Viva Alice!

by Judi Curtin

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning, Gavin seemed happier than I’d ever seen him – which wouldn’t really have been all that hard. There was no sad music playing in his bedroom, and his still-blocked phone was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Maybe he’s cured,’ I said to Alice as we went upstairs to brush our teeth after breakfast. ‘Maybe we’ve done enough. Maybe we can let him sort out his own love-life.’

  ‘No way,’ said Alice. ‘We’re just getting started.’

  I sighed. Alice loves plotting and scheming. Even if Gavin was the happiest guy on the planet by now, she still wouldn’t want to pull back.

  ‘I think Alice is right,’ said Grace. ‘We have to make sure Gavin is fully better. If we stop too soon, there’s a danger he’ll go crawling back to Witch-girl – and I soooo don’t want her back in our lives.’

  ‘OK,’ I said. ‘You both win. I know what I’ve got to do.’

  When we went back downstairs, Gavin was sitting in the kitchen.

  ‘Hey, Megan,’ he said when he saw me. ‘Ready for today’s lesson?’

  ‘Hey, Gavin,’ I said. ‘Do you think you could come with us to the communal pool and give me my lesson there? Remember you said that would be better for my strokes?’

  ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Good idea. I’ll go get my towel and stuff.’

  ‘Take your time,’ said Alice sweetly. ‘We’ll go on ahead and find a nice place for us all to sit.’

  As we walked over to the communal pool, I started to feel guilty.

  ‘Robyn seems like a really nice girl,’ I said.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Grace. ‘I agree.’

  ‘But in a way that makes it worse,’ I said.

  ‘Makes what worse?’ asked Alice.

  ‘We’re messing around with Robyn’s life to help someone else,’ I said. ‘Basically we’re using her.’

  ‘And the problem is?’ asked Alice. ‘It’s all in a good cause, isn’t it?’

  ‘Alice, don’t you remember what happened when we tried to set your dad up with my Aunt Linda?’ I asked.

  ‘I laughed so much when you told me that story,’ said Grace. ‘I wish I could have been there to see it.’

  ‘Yeah, well,’ I sighed. ‘It might have been funny, but Alice and I got in a lot of trouble over it. Mum and Dad were really cross with me, and the worst thing was, they were right. It was mean to use Linda to try to make Alice’s Mum jealous.’

  ‘Ancient history,’ said Alice. ‘And I’ve always hated history. And anyway, this is completely different. Gavin and Robyn are young, not like Dad and Linda. And we shouldn’t forget, if our plan works, Robyn will gain too. Gavin’s a total catch. Those two could live happily ever after, and it will all be thanks to us. We might even get to be bridesmaids at their wedding. What do you think, would pink dresses suit all three of us, or would green be nicer?’

  We were at the pool by now, so I couldn’t argue any more.

  I wasn’t sure if I was happy to see Robyn sitting in the same place as the day before.

  Had she any idea of Alice’s plans for the rest of her life?

  What would she have thought if she knew that Alice was already planning what to wear to her wedding?

  Alice grabbed three sunloungers, conveniently leaving an empty space between herself and Robyn. Robyn looked up from her book and smiled at us, and then we settled down to wait for Gavin.

  After a few minutes, Alice nudged me.

  ‘Oh, look, Meg,’ she said, much too loudly. ‘Here’s Gavin. Wow, he looks good in those swimming shorts, doesn’t he? He should be a male model or something.’

  As usual, she was getting totally carried away. She was right though, he did look totally cool. I half-turned, and smiled when I saw that Robyn was peeping over the top of her book, and looking towards Gavin.

  Alice poked me again. ‘Up you get, Megan. It’s time for your swimming lesson. Gavin is soooo kind to help you like this. I think he must be the kindest guy I’ve ever met in my whole life.’

  Feeling like a complete idiot. I stood up and walked towards the pool. I felt like everyone was staring at me, and that so wasn’t a good feeling.

  As I jumped into the water, Gavin threw his towel onto the empty sunlounger next to Robyn. I rolled my eyes as Alice and Grace had a fit of winking and grinning at each other.

  Then Gavin came and sat on the edge of the pool, and my lesson began.

  It should have been totally embarrassing, having a public lesson like that, but after a few minutes, I almost forgot that anyone else was around. Gavin was really patient and encouraging, and soon I started to believe that I was the best swimmer in the world. Anytime I did something right, he smiled at me, and I felt like he’d given me a wonderful present, specially designed just for me.

  I was really sorry when he stood up and stretched. ‘That’s probably enough for today, Megan,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to confuse you by showing you too much new stuff. Practise what I showed you, and we’ll continue tomorrow, OK?’

  ‘OK,’ I said. ‘I’d like that.’

  Suddenly I felt that if Gavin asked me to swim to America, I’d happily have done it for a single one of his crinkly smiles.

  As I went to lie on my sunlounger, Gavin jumped into the pool and started to swim. He was a brilliant swimmer, and barely rippled the water as he sped along. I turned around and noticed that Robyn had put down her book, and was watching him too. When he stopped swimming, after about ten lengths, I felt a really stupid urge to start clapping, like he’d just won a gold medal or something. Luckily, I was sitting on my hands, so a disaster was averted.

  When Gavin pulled himself out of the pool, Robyn quickly picked up her book again and looked totally interested in it. I smiled to myself when I saw that it was upside-down. I hoped no one else noticed.

  Gavin picked up his towel. ‘See you later, girls,’ he said as he started to walk away.

  ‘Hey,’ called Alice. ‘Come back.’

  He turned around. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘No,’ said Alice. ‘Or, yes … or maybe … I mean … you see … there was this guy hanging around here earlier … and I thought he was a bit creepy … and he was staring at us …’

  ‘Where?’ asked Gavin. ‘Where is he? Maybe we should tell the lifeguard.’

  ‘It might only be my imagination,’ said Alice. ‘But just in case, will you sit here with us for a bit? If the guy comes back, he’d be totally afraid of you.’

  ‘OK,’ said Gavin, as he sat down on the sunlounger next to Robyn. ‘Happy to protect my little sis and her friends.’

  ‘Oh, said Alice, all casual. ‘Robyn, this is Grace’s brother Gavin.’

  Robyn put her book down again and as they said ‘hi’ to each other, I noticed that they had both turned a bit red. I’m not an expert on boyfriend and girlfriend stuff, but I guessed that was a good sign. Nobody said anything for a minute. It wasn’t exactly awkward, but I didn’t like the look in Alice’s eye. Was she considering something crazy like pushing them both into the pool?

  Then, before Alice could do anything stupid, Gavin pointed at Robyn’s book. ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘I read that at college last term, and loved it. What do you think of it?’

  Robyn smiled at him, and I realised that she was really pretty when she smiled. ‘I totally love it,’ she said. ‘He’s a great writer. What did you think of his book about Africa?’

  ‘I liked it,’ said Gavin. ‘But not as much as this one. What did you think of the part where they go to Amsterdam? Wasn’t it totally creepy?’

  And that was all it took. Grace, Alice and I lay back on our sunloungers and closed our eyes, and pretended not to listen, while Gavin and Robyn discussed every book they’d ever read, and every one they hoped to read.

  Sweet!

  Chapter Twelve

  The next few days were lovely. Gavin always found half an hour to give me a swimming lesson, and these were my favourite half-hours of the day. As I climbed
out of the pool on the fourth day, he smiled at me.

  ‘You’re doing really well, Megan.’ he said. ‘You’re a model pupil. You have a lovely stroke, and lots of stamina.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said. His praise was making me feel embarrassed, and my next words came out by accident. ‘I think I might try out for the school swim team when I get back home.’

  ‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ he said. ‘You definitely should. You’d be great. Now I’ve got to go, Robyn’s waiting.’

  By now, Gavin spent most of his time with Robyn. They weren’t all soppy and smoochy and kissy-kissy, but they just looked totally happy, like they belonged together.

  Alice, Grace and I spent most of our time sunbathing, or swimming in one of the pools. Every night Eddie or Lorna cooked a delicious barbecue, and we ate out on the terrace, enjoying the warm air and the smell of holidays.

  One morning I woke up and my first thought was – I’m in this amazing place.

  My second thought was – We’ve only got two days left.

  Why does time always have to go so quickly when you’re having fun?

  * * *

  ‘Where’s everyone?’ asked Alice that lunchtime, when we got back after a brilliant game of mini-golf.

  ‘I guess Gavin is off somewhere being romantic with Robyn,’ said Grace, as she used her key to let us in. ‘But I don’t know where Mum and Dad could be. They went to play tennis, but they should be back here by now. Dad said he wanted to try out a new barbecue recipe for lunch.’

  She didn’t seem too worried, so I decided not to worry either. Grace got us each an ice-cream from the freezer and we lay by the pool for a while, enjoying the warm sunshine.

  When Gavin came back an hour later, there was still no sign of Eddie and Lorna. He tried both their phones, but no one answered his mum’s and we could hear the sound of his dad’s phone ringing on the kitchen counter. Gavin was trying to act casual, but it wasn’t really working. He sat on a sunlounger next to us for a few minutes, but he couldn’t relax. He was all jumpy and nervous and he kept checking his watch.

  ‘Relax, Gav,’ said Grace after a while. ‘Mum and Dad are grown-ups. They don’t have to tell us where they are every minute of every day. They’ve probably decided to go out for lunch or something.’

  ‘But I wanted to see them before I go,’ he said.

  ‘You’re going somewhere?’ asked Grace. ‘You never said.’

  ‘Is it a romantic date with Robyn?’ asked Alice. ‘Maybe you should buy her flowers. Or you could “borrow” some from the villa at the end of this road. They’ve got heaps in their garden.’

  He went red. ‘Actually it’s not really a date. It’s more like I’m doing her a favour.’

  ‘What kind of favour?’ asked Alice. ‘Are you going to rescue her from a dragon or something? That’s totally romantic.’

  I thought she was being kind of cheeky, but Gavin didn’t seem to mind.

  ‘It’s not all that romantic,’ he said. ‘Robyn’s Spanish cousins live on the other side of the island, and they’re having a big family celebration tonight.’

  ‘I’m not seeing the favour here,’ said Alice.

  ‘Well, when Robyn was a kid, her cousins bullied her a lot,’ he said. ‘There’s seven of them, and they always ganged up on her. They used to tease her for her English accent, and her English ways.’

  ‘That’s really mean. Poor Robyn,’ I said, thinking of how bad I feel when Melissa is around.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Gavin. ‘It was rotten. Anyway, ages ago, Robyn told the mean cousins she’d be bringing her boyfriend to the party, and they made a big deal of it.’

  ‘But now the boyfriend isn’t around any more, and they’re giving her a hard time?’ said Grace.

  ‘Exactly,’ said Gavin. ‘They think she was lying, and they keep sending her texts about her “imaginary boyfriend”.’

  ‘That’s rotten,’ said Alice.

  ‘Totally,’ said Gavin. ‘So anyway, now that Robyn and I are … friends, she’s asked me to go to the party with her – for moral support.’

  ‘That’s sweet,’ said Alice. ‘I presume you said you’d go?’

  Gavin nodded. ‘Of course. I want to help her.’

  ‘That’s nice of you,’ I said, thinking that the mean cousins couldn’t pick on her if she showed up with a totally cool, nice boy like Gavin.

  He smiled at me. ‘Thanks, Megan,’ he said. ‘It’s all sorted, but I just wanted to tell Mum and Dad before I go. The cousins live kind of far away, so we have to leave soon. And the party will go on very late, so we’re going to stay in her aunt’s house for the night.’

  ‘Totally romantic,’ said Grace, quickly ducking as he pretended to hit her.

  ‘You and Robyn can have a beautiful day tomorrow,’ said Alice. ‘You could shake off the mean cousins and explore the other side of the island together.’

  Gavin gave a dreamy smile. ‘That would be nice, but it’s not going to happen. Robyn’s dad is dropping me back here first thing in the morning. He and Robyn are playing golf at ten.’

  Grace checked her watch again. ‘Mum and Dad should definitely be back by now,’ she said. ‘And it’s totally weird that they haven’t rung us.’ For the first time, she was starting to look worried.

  Gavin jumped up. ‘You’re right, Grace,’ he said. ‘They never stay away this long without letting us know where they are. I’m going to take a walk down to the security office. Maybe José has seen them.’

  Just as he got to the door though, the phone in the kitchen rang.

  ‘It’s Mum,’ he said, as he stood in the doorway and answered it. ‘Hey Mum, what’s up? Why aren’t you …?’

  Then he stopped talking, and looked serious. The rest of us didn’t even pretend not to listen. ‘He what? Oh, no. Is he OK? Poor Dad.’

  He talked for ages, and the rest of us did our best to understand what was going on – not easy when we could only hear half of the conversation.

  Finally he hung up. ‘Dad fell when he was playing tennis this morning,’ he said. ‘José drove him and Mum to the hospital. They’ve just seen the doctor and she said that Dad’s shoulder was dislocated.’

  ‘Ouch,’ said Alice. ‘I don’t like the sound of that.’

  ‘So what happens next,’ asked Grace. ‘Can they relocate it?’

  Gavin nodded. ‘I’m not sure that’s what they call it, but, yes, they’re going to put it back into place soon. Mum says Dad will be fine once it’s done, and that they should be home in a few hours.’

  He looked at his watch again. ‘Maybe I should stay here till Mum and Dad get back. Maybe I should tell Robyn that I can’t go with her to her cousins’ place.’

  ‘No way!’ said Alice quickly. ‘I mean, that probably isn’t a good idea.’

  ‘She’s right,’ said Grace. ‘Poor Robyn – you promised her you’d go and you can’t let her down. You can’t leave her to face her mean cousins all on her own. You go ahead to the party. We’ll tell Mum and Dad where you are.’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ he said, looking worried. ‘Will you three be OK here until Mum and Dad get back?’

  Grace rolled her eyes. ‘We’re thirteen,’ she said.

  ‘We’re very sensible,’ I said, meaning Grace and I are very sensible and we’ll keep an eye on Alice.

  ‘Well, maybe it would be OK,’ said Gavin.’

  ‘Of course it will be OK,’ said Alice.

  She jumped up and practically pushed him towards the stairs. ‘Robyn will be waiting,’ she said. ‘So hurry up and get what you need. Remember you’ve got to impress the mean cousins, so you’ve got to look your best. I think you should bring your pale blue shirt – that’s really cool, and your navy trousers and you should wear that aftershave that smells like lemons and ……’

  Gavin laughed as he backed towards the stairs. ‘I get it,’ he said. ‘I’m going.’

  I didn’t say anything. I thought I was the only one who’d noticed Gavin’s lemon-scented aftershave.


  Chapter Thirteen

  After Gavin left to meet Robyn, the rest of us realised that we were hungry. ‘I’ll make lunch,’ said Alice. ‘I need to practise all the things I learned in home ec.’

  Grace and I looked at each other and tried not to laugh. Alice isn’t exactly the star of our home ec class. She’d been studying the subject for six months but she’d never once managed to produce anything you’d actually eat – unless you had a gun pointed at your head. Once she even managed to set off the smoke alarms and the whole school had to be evacuated. My best friend was always optimistic though – and she had a very short memory.

  ‘You two relax in the sunshine,’ she said. ‘And I’ll prepare a feast that you’ll never forget.’

  I totally didn’t like the sound of that. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, though, so I bit my tongue and lay back on my sunlounger and tried to concentrate on my book.

  Twenty minutes later, after lots of banging and crashing sounds, and a few rude words, Alice appeared with a huge tray.

  ‘Ta-da!’ she said. ‘Lunch is served. I’ve made sandwiches.’

  I began to relax a bit. After all, how much of a mess could you make of sandwiches?

  Had Alice managed to be sensible for once in her life?

  ‘Thanks, Alice,’ I said. ‘That’s really nice of you. I’m starving.’

  ‘There’s three kinds,’ she said proudly, as she put the tray down on a small table at the side of the pool.

  ‘Yay,’ said Grace as she sat up. ‘What are they? Mum and Dad haven’t been shopping since the day before yesterday, so it must have been hard to find three different fillings.’

  ‘All you need is a bit of imagination,’ said Alice. ‘And I’ve always had a good imagination.’

  Suddenly I felt nervous. Sometimes Alice can be too imaginative.

  ‘So tell us,’ I said. ‘What’s in the sandwiches?’

  ‘It was supposed to be a surprise,’ said Alice with a big sigh. ‘But since you’re being so impatient, I’ll tell you. But I’m warning you, you’re going to be blown away.’