our school.’
‘Oh,’ I said, suddenly remembering what we’d just done. ‘Melissa is going to be in our school.’