Read Online Just Peachy by Jean Ure - Free Book Online

I just wriggled a bit and said, “Not really.”
    “But he’s won all those awards!”
    “Only for being on the radio,” I said. “It’s not like being on the telly.”
    Millie looked at me doubtfully. “He must be a bit famous.”
    “Just a minor celeb,” I said, pulling Millie into my bedroom and firmly shutting the door.
    We sat on cushions on the floor to eat our tea. We talked a bit as usual about school, and how some people, such as Zoe Kingman, were rather obnoxious and chucked their weight about – “Thinks she’s the big cheese,” sniffed Millie – and how others, like Janine Corrie, known as the Mouse, were quite friendly; and Millie told me what the Diddy People were up to, and I told her how the twins were horribly spoilt and always got their own way cos neither Mum nor Dad could bear to say no to them; but it wasn’t the same as when we were at Millie’s.
    It had been so warm and cosy in Millie’s cluttered little room. My room was warm, cos of the central heating, but it wasn’t cosy . There was too much space! Plus I was suddenly aware of how much stuff I had that Millie didn’t. My own television, for instance; my laptop. Shelves full of books, and china animals. Big puffy cushions, a walk-in wardrobe full of clothes. I’d always just taken it for granted. Now I had a horrible feeling that it was making Millie uncomfortable.
    I was too much of a coward to say anything. Millie is bolder; she always says exactly what is on her mind. As we finished tea she came out with it: “Is this why you didn’t want to invite me back?” She waved a hand, taking in my room with all its bits and pieces. “Cos I’m not posh enough?”
    I felt my cheeks immediately start to glow. I stammered that of course it wasn’t. “And I did want to invite you back!”
    “You didn’t really,” said Millie. She didn’t say it accusingly; just stated it like it was a fact. My cheeks by now were sizzling like bacon in a pan.
    “Be honest!” she said. “You didn’t, did you?”
    I swallowed. “It’s not like you think.”
    “It’s all right,” said Millie. “Dad warned me when I got the scholarship I mightn’t find it easy being at a school like Sacred Heart. He didn’t really want me to go there; it was Mum who pushed me. Dad said there’d be bound to be some people that were prejudiced. Like Zoe.”
    “Zoe’s just a stupid snob,” I said. “Not everyone’s like her. I’m not like her!”
    “You’re not when we’re at school,” said Millie.
    “I’m not when I’m at home either!”
    Millie looked at me. She was obviously waiting for me to say something.
    “If you must know…” I took a breath, trying to stop my voice from wobbling. “If you must know,” I gabbled, “the reason I was scared to invite you was cos of Dad.”
    “Cos of your dad ?”
    “I didn’t want you finding out about him!”
    Millie giggled. “You make it sound like he’s some kind of guilty secret. Like he’s been in prison or something!”
    Glumly I said, “No. Just on the radio.”
    “You didn’t want me to know he was on the radio?” How pathetic was that? “Why on earth not?” said Millie. “I don’t mind you knowing my dad’s on the buses.”
    “That’s different.”
    “You mean, cos my dad’s not a celeb?”
    “ Minor celeb.”
    “Whatever.” Millie sat back, cross-legged, on her cushion. “I don’t get it!”
    I sighed. “It’s not just Dad. It’s all the rest of the family.”
    “You saying they’re celebs as well? Like your brother writing that bit of music full of holes?”
    “Sort of.” I hooked my hair behind my ears and tried rather desperately to explain. “I sometimes think it’s like living on a film set. You know?” Millie nodded, a bit uncertainly. “Like they’re all busy being stars in this huge great movie and I’m stuck in the middle of it trying to be me!”
    Millie said, “Ah. Right! Now I’m with you.” She nodded. “Just Peachy.”
    “That’s why