Strawberry Sisters Read online

  ‘I’m so glad you’re back!’ I said, giving her a hug.

  She laughed. ‘I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I’m really glad to be here. Even though it’s school, I really missed everybody.’

  ‘Bet you didn’t miss Mr Champion and his lessons.’

  ‘Maybe I did. Maybe I secretly enjoy having someone with a ratty moustache tell me I’m an idiot while I try to operate a gigantic saw without chopping my fingers off.’

  ‘You are quite weird so you probably do.’

  ‘I’ll tell you who I did miss,’ she said in a low voice and jerked her head in the direction of the hallway.

  Cute Josh and his friends were walking past our classroom.

  Lauren and I tried to stare without looking like we were staring.

  ‘He’ll be in maths later,’ I said. ‘You should talk to him.’

  Lauren gave me her sceptical face. ‘Yeah, and you should tell Mr Champion that he smells of wet dog.’

  We cracked up.

  All morning we chatted and mucked about just like we always used to. It was brilliant.

  During maths, Lauren really did speak to Cute Josh because he sat behind us and he asked if he could borrow the ruler she was using, which was actually my ruler so it’s a shame it wasn’t in my hand when he asked, but Lauren acted very cool and just handed it over. When he gave it back, he said, ‘Thanks,’ and Lauren said, ‘That’s all right.’ When she turned back round in her seat, I silently pointed to the ruler. It must have been Lucy’s because it had a bright pink My Little Pony sticker on it.

  ‘CJ probably thinks you’re a big fan,’ I said under my breath.

  We spent the rest of the lesson trying to stifle our giggles.

  In drama, Lauren was very noble and didn’t even mention the fact that she was stuck playing the maid, which is the tiniest part. Instead, she wrote some helpful notes about costumes for us all. The whole thing was coming together really well. I even had to admit that Milly was doing quite a good job as the mother.

  ‘I definitely think that our group could be the best in the class,’ I said to Lauren afterwards, when we were queuing for lunch.

  She nodded. Other people might think I’m showing off when I say something like that, but Lauren knows that drama is my joint best subject and how much I want us to do well this term.

  ‘I’ll tell you what would be cool,’ she said, sliding her tray along to the sandwich section. ‘If Mrs Ling thought we were so good that she remembered us when it’s time to cast the musical next year.’

  In the summer, our school always does a big musical production, but you’re only allowed to audition for a main part once you’re in Year Nine, so this was our first year of having a chance at a leading role. It was so good to hear Lauren sounding enthusiastic about us getting involved in a school show again.

  ‘I hope she does,’ I said, putting my tray down on an empty table. ‘We’d be awesome in one of the big parts.’

  Lauren didn’t answer because she was flopping down into a cafeteria chair.

  ‘Are you OK?’ I asked. ‘Do you need some water?’

  ‘I’m all right. I’ve got some, thanks.’

  And she reached out for her bag.

  ‘I can get it,’ I said.

  ‘It’s fine.’

  But she looked like all the colour had been drained out of her face.

  ‘Shall I take you to the office?’ I asked.

  ‘No. I just need a drink.’

  She gulped down some water and took a few deep breaths. It didn’t make her look any less like a zombie.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t wa—’

  ‘Amelia! You’re starting to sound like my mum!’

  That shut me up. Eventually, Lauren started eating her sandwich so I did the same. I felt like I’d put my foot in it, even though I’d only wanted to help.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’d just rather talk about something else. Tell me about the other drama groups.’

  So I wittered on about what they were doing and then, when I’d run out of steam on that topic, I moved on to Olivia’s plans for a New Year’s Eve party. But I barely even knew what I was saying because all the time I was thinking about the fact that we had PE next lesson and I didn’t know how to tell Lauren that I really didn’t think she was up to it.

  ‘We’d better get moving,’ I said eventually. ‘Mrs Henderson seems to think that we all love PE so much that we should give up the last few minutes of lunch so that we’re ready to run around like idiots the second the bell goes.’

  ‘I’m not coming to PE,’ Lauren said.

  ‘Now I’ll have to face the hockey balls and the scorn of the sporty girls all by myself,’ I said, even though, really, I was relieved that Lauren wasn’t going to try and run around the hockey pitch in her condition. ‘Has your mum written you a note?’

  ‘No, I’m going home. Remember I told you that Iron Hair arranged for me to do half-days because of, you know . . .’ She looked away. ‘My chronic fatigue.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said. Of course I knew that things were going to be a bit different, but I hadn’t quite realised how different they’d be. ‘So you’re going home after lunch every day now?’ I asked.

  ‘Don’t look like that! At least I got to be here for the morning. And my mum didn’t even want me to stay for lunch but I managed to persuade her that it would fit in better with her shifts.’

  I tried really hard to stop looking like ‘that’, even though I didn’t know exactly what it was I’d been looking like. ‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘It’s great that you get to stay for lunch.’

  But really I was struggling to get my head around everything. I’d thought that now Lauren had a diagnosis things would get easier, and I’d know how best to support her, but I felt like I’d let her down twice in one lunch hour. I’d been too protective, yet I’d also underestimated how much Lauren’s condition was going to affect her school life.

  I tried to give Lauren my most reassuring smile.

  But I felt like an idiot.

  Ella stayed after school on Friday for a tutor captain meeting, which meant I had someone to walk to Dad’s with after my extra soloists’ rehearsal. For an eleven-year-old, Ella is a surprisingly good person to chat with. Maybe it’s because she lets me do most of the talking.

  ‘How’s Lauren?’ Ella asked.

  ‘Pretty good. She went home at lunchtime again. She missed maths.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ Ella said.

  I hoped that she was talking about the fact that I only had half a day with Lauren rather than thinking it was a shame that she’d missed maths. But Ella is so maths-crazy that you never know. Although actually, Lauren probably will be sorry that she missed this lesson because Cute Josh asked me where she was. Which seemed to suggest that he liked Lauren enough to notice when she wasn’t there. Although a tiny part of me was hoping that maybe he asked so that he’d have something to say to me.

  ‘Did you have a good rehearsal?’ Ella asked.

  ‘Uh-huh. Mr Garcia said we’d made a few millimetres’ progress since yesterday.’

  ‘Mr Garcia covered our lesson when Mr O’Brien was away. He got really cross. Isn’t it scary being alone with him?’

  I shrugged. ‘Not really. You shouldn’t be so afraid of teachers, Ella; they can’t eat you.’

  ‘No, but they can shout and tell you that you’ve done it all wrong and ask what on earth were you thinking and then twitch their upper lip with rage.’

  I laughed. ‘That does pretty much sum up Mr Garcia.’

  ‘Aren’t you upset when he tells you you’re messing it up?’

  ‘No. I need to know when I’m making mistakes.’

  ‘He could be a bit nicer about it.’

  Actually, I prefer Mr Garcia’s approach. I hate it when teachers don’t tell people they’re wrong and say things like ‘Good try’ when everyone knows it was a stupid answer. I like to know where I am. Mr Garcia doesn’t muck about.

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nbsp; ‘His bark’s worse than his bite,’ I said.

  Ella shuddered. ‘I think you’re very brave having rehearsals with him.’

  ‘They’re quite fun really and, whenever Mr Garcia says something mean, Bartek does an impression of him behind his back. You can’t be scared when you’re trying not to snort with laughter.’ I was planning on getting Bartek to do one of his impressions for Lauren; she was going to love it. ‘What was your meeting like?’ I asked.

  ‘It was very interesting. We’ve been thinking about how to make the school more energy efficient.’

  ‘Scintillating.’

  ‘Well, it is important. If the school sets a good example then we can encourage all the kids to be greener. I suggested that we organise a team t—’ She broke off mid-sentence with a jerk of the head. ‘Oh no!’

  ‘What’s the matter?’ I asked.

  ‘I’ve forgotten my swimming stuff.’

  We were all supposed to be going swimming with Dad the next morning.

  ‘I had it all ready in a bag by my bed and then Lucy knocked over the shampoo in the bathroom and I went to help her and I forgot all about it.’

  ‘Never mind,’ I said. ‘Just give Mum a ring and she can drop it over.’

  ‘But she’s going to the cinema with her book group.’ Ella looked at her watch. ‘She’ll need to leave soon if she’s going to the early showing.’

  ‘We can always get it tomorrow morning.’

  ‘But it’ll wake her up. She needs a lie-in.’

  I looked at Ella. It must be quite tiring being the worrying type. She was completely worked up about her silly swimming stuff. ‘Don’t panic,’ I said. ‘It’s not far out of our way and I’ve got my key.’

  ‘So we can get it now? You don’t mind?’

  I shrugged.

  ‘Thanks, Amelia!’

  Ella’s so funny. She looked genuinely relieved, as if not having her swimming things was a punishable offence. We backtracked a bit and cut across the park. When we got to our road, I could see a light on in the kitchen.

  ‘I don’t think she’s left yet,’ I said.

  I let us in and called, ‘Mum!’

  She came out of the kitchen and into the hallway looking a bit flustered. ‘Everything all right?’ she asked. ‘Why are you here and not at your dad’s?’

  ‘I forgot my swimming stuff an—’ Ella began.

  In the kitchen, there was the scrape of a chair as someone stood up.

  ‘Who’s here?’ Ella asked.

  I tried to look over Mum’s shoulder into the kitchen.

  Mum smiled. ‘Just one of my friends from book group. Come and meet him.’

  I followed Mum, but Ella didn’t move. She never likes meeting people. I grabbed her hand. ‘It’s fine,’ I whispered. ‘We don’t have to stay.’ She let me pull her into the kitchen.

  ‘Girls,’ Mum said. ‘This is Greg.’

  I just knew this must be the man she went to the pub with. He was on his feet, putting his coffee cup in the sink. I guessed he was a little older than Mum; his hair was going grey at the sides and he had those creasy lines around his eyes. He was wearing a checked shirt and chinos. He looked OK. Like a teacher when you go on a school trip and they look a bit weird in their casual clothes.

  ‘Hi,’ I said.

  ‘This is my eldest, Amelia,’ Mum said.

  ‘I’m the difficult one,’ I said.

  Mum tutted, but Greg laughed, which made me like him a bit more.

  I nudged Ella, but she didn’t say anything.

  ‘And this is Ella,’ I said. ‘She’s the quiet one.’

  Greg laughed again.

  ‘We just came back to get Ella’s swimming things,’ I explained. ‘We’re going swimming tomorrow.’ Then I couldn’t resist adding: ‘With our dad.’ I don’t mind Mum making new friends but for some reason I wanted him to know that we have got a dad. And that he takes us swimming.

  The wind whipped round the garden, sending a plastic flowerpot bowling across the patio. ‘I hope it’s an indoor pool!’ Greg said.

  I waited to see if Ella would say anything, but she didn’t so I said, ‘Yep. Nice and warm. And it’s got slides. We’ll probably have a hot chocolate afterwards, won’t we, Ella?’

  Ella just looked at me.

  ‘Good idea,’ Greg struggled on, but I could tell that he thought Ella was being weird. I thought she was being weird and she’s my sister.

  ‘Well,’ said Mum, putting an arm round Ella, ‘you’d better fetch your costume otherwise your dad and Suvi will be wondering where you’ve got to.’

  Ella shuffled out of the room with her eyes on the floor.

  ‘Do you want me to drop you over there?’ Mum asked.

  I shook my head. ‘You don’t need to. I’ll ring Suvi and tell her we’re on our way.’ I looked up at the clock. ‘Anyway, aren’t you going to be late for your film?’

  Mum reached for her bag. ‘We should really be making a move. We’re supposed to be meeting the others outside . . .’

  ‘We’ll be fine,’ I insisted. ‘We always walk to Dad’s, remember?’

  ‘Well, if you’re sure.’

  I took another sneaky look at Greg. He was studying our noticeboard and pretending not to listen. I wondered if he was cross with us for interrupting. He didn’t seem the cross type. That was good. If Mum had to date then I really wanted it to be someone nice and kind who wouldn’t scowl at us or frighten Ella. Mind you, despite the fact Greg looked like a geography teacher, Ella already did seem frightened. I heard her come back downstairs but she stopped in the middle of the hallway, clearly not planning on coming any closer.

  ‘Nice to meet you, Greg,’ I said. ‘Enjoy the film. See you Monday, Mum.’

  I had to take hold of Ella again to get her moving towards the door. Her face was pink.

  ‘Bye, girls,’ Mum said.

  ‘Bye,’ I said.

  Ella made a faint noise that might have been a goodbye and I pulled her out of the door.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ I asked as soon as we got to the end of the driveway.

  ‘Nothing,’ she said.

  ‘Ella, as soon as you saw that man, you froze like an icicle. Did you really feel that shy?’

  She looked down at the ground and then at the sky. ‘Maybe. I do get shy.’

  ‘I know, but you usually manage a hello. I hope Greg doesn’t think you were rude.’ Then she looked so upset that Mum’s check-shirted boyfriend might think she had no manners that I said, ‘It doesn’t matter; I don’t think he even noticed. He was too busy making kissy faces at Mum.’

  Ella looked like she might faint. ‘He wasn’t, was he?’

  Suddenly I missed Lauren. When I say outrageous things to her, she says something outrageous right back. Ella is way too sensitive for my sense of humour. ‘No,’ I admitted. ‘He didn’t. Don’t worry about it.’

  But, even though she didn’t say anything more about it, I’m not sure she took my advice.

  Dad woke us up crazy early to go swimming. I’m not kidding: it was still dark. I’m not a big fan of early mornings, especially at the weekend, but I dragged myself out of bed and into some clothes. When we got to the pool, I had to admit that it was worth the effort because we were almost the only people there. We didn’t have to queue for the slides or share the wave pool or anything.

  Eventually, Dad said that we’d better get going or Lucy would be late for ballet, so we headed for the changing rooms.

  ‘Are you going straight to rugby?’ I asked Chloe.

  ‘Yep,’ she grinned. ‘And it’s going to be awesome.’

  ‘What about you, Ella?’ I asked quickly, not wanting Chloe to get stuck on the subject of rugby. Ever since someone important at the rugby club rang her personally to say that they hoped she’d be signing up for the girls’ training sessions, she’d hardly spoken about anything else.

  ‘I’m going to the cinema with Crystal and Kayleigh and Ashandra later,’ Ella said.

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sp; I squeezed the water out of my hair. ‘Really? I thought after last time you wouldn’t want to spend any more time with Crystal.’

  ‘I just don’t want to go to her house because I don’t like being there when she’s horrible to her mum. The cinema will be fine. Ash and Kay will be there anyway.’

  I told Dad I was going to Lauren’s house and that I’d walk because I knew her mum insisted that she got extra sleep at the weekends and I thought if I strolled there slowly she’d have had plenty of time for a lie-in. But when I knocked on Lauren’s door and her mum opened it she said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Amelia, Lauren’s not here.’

  Which doesn’t sound like a particularly crazy thing for someone’s mum to say but for such a long time Lauren has only been at home (or school) so I couldn’t quite believe that she wasn’t there. I was pretty sure she hadn’t been anywhere since we went to the milkshake bar weeks ago. It seemed impossible that she could be out. Anybody else’s mum might have told me where she was. But Mrs Anderson didn’t say and I couldn’t bring myself to ask. In fact, she was clearly waiting for me to push off. ‘You hadn’t made plans, had you?’ she asked.

  ‘No.’ I’d not even thought to ring Lauren to say I was coming because I’d just assumed she’d be in. ‘No, it’s OK, I’ll call her later.’

  I didn’t know what to do with myself then. I thought about ringing Lauren now, but she obviously wasn’t interested in seeing me, otherwise she’d have let me know that she was up to going out today. So I rang Jasveen instead. She and Milly were in town so I decided to go and hang out with them.

  I caught the bus and took a seat at the front. I tried to put Lauren out of my mind, but I couldn’t help wondering where she was. I’d just managed to focus on what I was going to wear for the Christmas concert when, out of the window, I saw Lauren. She was sitting on the low wall that boys lean their bikes against outside KFC. Cute Josh was sitting next to her. My jaw dropped open. I turned my head to watch them as the bus sped past. What on earth? Why was Lauren with Josh? Was it a date? Did her mum know about this? Why didn’t I know about this?

  By the time I got off the bus, I was still in a daze. The image of the pair of them flashed into my mind. Lauren hadn’t looked tired at all. In fact, she’d been laughing. So had Josh. She hadn’t been to my house in ages, and couldn’t last a whole day at school, but now suddenly she had the energy to walk all the way to KFC and roll about laughing with Josh?