When I got home, Mum was in the kitchen. I ran over and hugged her.
‘What was that for?’ she asked when I finally let her go.
‘For not running away when I was a baby,’ I said, feeling a bit stupid as the words came out.
Mum hugged me again, and when she let me go I could see tears in her eyes.
‘That poor girl,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything so sad.’
I shook my head.
‘Me neither.’
‘Are you going to see her tomorrow?’ asked Mum.
‘Yeah. She said she’ll call over in the morning.’
Mum smiled at me.
‘That’s good. It sounds like the poor thing needs a friend. It was nice of you to defend her against those other two girls this morning.’
‘Thanks, but I really wanted to be friends with them. Cathy and Lily seem much more like my type. They’re cool and fashionable, and I bet they like the same kind of stuff as I do.’
‘I understand where you’re coming from,’ said Mum. ‘Remember though, Victoria and Ella are cool and fashionable, but they’re also nice girls. This Cathy and Lily sound very mean to me. Better to stay well away from them.’
Then Mum went and rooted around in her handbag.
‘You showed great maturity today, Eva,’ she said. ‘So I think it’s time you got this back.’ As she spoke, she pulled out my phone.
I raced over and took it from her. I turned it over and over in my hands like it was a precious jewel. Then I pressed the ‘on’ button and watched as the screen lit up. Just as I was admiring my totally cool screensaver, the phone rang.
I answered the call and held the phone to my ear.
‘About time.’
It was Victoria, and even though it was only a few days since we’d hugged goodbye, it felt like hundreds of years had passed since then.
‘I’ve been trying to call you for ages,’ Victoria continued. ‘Did your parents confiscate your phone again?’
‘Yes,’ I replied.
‘What did you do this time?’ she asked.
I sighed.
‘It’s kind of a long story.’
‘You mean your mum’s listening.’
I giggled.
‘Exactly.’
Then I waved to Mum and walked out into the garden so Victoria and I could talk in peace.
Victoria laughed when I told her about the ‘kidnapped’ sign, and then she told me about the fun stuff she’d been doing since I had left.
‘So what have you been doing besides wasting police time?’ she asked after a while. ‘How are the holidays going?’
I hesitated.
I wanted to tell her about Kate, but didn’t know how, without making Kate sound totally weird.
‘It’s kind of boring,’ I said, ‘I haven’t really made any friends yet.’
‘Poor you,’ she said, not sounding as sympathetic as I had hoped.
Then she said, ‘But you haven’t asked why I’m ringing.’
‘Because I’m one of your best friends and you miss me and wanted to talk to me?’
She laughed. ‘That too, but it’s mostly because my Mum is going to visit an old school-friend tomorrow afternoon.’
‘And I care about that because?’ I said in the most bored voice I could manage.
‘Because Mum’s friend lives a few miles from where you are now, and Mum said that she’ll bring me with her, and I can hang out with you for a few hours until she has to go back again!’
I squealed and jumped up and down. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to see my friend. For the first time in days, I was going to see a real, live, normal friend.
Victoria laughed again. ‘Get over yourself,’ she said. ‘Or else I won’t come. Now my mum wants to talk to your mum so we can get directions to your place. And I’ll ring you tomorrow to tell you what time I’ll be there.’
I raced inside, gave the phone to Mum and minutes later it was all settled. I threw myself on to a couch and gave a big sigh of happiness.
Everything was perfect.
And then I had a horrible thought.
What was I going to do about Kate?
In the end, I was so desperate I decided to ask Mum for advice. She didn’t think it was a big deal.
‘Kate calls over, Victoria arrives, and you all hang out together for a few hours. I’m afraid I don’t see the problem,’ she said.
I felt like stamping my foot but didn’t dare. I didn’t want to give Mum a reason to take my phone back again.
‘You just don’t get it,’ I said. ‘Kate is totally different to Victoria. She wouldn’t like Victoria, and Victoria wouldn’t like her.’
Mum just smiled. ‘They both seem to like you,’ she said.
Now I risked a small stamp of my foot. ‘That’s so not the point. It just wouldn’t work. It would be a total disaster. It would ruin my only day with Victoria. It would ruin my holiday. It would ruin my whole life.’
Mum patted my shoulder. ‘I don’t think it’s as serious as all that,’ she said. ‘If you want my opinion—’
‘I don’t,’ I said crossly, but Mum ignored me and continued, ‘If you want my opinion, I think you should trust your friends to get on with each other.’
‘But….’
‘Remember when you first met Ruby?’ continued Mum. ‘She was a bit of a loner, but in the end she got on fine with all your other friends.’
‘That’s different,’ I said.
‘How?’
‘It just is.’
Mum sighed. ‘Well then, if you’re going to be like that, you’d better go and explain to Kate. You can’t have her come over here tomorrow and not invite her in. That would be too cruel. Think of something nice to say to her, and tell her you’ll see her the day after tomorrow. Now off you go, it’s nearly time for tea.’