Next morning, Alice called over while I was still in my pyjamas. Mum let her in, and she came to my room and sat on the bed. She didn’t say anything. When Alice was quiet i t was usually time to get worried. I looked at her carefully.
‘Everything OK?’ I asked.
She shrugged.
‘S’pose so.’
‘Yesterday was great, wasn’t it?’ I said.
‘And didn’t Melissa look totally stupid in that dress?’
‘S’pose so.’
‘And what about that crazy hairdo she had? Bet it didn’t last the whole day.’
‘S’pose so.’
I waited, but Alice didn’t seem to have anything else to say.
I grabbed my clothes and went to take a shower. When I came back, a few minutes later, Alice was still sitting in the same place. I was starting to feel nervous, so I tried again to make conversation.
‘Remember when you hid in this room that time last year, to try to make your mum come back to Limerick? That was really funny, wasn’t it? I can’t believe you stayed in here for so long …’
Alice nodded, but she didn’t laugh like she usually did.
I sat beside her, and shook her arm.
‘Come on, Al,’ I said. ‘It’s me – Megan. Tell me. What’s going on?’
Alice gave a big, long sigh.
‘It’s Mum and Dad.’
I shouldn’t really have been surprised. Since Veronica and Peter had split up, Alice had been really mixed up. It had been stupid of me to think that everything was all right, just because Alice was back living in Limerick again.
‘What about your mum and dad?’ I asked.
‘Well, remember I told you before that I knew they’d never get back together?’
I nodded, and she continued,
‘I’ve changed my mind. I think maybe they could get together again. It’s stupid for them to go on living like this.’
I wasn’t sure what to say to this, so Alice kept talking,
‘You were there yesterday – you saw them. They were like best friends.’
This wasn’t really true. What really happened was that for the first time in years, they hadn’t sounded like total enemies. I knew I couldn’t say that to Alice though, so I said nothing.
Alice sat in silence for a minute then she jumped up as if we hadn’t just had that conversation.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Let’s play Swingball. Best of five games. Bet I beat you.’
I got up and followed her into the garden, glad that the awkward moment had passed, and that Alice was back to her normal self.
Once again, I should have known better.
The first sign of something strange going on was that I actually beat Alice at Swingball, something I hadn’t done since the time we were six years old and Alice was playing with a broken right arm. I was glad I had won, but it didn’t feel right somehow – like Alice hadn’t really been trying.
We went and sat in Rosie’s playhouse. Alice grabbed my arm, and said, ‘Megan,’ in a real breathless kind of way. I looked at her, and saw a funny glint in her eye. It was the old glint that always made me very scared. The glint that meant she was plotting and scheming again. The glint that always led to trouble in the end.
I knew there was nothing I could do.
‘What?’ I said, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt.
Alice grinned at me.
‘I think it’s time Dad got a girlfriend.’
Hello?
Where had that come from?
Maybe I hadn’t heard her properly.
‘Pardon?’
She spoke slowly and clearly.
‘I said, I think it’s time Dad got a girlfriend.’
I wondered if she’d hit her head with the Swingball bat or something.
I folded my arms and looked her in the eye, and tried not to notice the funny glint.
‘Alice O’Rourke,’ I said. ‘What are you on? When you thought your mum had a boyfriend you nearly lost it. And a few minutes ago you said you thought your parents should get back together, so why on earth do you think your dad should get a girlfriend?’
She grinned at me.
‘You’re a clever girl, Megan. You’re so clever you can do long multiplication without a calculator. You go figure it out.’
I tried to figure it out. Really I did. But it was hard to think straight because all I knew for sure was that Alice was up to something, and that, before too long I was going to find myself right up to my neck in her crazy plan.
After a minute I looked up at her.
‘I give up. This i s harder than long multiplication. This is even harder than long division. You’re going to have to tell me – why should your dad get a girlfriend?’
Alice smiled at me
‘Because it would make Mum jealous.’
I still didn’t understand.
Alice continued,
‘You know what Dad’s like. He’s always there. Always available. He’s like an old pair of jeans that you’re comfortable in, but don’t think about very much. If Dad suddenly got interested in someone else, it might make Mum pay a bit more attention to him. She might realise that leaving him was a mistake after all.’
I put my hands over my face. It did make sense – in a crazy kind of way. I didn’t want to admit this to Alice, though. I didn’t want to encourage her. I tried to sound casual.
‘Even if a girlfriend for your dad was a good idea. Where do you think this girlfriend is going to come from? Girlfriends don’t grow on trees you know. And last time I checked you couldn’t buy them on eBay.’
Alice sighed.
‘Ha, ha! Very funny. Not. Know what, Megan? You always make everything sound difficult.’
I laughed.
‘That’s only because you make everything sound so easy.’
I was glad to see that she grinned back at me. Maybe there was hope for her yet.
Just then Mum called from the back door.
‘Megan, Alice, come on in. I’ve made you some delicious carrot and apple juice.’
Alice and I made faces at each other and got up to go inside. I knew the matter wasn’t finished with though.
I knew that Alice was just revving up for another one of her crazy plans.