by Judi Curtin
A few days later, we set up our stall on the busy road leading to the beach. We had pots and pots of blackberry jam, bunches of flowers picked from Kate’s garden, and plates of chocolate buns that Martha had helped us to make.
‘Leave the sales talk to me, girls,’ I said when everything was ready. ‘I have lots of experience from helping Ruby on her vegetable stall.’
Lily giggled.
‘Running market stalls, saving trees, is there anything you can’t do, Eva?’
I shrugged.
‘Probably not.’
‘You can’t tell the future,’ said Kate, ‘or you’d have known this was going to happen.’
As she spoke, she grabbed one of the flower jugs and emptied the water over my head.
I screamed and splashed her back. The three of us had a big water fight, until we were interrupted by the arrival of our first customer.
It was Chainsaw Man.
‘Well, you’re great enterprising girls, altogether,’ he said, politely not mentioning the fact that the three of us were all giggling madly and had water dripping from our clothes and hair. Then he bought two pots of jam and a whole plate of chocolate buns.
By that afternoon, we were doing really well, and after three days we had earned what seemed like a fortune. Kate wanted to split it three ways, but Lily and I wouldn’t let her.
‘You got the flowers, you knew where to get the blackberries, and the chocolate buns came from your top-secret family recipe,’ said Lily. ‘So we’re not taking any money.’
Kate put on her defiant face, but she didn’t argue.
Lily’s mum told us about a great clothes shop in the next town, where there was a really good sale on, so one morning the three of us set off on the bus. Lily and I helped Kate to pick out loads of clothes that really suited her – all cool and casual and non-sparkly.
Kate insisted on buying us each a present – a t-shirt for me, and a sweet little teddy-bear for Lily.
On the bus home, Lily sighed happily.
‘Shopping is my all-time favourite thing,’ she said. ‘When we get back to school, the other kids will think there’s a new girl in our class, Kate.’
Kate grinned.
‘There will be a new girl. I am a new girl.’
And in some ways, I felt like she was telling the truth.
The weeks passed quickly. One day, Dad got a call to do some work at home for a few days. Before he left, Mum took me aside.
‘You’ve shown amazing maturity lately, Eva,’ she said. ‘So if you want to go back with Dad and spend a few days at home, that would be fine with us.’
I hesitated. Victoria and Ella were both on holidays, and Ruby was away at swimming camp, but it wasn’t just that.
‘No,’ I said in the end. ‘Thanks, anyway, but I think I’ll just stay here. Kate, Lily and I have stuff to do.’
Cathy never came back to the village after her trip to France, and Lily, Kate and I hung out together every day. Sometimes Kate had a distant, sad air about her, but mostly she was fine. I knew I couldn’t make everything all right for her. I couldn’t make her mum or dad come back, but in some small way, I felt like I had helped her.
And so the summer slipped towards an end. The days got chillier, the evenings got darker, and gradually the tourists began to pack up their bags, ready to go back to their real lives.
Then came the day when we had to leave – the day I had once dreamed of, but which had now come too soon. I felt sad as I helped to pack and tidy up the house.
In the morning, Lily called over to say goodbye.
‘Will you be here next summer?’ she asked.
I looked at Mum and Dad.
‘Please, please, please can we come here next year?’ I begged.
They laughed.
Dad scratched his head and pretended to think.
‘Oh yes,’ he said. ‘Holiday from hell? Isn’t that what you said the first day?’
I made a face. ‘Things are different now,’ I said. ‘Everything is different.’
‘We can talk to Monica,’ said Mum. ‘And I think we could probably arrange something, for a week or two at least.’
‘Please can I come with you?’ asked Joey. ‘Holidays with you are so much fun.’
I looked at his cute freckly face, and realised that sounded like a great idea.
‘Please, Mum?’ I said.
Mum laughed.
‘If it’s OK with your parents, Joey, then it would be fine with us.’
‘Yay,’ said Joey as he skipped around the room, making us all laugh.
A few minutes later, Lily left, promising to keep in touch, and I went back to helping Mum and Dad.
Soon everything was done.
‘I’m going to have a last cup of tea,’ said Mum. ‘So if you have anything left to do, Eva, now is the time to do it.’
I knew what she meant.
I walked over to Kate’s place. Martha met me at the door with a big bag of chocolate cookies.
‘Just to say thank you,’ she said.
Kate came out. She was wearing some of her new clothes and she looked really nice. Her hair had grown a bit longer, and she was wearing it the way Lily had shown her. I was wearing the t-shirt she had bought for me.
Suddenly we were both shy.
‘I haven’t got much time,’ I said. ‘But I want to go and say goodbye to Jeremy before I leave.’
I stopped and slapped my forehead.
‘I can’t believe I’m saying goodbye to a tree.’
Kate laughed.
‘And you’re calling a tree “Jeremy”. You’ve been in the country too long, Eva – I think it’s definitely time for you to go home.’ After that everything was OK. We walked to the field, and we both climbed the tree, sitting on the highest branches, like we did the first day Kate had taken me there.
We didn’t say much. We just sat there, swaying in the breeze and watching the sunshine dancing on the water.
After a while, I heard Joey calling, ‘Eva, time to go.’
Kate and I scrambled down from the tree.
‘Walk back with me?’ I said.
Kate shook her head quickly – but not quickly enough. I could see tears glistening in her eyes.
‘No thanks, Eva. I think I’ll stay here for a bit.’
I tried to smile.
‘It’s not so bad. Maybe you could come and stay with me for a weekend. And Mum says we can come back here on holidays next year. And I’ll call you sometimes, I promise.’
Kate brightened for a second.
‘We’ve got computers at school. I can e-mail you if you like.’
I told her my e-mail address, and then there didn’t seem to be anything else to say.
We hugged quickly, and I ran down the field, too sad to look back.
Everything seemed different when I got back to the city, back to my real home. The tree in the front garden was just a tree, and I couldn’t imagine ever giving it a name, or caring for it.
When we got inside, the house smelled different. With all the curtains closed, it was dark and gloomy. There was no air, almost like the house had been holding its breath, waiting for us to come back.
I carried my bag upstairs, and sat on my bed. Nothing seemed right any more. Nothing seemed real.
Just then the doorbell rang, and seconds later, loud footsteps on the stairs announced Victoria’s arrival. I smiled. Victoria’s phone was still broken, so we hadn’t been in touch since the day she’d visited me on holidays. She didn’t know anything about Kate or Lily, or about the campaign to save Jeremy.
Victoria burst into the room and practically knocked me down as she ran to hug me.
‘Omigod, Eva, I’m so glad you’re back. I’ve really missed you. And you must be glad to be back too. You must have been totally bored in the country. I bet not one single thing happened there. A few funny things happened here. One day, Ella and I—’
I laughed and held up my hand to stop her.
‘Y
ou can tell me in a minute,’ I said. ‘But first make yourself comfortable. There’s something I want to tell you.’
So Victoria sat on my bed, folded her arms, and listened carefully while I told her all about my friend Kate.
From spoilt princess to pretty cool girl!
Rich, spoilt, high-maintenance Eva Gordon likes luxurious, sophisticated things so when her parents cancel a holiday and get rid of their expensive car, she can’t understand why.
But when Eva’s dad loses his job and she has to move house and change schools, she realises things have changed forever. She’s determined to hate her new life. Then a chance visit to a fortune teller gives her the idea that doing good may help her to turn things back the way they were. Eva (with the help of best friend Victoria) starts to help everyone she can – whether they want it or not! And maybe being nice is helping Eva herself just as much …
Best friends NEED to be together. Don’t they?
Poor Megan! Not only is she stuck with totally uncool parents, and a little sister who is too cute for words, but now her best friend, Alice, has moved away. Now Megan has to go to school and face the dreaded Melissa all on her own. The two friends hatch a risky plot to get back together. But can their secret plan work?
It’s mid-term break and Megan’s off to visit Alice.
Megan is hoping for a nice trouble-free few days with her best friend. No such luck! She soon discovers that Alice is once again plot-ting and scheming.
It seems that Alice’s mum Veronica has a new boyfriend. The plan is to discover who he is, and to get rid of him!
Alice and Megan are together again!
They are both looking forward to their Confirmation, especially as their two families are going out to dinner together to celebrate.
But not even a meal can be simple when Alice is around as she decides to hatch a plan to get her parents back together …
Best friends forever?
Megan can’t wait to go away to Summer Camp with Alice! It will be fantastic – no organic porridge, no school, nothing but fun! But when Alice makes friends with Hazel, Megan begins to feel left out.
Hazel’s pretty, sophisticated and popular, and Alice seems to think she’s amazing.
Is Megan going to lose her very best friend?
Sunshine & yummy French food – sounds like the perfect holiday!
Megan’s really looking forward to the summer holidays – her whole family is going to France, and best of all Alice is coming too! But when Alice tries to make friends with a local French boy things begin to get very interesting …
Alice and Megan are starting secondary school.
New subjects, new teachers and new friends – it’s going to take a bit of getting used to.
And when Megan meets Marcus, the class bad-boy who’s always in trouble, but doesn’t seem to care, things really start to get complicated.
At least she has Home Ec class with Alice – the worst cook in the school – to look forward to, so school’s not all bad!
How much should you give up for your best friend?
Alice has a good chance of winning the school essay competition – and the prize is four months in France!
Megan loves writing essays, but she’d hate to go away for four months alone! She doesn’t want Alice to go either – why would anyone want to go abroad without her best friend? But Alice seems determined to win …
Get cooking with Alice & Megan!
Alice and Megan are writing a cookbook. But Alice is not the world’s the greatest cook, so could it be a recipe for disaster? Well, not with Megan’s help ….
This fun-filled cookbook is packed with brilliant recipes. Why not wake up to French toast and tropical smoothies? Or go to school with raspberry muffins and pasta salad? Or snack on s’mores and quesadillas? Or impress your friends with home-made burgers followed by ice cream with toffee sauce? All this and more included!
Brilliant Breakfasts . Lucky Lunchboxes . Super Snacks . Marvellous Main Courses . Delicious Desserts . Cakes & Cookies.
About the Author
JUDI CURTIN grew up in Cork and now lives in Limerick where she is married with three children. Judi is the author of Eva’s Journey, as well as the bestselling ‘Alice & Megan’ series. With Roisin Meaney, she is the author of See If I Care, and she has written three novels, Sorry, Walter, From Claire to Here and Almost Perfect. Her books have sold into Serbian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Lithuanian and most recently to Australia and New Zealand.
The ‘Alice & Megan’ series
Alice Next Door
Alice Again Don’t
Ask Alice
Alice in the
Middle Bonjour
Alice Alice & Megan Forever
Alice to the Rescue
Alice & Megan’s Cookbook
Other books
Eva’s Journey
See If I Care (with Roisin Meaney)
Praise for the ‘Alice & Megan’ series
‘If you like Jacqueline Wilson, then you’ll
love Judi Curtin!’ Primary Times
‘Judi Curtin’s “Alice” books celebrate friendship, humour and loyalty.’ Sunday Independent
Copyright
This eBook edition first published 2012 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,
12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland.
Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.obrien.ie
First published 2011.
eBook ISBN: 978–1–84717–539–7
Text © copyright Judi Curtin 2011
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© The O’Brien Press Ltd
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Cover illustration: Woody Fox
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