‘Oh pleeeeeese,’ begged Lucy. ‘Just one go each. Just to see what it’s like. Oh come on, it will be a laugh . . .’
‘Maybe they don’t want to reveal any deep dark secrets in the Truth option,’ said Izzie.
‘No,’ I said, ‘it’s not that. We are all mates together.’
‘So let’s do it then,’ said Izzie. ‘We’ll be back to school in London soon and won’t see you for ages . . .’
‘As Queen, I decree it,’ Nesta announced in her royal voice. ‘I hereby demand by law that all my royal subjects shall play Truth, Dare, Kiss or Promise, and anyone who tries to bunk out shall be executed and their heads chopped off and displayed on the lawn with a daffodil stuck in their gobette. So there. Amen. And forthwith, etc.’
Lia and I laughed. ‘Yes, your majesty,’ we chorused. ‘We don’t want to be dead now, do we?’
‘Not at such a young age,’ said Lia.
In the mirror, I could see that Stuart was having a hard time not bursting out laughing. He must have thought we were all totally bonkers.
As soon as Mac and Squidge arrived at Lia’s, they were made to kneel at Nesta’s feet and be knighted. Seeing as Queen Nesta didn’t have a proper sword, she used a soup ladle as it was the nearest thing handy. Neither of them objected for a second, as even though they are both sixteen and older than the rest of us, they are in awe of Nesta’s gorgeousness. Seeing them act so tongue-tied reminded me of when Lia first arrived at our school last September. They went ga-ga stupid then too. She and Squidge have been an item for ages now and it’s clearly true love on both sides, but sometimes I catch him looking at her like he can’t quite believe his luck. I can. Squidge is one of the nicest boys on the planet. I know because I’ve known him most of my life and we were even an item for a while. Everyone loves him. And Lia is one of the nicest girls. She’s so gentle and considerate. They are a match made in heaven. Mac is Squidge’s best mate. He’s cute-looking too, only smaller than Squidge, and he’s blond whereas Squidge has dark hair, at least most of the time he does. His mum is the local hairdresser and likes to experiment from time to time and, of course, she always nabs Squidge to try styles and colours out on. He doesn’t mind. He’s so easy-going, she could shave his hair off and he’d just shrug and say, ‘Yeah, cool’. And he’d probably make it cool too. He’s that kind of boy.
After the knighting ceremony, we had a fab supper of burgers, chunky chips and pecan fudge ice cream served up by Meena the housekeeper. The kitchen is vast, bigger than the whole of the ground floor of the house we’re about to leave. And it’s wonderfully light, from skylights in the ceiling and floor-to-ceiling glass doors that lead out on to an enormous patio which is the length of the whole house.
After second helpings of ice cream, we had to go and lie down to recover in the red room, so called because it is mainly red: red walls, wine-red curtains – the walls are honey-coloured though. With the oak flooring and Turkish rugs, the whole effect is rich and warm and exotic.
‘Our sitting room at home is done in these colours,’ said Nesta as she reclined Cleopatra-style on one of the sofas.
‘I’ve been trying to persuade Dad and Jen to have a red room in our new house,’ I said, ‘but I don’t think Dad’s that fussed about décor. He says that with four children, nowhere is going to stay looking that smart for long.’
‘Well at least you can make your room how you like,’ said Lucy. ‘That’s what I try to do. People can do what they like in the rest of the house – and believe me, my two brothers do – but my room is my private territory. I have a warning sign on the door saying: KEEP OUT on pain of death.’
‘Great idea. I’ll have one made,’ I said.
‘OK, so what sort of thing do you dare each other in the Truth, Dare game?’ asked TJ as the rest of us settled on various sofas and cushions around the room.
‘Oh to jump off cliffs, parachute out of planes,’ said Squidge, ‘that’s the sort of thing we usually do.’
Izzie’s jaw dropped open. ‘Really?’
‘No. No way,’ said Becca. ‘We do normal stuff – like, these guys dared me to go into the Pop Princess competition just before Christmas last year. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have had the nerve.’
Becca has a great voice and we had all gone up for the competition with her. She was the only one that made it through, though, and she got as far as third place.
‘Oh and there was all that trouble with Lia’s turn,’ said Mac. ‘She got the Kiss option and had to kiss Jonno Appleton, the school heart-throb . . .’
‘Yeah, but the school bully wasn’t too happy,’ said Becca, ‘because she fancied Jonno herself and she made Lia’s life miserable for a while.’
Lia grimaced and Squidge put a protective arm round her. ‘I don’t want to hear about creeps like him or her.’
‘And then there was the time I was dared to tell the truth about something,’ I said, ‘and I got into a real tizz about truth and lies. Like – I always thought I was a truthful person, but in one week I counted about fifteen lies and realised that I was the Fibbing Fibster from Fibville.’
‘Lies like what?’ asked Izzie.
‘Oh you know, lying about my age to get into the movies . . .’
‘We all do that,’ everyone chorused.
‘What else?’ asked Nesta.
‘Not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings, not wanting to own up that I hadn’t done my homework or to Dad that I’d been watching X-rated horror DVDs. Not major lies, but all the same, made me think. I decided to tell the absolute truth the following week and almost lost all my friends because I was so blunt – like if your best mate has a spot on her nose and asks if it looks really bad, what do you say? No, which makes you a liar, or yes, and she won’t speak to you any more.’
‘I guess there has to be a halfway measure,’ said Lucy.
‘Maybe. That’s pretty well what I decided. Maybe white lies,’ I said.
‘So what else?’ asked Nesta. ‘Sounds like you’ve been getting up to all sorts down here.’
Mac laughed. ‘Yeah. Someone should write a series of books about it. I was dared to go for a cartooning job, and that was cool, because like Becca, I might not have had the nerve otherwise.’
‘Did you get it?’ asked Izzie. ‘The job?’
Mac looked so chuffed that she’d asked him. ‘Yeah, actually I did,’ he said.
‘Becca told me that you’re a brilliant cartoonist,’ said Izzie. ‘I’d love to see some of your work before we go back to London.’
Mac looked even more chuffed. ‘Yeah. Right. Whenever. I mean . . . sure, I’d be glad to show you.’
Becca shot me a knowing look. We had only been talking that afternoon about the fact that we had noticed that there was some major chemistry happening between Izzie and Mac. Becca thought Mac needed some encouragement though, as he had had a few knock-backs in the love game of late and his confidence had been a bit dented.
‘Sounds good, this game,’ said Izzie. ‘Sounds like it’s made you all feel the fear and do it anyway.’ According to Lucy, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway was one of Izzie’s favourite books. She has promised to lend me it some time, which is brill, as it sounds like Izzie knows a lot about good books to help people get on with what they want in their lives.
‘Yeah. Sounds like fun,’ said Nesta. ‘What about you, Squidge?’
‘Lia and I have mainly gone for the Promise option and promised to tell the truth and be faithful. Stuff like that,’ said Squidge.
‘Ahhh,’ sighed all the girls.
Mac rolled his eyes. ‘Pass me the sick bucket,’ he said.
‘Hey Bec, you going to tell them the truth about the last time we played?’ I asked.
Becca blushed, looked at the floor then up at Lucy. ‘It was when you and your family first arrived down here at the beginning of the hols,’ she said. ‘Remember I grabbed your brother, Lal, as soon as he set foot on the beach and kissed him?’
‘Yeah. He was w
ell made up. Why? Was that a dare?’
Becca nodded. ‘See, I’d been going on about how I was through with boys forever, and the others said no way, and Squidge said I had to kiss the next boy who came on to the beach.’
Lucy began laughing. ‘I did wonder what was going on. And so did Mum and Dad. I remember Dad saying that he thought the Cornish girls were very forward. Shame it wasn’t Steve, hey?’
‘Well I got to the right brother in the end,’ said Becca.
After the kiss, Becca dated Lal for a couple of weeks, but then cooled off him. Then she met Lucy’s other brother, Steve, and really liked him, but didn’t think anything would come of it because she didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Luckily, Lal fell for a local girl called Shazza, and Steve and Becca got together for the few days that he was still down here before he went back up to London. They’re going to stay in touch, though, and no doubt both Steve and Lal will be back down again now as their parents really love the place and have already talked about future holidays down here.
‘OK, so that just about brings you up to date on our Truth, Dare experiences,’ I said. ‘Now, which one of you wants to go first?’
‘Me,’ blurted Mac before anyone could say anything. ‘And I dare Squidge . . .’
‘Oh no,’ groaned Squidge. ‘Look mate, we’re playing this for Izzie, Nesta, Lucy and TJ. Let them have a go.’
‘I will,’ said Mac, ‘but first you’ve got to agree to get back on your bike.’
For a moment, there was an awkward silence. Squidge had a bad accident in May and came off his bike. He was in a plaster cast for ages and only had it taken off just over a week ago. All of us had noticed that he hadn’t been back on his bike, but no one dared say anything until now.
‘You don’t have to,’ said Lia. ‘You don’t ever have to get back on that bike again.’
Squidge took a deep breath. ‘I do. No, I do. Get back on the horse, back on the bike, etc, etc. Yeah. I will.’
‘When?’ insisted Mac.
Lucy laughed. ‘Wow. You’re as bossy as Nesta, and we thought she was bad.’
‘Hey,’ Nesta objected, ‘I’m not bossy. I just know what’s best for people.’
‘Exactly,’ said Mac. ‘So when, Squidge?’
‘Tomorrow. I’ll do it.’
I felt for Squidge. Usually he’s Mr Fearless, Mr Try Anything, but the accident had left him shaken.
‘I’ve got some stuff that might help you,’ said Izzie. ‘It’s called Rescue Remedy and if you take it when you need a shot of confidence, it really helps.’
‘What is it?’ asked Becca. ‘Is it like medicine?’
‘Not really. It’s made from flower essences discovered by someone called Dr Bach, so it’s all completely natural. There are loads of remedies for all sorts of things – like anxiety, sadness, lack of confidence and so on. The list is endless.’
Once again, I felt in awe of Izzie. Like Becca, I had never heard of Dr Bach, but I was well impressed.
‘OK, enough hocus-pocus,’ said Nesta. ‘Who’s next?’
‘Me,’ said Izzie.
‘OK,’ said Becca. ‘Truth, Dare, Kiss or Promise?’
‘Kiss,’ said Izzie and gave Mac a very flirtatious look.
‘OK,’ said Becca. ‘You have to kiss Mac. Right now.’
Izzie gave Mac a look that was a cross between a dare and a come on, while Mac blushed beetroot. However he did get up, cross the room, take Izzie’s hand and pull her to her feet. She stood up so that they were facing, well, almost – he was actually an inch or two smaller than her. I noticed her bend her knees slightly so that she was the same height as he was and then they kissed . . . and kissed . . . and kissed . . .
‘Pheeeeew! Getting hot in here,’ laughed Squidge as we watched Mac and Izzie go for an Oscar-winning clench.
‘Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . .’ Lucy counted down and we all clapped in time to the numbers.
‘Oh get a rooooooom,’ chorused TJ and Nesta.
Mac and Izzie broke apart and looked around at us. Both of them looked dazed, as if they had been hit by lightning or something. As the game continued, Mac stayed sitting next to Izzie and held her hand the whole time.
After that, Nesta got the Promise option, so we made her promise to keep coming down to Cornwall after she’s famous – which I have no doubt she will be one day. She has the air of a celebrity about her already.
Lucy was dared to stand on her head and sing ‘God Save the Queen’ which she did with great style. Apparently it’s one of her party pieces up in London.
TJ got the Truth option.
‘What is the most important thing in your life?’ asked Nesta. ‘And you have to tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’
‘Easy,’ said TJ. ‘My mates. Yeah, my family and my dog, Mojo, too – but mainly my mates.’
‘Ahhhh,’ chorused all the girls.
‘You girls are so wet,’ said Mac, only to be greeted by a barrage of cushions and pillows that then escalated into a brilliant pillow fight. Lucy was a force to be reckoned with. For someone so small, she could pack a punch. ‘Comes from having brothers,’ she said as she blasted Mac around the head.
It was only much later, when the girls were settling down into sleeping bags, that Becca remembered what we had found in the loft. It always makes me laugh when we have a sleepover at the Axfords’ because each of us could have our own room with its own telly and bathroom, but we still choose to sleep in one room on the floor in sleeping bags so that we can all be together. Apart from Squidge and Mac, that is; they get relegated to a boys’ room as Mr Axford says he doesn’t want any ‘hanky-panky’ going on.
‘Hey, Cat, did you get that box open after I’d gone?’ asked Becca as she snuggled in on the floor next to me.
‘Nope,’ I said. ‘Not yet. I couldn’t find the key, but it has to turn up somewhere.’
‘What box?’ asked Nesta.
‘We were clearing out the loft earlier and found – well, it’s not really a box,’ I explained, ‘it’s made out of metal, like an old tool box, only bigger. It’s like a metal trunk.’
‘It was behind the water tank,’ said Lia, ‘and looked like it hadn’t been touched for years.’
‘Oh wow, how fantastic,’ said Izzie. ‘A mystery.’
‘Yeah. Fabola,’ said Nesta.
‘Any idea what might be in it?’ asked TJ.
‘Not really,’ I said, although secretly I did. Becca and Lia hadn’t noticed, but I had straight away. Two letters were painted in red on the side of the trunk: L.M. I was sure it was L.M. for Laura Morgan. Morgan was my mum’s maiden name. Laura was her first name. The box had belonged to my mother. I had no idea what might be in there, but I knew that if and when I got it open, I wanted to be on my own.
‘Hey, Cat. Truth, Dare, Kiss, Promise?’ said Izzie.
‘Er . . . promise.’
‘OK. You have to promise to tell us what’s in the box as soon as you find out. I can’t bear an unsolved mystery.’
‘Sure,’ I promised. But no one could see that I had my fingers crossed. There might be anything in that box for all I knew.
‘IS THAT THE LAST load?’ asked Luke as I passed him a black bin bag from the back of the van.
‘Yep,’ I said and jumped out the back, ready to help Dad set the stall up. ‘Let the sale commence.’
‘Yeah, let’s get it over with so I can get back to my PlayStation,’ said Joe. ‘I think it’s rotten the way Dad treats us like his personal slaves.’
‘Oi, I heard that,’ said Dad, appearing from the front of the van. ‘And why shouldn’t I treat you as my personal slaves when that’s exactly what you are? No point in having kids if they’re not going to do chores for you. Now, snap to it everyone and let’s make some dosh.’ He rubbed his hands together, tousled Joe’s hair and began to set out our make-do sales table, which was actually a wallpaperin
g table with a sheet over it.
It was Saturday afternoon and luckily the good weather continued to hold, as our family had joined the crowds of others gathered at Maker Heights for one of the biggest car boot sales in the area. We had a ton of junk to sell: old toys, books, magazines, a pile of the stuff from the loft, utensils, crockery, tools from the garage – you name it . . . Jen had been over earlier in the week and gone through everything that was to be taken to the new house with a fine-toothed comb. She had been horrified at the state of most of the kitchen stuff and insisted that more than half of it was chucked – partly because she had her own set of kitchen things which was more modern and stylish, and partly because she said that she wanted to get some things for the new place, that were hers and Dad’s together, not his or hers from their past lives. ‘It’s to be a fresh start,’ she said. ‘A new chapter in all of our lives.’ Dad, who has a hard time throwing anything away, had intervened on the chucking-out idea and suggested that we do a car boot sale instead.
Like all events in the Rame Peninsula, most of the village was there – including all my mates and the London girls, who seemed well impressed at the scale of it. There must have been over two hundred cars and vans parked with stalls set out in front of them.
Izzie, Lucy, TJ and Nesta had got there early and had already been round the sale. They’d bought a variety of CDs, DVDs and junk. Lucy was over the moon with some vintage clothing she had found on one stall.
‘I know the dresses aren’t exactly the latest thing,’ she said as she showed us her spoils, ‘but the fabrics and the buttons are priceless. You couldn’t buy them these days. I think these are from the nineteen-fifties. Fab. They cost a fortune up in London, because everyone is after stuff like this.’
‘We’ve finished here so we’re heading over to the beach at Whitsand,’ said Izzie. ‘Want to join us later?’
‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘Depends on how this goes. I have to man the stall as Dad can only stay an hour, because the girl who was minding his shop is only there until twelve.’
‘What about your brothers and Emma? Aren’t they here to help?’ asked TJ as she pointed to Luke, Joe and Emma, who had decided to put on some of the old clothes that we were going to sell. Emma had a colander on her head and was wearing an old towelling dressing-gown that trailed on the ground and was way too long for her six-year-old body. Joe had a pan on his head and was pretending to be a Dalek from Doctor Who, and Luke had one of our old Halloween vampire masks on and was frightening off anyone who tried to come near the stall.
All Mates Together Page 2