Best Friends Read online

  'Well, Alice is in Scotland now. They'll be in their new house already, I expect.'

  'And I'm stuck here,' I said, as we went up our garden path.

  'I know you're feeling miserable just now but I promise you, Gemma, you'll make new friends.

  You've got other friends at school. I was wondering, perhaps you could invite one or two for tea sometime?'

  'I don't want anyone to tea.'

  'What about that odd boy with the grin? The one who ate up all the trifle at your party? And the ice cream and the chocolate cake and every single sausage on a stick?'

  'I especially don't want Biscuits.'

  'Oh well. I'm only trying to help. You feel sad now but I promise you'll have forgotten all about 95

  Alice in a few weeks' time.'

  I stared at Mum. There wasn't any point in saying anything at all. It was like we were on totally different planets. She didn't understand at all.

  She was doing her best to be kind to me though, even though I was officially in Total Disgrace.

  'You didn't end up eating very much yesterday one way or another – through your own fault, of course. But anyway, I thought we could make up for it today. I'll cook your favourite spaghetti bolognese.'

  'Oh. Well. Thanks, Mum,' I said.

  I remembered the last time I ate spaghetti bolognese. Maybe I didn't really fancy it today. I didn't feel very hungry at all. The two and a half cream cakes in my tummy were taking up rather a lot of room.

  'I've got a special pudding too,' said Mum.

  'I know how much you love cake. I went to the patisserie in my lunch hour and bought a big chocolate cream gateau.'

  I swallowed. 'Mum, the thing is, I'm really not desperately starving hungry,' I said.

  'Don't give me that, Gemma. You're always hungry, no matter what.' Mum suddenly frowned.

  'Grandad hasn't given you anything to eat, has he?'

  'No, nothing, honestly,' I said.

  I hoped that by the time Mum had the spag bol 96

  cooked I really would feel hungry. I even ran laps in the garden to work up an appetite. It didn't work.

  I just felt sick and dizzy.

  'What are you up to, sweetheart?' said Dad, coming out the back door. 'I was watching you through the window running round and round the garden. Hey, remember that game I used to play with you when you were tiny? Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear—'

  'One step, two step, and a tickly under there,' I said, tickling under my own chin. 'Only I'm not really ticklish, only under my feet. It's Alice who's terribly ticklish.'

  'I'll say! She'd squeal and go all helpless if I even pretended to tickle her,' said Dad. He put his arm round me. 'I'm going to miss her too, Gemma. She's been like another daughter to me, bless her. I can't say I'll miss her folks so much. They always seemed a bit stuck up, if you ask me.'

  'Especially her mum.' I stuck my chin in the air, patted my imaginary expensive hairdo, and tried out a silly, snooty-pops voice. 'Yes, we're moving to this fabulous new house because my Bob's got this fantastic job opportunity, and we'll have a brand-new fitted kitchen with an oven here and a hob there, and here a hob, there a hob, everywhere a hob-nob, and we all have our own private bathroom suite with a power shower like Niagara Falls, and our Alice 97

  will have a whole pack of ponies, and all her posh little riding chums will come and stay with her and she'll like them and make a new best friend—'

  Dad stopped chuckling. 'You're always going to be Alice's best friend, you know that,' he said, ruffling my hair. Then he felt in his pocket and found a Yorkie bar.

  'Here. Pop that in your mouth – and don't tell your mum!'

  I was feeling a bit queasy. I hoped the chocolate might settle my stomach. I wasn't so sure this was a good idea but I didn't want to hurt Dad's feelings.

  It tasted fine at first, just ordinary delicious creamy milk chocolate. Then it got a bit too choco-latey. I felt as if I had a mouthful of oozy chocolate mud. I had a hard time swallowing it down.

  'Thanks, Dad. That was totally yummy,' I mumbled, my teeth still stuck together. I remembered last Easter when I had five big chocolate Easter eggs and twelve little ones. Biscuits bet me I couldn't eat them all in one go. I insisted I could.

  I was mistaken.

  My tummy started churning unpleasantly at the memory. I decided to go indoors. Perhaps I'd feel a bit better if I had a little flop on my bed.

  Callum was just coming in the front door. He had something in his hand, holding it behind his back as he walked past the kitchen door, obviously not 98

  wanting Mum to spot it. I nodded wanly at him and trudged upstairs. The smell of the bolognese sauce was making me feel a lot worse.

  'Hey, Gem! Hang on a tick.' Callum bounded up the stairs after me. 'How are you feeling, little sis?'

  'Not great,' I mumbled.

  'Yeah, I thought as much,' Callum said sympathetically. 'Well, this should cheer you up.' He produced a giant whippy ice cream with strawberry sauce and two ninety-nine chocolate flakes.

  'Oh!' I gasped.

  'Ssh! Don't let Mum hear. You know what she's like about eating before meals. Though I don't know why she fusses so. You never ever lose your appetite.'

  'Maybe – maybe just this once – I'm not all that hungry, actually,' I said, clutching my tummy. 'Could I maybe eat it later, Callum?'

  'But it's starting to drip a bit already. Go on, Gem, eat it up,' said Callum.

  So I did. I licked the strawberry sauce, swallowed the ice cream and nibbled my way along both chocolate flakes. I even crunched up the cone. Callum cheered me on all the while.

  'That's my little sis,' he said.

  I staggered to my bedroom and lay on my bed, clutching my tummy.

  99

  At least it was a distraction from the misery of missing Alice. I missed her sooooo much.

  The smell of spaghetti bolognese got stronger and stronger and stronger.

  'Where are you, Gemma?' Mum called. 'Tea time!'

  I sat up very slowly. I took a deep breath. I trailed downstairs. Mum had set the table properly with her best embroidered tablecloth and the rosy plates she usually kept for visitors. The spaghetti bolognese steamed in its special big blue dish. The chocolate gateau was there too, gleaming on the glass cake plate, oozing cream.

  Everyone was sitting up at the table, even Jack.

  They all smiled at me encouragingly.

  'Sit yourself down, dear,' said Mum. 'Right. Let's get you served first.'

  She put an extra huge portion of spaghetti bolognese on my plate. I looked at the glistening brown meat sauce and the writhing worms of the spaghetti.

  I opened my mouth. And then suddenly I was violently sick – on the spaghetti

  bolognese, the chocolate

  gateau, the rosy plates,

  the embroidered table-

  cloth and my own lap.

  Nine

  Iwas sent to bed in disgrace. It looked like I was going to take up permanent residence in my bedroom. I'd grow white and wasted, stuck in a horizontal position for ever, with only the ceiling to stare at.

  I'd be the Girl-in-the-Bedroom, not properly part of the family. Mum and Dad and Callum and Jack would forget all about me. Alice would forget me too. But I'd never ever ever forget her.

  I sat up and found my school bag. I inked ALICE

  IS MY BEST FRIEND FOR EVER all over the cover of my rough book. I wrote it on my book

  review book and then I opened it up and wrote a review about a book

  called Best Friends. I'd never read a book called Best Friends.

  I didn't know if one even
  existed. If Mrs Watson

  queried it I'd tell her

  I borrowed it from the library.

  101

  I'd made up books before. It was more fun review-ing pretendy books than real ones. I once wrote about a book called One Hundred and One Chocolate Bars. I described as many as I could, all total inven-tion. Bisc