My Mum Tracy Beaker Read online

  When Mum left, I cried into my pillow. I burned all over, hating Sean Godfrey. I knew I seemed spoiled, but he was the one who had spoiled everything. I ended up thumping my pillow hard. If Miss Oliver had seen me she’d have said I had Anger Issues too.

  Or perhaps she wouldn’t. Miss Oliver seemed surprisingly understanding nowadays when people at school treated me so differently. All the girls in my class wanted to be my best friend, especially Aleysha Roberts, and the boys wanted to be my mate. In fact, Piotr asked me if I’d be his girlfriend!

  ‘Shove off out of it,’ said Tyrone. ‘Jess is my girlfriend.’

  ‘No I’m not! I’m not anyone’s girlfriend!’ I insisted.

  ‘Yes, but if you were you’d choose me, wouldn’t you, because we’ve been mates for ages, since before you met Sean Godfrey,’ said Tyrone. ‘When can I come and meet him again, eh?’

  ‘This Saturday,’ I said. I knew that Tyrone’s mum wouldn’t bring him so I said we’d come and pick him up.

  ‘You promise?’ he said.

  ‘Promise.’

  ‘You’re not having me on?’

  ‘No, I said. I promise promise promise.’

  ‘Wow! Hey, you lot, listen!’ Tyrone went rushing all round the playground stopping every child to tell them he was going to Sean Godfrey’s house.

  They all started begging for an invitation too. It was all a bit much. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I couldn’t have the entire school to tea.

  Luckily Miss Oliver was on playground duty. She came over and tapped me on the shoulder. ‘Can I have a word, Jess?’

  The children melted away.

  ‘Let’s go to the Peace Garden. It looks as if you could do with a bit of peace!’ said Miss Oliver.

  I nodded. I hadn’t been to the Peace Garden for ages. Miss Oliver and I sat on the little wooden bench and listened to the trickle of the fountain.

  ‘It’s lovely here, isn’t it?’ she said.

  ‘I used to hide here,’ I said shyly. ‘I was scared of Tyrone then.’

  ‘But then you made his nose bleed!’ said Miss Oliver.

  ‘It was an accident!’

  ‘I know. I bet you never thought you’d end up friends.’

  ‘I never thought a lot of things,’ I said, sighing.

  Miss Oliver looked at me carefully. ‘How’s life now then?’

  ‘I’ve got a dog!’

  ‘Yes, I’ve seen him when your mum picks you up from school in her amazing car. He looks like a lovely dog,’ said Miss Oliver.

  ‘He’s called Alfie. He’s the best dog in all the world. I’m ever so lucky,’ I told her.

  ‘I know you are. Dogs are wonderful companions.’

  ‘Alfie’s my best friend,’ I said. ‘Actually, everyone wants to be my best friend these days.’

  ‘Everyone thinks you’re ever so lucky because you and your mum are living with a famous footballer. Even the staff are in awe!’

  I snorted. ‘They don’t know what he’s like,’ I mumbled.

  Miss Oliver was suddenly on red alert. ‘Isn’t he kind to you then?’ she asked.

  It was tremendously tempting to tell a story and say he was really mean and horrible to me. Then Miss Oliver would be sorry for me and it would be bliss. But she might report it and talk to Mum, and Sean Godfrey might get into trouble, and I certainly would.

  ‘He’s OK,’ I said reluctantly. ‘He’s kind to me, I suppose. Yesterday he took me to Chessington World of Adventures and bought me a wolf.’

  ‘From the zoo?’ Miss Oliver asked, startled.

  ‘Not a real wolf, a toy one. He’s forever buying things. He bought Mum that pink Cadillac, just like she wanted, and a big flashy diamond ring.’

  ‘Goodness. And your mum’s happy?’

  ‘Yes. Ever so.’

  ‘But you’re not?’

  ‘Well. I am sometimes. But I don’t like living in that huge house. I like Rosalie – she does the housework and the cooking – and I like the swimming pool, but it’s not like home,’ I said. ‘I wish we could go back to our old flat, but Mum’s going to tell the council we don’t need it any more.’

  ‘I can see that your whole life’s been turned upside down, Jess. Even at school,’ said Miss Oliver.

  ‘And that’s another thing,’ I wailed. ‘Mum wants me to go to a posh school now, like my friends Ava and Alice.’

  ‘Oh dear. Yes, I suppose she would.’

  ‘But I don’t want to.’

  ‘Well, I shall miss you if you change schools. You’ve been a joy to teach, Jess,’ said Miss Oliver.

  I was taken aback. Miss Oliver often told me off, and she didn’t always give me top marks for my work, and Mum had shouted at her. I hadn’t always been sure that I liked Miss Oliver, but now I was totally certain.

  ‘I shall miss you too, Miss Oliver. Ever so,’ I said fervently.

  WE PICKED TYRONE up after lunch on Saturday. It was so strange being back on the Duke Estate. We’d only been living at Sean Godfrey’s for a few weeks but it already seemed a lifetime.

  ‘Dear goodness, it’s a right old dump here, isn’t it?’ said Mum, looking around at the abandoned mattress and the burned-out car and the mess of paper and boxes strewn everywhere from the chippy and the Chinese and the KFC.

  I could see that Sean Godfrey agreed, but I was peering up at the windows of the fourteenth floor of Marlborough Tower. There was our living-room window with the velvet curtains and the mother-and-baby china dogs walking along the windowsill. Well, I couldn’t actually see the ornaments, but I knew they were there.

  ‘Mum, can we go and get the china dogs?’ I asked urgently. ‘And the balloon ladies and the birds and the teddy bear’s picnic and—?’

  ‘Oh, Jess,’ said Mum, but I could see that she was missing them dreadfully too. ‘Well, we could take the china dogs – and you could have the teddy bear’s picnic in your bedroom. Hang on, let’s see if I’ve got the door key in my bag.’

  ‘No!’ said Sean Godfrey, snapping her bag shut again. The cheek of it! ‘For God’s sake, I thought we agreed. You don’t need any of that old junk. We’ll get you some brand-new ornaments if you’re desperate to clutter up the house.’

  ‘Yes, but I think Jess really wants some of our old stuff,’ said Mum.

  ‘Don’t let’s start an argument now. We’re late as it is. We’d better find this kid Tyrone. Where does he live?’

  I thought I’d somehow have to summon up the courage to go into Devonshire Tower and walk along the balcony and knock on the door and face the scary mum, but Tyrone was waiting for us downstairs.

  ‘There you are!’ he yelled, charging up to the car. ‘I’ve been waiting ages. I was sure you weren’t coming. I didn’t think you’d really come for me, Sean Godfrey!’

  ‘Call me Sean. Hop in, son,’ he said.

  Tyrone got in the back of the car with me. ‘Sean Godfrey just called me son!’ he mouthed.

  It didn’t seem like such a big deal to me. I’d have absolutely hated it if Sean Godfrey had called me daughter. But Tyrone was over the moon. When we got to the house he was over the stars as well. We took him on a tour, and he walked on tiptoe across the pale rugs, though I saw he’d tried to scrub his ancient trainers clean. He went into the glass extension and circled the swimming pool in awe, but shook his head determinedly when Sean Godfrey invited him to try it out.

  ‘Ain’t got no swimming gear,’ he said.

  ‘I’ll fix you up. I’ve got some shorts that will do you.’

  Tyrone still shook his head.

  ‘Can’t you swim, Tyrone?’ I asked.

  ‘Course I can. Right to the end and back, easy-peasy. Don’t even mind going out of my depth,’ he boasted, but he’d gone red.

  ‘I bet you’re more of a football guy,’ said Sean Godfrey. ‘Fancy a kick-around? We’ll let the ladies have a little splash in the pool while us guys have fun.’

  I decided I might like him a little bit