by Judi Curtin
Then I had an idea.
‘Maybe you need to force yourself,’ I said. ‘Maybe you need to make yourself do stuff, even if you don’t want to do it. And then if you do one thing, and it turns out OK, you’ll be brave enough to do other stuff. And then, before you know it, you’ll be back to normal. What do you think?’
Alice was quiet for a long time.
Had I offended her?
Or had she fallen asleep?
At last she spoke.
‘Like force myself to do what?’
Why did I always get the hard questions?
As I was struggling to find an answer, the bell rang for the beginning of the next class.
‘I’ve absolutely got to go,’ I said. ‘I’m not brave enough to miss two classes in a row.’
To my relief, Alice didn’t argue. We gathered up our books, and went our separate ways along the corridor.
Just then Kellie came along.
‘Where were you?’ she said to me.
‘I, er …,’ I began. ‘I just had to do something.’
‘With Alice?’
I nodded.
Kellie smiled.
‘I guessed it was something like that. But don’t worry. I covered for you. I told Mr Spillane that you were doing a job for one of the other teachers.’
I smiled. Kellie was a good friend.
‘Back in a sec,’ I said. ‘I forgot something!’
Then I turned and ran after Alice, catching her just before she got to her next class.
‘I won’t let you down,’ I said. ‘I’ll think of a plan, I promise.’
Alice gave me a quick hug.
‘Thanks, Megan,’ she said.
Then she went in to her class.
Chapter twenty-six
For the next few classes, I struggled for an answer. I had to think of some kind of challenge for Alice.
But if I picked something too hard, she’d just refuse to do it.
And if I picked something too easy, she’d know I was treating her like a baby, and she’d refuse as well.
And then, in the middle of a totally boring history class, the perfect answer came to me.
I met Alice as she came out of her last class.
‘It’s all sorted,’ I said.
She looked at me like I was crazy.
‘Your first proper trip into the outside world,’ I said.
‘Oh, that,’ said Alice, without much interest.
I continued anyway.
‘Linda’s coming to Limerick on Saturday, to buy her wedding dress. Mum and Rosie and I are going with her. We’re all going in to O’Donnell’s. They have heaps of beautiful dresses there. You can come with us. You love helping people to pick out nice clothes.’
Alice shook her head.
‘I don’t think so. That’s a family kind of thing. I’d only be in the way.’
I was ready for this.
‘You have to come,’ I said. ‘Linda’s really bad at making decisions. Mum will try to force her to buy something totally gross, and Rosie will agree with Mum, because that’s what she always does. I won’t be able to stand up to them all on my own. I need you to be on my side. I need you to help me to save Linda from a fashion disaster.’
Alice still didn’t look very excited.
‘You know I still can’t walk very far,’ she said.
I grinned. This one was easy.
‘That doesn’t matter. You’ll hardly have to walk at all. Dad will drive us there and pick us up when we’re finished. Now, any more excuses?’
Alice was quiet for a while. Then she smiled.
‘I should do this, shouldn’t I?’
I nodded.
‘Yes, you should do this.’
Now Alice smiled an even bigger smile.
‘Then I will do it,’ she said. ‘You were right, Megan. I’ve got to be brave.’
* * *
Linda arrived early on Saturday, and after a quick snack of sugar-free oatmeal cookies, washed down with a big mug of dandelion coffee, we were ready to go. Rosie was all excited, like we were going on a big expedition, instead of just in to town. I was excited too, though. I was looking forward to helping Linda to choose a wedding dress, but more than that, I was looking forward to doing something fun with Alice at last.
‘You all get in the car,’ I said. ‘I’ll go and call for Alice. I’ve told her to be ready.’
It took ages for Alice to answer the door, and when she did, I was not happy to see that she was still in her pyjamas.
‘Alice,’ I said. ‘You’re supposed to be ready. Get dressed quickly. Everyone’s waiting.’
Alice put her head down.
‘I’m not going with you.’
‘But you have to,’ I protested.
Alice shook her head.
‘I’m sorry, Megan. I’m a bit tired this morning.’
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
‘We’ll only be gone for an hour. It’ll be fun. We’ll choose the dress, and then Linda’s taking us all for hot chocolate and … you promised, remember? You promised me that you’d come out with us today.’
‘I know I promised, Megan. And I’m sorry, but now I’m not coming. Anyway, I want to tidy my bookshelf. I’ve been meaning to do it for ages. I’m actually looking forward to getting started.’
Suddenly I felt angry. Alice had never willingly tidied a bookshelf in her whole life.
Alice folded her arms and stared at me.
And then I realised something strange.
Alice had changed an awful lot since her accident.
She wasn’t daring any more.
She wasn’t funny any more.
She wasn’t witty, or sparkly or lively any more.
But she had somehow managed to hold on to the one trait that really, really annoyed me – she was just as stubborn as ever.
I could have argued with Alice, but there was no point. I’d have done just as well arguing with the front door. She wasn’t going to change her mind and there wasn’t a single thing I could do about it.
I started to walk away.
‘I’m really, really sorry, Megan,’ she said to my back. ‘I promise I’ll do something with you next week.’
Don’t bother, I felt like shouting back.
But I didn’t.
I just kept walking.
* * *
The trip to town should have been totally fun.
We went in to O’Donnell’s and when we explained what we wanted, the assistant went all soppy and misty-eyed.
‘A wedding dress,’ she sighed. ‘How romantic. I remember my own wedding day like it was yesterday.’
That set Mum off, and the two of them spent twenty minutes going on and on about how wonderful their own wedding days were. In the end, Linda had to interrupt them.
‘Er … about my wedding dress,’ she began.
Mum went red.
‘Sorry, Linda,’ she said. ‘I get so carried away sometimes.’
‘Do you want to talk about it?’ I said, and everyone laughed.
The assistant was staring at Linda.
‘We have many, many dresses here,’ she said in the end. ‘But I think I know exactly which one would be right for you. It only came in this morning, and I didn’t have a chance to put it on display yet.’
Before anyone could say anything, the assistant vanished into a back room of the shop. When she came back, she was carrying a dress. It was made of pale blue silk, with little ruffles on the sleeves, and tiny blue pearls all along the neck-line. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen.
Linda took the dress from the assistant and went in to the changing room. When she came out there was a short silence, and then everyone spoke at once.
‘It’s totally gorgeous,’ I said.
‘It’s perfect,’ Mum said.
‘It’s absolutely delightful,’ the assistant said.
‘You look like a princess,’ Rosie said.
‘Luka is go
ing to love it,’ said Linda. ‘Did I mention that he loves the colour blue?’
‘Only about a hundred times,’ said Mum, and everyone laughed again.
After Linda had paid for the dress, she took us to a café, as she had promised. Mum had organic green tea, and didn’t make too much of a fuss when Linda bought huge mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows for Rosie and me.
Rosie absolutely loves marshmallows. She kept squeezing them with her fingers.
‘They feel like pillows,’ she said.
Linda grinned at her, and when Mum went to the toilet, she got another handful of marshmallows and put them into Rosie’s drink.
Rosie looked like she was going to fall off her stool she was so excited.
‘I’m a happy, happy girl,’ she sang.
Linda hugged her.
‘I’m a happy girl too,’ she said. ‘What about you, Megan?’
I didn’t answer.
How could I be happy, when my best friend in the whole world was at home tidying her bookshelf?
And enjoying it.
Chapter twenty-seven
The next day Alice called over with a tiny box of chocolates in her hand.
‘They’re for you, Megan,’ she said. ‘To say sorry about yesterday.’
I took the box from her. I love chocolates, but I’d have given all the chocolates in the world, just to see Alice laugh like she used to.
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘Do you want to come in for a while?’
‘No, I …’ began Alice and then she hesitated.
If she mentioned something stupid like tidying a bookshelf, I didn’t know if I could stop myself from punching her.
Then Alice started to speak again.
‘Actually, I will come in. Thanks.’
I smiled. It was only a small step, but it was a step in the right direction.
* * *
Half an hour later, I was totally bored. Alice had said ‘whatever’ to everything I suggested, so we’d ended up playing Monopoly. I was winning and Alice wasn’t even cheating to catch up. It was no fun at all.
I was glad when Mum came in and interrupted us.
‘I’m trying a new dish tonight,’ she said. ‘And if it’s nice, I’ll cook it for Linda’s wedding.’
‘Muuuum,’ I moaned. ‘Isn’t there a law against using your family as guinea pigs?’
She ignored me.
‘I’ve run out of lentils,’ she said. ‘And I need loads because I’m making cabbage rolls stuffed with couscous and lentils.’
I groaned as loudly as I could, and Mum ignored me again.
‘So I want you to go to the shop for me please. I’m sure Alice would like to go with you.’
‘I …,’ began Alice.
I didn’t let her finish.
‘Of course she’d like to come with me,’ I said.
Alice stood up, and we followed Mum into the hall.
Mum handed me the money, and a shopping bag.
‘And here,’ she said. ‘Put this on. It’s cold outside.’
She was holding out what looked like a giant, over-fed worm. It was the scarf she had knitted me for my thirteenth birthday. This had to be the ugliest scarf in the history of the world. I was forever hiding it, but no matter what hiding place I found, it always turned up again. Sometimes I thought that it must crawl out, looking for food.
I took the scarf, knowing that Mum wouldn’t give up until it was firmly wrapped around my neck.
Was this my punishment for being cheeky to her?
Alice and I set off.
‘Remind me to take this scarf off as soon as we get around the corner,’ I said. ‘I look like I’m being strangled by a prehistoric swamp creature.’
Alice didn’t even laugh. She just gave that new, vague, Alice-shrug, that was starting to drive me crazy.
Then, before we got to the first corner, I saw something that made my stomach turn over and over, making me suddenly feel sick and dizzy.
It was walking towards us.
It was flicking its blonde hair.
It was the one and only …… Melissa.
Meeting Melissa at any time was a pain, but meeting her while I was wearing a gross, hand-knitted scarf was a total disaster.
I wondered if I could take the scarf off, and fling it into a hedge, but it was too late. Melissa had seen us.
Phew, at least Alice is with me, I thought, before I remembered that it was the old Alice that I needed.
Melissa-hating was once our favourite hobby, and I could always rely on Alice to rescue me when Melissa was mean.
But that was before.
I nudged Alice.
‘Look who’s coming,’ I said.
Alice looked up.
‘Oh,’ she said, like it was the postman or the milkman or someone boring like that.
Soon Melissa was right next to us.
‘Hi Alice, hi Megan,’ she said.
‘Hi Melissa,’ we chorused.
Suddenly Melissa put her hand over her mouth, in a big fake show of trying to stop laughing.
‘Omigod,’ she said. ‘Megan, whatever is that thing around your neck? It looks like it’s trying to kill you.’
I could feel my face going red. I knew that as soon as I got home, I’d be able to think of loads of clever answers, but by then it would be too late.
Melissa wasn’t finished.
‘I suppose your mum knitted that … thing … for you,’ she sneered. ‘Do you have to keep it in a special locked box, so it won’t escape in the middle of the night and eat your whole family?’
I started to feel all hot and shivery. I soooo wanted to stand up to Melissa, but I couldn’t think of how to do that. I opened my mouth, but no words came out to help me.
Then I noticed a small movement beside me. Alice was folding her arms, and drawing herself up until she was taller than usual. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at Melissa.
‘Can your mum knit?’ she asked sweetly.
Melissa shook her head.
‘She’s not a total loser. Of course she can’t knit.’
Alice smiled.
‘Pity,’ she said. ‘Because if your mum could knit, she could knit a big bag to go over your head, so none of us would have to hurt our eyes by looking at your ugly face.’
Melissa opened her mouth and made a pathetic squeaky noise that made no sense. She never had been very good at taking her own medicine.
I looked at Alice. She was grinning madly, with that old Alice sparkle I’d thought had gone forever.
I turned around and gave her a huge hug.
‘Oh, Alice,’ I cried. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’
I let her go and she stared at me.
‘Oh, Megan,’ she said. ‘I think you’re losing it.’
But she was smiling, and I knew she understood what I meant.
Melissa was starting to get over her shock.
‘You’re both crazy,’ she said. Then with a flick of her blonde hair, she walked past us.
On a sudden impulse, I raced after her.
‘Hey, Melissa,’ I said, as soon as I drew level with her.
She stopped walking and turned to face me. ‘What?’ she said.
I stepped forwards and gave her a huge hug.
‘Thanks, Melissa,’ I said.
Melissa pulled away, like I was some disease she didn’t want to catch. ‘What on earth was that for?’ she asked.
I just laughed. ‘You wouldn’t understand,’ I said, and then I ran back to my friend, and arm in arm we continued our journey to the shop.
Chapter twenty-eight
After that, things began to get slowly better. Sometimes Alice was tired, and didn’t have the energy to do stuff, but that didn’t matter. Her old sparkle was there, and I knew that my friend was properly back at last.
Then, at last, the weekend of Linda’s wedding rolled along. Linda arrived at our house late on Thursday evening. As soon as I heard her car, I raced outside and hugged her until
she begged for mercy.
‘What’s all that for?’ she asked.
I couldn’t really tell Linda the truth – that while Alice was sick, I hadn’t been able to get properly excited about her wedding. I couldn’t explain that now, for the first time, I was really and truly looking forward to it.
So I giggled.
‘It’s just fun that you’re here. It’s fun that there’s going to be a wedding. It’s fun that I got totally cool new clothes.’
Linda raised one eyebrow.
‘Sheila bought you a new outfit?’ she asked.
I nodded happily.
‘I don’t often get the opportunity for new clothes, and I couldn’t waste it.’
Suddenly I noticed something.
‘Where’s Luka?’ I asked. ‘Did you forget to bring your bridegroom? You’ll need him on Saturday, you know.’
She laughed.
‘He’s staying with my friend Laura. You can see him tomorrow. How’s your mum doing?’
I rolled my eyes.
‘You know Mum,’ I said. ‘She’s taking this catering thing very seriously. She’s been baking since before dawn. I’m afraid to go in to the kitchen, in case I get crushed by a huge tray of sugar-free cakes or a bucket of fat-free muffins. At least I was out of the house until four o’clock. Poor Rosie wasn’t so lucky – she’s been hiding in her bedroom all afternoon.’
Linda laughed.
‘Poor Sheila,’ she said. ‘But it’s nice of her to go to all this trouble. Now help me with these bags, will you?’
* * *
In the morning, Mum was so busy baking that she even forgot to make my porridge. I decided to escape before she remembered.
I called for Alice so we could walk to school together.
‘Linda’s here,’ I said. ‘The wedding’s going to be sooo cool – well except for the food, but who cares about that?’
Alice giggled.
‘Oh, and Linda says you’re to come to the wedding, since she nearly became your stepmother last year,’ I added.
