by Judi Curtin
For Dan, Brian, Ellen and Annie.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
About the Author
Copyright
Chapter One
Victoria and I stood on my front doorstep and hugged for a long time.
‘I need to go or I’ll miss my plane,’ she said, when she finally pulled away.
‘You’re going to have such an amazing time in California,’ I said.
‘Well, it’ll probably get a bit boring after a while.’
She wasn’t fooling me.
‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘I know that, unless my parents win the lottery in the morning, I’m not going to California any time soon. I don’t mind though, honestly.’
Victoria gave me one of her piercing stares, and I surrendered.
‘OK,’ I said. ‘I mind a bit, but I’m still happy that you can go.’
She looked doubtful, so I smiled my best smile.
‘I want daily updates,’ I said. ‘You can contact me by text or e-mail or Facebook or even carrier pigeon if you want. All I know is, I want to hear every single detail of who you meet and what you do. That way it’ll be almost like I’m there with you.’
Victoria looked at her watch. ‘OMG,’ she said. ‘I’m in so much trouble.’
She gave me one last quick hug and then she started to run.
‘I’ll bring you back a present,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘And I hope you have a great time in Seacove too.’
‘Sure,’ I said, even though she couldn’t hear me. ‘I’ll have a great time in Seacove. It’ll be a total blast.’
I blinked tears from my eyes as I went back inside. Once upon a time, my family could afford exciting holidays to places like California, but then my dad lost his job, and everything changed. It was so long since I’d seen the inside of an airport that I’d almost forgotten what they looked like.
Last year’s holiday was to a tiny village called Seacove – and I so wasn’t happy when Mum and Dad told me about it. I had sulked all the way there, certain that it was going to be a total borefest. When I got there, though, I met an amazing girl called Kate. The two of us, and our friend Lily, started a campaign to save Kate’s special tree, and in the end, it turned out to be one of the best holidays of my life.
This year was totally different though. It would be nice to hang out with Kate and Lily again, but there wasn’t going to be a tree to save or anything. Seacove was just going to be … Seacove, and all the time, Victoria was going to be having the time of her life in California.
It just wasn’t fair!
‘I need to ask you a favour,’ said my friend Ruby, when she called over that afternoon.
‘So ask,’ I said, as I sat next to her on my bed.
‘Well, you know how I’m going to London soon, for a trial for a swimming scholarship?’
‘Of course I know that. You’ve told me ten times. It’s the most amazing thing ever. And I also know that you’re going to get the scholarship, and be a world famous swimmer, and when you’re representing Ireland in the Olympics, I’ll be able to boast that I knew you back when you could barely do the doggy-paddle.’
Ruby looked embarrassed, like she always does when she’s being praised.
‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘about the favour.’
‘If you want me to lend you some clothes,’ I said, ‘That’s no problem. I haven’t got anything new lately, but I know you like my purple top, so you can have that and …’
‘It’s not that kind of favour,’ said Ruby. ‘It’s a bit bigger than that. You see, Mum was going to come to London with me, but we can’t afford to stay in a hotel.’
I thought of my money box, which had about three euro in it, and hoped very much that Ruby wasn’t going to ask me to lend her some money.
‘So I have to stay with Jenny who’s over in London on a hairdressing training course,’ she said.
‘That’s brilliant!’ I said. ‘I wish I had a totally cool big sister who would invite me to stay with her in London. You’re going to have such a good time.’
‘It’s not that simple though. Jenny lives in a second floor flat, and there isn’t a lift and …’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘That is kind of a problem.’
You see Ruby’s mum, Maggie, is a wheelchair-user, and for her, a second-floor flat without a lift might as well be on the moon.
‘And,’ continued Ruby, ‘I’d be too scared to go to London on my own, so I was kind of wondering if you’d like to come with me.’
I put my hands over my mouth to stop the happy, squeaky noises that were threatening to escape. The thought of a trip to London was so amazing I hardly dared to think about it.
Then all kinds of problems presented themselves, lining up in my mind, spoiling everything.
Would Mum and Dad let me go to London with Ruby?
Could they afford to pay for me to go to London?
And what about our family holiday to Seacove?
Ruby was grinning, like she could read my mind.
‘My mum has spoken to your mum and dad already,’ she said. ‘The swimming trials are in the middle of your trip to Seacove, but your mum and dad said it’s OK for you to go away for a few days. Flights are really cheap at the moment, and since we won’t be paying for a place to stay, it’ll hardly cost anything, so if you want to go, just say the word and it’s all sorted.’
I jumped up and hugged her.
‘Of course I want to go. Now move over, I need to start planning what to wear.’
Chapter Two
A week later, I was in the car on the way to Seacove.
Just like last year, it was Mum and Dad and Mum’s friend’s son, Joey, and me. Part of me still wished I was going to California like Victoria. The closer to Seacove we got though, the more excited I was about seeing Kate and Lily again.
‘You know, Kate is sooo funny,’ I said when we took the last turn off the main road.
‘How could we possibly know that?’ said Dad sarcastically. ‘You’ve only told us a hundred times.’
‘And she’s clever and brave and determined,’ said Mum turning around and smiling at me. ‘We got to know her last year, remember? And Lily’s a lovely girl too, so I can understand why you’re looking forward to seeing them.’
I smiled back at her and tried to stop myself bouncing up and down with excitement.
As soon as we arrived at the cottage, I jumped out of the car.
‘I’ll help in a while,’ I said, but first I’d really, really like to hang out with my friends for a bit.’
Mum and Dad laughed. ‘Take your time’ said Mum. ‘We’ll save some work for you.’
I walked along the familiar, brambly lane towards Kate’s house. I hadn’t seen her for a whole year. She didn’t have a landline or a mobile phone, so our only contact had been through letters and e-mails, whenever she was allowed to use the computer at her school. School holidays had started two weeks earlier, so I hadn’t heard from her since then. I was really dying to talk to her and hear what she’d been up to.
I
wondered if she’d look the same.
If she’d act the same.
If we’d still be friends.
When I got to her house, it looked more run-down and deserted than I remembered. The grass was even higher than before, and ivy was creeping along the walls and over some of the windows. Brambles were stretching out from the hedges and reaching across the pathway. All the doors and windows were closed, and the curtains were drawn. At the side of the house there was a washing line, on which hung an old tracksuit of Kate’s that I recognised from the year before.
I knocked on the door, and jumped as the sound of my knock echoed loudly through the house. I kind of hoped that Kate’s granny, Martha, wouldn’t answer the door. (Once I’d got to know Martha, I’d realised that she was really nice, but I still couldn’t forget how scared of her I’d been at first.)
But it didn’t matter. There was no sound of footsteps from the house, and the door remained firmly closed.
I knocked again, not sure why I felt so nervous.
What was going on?
Why wasn’t Kate racing out the door, laughing and dragging me off to see a bird’s nest or the place where the wild strawberries grow?
Why wasn’t Martha there offering me a big plate of her special chocolate buns?
Where could they be?
Had something terrible happened to them?
Then I shook my head, suddenly angry at myself. I was just being stupid. Kate’s house had always been totally run down; I’d somehow managed to forget just how bad it was, that was all. Kate and Martha had probably gone shopping or to the post office or something perfectly normal like that. They’d be back any minute, and I’d feel like a total idiot for thinking there was something wrong.
I knocked on the door a third time, and when there was no answer, I gave up and walked away.
As I walked back towards my house, Lily came along the road – I was really happy to see her after hanging around outside Kate’s, making myself nervous over nothing. As soon as she got near, we hugged for ages.
When we let go, I had a chance to look at her properly. I was happy to see that she was exactly the same as she’d been the year before – pretty, and happy, and with really cool clothes.
‘Any idea where Kate is today,’ I asked. ‘I’m dying to see her.’
The smile faded from Lily’s face, and I started to feel nervous again.
‘Let’s sit down for a while,’ she said.
The two of us sat on the wall of my house, and she began to talk.
‘About a month ago, Martha got sick. She had a problem with her heart and her doctor said she needed an operation.’
‘Poor Martha,’ I said, remembering Kate’s badly-dressed, but very kind, granny. ‘She must have been scared.’
‘Yeah, I guess she was scared, but more than that, she was worried about Kate. Martha kept putting off the operation, but in the end, the doctor said she’d die if she didn’t have it, so she agreed. She went into hospital just as the school holidays started.’
‘And what about Kate?’
‘She had to go to stay with her aunt in Cork.’
‘I never knew she had an aunt in Cork.’
‘Me neither.’
Lily still looked sad and kind of worried.
‘But everything’s OK, isn’t it?’ I asked. ‘Martha’s going to get better, and then Kate will be home again won’t she?’
Lily nodded, ‘I suppose so. The doctor told Martha that it will take time to recover from the operation, but that, in the end, she’ll be as good as new.’
‘And when’s that going to be?’
‘No one seems sure about that, but it might be a few months.’
‘Poor Kate,’ I said.
Suddenly I thought of something else.
‘Kate was still e-mailing me up to two weeks ago, but she never said a thing about Martha being sick.’
‘That’s a bit weird,’ said Lily.
‘I know. Kate’s last message made it sound like everything was normal.’
Lily made a face.
‘Trust me, Eva, it totally wasn’t.’
And that’s when I knew there was something very wrong.
‘What aren’t you telling me?’ I asked.
Lily gave a big sigh, ‘Well, after you left last summer, everything was perfect. Everyone around here knew about how you and Kate had saved the tree, and Kate was like a local hero or something. There were a few articles about her in the local paper, and she was even interviewed on radio. At last people could see how clever and funny she was, and soon she had heaps of friends. It was all happy-ever-after stuff – until Martha got sick.’
‘And then what happened?’
Lily shook her head. ‘I’m not really sure. Kate started acting all weird again.’
‘I suppose she was worried about Martha,’ I said.
‘Yes of course she was – I understood that, but …… suddenly Kate stopped hanging out with me and the other girls at break times. She started to go home straight after school. She looked sulky and cross all the time. It was like an evil witch had come along and changed her back into the weird girl she used to be before.’
I had a sudden picture of the suspicious, silent girl I’d first met.
But why would Kate change like that?
‘I tried to talk to her,’ said Lily. ‘Heaps of times. I told her I knew that Martha being sick was scary for her. I told her I’d help her – but she just pushed me away. She said that Martha was going to be fine, and that it wasn’t any of my business anyway.’
‘Ouch,’ I said.
‘Yeah, it was harsh, but I figured it wasn’t really her fault. And besides, I still feel kind of guilty about how my old friend Cathy and I were mean to Kate last year, so I decided it was my turn to soak up some of her bad behaviour. And then …’ She stopped and I could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
‘And then what?’ I asked gently.
‘And then the day of the holidays came along. I knew Kate would be going to Cork that evening, and even though she’d been so mean to me, I still felt sorry for her. I knew she had to be feeling scared and lonely. So I told her that my mum sometimes goes to Cork for the day on business. I asked for her aunt’s address, so that I could visit her every now and then, but …’
Now tears actually spilled from Lily’s eyes; she wiped them away and continued, ‘But then Kate went totally ballistic. It was awful, Eva. She said I was just being pushy and nosy. She said the biggest favour I could do for her was to get out of her life forever!’
I hugged Lily.
‘None of this is your fault,’ I said. ‘I know how stubborn and determined Kate can be.’
Lily made a face. ‘I know that too,’ she said. ‘And I think I did my best. But still – I can’t help worrying about Kate. I can’t help feeling that there was something else going on – something she wouldn’t tell me about.’
‘Maybe it’s just that Kate doesn’t like her aunt in Cork,’ I said. ‘Neither of us had heard of her before, so I’m guessing they weren’t very close. Maybe Kate was upset at having to spend time with her.’
‘You’re probably right. I bet it was something simple like that that had Kate acting so strangely,’ said Lily, though something in her face told me she didn’t believe that any more than I did.
‘So do you want to go to the field to check out the tree you spent all last summer saving?’ she asked then.
I shook my head. Somehow, going to Kate’s special place without her seemed like a betrayal.
‘No, Kate might come back to visit, and then the three of us can go together.’
So Lily and I walked down to the beach and hung out for a while.
But it didn’t feel right.
Without Kate, nothing felt right at all.
Chapter Three
Next morning, Joey was up early.
‘I’m going to spend the whole day playing soccer with my friends from last year,’ he said as he jumped arou
nd the kitchen. ‘I am so, so happy!’
The rest of us laughed, and for the millionth time I wondered how I could once have thought of Joey as just an annoying kid. I was really glad that his mum had allowed him to come on holidays with us again. Before, I used to be half-jealous of Ruby having a sister like Jenny, but now I didn’t mind so much. Joey was starting to seem like the little brother I’d never had.
‘I’m happy for you, Joey’ said Dad. ‘And I’m happy for myself too. I promised Monica I’d do heaps of repairs for her, and I can’t wait to get started.’
Monica is Joey’s mum, and she owns the cottage. She lets us stay there for our holidays, and in return, Dad, who’s brilliant at DIY, does all the jobs that need doing.
‘What about you, Eva?’ said Mum. ‘Have you got plans for the day?’
‘Well,’ I said. ‘Lily’s busy until lunch time, so until then …’
‘You could help me here for a while,’ suggested Mum, ‘I’ve got lots of jobs to do.’
‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ I said. ‘I’m not that bored. I’ll just walk to the village with Joey.’
‘Cheeky,’ said Mum, but she was laughing, so I waved goodbye and went outside with Joey.
I stopped at the garden gate, and looked towards the lane that led to Kate’s house.
‘The village is the other way,’ said Joey.
I smiled at him. ‘Clever of you to know that,’ I said. ‘But I’d kind of like to go to Kate’s place for a minute.’
‘But no one’s there. You told us that Martha’s in hospital, and Kate’s in Cork.’
‘I know. It’s just ……..’
I didn’t know how to finish. I was worried about Kate, and at the back of my mind, I knew there was some detail that I had overlooked. Some piece of the puzzle was missing, and without it I couldn’t see the full picture.
‘I’d just like to walk up there for a minute, that’s all,’ I said.
‘So go. I’m going the other way. I’ll see you later.’
He started to walk away, but stopped when I called his name.
‘What?’ he asked, fairly patiently for a nine-year-old.