“I don’t believe it. This is so unfair!”
“Jools,” Valery warned her daughter calmly, “you brought this on yourself. You’re not to see Adesh Patel any more. Do you understand? Wait! Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you dare to walk away from me, Julia–”
Jools, already halfway up the stairs, whirled around to face her mother. “No, Mum, you listen to me. You can’t ground me for the rest of the summer. I’m not twelve any more – I start university in a few more months.”
“Then stop acting like a bolshie little shit,” her mother snapped, “and at least try to show a bit of maturity.”
“I might be immature,” Jools said, her fists clenched at her sides, “but at least I’m not a…a racist git!” She cast her mother a last, venomous glance and stormed up the remaining stairs.
“Jools! Get back down here at once!”
Someone rang the doorbell. Valery heard her daughter’s bedroom door slam, the sound echoing angrily through the house, and she scowled and went to answer the door.
“Jack,” she said as she saw him standing on the doorstep. “I didn’t think to see you again so soon. You caught me at a bad time, I’m afraid.” She held the door wider and beckoned him in.
“Yes, I heard shouting. Everything all right?”
“Couldn’t be better,” she retorted. “Jools and I failed to reach a consensus as to a suitable punishment.”
“Punishment?” Jack echoed, puzzled. “But she’s done nothing wrong, surely?”
“Ah, now that’s the bone of contention.” She led him into the sitting room. “Tea?”
“No, thanks. Tell me about Jools,” Jack said, and leaned forward. “Why are you punishing her? She was kidnapped, for God’s sake.”
“Yes. And she was kidnapped,” Valery pointed out with icy calm, “because she was with that bloody boy, Adesh. I forbid her to see him; she knew that. But she defied me, as she always does, and broke her curfew to go out with him anyway.”
“At least she’s home safe.” Jack frowned. “I know she disobeyed you, Valery, but the more you forbid her to see this boy, the more determined she’ll be to defy you.”
“Yes, it’s all very Romeo and Juliet, isn’t it?” Valery said, her words acerbic. “I’m sorry, Jack, but I have to impose rules, or I’ll have total anarchy on my hands…and, more to the point, what do you know about disciplining a child? You haven’t any children. At least, none that I know of.”
“No,” Jack agreed evenly. “But I know my niece, and I don’t think punishing her is the best way to handle this particular situation.”
“Thank you, Jack, for your invaluable parenting advice,” Valery shot back, “but I’ve managed thus far without it, and very well, I might add. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she stood up “I’m expecting delivery of the mock-up for BritTEEN at any moment.”
“Go easy on her, Valery. She’s a teenager. Not a little girl.”
“Excuse me, but there’s the doorbell.” She rose. “It’s probably the mock-up.”
Jack followed her back out to the hallway and waited as a young woman clad in a bright-red mini-dress stepped through the door, a thick book clutched to her chest.
“Thank you, Holly.” Valery didn’t bother to introduce the girl, but took the document from her and began flipping through the pages. The girl gave him a brief nod and fled.
“Well,” Jack said dryly, “I’ll see myself out.”
Valery glanced up with an abstracted expression. “Sorry, but work calls. Deadlines, you know. Ciao, Jack. Thank you again for bringing Jools home.” She lowered the book. “I really do appreciate it.”
“I’m just glad she’s back, safe and sound.” Jack paused. “Don’t be too hard on her, Valery. Don’t push her away.”
Valery narrowed her eyes. But before she could formulate a suitable retort, Jack opened the door, and left.
Jools slammed her bedroom door shut and threw herself, quivering with fury, down on the bed. She glared up at the Dr Who posters on the back of her door. Where was the bloody TARDIS when you needed it? Angry tears blurred her vision.
God, but she hated her mother right now. She thrust herself up and reached out to the bedside table for her mobile phone and scrolled through her contacts. “Hey, Desh.”
“Jools? What’s up?”
“What’s up? I’m grounded for the rest of the summer, that’s what’s up,” she told him bitterly.
“But you did nothing wrong.”
“Exactly. But Mum doesn’t see it that way. I broke my curfew, so now I’m forbidden to see you. I feel like I live in a cell block, and Mum’s the warden.”
“Give it some time,” Adesh reassured her, “and she’ll calm down. You can’t blame her, really. You gave her a massive scare.”
Tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “Shit! Can’t you stop being so bloody reasonable? You’re supposed to agree with me, not the warden.”
“Sorry.” He sighed. “Look, all I’m saying is, we’ll both be at uni soon. Then you can do as you please. It’s only for a few more months, after all.”
“I suppose.” She scowled. “I hate it when you’re right.”
He laughed. “Get used to it. I’ll talk to you later. Chin up, Jools.”
“You sound like Dad,” she grumbled. “All right. Laters.” She rang off and tossed the phone aside. She glanced restlessly around her room, and her eyes settled on the duffel bag thrown in the corner from last weekend’s visit with dad. She hadn’t even unpacked it yet, her extra toothbrush and clothing kit were all still in there.
Jools sat up. She had an idea, a wonderful, marvellous, perfect idea. She reached again for her phone. “Dad,” she said when he answered, lowering her voice as she heard her mother’s footsteps passing by the door, “it’s me. Mum and I aren’t getting on, and I wondered…” she paused to catch her bottom lip between her teeth. “I wondered – do you think I might come and stay with you for the rest of the summer?”