say gold isnât alluring, too. What say we pass it, seeing Joan got the first syllable right?â
It was really pathetic, the bending of rules that went on in their warm-up games of Trival Pursuit! Luckily, Eileen Holloway arrived then, late as usual, which meant an excuse to escape by hopping up to let her in. (It also meant having another wrinkled old cheek pressed against mine and not being able to do anything about it.) Eileen floated into the living room to join the others. Aunty Natâs famous card group, relocated to its new premises at Avian Cottage, Parchment Hills, was in full swing. Iâd done my duty as far as politeness went, and could now go downstairs with a clear conscience and finish off the jobs on my list. Except it didnât seem a very fascinating way to spend the evening â¦
I hung about in the hall, listening to the cheerful din, feeling rather out of things. Which was stupid. I knew that if Iâd actually
wanted
to play Trivial Pursuit or cards, all those kind old dears would have been delighted. But because Iâd already practically snarled at poor Aunty Nat for suggesting it, it seemed too embarrassing to go back in there. I glanced at the phone, wishing I could ring Dad. It was depressing when people could only talk to each other with a lot of fussy details about time zones. (Actually, Dad always preferred to call
me
when he was overseas, not the other way around. That was so I wouldnât disturb him if he was busy or catching up on sleep after a heavy work schedule.) It seemed ages since heâd last phoned. It would be nice, I thought, if he didnât just keep vanishing for weeks on end. It must feel good to have a parent who was around permanently, in the same place. Then you wouldnât have to built up a relationship all over again, each time you met.
âSarah, would you mind checking Eileenâs car?â Aunty Nat called. âShe canât think if she locked up properly. Oh, and while youâre about it, just make sure the headlights arenât still on, dear.â
Eileenâs car was parked outside in the road (she was a bit nervous about getting herself in and out of driveways). The curtains werenât drawn in the Rydersâ living room, and you could see in. I suddenly remembered Corrieâs invitation from yesterday, about watching videos. That invitation had been genuine; you could tell by the way sheâd said it. Sheâd made it sound the easiest thing in the world, just a matter of turning up and banging on their front door. Maybe I could
still
do it, even if I only stayed for half an hour or so. I could use their phone to let Aunty Nat know where I was, so she wouldnât think Iâd been kidnapped out on the street. It wouldnât be hard to invent some convincing reason why I hadnât gone out with Piriel, either, as Iâd said I would. Corrie would just say, âThatâs okay, itâs great you could make it after all, Sarah. Come in and meet all my friends.â
It wouldnât happen like that, though; it never did at school. Somehow, I just didnât seem to have any talent for mixing with other kids. It was a mystery, because I didnât know what I was doing wrong. Once, Tara McCabe had even yelled at me, âI bet if thereâs such soppy things as guardian angels, the one youâve got keeps begging for a transfer!â (We were out visiting a museum exhibition at the time. Tara had sneaked off and bought a bag of crisps, eating them behind Mrs H.âs back. Sheâd offered me some, but Iâd reminded her about the rule of not eating in public places while wearing school uniform.)
I moved further along the footpath, to the Rydersâ gate. From there you could see the whole of their living room, and what everyone was doing. They had their Christmas tree decorated already. There were four sleeping bags arranged in a semicircle facing the television set, but no one
It was really pathetic, the bending of rules that went on in their warm-up games of Trival Pursuit! Luckily, Eileen Holloway arrived then, late as usual, which meant an excuse to escape by hopping up to let her in. (It also meant having another wrinkled old cheek pressed against mine and not being able to do anything about it.) Eileen floated into the living room to join the others. Aunty Natâs famous card group, relocated to its new premises at Avian Cottage, Parchment Hills, was in full swing. Iâd done my duty as far as politeness went, and could now go downstairs with a clear conscience and finish off the jobs on my list. Except it didnât seem a very fascinating way to spend the evening â¦
I hung about in the hall, listening to the cheerful din, feeling rather out of things. Which was stupid. I knew that if Iâd actually
wanted
to play Trivial Pursuit or cards, all those kind old dears would have been delighted. But because Iâd already practically snarled at poor Aunty Nat for suggesting it, it seemed too embarrassing to go back in there. I glanced at the phone, wishing I could ring Dad. It was depressing when people could only talk to each other with a lot of fussy details about time zones. (Actually, Dad always preferred to call
me
when he was overseas, not the other way around. That was so I wouldnât disturb him if he was busy or catching up on sleep after a heavy work schedule.) It seemed ages since heâd last phoned. It would be nice, I thought, if he didnât just keep vanishing for weeks on end. It must feel good to have a parent who was around permanently, in the same place. Then you wouldnât have to built up a relationship all over again, each time you met.
âSarah, would you mind checking Eileenâs car?â Aunty Nat called. âShe canât think if she locked up properly. Oh, and while youâre about it, just make sure the headlights arenât still on, dear.â
Eileenâs car was parked outside in the road (she was a bit nervous about getting herself in and out of driveways). The curtains werenât drawn in the Rydersâ living room, and you could see in. I suddenly remembered Corrieâs invitation from yesterday, about watching videos. That invitation had been genuine; you could tell by the way sheâd said it. Sheâd made it sound the easiest thing in the world, just a matter of turning up and banging on their front door. Maybe I could
still
do it, even if I only stayed for half an hour or so. I could use their phone to let Aunty Nat know where I was, so she wouldnât think Iâd been kidnapped out on the street. It wouldnât be hard to invent some convincing reason why I hadnât gone out with Piriel, either, as Iâd said I would. Corrie would just say, âThatâs okay, itâs great you could make it after all, Sarah. Come in and meet all my friends.â
It wouldnât happen like that, though; it never did at school. Somehow, I just didnât seem to have any talent for mixing with other kids. It was a mystery, because I didnât know what I was doing wrong. Once, Tara McCabe had even yelled at me, âI bet if thereâs such soppy things as guardian angels, the one youâve got keeps begging for a transfer!â (We were out visiting a museum exhibition at the time. Tara had sneaked off and bought a bag of crisps, eating them behind Mrs H.âs back. Sheâd offered me some, but Iâd reminded her about the rule of not eating in public places while wearing school uniform.)
I moved further along the footpath, to the Rydersâ gate. From there you could see the whole of their living room, and what everyone was doing. They had their Christmas tree decorated already. There were four sleeping bags arranged in a semicircle facing the television set, but no one
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