Viva Alice! Read online

  Grace put her head down. ‘I remember that day,’ she said. ‘I laughed. I’m really sorry, Megan. I just wanted Melissa to like me. I never stopped to think about how you must have felt. I really didn’t stop to think at all.’

  ‘That’s OK, Grace,’ I said. ‘It was a long time ago. You’ve been really nice to me since then. Melissa hasn’t changed though. She was mean to me in primary school, and she’s still mean to me now. That’s never going to change.’

  ‘If she does come to our school, she probably won’t try anything,’ said Alice. ‘But if she does, she won’t get away with it. She’ll have to deal with me and Grace and Louise and Kellie.’

  I didn’t answer.

  Part of me wanted to forget all the mean things Melissa had done to me.

  Part of me wanted to be the bigger person.

  Part of me wanted to say – yeah, Al, you’re right. I’m being stupid. Melissa can’t hurt me any more. She’s unhappy, and we should try to help her.

  But how could I say that?

  Just thinking about Melissa made me feel all tense and nervous inside. Thinking about Melissa made me feel like a scared little kid.

  Alice slowly let me go. ‘Just think about it for a while, Meg,’ she said. ‘I’d like to help Melissa, but if you don’t want me to, then I won’t. In the end, you can be the one who decides.’

  ‘I need to think about that,’ I said.

  ‘Sure,’ said Alice. ‘Take your time. We’ve got all night.’

  Then we sat down, and the three of us huddled together under our blanket and waited for the night to be over.

  Chapter Eighteen

  A long time passed. Without watches or phones, it was hard to tell if it was hours, or just very slow minutes. Sometimes Alice and Grace chatted a bit. I didn’t say much though. I couldn’t stop thinking about Melissa, and how horrible my life would be if she came to our school.

  What if she got put into my class?

  What if I had to look at her every minute of every day?

  What if she made everyone hate me?

  It would be like a nightmare – except that it would be true, and I’d never, ever get to wake up.

  * * *

  After a while, I fell asleep. I dreamed I was at home, playing with Rosie and Domino, and listening to Mum getting dinner ready in the kitchen. Then Dad came home and we all sat down to dinner, and even though the dinner was a big bowl of organic porridge, with no sugar on it, it was a nice dream.

  When I woke up, it was still pitch dark. I was stiff and cold. My feet had poked out from under the blanket, and I felt like I had two blocks of ice strapped to the end of my legs. I tried to rub them back to life, but it wasn’t easy, since my hands were cold too.

  Beside me, Alice woke up. ‘Hey, Meg,’ she said. ‘You OK?’

  I shook my head sadly. ‘No. Not really. I’m freezing. I thought this was supposed to be a warm country.’

  Alice leaned down and a second later she pushed something into my hand.

  ‘Here,’ she said. ‘Take these.’

  ‘Your socks?’ I whispered. ‘But you need them.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ she whispered. ‘I come from a long line of tough kids. Now put them on, while they’re still warm.’

  I didn’t argue any more. I pulled the socks on, and wiggled my toes. Normally, I don’t think a whole lot about socks, but now I felt like Alice had given me the best present ever.

  ‘Thanks, Al,’ I whispered.

  ‘That’s OK,’ she whispered back. ‘Any time.’

  Then we cuddled together and slept some more.

  * * *

  When I woke up again, the sky was turning grey-blue. Next to me, Grace opened her eyes.

  ‘It’s morning,’ she said. ‘Sort of. How do you feel?’

  ‘Hungry. Cold. Stiff. Bored.’

  The two of us stood up. I tucked the blanket around Alice who was in a deep sleep, and walked over to the edge of the balcony. Below us, everything was quiet. I could see the trees waving gently in the breeze, and far away beyond them, the sea was grey and cold-looking.

  ‘Why did your parents have to buy the biggest villa?’ I moaned. ‘The one that’s miles away from everyone and everything?’

  ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you’re expecting a cleaner, or a pool guy or anything to show up this morning?’

  She shook her head. ‘The cleaner won’t come until after we leave tomorrow, and the pool man only comes every few days – and he was here yesterday. Sorry, Megan, but until Gavin shows up after his romantic date, it looks like this balcony is going to be our home.’

  Just then, Alice woke up. ‘Any news?’ she asked hopefully.

  ‘Not unless you’re expecting something by carrier pigeon,’ said Grace, as a seagull flew past, squawking loudly.

  Alice sighed and pulled the blanket over her head. ‘Wake me when it’s all over,’ she said.

  I stood at the edge of the balcony for a long time. The sky turned bluer, and the sun came out. From inside the bedroom, we could hear the ping of a text arriving in Grace’s phone.

  ‘That’s probably Gavin, texting to say that he’s going to spend another night with Robyn and her mean cousins,’ said Alice poking her head out from under her blanket. ‘And soon we’ll hear Lorna ringing the landline to say that Eddie has to spend another night in the hospital, and that she’s going to stay with him, and they’ll be so busy, they won’t worry about us not replying, and we’ll be stuck here for another day and a night. Maybe they’ll all fly back home without us, and we’ll die here, cold and alone.’

  ‘Hey, Al,’ I said as I went over to hug her. ‘It’s not like you to be so negative.’

  And then I remembered. ‘You’re hungry, aren’t you?’

  She nodded. Alice is always really cross when she’s hungry.

  ‘Maybe we could catch a seagull, and it could lay us an egg,’ I said, trying to make her smile. It didn’t work.

  ‘Yum,’ she said. ‘A raw seagull’s egg, that’s just what I’ve been dreaming of all night.’

  ‘Pancakes,’ sighed Grace. ‘I just might kill someone for a big plate of pancakes with bananas and chocolate spread. Or even one of your er … creative sandwiches, Alice. I’d eat one of those now, if only I had the chance.’

  I didn’t think I was all that desperate. Then I remembered that I’d been dreaming of a bowl of my mum’s organic porridge and I understood how hungry I was too.

  After a bit, a small patch of sunshine spread across the corner of the balcony. Alice crawled out from under the blanket, and we dragged the couch over, so we could warm our legs.

  ‘No sun cream, Megan?’ said Alice. ‘What would your mum say? Maybe you should move into the shade?’

  I sighed, and stretched my legs out further into the sun. ‘I’m going to risk it,’ I said. ‘And Mum might just forgive me for sunbathing without factor 1,000 on my skin – if it saves me from dying of the cold.’

  Suddenly Grace jumped up. ‘OMG,’ she said. ‘Look over there, on the beach path – beyond the trees. There’s people walking.’

  Alice and I jumped up too. ‘We’re saved’ she said. ‘We’re saved. We’re not going to starve to death on this balcony after all.’

  She started to jump up and down and scream. ‘Over here. We’re over here. We’re trapped on this balcony. Come and rescue us.’

  ‘You might as well save your voice,’ said Grace. ‘They’re too far away. They’ll never hear us.’

  ‘But we can’t just let them get away,’ I said. ‘We have to do something.’

  Alice turned around and picked up the blanket and started to wave it madly in the air. It would have been funny, if I hadn’t so desperately wanted it to work. And then, amazingly, one of the people stopped walking.

  ‘They’ve seen us,’ I whispered. ‘They’ve definitely seen us.’

  The other people stopped walking too. They were really far away, so it was hard to
tell for sure, but it looked like they were looking at us. Alice was going crazy. She was waving the blanket so wildly, I was afraid she was going to fly away.

  I was starting to think how stupid we were going to sound when the rescuers got here.

  And whether they’d be able to get a key from José, so we could finally get off the balcony.

  And if they’d ask hard questions about why we were home alone.

  And what I was going to have for breakfast.

  And then I saw something terrible.

  ‘They’re waving at us,’ said Grace. ‘I can’t believe they’re just waving at us.’

  ‘They think we’re only being friendly,’ said Alice.

  She was right. Each of the faraway figures gave a few waves, and then they turned and continued to walk. A minute later, they were gone, hidden by the trees on the side of the path.

  Alice, Grace and I sat on the couch again. For a minute we’d been hopeful, and now that that hope was gone, I felt even worse than I had before. I felt like one of the balloons at Jamie’s party – all pathetic and deflated and sad.

  ‘I wonder what time Gavin will get here,’ said Alice.

  ‘I wonder how mad Mum and Dad are going to be,’ said Grace.

  ‘Maybe they’ll feel so sorry for us that they won’t be mad at all,’ I said.

  ‘Yeah, you‘re right, Megan,’ said Grace. ‘They might feel sorry for us – in about a hundred years time, when they’ve finished being mad. I should never have lied to them. They’re cool about lots of stuff but they hate lies. Lying is the one thing that drives them totally crazy.’

  Alice leaned over and hugged her. ‘The three of us were in on it,’ she said. ‘We’ll all share the blame.’

  ‘Of course we will,’ I said.

  ‘Thanks, guys,’ said Grace. ‘That’s nice of you.’ But I could see that our words hadn’t made her feel any better.

  The three of us sat there, like criminals waiting for a judge to arrive to tell us how long our prison sentence was going to be.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Alice heard it first. ‘OMG,’ said, jumping up. ‘There’s a car. There’s a car. Someone is coming. It must be Robyn’s dad dropping Gavin back.’

  Grace and I jumped up and looked over the balcony. Alice was right. We couldn’t see anything, but there was definitely the sound of a car engine – and it was getting closer.

  I hardly dared to breathe as the sound of the engine became louder and louder.

  Don’t turn back I whispered to myself. Please don’t turn back.

  The engine slowed down and we could hear the sound of tyres on gravel. A second later, José’s minibus came around the corner and stopped near the front door. He climbed out slowly, and stretched, showing gross damp patches under his arms. I was prepared to overlook his underarms though. I don’t think I’ve ever in my life been so happy to see another human being.

  ‘Hey, José,’ called Grace. ‘Up here. We’re up here.’

  He shielded his eyes against the sun as he looked up. ‘Hola, Grace,’ he said. ‘I hope you are enjoying this lovely day. I came to ask ….’

  ‘José, we’re trapped on the balcony,’ said Grace. ‘And Gavin’s …… not here. Can you come and open the door for us please?’

  ‘Goodness me,’ he said. ‘You poor girls. Let me get the spare key.’

  We watched as he leaned into the minibus, and pulled out a huge set of keys. He spent ages and ages trying to figure out which was the right one. When he finally found it, he unlocked the front door, and we could hear the sweet sound of his footsteps on the wooden stairs. A second later, we saw him walking slowly across the bedroom, like there was no need to rush at all. When he finally opened the balcony door, I raced past him and into the toilet.

  When I came out, Grace ran in, almost knocking me down in her hurry.

  José laughed. ‘Dear me,’ he said. ‘You are making me think you girls have been out there all night.’

  Alice gave a big fake laugh. ‘Ha, ha,’ she said. ‘That’s really funny, José. Did you hear that, Megan? He thinks we’ve been on the balcony all night.’

  ‘Ha, ha,’ I said. I didn’t think I was being very convincing, but luckily José laughed too.

  ‘I am glad you like my joke,’ he said. ‘That makes me happy.’

  When Grace came out of the bathroom, José was examining the balcony door. ‘I have spoken to your father about this lock many times,’ he said. ‘He has to get it fixed. One day, I am telling you, someone will get stuck out here for a very long time, and that will not be funny – not funny at all.’

  ‘You’re so right, José,’ said Alice. ‘That totally wouldn’t be funny.’

  ‘I think we’ll go downstairs now, José,’ said Grace. ‘We haven’t had our breakfast yet.’

  ‘Dear me,’ said José, laughing. ‘Young people these days, always hungry.’

  Grace, Alice and I raced downstairs, leaving José looking at the balcony door.

  After I’d had a few spoons of cereal, I started to feel a bit better. I sat at the kitchen counter, feeling free and happy. After a while, Grace looked at her phone.

  ‘That text you got earlier,’ I asked. ‘Was it from Gavin? Did he say anything about what time he’s going to be back?’

  She shook her head. ‘It was just Kellie, telling me the latest news from pony camp. Gavin hasn’t been in touch.’

  ‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ asked Alice.

  ‘I think so,’ said Grace. ‘But have you noticed? José hasn’t asked any hard questions. He hasn’t copped on that we spent the night here on our own. He probably thinks that Gavin’s gone for a run or something. We might just get away with this. We might …’

  She stopped talking as José came into the kitchen.

  ‘The reason I came is to ask how your poor father is,’ he said. ‘That was a very nasty fall he had yesterday. Your mother called me last night, and said they were staying in hospital for the night. Since she is not answering her mobile phone, I decided to come up here and see if you had heard from them. I thought maybe they might need me to pick them up. I thought …’

  He didn’t finish, as the landline started to ring.

  Grace picked it up. ‘Oh, hi, Mum,’ she said. ‘Oh, great, that’s really good news. Tell him I’m very happy he’s allowed to come home. Oh, nothing much – same old, same old. Yes, we’re all fine. Oh, José’s here actually, will I put him on? OK, See you soon. Love you too. Bye.’

  She handed the phone to José, and we could hear him arranging to go to the hospital to pick her parents up.

  A few minutes later he drove away, and Alice, Grace and I went to lie by the pool, like nothing at all had happened.

  * * *

  Half an hour later, Gavin showed up. He looked tired, but happy.

  ‘Good night?’ asked Alice.

  ‘Actually it was a really good night,’ he said. ‘It was nice to see how Spanish people celebrate. Robyn’s cousins aren’t that mean once you get to know them, and I think she had a good time too. I’m glad I went. Anyway, where’s Mum, Grace? Is Dad home from hospital yet?’

  I looked at Grace. Her face was red, and I knew she was thinking about telling him the truth.

  Was this the moment when we were going to get into a whole lot of trouble?

  But before Grace could answer, there was the sound of a horn beeping, and José’s minibus appeared.

  ‘Oh, there they are,’ said Alice.

  We all rushed over and watched as Eddie and Lorna climbed slowly out.

  José waved at us from the driver’s seat. ‘Got to go. Busy, busy. Enjoy your last day!’ he said, and then he drove away.

  Eddie looked pale and tired, and his arm was in a sling, but otherwise, he didn’t look too badly damaged.

  Gavin got cold drinks for us all, and then everyone sat around the patio table, and I waited for the trouble to start.

  Eddie told us all about his injury, and how it had to be fixed, and he made i
t all sound exciting and funny.

  Lorna told us that when Eddie fainted, he’d knocked down a trolley full of sample bottles, and stuff went everywhere, and a nurse screamed at her while they all raced around picking up bottles of wee and blood and all kinds of gross stuff.

  Then Gavin told us all about the party with Robyn’s Spanish family and how crazy, but nice, they all were.

  And Grace and Alice and I looked at each other and said nothing at all.

  When we’d finished our drinks, the three of us went and sat by the pool.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ whispered Grace. ‘Mum and Dad haven’t copped on that Gavin spent the whole night with Robyn’s family. They think he came back here after the party.’

  ‘And Gavin hasn’t copped on that your mum spent the night at the hospital,’ said Alice. ‘He must think that she stayed here, and then went with José this morning, when he was going to pick your dad up.’

  ‘We’ve got away with it!’ said Grace. ‘We’ve totally got away with it. We didn’t die of cold or thirst or hunger or anything, and we’re not in trouble. Who ever saw that coming?’

  I giggled nervously. ‘Maybe one day, your parents will join up the dots, and figure out what happened, but let’s hope that day is a very, very long time from now.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Alice. ‘I’m with you on that. When we’re fifty, they can’t really give us a hard time for spending a night home alone when we were thirteen, can they?’

  ‘Too late to ground us then,’ said Grace. ‘Thirty-seven years too late.’

  Just then, Lorna came over, and we stopped talking and looked at her innocently. ‘You poor girls,’ she said. ‘You’ve nearly been forgotten about, with all the excitement of Eddie’s accident, and Gavin’s big night out with Robyn. You probably wish you had some excitement in your lives too.’

  I could feel my face going red, but Alice just laughed. ‘Nah,’ she said. ‘We’re good thanks, Lorna. Now pass me that sun-lotion Megan. We’ve only got a few hours left to work on our tans.’