Next morning, Mum handed me five euro. ‘Here, Eva,’ she said. ‘Go and do your magic in the market again.’
I put the money into my pocket, and grabbed my hoodie.
‘I might be a while,’ I said. ‘I might meet up with some of my friends.’
‘No problem,’ said Mum. ‘Just be home in time for lunch.’
Once again, there was a big crowd around Ruby’s stall.
Who ever would have thought that potatoes and carrots and onions would be so popular?
Without saying anything, I slipped behind the stall, and took my place beside Ruby. She glanced at me but didn’t say anything. She didn’t smile either, but her face didn’t look quite as closed and suspicious as usual. I decided to take that as a good sign.
We quickly fell in to a routine. I weighed and packed the fruit and vegetables, while Ruby took the money and gave the change.
‘Uh-oh,’ said Ruby after a while.
I looked up to see Mamie advancing towards us.
‘She doesn’t look happy,’ I said, suddenly feeling guilty about the bad apple I’d given her the week before.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Ruby. ‘She never looks happy,’
Mamie pointed a bony finger in my face.
‘You gave me a bad apple last week,’ she said.
I smiled my best innocent smile.
‘I wasn’t here last week. It must have been my identical twin sister. She’s very naughty. How about I make it up to you by giving you a special deal on bananas?’
She narrowed her eyes.
‘Seven for a euro, ‘I said, looking her straight in the eye. ‘This is a special deal, just for you. I swear to you, no one else has got bananas at this price today.’
I wasn’t telling a lie. It was a deal specially for Mamie. You see, Ruby’s uncle had ordered extra bananas by mistake. We had to get rid of them before they went bad, so all that morning we’d been selling nine for a euro.
Mamie had a cunning look on her face.
‘How about eight for a euro?’ she said in a pathetic, whiny voice.
I gave a big theatrical sigh.
‘You drive a very hard bargain,’ I said.
Mamie smiled, showing a mouthful of rotten brown teeth.
‘I know,’ she said happily, as she paid for her bananas and went on her way.
The man from the stall next door came over.
‘You’re better than a pantomime,’ he said. ‘This is for you!’
He handed me a small paper-wrapped bundle. I half opened it to see a small chunk of crumbly cheese with blue lines running through it. The strong smell attacked my nostrils at once.
‘Thank you,’ I said, turning and putting it safely into my handbag.
My handbag would smell of stinky socks for weeks, but I knew it would be worth it to see Dad’s face when I gave him a present of his favourite cheese.
Hanging around the market was turning out to have lots of unexpected advantages.
The morning passed very quickly, and before I knew it, Ruby and I were once again packing up the stall for the day.
‘Do you want some fruit?’ asked Ruby.
‘Oh, yes, please,’ I said fishing in my pocket for the five euro, and handing it to her.
She waved the money away. ‘You’ve helped me,’ she said. ‘I can’t take your money.’
‘But––’ I began.
‘No,’ she said, almost fiercely. ‘I can’t take your money. I should be paying you for all the work you’ve done this morning, but I can’t afford to. So at least let me give you some stuff.’
I put my hand on her arm. ‘It’s OK, Ruby,’ I said. ‘I don’t mind helping, and I don’t have anything else to do on Saturday mornings.’
Now that I can’t afford to go to pony club any more.
Ruby pulled her arm away.
‘It’s easy for you,’ she said. ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be poor.’
Ha.
I hadn’t a whole lot of experience in the past, but I was learning quickly.
Then I looked closer at Ruby. Her clothes were cheap and old-fashioned. I wouldn’t be buying new clothes any time soon, but my old ones were a whole lot nicer than anything I’d ever seen Ruby wear.
By now Ruby had filled a huge bag with fruit and vegetables. I knew this wasn’t a time for arguing, so I put my money back into my pocket, and took the bag from her.
‘So can I help you again next Saturday?’ I asked.
She looked up, and her hair fell back from her face, giving me a rare look at her huge brown eyes.
‘If you want to.’
I nodded.
‘I do want to.’
‘Thanks,’ she said, and as she turned away, I thought I could see the tiniest hint of a smile on her face.
I thought I was getting used to my new life, but that all changed when I went to visit Victoria at her place the next day.
She led me through the huge hallway, where I walked extra slowly so I could enjoy the beautiful smell from the big bowl of lilies on the hall table.
The carpet on the stairs was so thick, that I could feel my feet sinking in to it. If Victoria hadn’t been right in front of me, I think I’d have bent down and rubbed my hands all over its rich softness.
I’d always liked Victoria’s bedroom, but now it seemed even nicer than before. One wall was painted in swirls of bright pink and purple, and her bed was covered with a huge heap of matching fluffy cushions. Her wardrobes were painted white, with cute heart-shaped handles. I didn’t need to look inside to know that they were full of all the clothes she’d bought on her recent trip to London with her parents.
I wanted to live like this.
I deserved to live like this.
And I was still being nice.
I was helping loads of people.
I was helping Ruby.
So why weren’t Madam Margarita’s words coming true?
Why wasn’t I back where I belonged?
Why wasn’t I back in my real life?
I sat on Victoria’s bright pink inflatable chair, and she threw herself on to the fluffy purple rug.
‘How was pony club?’ I asked.
‘OK,’ she said cautiously, like owning up to enjoying it would have been a crime.
‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘Just because I can’t go, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.’
She smiled at me gratefully. ‘So what did you do yesterday?’ she asked.
‘I went to the market and spent the morning helping a girl from my class to sell fruit and vegetables,’ I said.
‘Yeah right,’ she said laughing. ‘But really, what did you do?’
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t blame Victoria for not believing me about the market. After all, if someone had told me a few months earlier how my life would have changed, I wouldn’t have believed them either.
Only trouble was – it was all too true.
But some things are much too complicated to explain.
So I just shrugged and said, ‘Not much really.’