Viva Alice!

by Judi Curtin

  Now I felt even more nervous. ‘Just tell us,’ I said.

  She smiled. ‘You can choose between – 1. peanut butter, honey and red onions – 2. chocolate spread, cucumber and mayonnaise, or 3. cheese, banana and curry paste. Make up your minds, girls, which one do you want to try first?’

  If I didn’t know Alice better, I’d have thought she was joking. I looked at Grace and she looked at me, and then we both looked at the sandwiches. They were cut into nice neat triangles, and looked harmless enough. Now that I knew what was in them though, I was afraid. I was very afraid.

  ‘I know. I know,’ said Alice. ‘It’s hard to decide. Here, I’ll make it easy for you.’

  She took two plates from the tray, and put one of each kind of sandwich onto each plate. Then she held the plates toward us.

  Grace nodded at me and we both leaned forwards. We were in this together. We had to be strong for each other. We took the plates and rested them on our knees.

  I sat looking at my sandwiches, wondering how I’d find the nerve to take the first bite.

  ‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ asked Alice, when she noticed that no one was eating.

  Before I could think of an answer, she jumped to her feet. ‘Silly me,’ she said. ‘I forgot to bring out the ketchup. I’ll be back in one second.’

  When Alice came back, Grace’s plate was empty and she was wiping her mouth. ‘No need for ketchup,’ she said. ‘The sandwiches were totally delicious without it.’

  Alice turned to me. ‘Yum,’ I said, holding up my empty plate, not able to look her in the eye.

  Alice held the tray of sandwiches towards us again. ‘Who’s for seconds?’ she asked. ‘I’ve made plenty.’

  Grace and I shook our heads enthusiastically. ‘Totally full,’ I said.

  ‘Couldn’t take another bite,’ said Grace.

  Then we watched with our mouths open as Alice quickly ate two of each kind of sandwich.

  ‘Hey,’ she said, when she was finished. ‘You’re right. These are totally delicious. I think there should be a law against boring sandwich fillings like cheese and ham and tomato. I think when I’m older I’m going to set up my own business. I can see it already. I could have plates and serviettes with a really cool logo saying Alice’s Suberb Sandwiches – or A.S. … OK, so maybe that exact name wouldn’t work. But I’ll think of something. First though, I must remember to write down what ingredients I used today. These sandwiches could be the key to my future.’

  She stopped talking when she noticed that Grace and I were nearly falling off our sunloungers, we were laughing so much.

  ‘Hey, what’s so funny?’ she asked.

  Grace and I couldn’t answer, and Alice’s face went serious. ‘You think I’m being a bit too ambitious, don’t you?’

  Still we couldn’t say anything.

  ‘Maybe I did get a small bit carried away,’ said Alice. ‘I guess it’s a long way from one tray of sandwiches to a chain of successful restaurants.’

  She looked so disappointed, I felt sorry for her.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘You go for it, Al. You go ahead and set up your sandwich company and I bet you’ll make millions.’

  ‘Thanks, Meg,’ said Alice, smiling again. ‘Thanks for believing in me. You’re a true friend. I’m going to put a swimming pool in my first house, and you can come over and use it any time you like.’

  And Alice lay on her sunlounger and closed her eyes and Grace and I looked at each other and shook our heads. Our friend was nice, but totally weird.

  * * *

  At six o’clock that evening the phone in the kitchen rang again and we all ran inside..

  ‘Hey Mum,’ said Grace when she picked up the phone. ‘How’s Dad? Have they relocated his shoulder? Did it hurt? When will you be home? You’re probably tired after hanging around the hospital for so long, so Megan said she’ll cook dinner for us all if you like. She’s a really good cook, so you don’t have to worry about us getting poisoned or anything and …’

  She stopped talking. ‘Oh dear,’ she said. ‘Poor Dad. That sounds rotten. What? The whole night? So when will you be back? Oh. OK. Er no … he’s … he’s … in the shower. I’ll tell him what you said though. Yeah, OK. Talk later. Bye. Give Dad a kiss for me.’

  When she hung up, she didn’t look happy. ‘Poor Dad,’ she said. ‘They had to give him a pain-killing injection, and he’s terrified of needles, and he fainted, and he hit his head on a trolley, and there was a big fuss, and they’re afraid he might have concussion, so the doctor says he has to stay in hospital for the night.’

  ‘Ouch,’ said Alice.

  ‘And what about your mum?’ I asked.

  ‘She says Dad’s in a lot of pain,’ said Grace. ‘And hospitals and doctors scare him, and his Spanish is kind of rubbish, and Mum’s is really good, so …’

  ‘So what?’ I asked. I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going.

  ‘So Mum’s going to spend the night in the hospital with Dad,’ said Grace.

  ‘Oh,’ said Alice.

  ‘But what about us?’ I said. ‘What are we supposed to do?’

  ‘I’m not really sure,’ said Grace. ‘I didn’t tell Mum that Gavin’s gone away with Robyn for the night. If I did that, she’d have to come back here, and poor Dad would be all on his own. And if I phone Gavin and tell him what’s happened, he’ll come back from the party, and poor Robyn’s night will be ruined.’

  ‘We’re so not going to let that happen,’ said Alice. ‘As long as your mum doesn’t figure out that Gavin isn’t here, everything will be fine.’

  ‘But Mum said she’ll ring again in a bit, and she’ll want to talk to Gavin,’ said Grace.

  ‘Not a problem,’ said Alice. ‘We’ll just make up an excuse, and say he’s gone out for a few minutes. She’ll never guess that he’s gone away for the whole night.’

  ‘But what if your mum rings Gavin’s mobile?’ I asked. ‘She’ll tell him about your dad, and he’ll tell her that he’s at the other side of the island. And then one of them will end up coming home.’

  Part of me kind of hoped that one of them would come home. A few hours of minding ourselves was fine, but I didn’t like the sound of a whole night without grown-ups.

  What if burglars came?

  Or there was a fire?

  Or if one of us fell and broke her leg?

  Grace shook her head. ‘Mum can’t call Gav. Her phone battery is dead, and Dad’s phone is here, so she has to use a hospital phone.’

  ‘But couldn’t she use the hospital landline to call Gavin’s phone?’ I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

  Grace shook her head again. ‘Mum never knows anyone’s mobile numbers, so even if she wants to call Gavin, she won’t be able to. Any time she wants to talk to us, she’s going to have to use the landline. As long as we don’t say anything stupid, we’re on our own for the night. How cool is that?’

  I still didn’t like the idea. ‘What about tomorrow?’ I asked. ‘What’s going to happen when Grace’s parents find out that we stayed here on our own? Won’t we be in the biggest trouble ever?’

  Alice grinned. ‘I think we could get away with it,’ she said. ‘Gavin said he’s going to get back early, so all we have to do is get up before he arrives, and mess up the kitchen a bit, so it looks like your mum spent the night here, and had breakfast here.’

  ‘But she won’t be here,’ I said.

  Alice rolled her eyes, like I was deliberately missing her point. ‘So we just say she went back to the hospital to see Eddie.’

  ‘And when Mum and Dad and Gavin all get together, won’t they figure out what really happened?’ asked Grace.

  ‘Nah,’ said Alice. ‘Your dad will just talk about his shoulder, your mum will be worrying about packing to go home, and Gavin will be in a total dream after his romantic night with Robyn. They’ll never join up the dots.’

  ‘I think you could be right,’ said Grace, smiling. ‘I think we might actually get away with this.�
��

  ‘Of course we’re going to get away with it,’ said Alice. ‘Now stop worrying, Megan, and relax. We’re home alone for a whole night. It’s every kid’s dream.’

  I didn’t say anything. Grace and Alice were all happy and excited, so how could I tell them that I was totally, totally scared?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Before long, it started to get cold. We folded up the towels, and straightened up the sunloungers and went inside to have our showers.

  Grace and Alice had gone downstairs and I was sitting on my bed brushing my hair when Mum rang my mobile.

  She did her usual routine of checking to see if I’d broken any of her rules about healthy eating and being careful in the sun and staying away from all kinds of imaginary dangers that only she could dream up. I couldn’t concentrate properly on my answers though.

  My mum has this secret radar that goes into overdrive when there’s a problem.

  What would she say if she knew what was really going on?

  What would she say if she discovered that Alice, Grace and I were home alone?

  Her last question was the worst one of all.

  ‘It’s been lovely talking to you, darling,’ she said. ‘Now, will you put me on to Grace’s mum for a minute?’

  ‘What do you want to talk to her for?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh, I just wanted to thank her for giving you such a wonderful time,’ said Mum.

  ‘Mum!’ I said, trying to sound grown up. ‘You’ll only embarrass her. You’ve thanked her twenty times already, and I think that’s probably enough. If you talk to her again she’ll think you’re stalking her and she’ll want to call the police.’

  And amazingly, Mum listened to me. ‘Oh, very well,’ she said. ‘You’re probably right. You just make sure she knows how grateful we are, OK?’

  ‘Sure I will,’ I said. ‘Leave it to me. I’ll thank her a hundred times before I go to bed. Now I’d better go, I think someone is calling me for dinner. Love you, Mum, bye.’

  ‘I love you too,’ she said. ‘And so do Dad and Rosie and Domino. We’re all looking forward to seeing you the day after tomorrow.’ And then she hung up.

  I listened to the beeping of the phone, and felt tears come to my eyes. Grace and Alice were downstairs planning all kinds of treats, but I couldn’t help feeling nervous and afraid.

  Then I shook my head, and sat up straight.

  Megan Sheehan I said to myself. You’re not a baby any more. You’re thirteen years old. It’s time to grow up and stop being such a scaredy cat. It’s time to have fun.

  Then I stood up and marched downstairs, trying very hard to look confident and happy.

  * * *

  I made a really nice pasta dish with cheese and cream and tomatoes. I even let Alice help – after she promised to do exactly what I told her.

  While Alice and I were cooking, Grace took out all the best dishes and cutlery, and decorated the table with flowers. She filled a jug with lemonade and ice and fruit, and put on some really cool music.

  The meal was fun. We pretended we were college students, having a dinner-party in our flat.

  ‘Let’s all live together when we’re older,’ said Alice. ‘And every single night can be like this one. Every single night can be amazing.’

  That did sound kind of cool, so I smiled as I served up the last of the pasta, and Grace poured us all more lemonade, and Alice turned the music up louder, and everything was perfect.

  * * *

  Gavin rang just as we finished eating, and Grace told him the story we’d agreed on.

  ‘Oh, Dad’s fine,’ she said, rushing the words a bit. ‘He’ll be as good as new in a few days. He has to stay in hospital for the night though. No, you don’t need to come back – Mum said it’s not a big deal. The doctors are just being super-cautious. No, sorry, you can’t talk to her. She’s gone to bed and she said not to disturb her. She’s kind of tired after sitting around the hospital for half the day. Yeah, I told her you’re spending the evening in Robyn’s cousin’s place, and she’s fine with that. She said it was kind of you to help her out. We’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll tell Mum you rang. Yeah, OK, bye.’

  A second after she hung up, the phone rang again. ‘Oh hi, Mum,’ she said, a bit breathlessly. ‘How is Dad feeling now? Oh, good. Tell him I love him. Yeah, we’re all fine here. Alice made an … interesting lunch and Megan made us a lovely pasta dinner.’

  Then she hesitated and I knew she’d got to the hard bit. ‘Oh, sorry, Mum, Gavin’s asleep. He went for an extra-long run this afternoon, and he was wrecked after it, so he went to bed as soon as he’d eaten. He said to say goodnight to you. Yeah, we’ll all be fine, don’t worry about us. Yes, I’ll lock all the doors and I’ll put out all the lights when we’re going to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow, OK? Yes, love you too. Kiss Dad goodnight for me. Bye.’

  When she hung up, Alice hugged her. ‘Well done,’ she said. ‘That was perfect.’

  ‘I feel bad though,’ said Grace. ‘I don’t like telling lies – especially to my family.’

  ‘Don’t feel bad,’ said Alice. ‘Remember, we’re doing a good thing here. Your mum is getting to stay with your dad while he’s not well, and Gavin is making sure that Robyn doesn’t get a hard time from her mean cousins. And we three will be fine here.’

  ‘I guess you’re right,’ said Grace.

  ‘Of course I’m right,’ said Alice. ‘It’s all good. We’re three responsible kids and everything’s going to be fine.’

  * * *

  The three of us helped to tidy up after the dinner and then we threw ourselves on the couches in the living room and ate ice-cream and chatted and laughed. I felt all grown-up, like someone from a movie or a cool TV show.

  ‘I’ve got a great idea,’ said Alice after a while. ‘Let’s play the secrets game.’

  I hate that game. (There’s a reason they’re called secrets.) I didn’t say this though. Once Alice has made up her mind about something, it’s pretty impossible to make her change it.

  ‘You start then, Alice,’ I said. ‘You tell the first secret.’

  I was trying to buy time so I could think of a secret I didn’t mind sharing.

  ‘OK,’ said Alice. ‘Let me think … Oh, I know, I have a great one. Years and years ago, I used to love playing with Mum’s make-up. One day I sneaked into her bedroom to play with her new lipstick. She’d only got it the day before, and I knew it was really, really expensive. I’d just wound it up as far as it would go when I heard her coming up the stairs.’

  ‘What did you do?’ I asked. I felt scared even thinking about it. Veronica totally hates when anyone messes with her stuff.

  ‘I didn’t have time to think,’ said Alice. ‘I put the lid back on really quickly, but I hadn’t wound the lipstick down, and it got all squished up and wrecked.’

  ‘OMG,’ I said.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Grace. ‘Did your mum go crazy?’

  ‘I haven’t told you the worst part yet,’ said Alice. ‘I’ve never told anyone this before. I shoved the squished-up lipstick into my pocket, and later I put it under Jamie’s bed. When Mum found it the next day, she blamed him.’

  ‘That’s awful,’ I said. ‘But didn’t Jamie tell her that it was nothing to do with him?’

  Alice shook her head. ‘He was so small he couldn’t talk properly. He could only say words like duck, and teddy and stuff, so he wasn’t able to explain that he’d never touched the broken lipstick.’

  ‘The poor kid,’ said Grace. ‘How could you do that to him?’

  ‘Actually, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds,’ said Alice. ‘Jamie was so small and cute, Mum didn’t really get cross with him, even though she’d have killed me. Anyway, I survived, and that’s the end of my secret. What’s yours, Grace?’

  Grace thought for a long time. ‘I don’t know,’ she said in the end. ‘I can’t think of anything. I’ve told you two all my secrets already.’

  ‘But you’ve got to think of somethi
ng,’ said Alice. ‘That’s the game.’

  ‘OK’ said Grace in the end. ‘Since you insist – but you might be sorry, Alice, because my secret is to do with you.’

  ‘What is it?’ asked Alice leaning forward and looking excited. ‘Will I be happy when I hear it?’

  ‘Er … I don’t think so,’ said Grace. ‘My secret is that, at lunchtime, when you went inside to get the ketchup, I didn’t eat any of the sandwiches you put on my plate.’

  ‘So what did you do with them?’ asked Alice. ‘Were you saving them for later?’

  ‘No,’ said Grace quickly. ‘I threw them over the hedge.’

  That wasn’t news to me, because I’d done exactly the same thing. I didn’t want to hurt Alice’s feelings, but there was no way I was going to eat those gross sandwiches.

  ‘That’s rotten,’ said Alice. ‘After all my trouble! Don’t you feel guilty about wasting the food I prepared for you?’

  ‘Not really,’ said Grace giggling. ‘My only worry is that maybe I poisoned the local wildlife. Sorry, Alice, but those sandwiches were just weird. I never would have told you, but you’re the one who insisted on this stupid game.’

  Alice turned to me, and I could see that she was really mad. ‘What about you, Meg?’ she asked. ‘Did you throw my sandwiches away too?’

  ‘If I tell you, does that count as my secret?’ I asked.

  ‘No!’ said Alice crossly.

  ‘Well then,’ I said, avoiding her question, ‘My secret is …’

  My biggest secret was that I thought Gavin was kind of cool, but there was nooooo way I was telling Grace and Alice that. They’d tease me in front of him, and it would be totally, totally embarrassing.

  ‘Get on with it, Megan,’ said Grace. ‘What’s your big secret?’

  ‘OK,’ I said slowly. ‘My secret is – and I know it’s kind of stupid – I was really afraid about staying here tonight without your parents, Grace. I didn’t like the idea of being home alone.’

  Alice leaned over to me. ‘I already figured that out,’ she whispered. ‘So it’s not exactly a secret.’