Five days later, Grace, Alice and I were sitting in the back of a shiny white minibus. In the seat in front of us were Grace’s parents, Lorna and Eddie, and her big brother Gavin. Everyone except Gavin was chatting and laughing. All through the journey he’d been staring at his phone and looking like he was going to burst into tears. I felt sorry for him, and wondered why he was so sad.
Already, we’d passed tons of beaches, a volcano, a camel farm and all kinds of cool stuff. The others might have been tired of me saying ‘Omigod!’ over and over again, but I couldn’t help it. This was the best place ever.
Soon we stopped at a huge red gate. There was a big sign on the pillar – Sunset Beach Villas.
‘Here we are,’ said Lorna, turning back and smiling at us. ‘Home, sweet home.’
‘Omigod,’ I whispered. Everyone except Gavin laughed, and even he smiled a bit.
The minibus driver, José, leaned out through the minibus window and typed a code into a panel at the side of the gate. A second later, the gate swung open and we drove through, following a wide, curvy road. I stared out the window, all buzzy with excitement, as we passed rows of shiny white villas, and a kiddies playground and a few really fancy-looking restaurants.
‘There’s the communal pool,’ said Grace, pointing at the biggest swimming pool I’d ever seen. ‘And the crazy golf course is just down there past the trees. We go to the communal pool sometimes, but most days we just hang out at our own pool.’
At last I was speechless. I couldn’t even say ‘Omigod’ any more. This had to be the best place in the whole wide world.
We went past the pool, and through some trees. Then José drove down a narrow road, up a hill, and past more trees.
‘Where are we going?’ wailed Alice. ‘I liked that place. Why are we leaving already?’
Eddie turned around and laughed. ‘Our house is just up here,’ he said. ‘It’s all on its own. It’s nice and private and far from all the action.’
‘Boring,’ said Grace, rolling her eyes.
‘We like it that way,’ said Eddie. ‘But if it’s not exciting enough for you girls, you can go to the communal pool or the crazy golf whenever you want. In fact, as long as you stay within the complex, you can safely go pretty much wherever you like.’
By now, we were pulling up outside a huge white villa. Everyone climbed out of the minibus. José helped to unload the bags and then he drove away.
We stood on the terrace and looked around. The air was warm and there was a smell of flowers and sea and holidays. In front of us, the swimming pool was all cool and sparkly.
‘It’s that time again,’ said Lorna, smiling at us.
‘What time?’ asked Alice.
Instead of answering, Grace smiled too. ‘Put your phones on the table,’ she said.
I didn’t like where this was going. Were Grace’s parents going to take our phones from us? Even though I had hardly any credit, and I was only supposed to use my phone to talk to Mum and Dad every night, I didn’t like the idea of being parted from it.
‘But …’ began Alice.
‘Just do it,’ said Grace. ‘It’s tradition. We do this every time we have new visitors to our house.’
It sounded kind of weird, but I guessed if I didn’t go along with Grace’s family’s tradition, I might never be asked to go on holidays with them again. I soooo didn’t like the idea of that, so I copied everyone else. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and put it on the table. Lorna took off her expensive-looking jacket, and put it over a chair. Eddie and Gavin took off their watches.
‘Now take off your shoes and stand at the edge of the pool,’ said Grace. ‘Over here, next to me.’
At last I thought I could see where this was going. We had our clothes on, but no one seemed to care. This was all mad and crazy and fun.
‘One, two…..’ said Eddie.
As he said ‘three’ everyone jumped in to the pool. I hesitated for a second, but Grace grabbed me and pulled me in with her. I just had time to take a breath before the beautiful cool water wrapped itself around me. We all came to the surface together, and everyone was splashing and laughing, even Gavin.
‘Welcome to Lanzarote,’ said Lorna.
I wiped the water from my face. ‘Omigod,’ I said. ‘I totally love this place. Omigod.’
* * *
‘Come on,’ said Grace when we’d dried off a bit. ‘I want to show you our room. We’ve got the best one, right at the top of the house.’
We followed her into a cool marble hall, and up two flights of polished wooden stairs.
‘Ta-da,’ said Grace as she flung the bedroom door open.
‘Wow!’ said Alice and I together.
It was the most amazing room I’d ever been in. It was like something out of a movie. Every surface was white and shiny. There were three beds, all covered with snowy white sheets. The huge windows were open and floaty white curtains fluttered in the breeze.
‘There’s even a balcony,’ said Alice, stepping through the doorway. ‘If Romeo shows up, I’m totally ready.’
I followed her onto the balcony and leaned on the railings. Far away, over the trees, I could see the sea sparkling in the sunshine. The balcony was huge and there was a big swinging couch at one end. I threw myself onto the couch, and closed my eyes. I thought that maybe I’d be very happy to spend the entire holiday lying there, swaying gently in the breeze.
Alice had gone back inside though, and a second later I heard a loud screech.
‘OMG, Megan. Come here. Quickly.’
I jumped up and ran inside, afraid that something terrible had happened.
‘What is it, Alice?’ I asked. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘OMG,’ she said again. ‘Have you ever seen a bathroom as big as this?’
* * *
When Alice and I had finished admiring everything, the three of us unpacked. Then we lay on the beds and looked at the ceiling fan circling slowly over our heads.
‘No offence, Grace,’ said Alice after a while. ‘But your brother isn’t the happiest guy I’ve ever met in my life.’
Grace sighed. ‘He’s not always like that,’ she said. ‘Usually he’s great fun, but his girlfriend broke up with him and he’s kind of gone to pieces.’
‘The poor boy,’ I said. ‘That’s so sad.’
Grace rolled her eyes. ‘It’s been nearly two weeks,’ she said. ‘He should be over it by now, and anyway, he had a lucky escape. His girlfriend, Leah, was a total witch.’
I laughed. ‘Why?’
‘Well she always called me “kiddo”, for one thing, like she was all grown up, and I was just a baby. And she called him “Gavvy”, which is just pathetic. And when she was around, Gavin was different – like everything he did had to please her. She made him cut his hair, and she tried to scare away his friends.’
‘That’s evil,’ said Alice. ‘Everyone needs friends.’
‘I agree,’ said Grace. ‘But I haven’t got to the worst part yet. You see, it’s not the first time Leah’s broken up with Gavin. She’s done it at least three times before. Each time, just as he’s starting to get over it, she bounces back into his life and messes him up all over again.’
‘Ouch,’ I said. ‘She sounds kind of mean all right. Pity he’s so sad though.’
Grace sighed. ‘He’s a mess. I bet he’s in his room right now, listening to sad songs, and looking at pictures of Leah on Facebook. That girl is so totally mean. Every time they break up, she posts pictures of herself hanging out with other guys and having a great time at parties. Gav can’t help looking at the pictures and then he gets really upset.’
Alice sat up suddenly. Her eyes were all bright and sparkly. ‘That’s not healthy,’ she said. ‘We’ve got to fix him. We’ve got to help him to get over the witch lady.’
‘Gavin’s nineteen,’ said Grace. ‘He’s grown-up. He doesn’t need us to help him.’
I smiled to myself. Grace doesn’t know my best friend as well as I do. Alice had that dangerous look in her eyes, and she was on a mission. Nothing was going to stop her now.