write what Lauren had told her, it might not be true, or might not happen. But that was silly thinking. It was true. And it was going to happen. Lauren and her family were moving away and Madison was going to lose her best friend. Her only friend.
Last night Lauren had told her that her parents had decided to move out of London to a place Madison had never heard of. She had said it had been a big secret, but now the new house was theirs and even though Lauren hadn’t even seen it, she was dead excited about it. It had a big garden and they were going to keep chickens and Lauren was going to look after them and her brother was going to be allowed to have a dog. ‘We’ll still be best friends,’ Lauren had said. ‘We’ll send emails to each other all the time. And I’ll learn how to use Skype.’ Madison already used Skype on Mum’s computer; she used it to chat with her grandparents in America, but doing it with Lauren wouldn’t be the same. Nothing was going to be the same once Lauren left. School would be horrible again. There’d be no one to eat lunch with. No one to sit next to in class. No one to play with during break-time. It would be like it was before Lauren came to the school.
And who was going to give her piano lessons? Lauren’s mum had been teaching her and even she said Madison was way better than Lauren now, that she was a natural and had perfect pitch and could play by ear, something Lauren couldn’t do. But then Lauren was brilliant at other things. She could do ballet and make her arms look as light as feathers. Madison would never be able to do that. She wasn’t built the same way. Lauren was like a fairy, whereas Madison was tall with what Grandma Barb called big bones. Grandma Barb said they were Family Bones and that Mum had them too. But Madison didn’t think that was true. Mum was beautiful. No one would ever say that about Madison. She was big and ugly and stuck with wearing glasses. Mum said that she would be able to wear contact lenses when she was older, but that didn’t help her now when she was called Specky Eyes at school. She was also called Freak because she was so tall. They had all sorts of names for her. Some were cruel, but mostly they were dumb. If she wanted to, she could come up with names for them that were a lot cleverer than the ones they used. She didn’t see the point, though. Why waste her thoughts on something so stupid? She would much rather read a book or play the piano.
She thought of her lessons at Lauren’s and felt sad. Heather – Lauren’s mum – gave her the lessons for free. Mum had offered to pay, but Heather had said that since Madison was always round at their house, it was no trouble giving her lessons or letting her practice on the upright piano they had in their dining room. Sometimes Madison and Lauren played little duets together, and that was fun. Other times, Madison would try and play something that Lauren could dance to. But that was quite hard to do.
With not a word written, she replaced the cap on the pen and put it down on the desk. Why did Lauren’s parents want to move? And why did things have to keep changing? Grown-ups did that all the time. Just as you got used to something, they went and changed it. Mum was the same. It was why they were living here in London. She had said she wanted Madison to experience something more than small-town America. ‘There’s a whole world out there for us to discover,’ Mum was always saying.
Madison worried when Mum said that; it made her anxious that they might move again. Although right now, that didn’t seem such a bad idea. Especially if she could convince Mum they should live wherever it was Lauren was going to be.
But would that mean they would have to leave JC behind? That would be a shame. She liked JC. He was easily the nicest boyfriend Mum had ever had, not that she’d had that many. JC knew everything about computers and liked to play chess with Madison, and he didn’t let her
Last night Lauren had told her that her parents had decided to move out of London to a place Madison had never heard of. She had said it had been a big secret, but now the new house was theirs and even though Lauren hadn’t even seen it, she was dead excited about it. It had a big garden and they were going to keep chickens and Lauren was going to look after them and her brother was going to be allowed to have a dog. ‘We’ll still be best friends,’ Lauren had said. ‘We’ll send emails to each other all the time. And I’ll learn how to use Skype.’ Madison already used Skype on Mum’s computer; she used it to chat with her grandparents in America, but doing it with Lauren wouldn’t be the same. Nothing was going to be the same once Lauren left. School would be horrible again. There’d be no one to eat lunch with. No one to sit next to in class. No one to play with during break-time. It would be like it was before Lauren came to the school.
And who was going to give her piano lessons? Lauren’s mum had been teaching her and even she said Madison was way better than Lauren now, that she was a natural and had perfect pitch and could play by ear, something Lauren couldn’t do. But then Lauren was brilliant at other things. She could do ballet and make her arms look as light as feathers. Madison would never be able to do that. She wasn’t built the same way. Lauren was like a fairy, whereas Madison was tall with what Grandma Barb called big bones. Grandma Barb said they were Family Bones and that Mum had them too. But Madison didn’t think that was true. Mum was beautiful. No one would ever say that about Madison. She was big and ugly and stuck with wearing glasses. Mum said that she would be able to wear contact lenses when she was older, but that didn’t help her now when she was called Specky Eyes at school. She was also called Freak because she was so tall. They had all sorts of names for her. Some were cruel, but mostly they were dumb. If she wanted to, she could come up with names for them that were a lot cleverer than the ones they used. She didn’t see the point, though. Why waste her thoughts on something so stupid? She would much rather read a book or play the piano.
She thought of her lessons at Lauren’s and felt sad. Heather – Lauren’s mum – gave her the lessons for free. Mum had offered to pay, but Heather had said that since Madison was always round at their house, it was no trouble giving her lessons or letting her practice on the upright piano they had in their dining room. Sometimes Madison and Lauren played little duets together, and that was fun. Other times, Madison would try and play something that Lauren could dance to. But that was quite hard to do.
With not a word written, she replaced the cap on the pen and put it down on the desk. Why did Lauren’s parents want to move? And why did things have to keep changing? Grown-ups did that all the time. Just as you got used to something, they went and changed it. Mum was the same. It was why they were living here in London. She had said she wanted Madison to experience something more than small-town America. ‘There’s a whole world out there for us to discover,’ Mum was always saying.
Madison worried when Mum said that; it made her anxious that they might move again. Although right now, that didn’t seem such a bad idea. Especially if she could convince Mum they should live wherever it was Lauren was going to be.
But would that mean they would have to leave JC behind? That would be a shame. She liked JC. He was easily the nicest boyfriend Mum had ever had, not that she’d had that many. JC knew everything about computers and liked to play chess with Madison, and he didn’t let her
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