“You are okay with the holiday then?” Chloe was still worried that Poppy might not be enjoying herself.
“I’m loving it!” Poppy said, reassuringly. “Well, apart from the lack of sockets in the tent for my hair straighteners…”That made Chloe laugh, as Poppy had intended.
“This is great. And much better than being stuck in some hotel somewhere, while Mum is at meetings all day. I’d have gone to the grandparents if they hadn’t been away too, but this is much more fun than that.”
“Really?”“Really truly! Stop worrying! Would I lie to you?”
Actually, no, thought Chloe. Easy-going, open, kind – Poppy was a great friend to have. And she was enjoying their annual family camping trip all the more for having her company too.
“You are lucky, having Jack. I wish I had a little brother or sister. And you’ll be getting another one in September.”“I know. And where we’re all going to sleep, I do not know!” Chloe rolled her eyes at the thought of it: their house was small.
“You’ll just have to move,” Poppy said idly – but it wasn’t that simple.
“Can I cook again tonight?” Like her mother, Poppy was a very good cook – and she enjoyed it, was loving the challenge of cooking on a campsite, instead of in a fully fitted kitchen.“I’m sure Mum won’t object,” Chloe said, laughing, as she sat down to talk to her brother.
“I’ll just go shopping first. I want to see what looks nice…” Poppy had that faraway look in her eyes again that meant she was planning something spectacular.
“So what are you cooking today? Poppy, this is so kind of you – I feel like we’re taking advantage of you.”“Elinor, I love doing it! And this is a super holiday. Fish – baked in foil on the embers, with lime and lemongrass, and we’ll eat it with baguettes, and a fruit salad afterwards, with my secret recipe dressing for it…”
“Well, I can’t tell you how grateful I am not having to cook!”
“So go put your feet up! Chloe’s taken Jack to look at the fishes again…” And Poppy gave Elinor one of her warm, wide smiles.
“Chloe, you’re amazing! I didn’t know you could do this!”Poppy had wandered over, with another visitor to the campsite in tow – who looked to be pretty smitten by Poppy!
“She’s got the regional finals coming up soon,” Chloe’s dad said. “Hence the practice, even on holiday. I let her off yesterday and the day before, but we need to get back into routine now.”
Poppy watched, deeply impressed by Chloe’s ability to move and control her body so well.
She was even more impressed when she watched Chloe sparring with her father!“Don’t tell Daisy about this though,” Chloe said afterwards. “She’d just make jokes about it – and I’d hate that. I really enjoy doing this – it’s special to me, and I don’t want Daisy teasing me about it.”
“No, I won’t” Poppy promised. “So is this what you’re doing when you say you’re going out with your family for the day, and can’t get together with us?”
“Usually, yes,” Chloe admitted.
“Could I come sometime? Like to the finals? And cheer for you?”
Daisy’s old bedroom was now ready and waiting for the new baby. Lorraine had dug her sewing machine out, and between them she and Jonnie had made curtains, recovered the chair – and David and his father had sloshed paint around enthusiastically.“You stay away from these paint fumes! It’s bad for the baby,” Jonathan had said, when Jonnie had protested that she could do the painting.
“And I’m stuck with this,” Daisy thought. Mum and Dad had sold her unicorn bed, bedside table and rabbit lamp.“But this dresser is yours,” her mum had said. So it had come down into her room as well – and Charlie had thoughtfully brought all the rubbish down too.
So far, Daisy had made no attempt to clean or tidy the room. Surely if she left it for long enough, someone else would do it for her?
For one happy moment, she thought her dream had come true as Grandmère came in with a mop and a bucket full of steaming water.“Daisy. Enough. You clean and tidy this room. Those disgusting smelly dishes – they go back downstairs, and you wash them clean, please. There is a smell most awful coming from under that bed. If you do not do this, then I permit Charlie to post pictures of your room.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can, I will. It is time you grew up a little. And also, I will invite your friends round – Chloe and the little Poppy – and show it to them.”
“Do you believe me?” Yes, Daisy did.
“Your mother – she is tired. You should be thinking, how can I help her? Not: how can I make her life worse. You cannot all your life be the baby.”
“Grandma H let me be the baby,” thought Daisy, as she somewhat reluctantly went over to begin picking up the rubbish. But her mother had fallen out with Grandma H, and would no longer let Daisy see her – and her father had never really liked his mother-in-law anyway. It didn’t cross Daisy’s mind that her grandmother must have done something pretty bad to make someone as even-tempered as Jonquil refuse to speak to her.
Eventually, she’d finished. She knew Lorraine too well: her grandmère would undoubtedly do exactly as she’d said. Lorraine never lied, and always kept her word. She’d had to ask her father and grandfather for help in moving all the furniture out of the room – and now, she supposed, it all had to come back in again. And there was no way she was going to be able to improve this room unless she got a job.
Her clothes would probably never be the same again. She hated this room! She almost (but not quite) wished she’d never made such a fuss. And what would Poppy and Chloe say if they saw it like this? She’d boasted to them so much (and especially Chloe) about her big new bedroom. They were both away for these first two weeks of the holiday – but when they came back, they’d be bound to want to see it. How was she going to get round this?
Reluctantly, Daisy found the newspaper, brought her chair back into her bedroom, and began to look for a part-time job.
“Wow. I like that.”“Thanks. I’m almost done, I think…” Matthew had called on Charlie, as they’d planned.
“There. Done.”“So – tell me about it.”
“I was trying to paint what it feels like to ride. Not what it looks like, but the sensations.”
“I’m impressed. Have you ever thought of painting horses though?”
“Why?” Charlie knew Matthew well by now, and could read the tones of his voice.
“Well – I’d really like to give Bryony something special after the baby’s born…What would you charge?”
“Hmm. Let me think about that. Want a drink while we wait for Hanako?”
“Hey, I like your new upstairs kitchen! Very smart.”“Yes – Grandmère and Mum both agreed that they needed a kitchen each, so we use this one for breakfast, cups of coffee, lunches – but normally we eat together downstairs in the evening. Unless Grandmère and Granpère have got guests. They’ve had Poppy’s grandparents round quite a bit recently – Flora and Archibald Pettistree: have you met them?”
“She wears really bright clothes? Yes, I met them a couple of weeks back, when I was out with Bryony, lugging shopping to the car for her. I can see where Poppy’s friendliness comes from.”
“I don’t know why she puts up with Daisy’s moods! She’s way nicer than Daisy.”
“By the way,” Matthew said casually – too casually! – a few moments later. “You’re going to be on your own in the stables this afternoon.”“Charlie nearly choked on her hot chocolate. “What?!”
“Mum asked me to go over to see the Bardons this afternoon – to take some flowers to Alice. It’s the anniversary of Sarah’s death.”
That quietened Charlie down. She knew Alice and Jacob’s daughter had been Bryony’s best friend.
“Is Bryony okay?”
“Yes, but the car’s at the garage, she’s finding even the little horse box too heavy to handle now, so I said I’d go. You’ll be fine – you know how to saddle up, get the ponies ready, supervise them mounting, lead them to the field…it’s a nice well-behaved class. And it’s not like you’re teaching or anything. You know what you’re doing.”
“If you say so…Doorbell! That’ll be Hanako, fresh from her vile din lesson.”
Her parents had been adamant that if her school work suffered, Daisy would have to give up her part time job. And then she could say goodbye to ever getting anything done to this room! But it was the summer holidays – she wouldn’t have any homework! Until her maths teacher called David and Jonquil in, talked to them about his concerns, asked them if they could help – and now she had a whole-summer remedial maths programme mapped out for her. Two hours a day, partly working through stuff, partly going through it with her father - no chance of not doing it.She’d tried everything to get a different room – whining, pleading, cajoling, but nothing had worked.
“But the bars over the window – it’s like being in prison.”
“Hardly,” Lorraine remarked dryly. “If you want to know what prison is like, I could tell you tales from my mother…”
That had shut Daisy up pretty sharpish.
“It was a nursery bedroom once,” her father said. “When we get the outside painted, the bars are coming off.”
And no-one would sympathise with her! She couldn’t talk to Poppy and Chloe – for one thing, there was no mobile reception at their dreggy campsite, and for another – what if they laughed at her? She couldn’t bear not being the best of the three of them – the prettiest, the slimmest, the one with the best clothes. Chloe didn’t have the money to compete, and Poppy was too fat to ever look good. But now that Grandma H wasn’t allowed to give Daisy the massive handouts she had been giving her, how was she going to keep up her position? And this bedroom was so not going to help.
Secretly, Daisy thought that Charlie looked quite impressive in her riding gear – but she’d never admit it in a million years.“Dad,” Charlie asked. “Is it okay with you if I go and stay at Matthew’s for the next couple of weeks? Their stable lad’s away – and Bryony can’t cover for him at the moment, obviously. Then I can help with the morning stuff too.”
“I don’t see why not,” David said after a little thought. “Mum’s got Daisy to help here. Which reminds me Daisy, I asked you to go upstairs and get that book for Mum. So why did I find Jonnie getting it for herself?”
“I did go! I couldn’t find it!”
“It was on the chest of drawers where I told you it would be.”
“I didn’t see it!”
“Better get your eyes tested then,” Charlie said smartly – and then escaped before Daisy could think of something to say in return.
“That looks nice on you. I haven’t seen you wear it for a while.” David was determined to be pleasant to Daisy as often as he could –he knew moving had been unsettling for her, and her “bezzies” were still on holiday. Unfortunately, Daisy wasn’t in to being pleasant back.“Oh yeah. Rub it in, why don’t you? Like anyone can look good in last year’s clothes. That’s just too frumpsville for words.”
David, thinking about how seldom Jonnie had new clothes, was less than amused.
“Thank you for your important fashion insights. We’ll all bear them in mind – nice to know what you think of everyone else. And talking of clothes, why didn’t you put away all the ones Jonnie asked you?”“I didn’t see the other pile!”
“Maybe Charlie’s right, and you do need your eyes testing. I’ll make an appointment for you.”
“Oh Dad, don’t be so silly. And glasses are like geeksville anyway.” That was not the right thing to say to someone who wore them…
Daisy flounced off in a huff up to her room. Honestly, Dad just didn’t get it! Okay, she’d liked this dress last summer – but to be wearing it the summer after! It was, like, only fuddy-duddies who did that. Or old people like her mother. Well, at least she got a pay packet soon, and then she could pay someone to decorate this room for her, since her parents were too mean to do that. Oh well - she supposed she’d better make a start on her maths for the day, or Mr Grumpy would be at her again.
And that was another depressing thing about living here, Daisy thought, as she found the books she needed. Grandmère and Grandpère always talked about schoolwork and learning new things as if it was interesting. Grandma H, on the other hand, always said school was boring really. And it couldn’t be because Grandma H wasn’t clever – she’d gone to the grammar school like Grandpère, so she’d have had to pass the entrance exam to get in. She must be just as clever as Grandpère.
“This is probably the worst day of my life,” Daisy thought, as she looked at herself in the mirror on the landing before she went off to work. David had been as good as his word and booked her an appointment with the optician – and it turned out that she did need glasses.
Work uniform on, hair off her face (she’d been warned about that twice – once more, and she’d lose her job, and she couldn’t risk that), and now those terrible glasses.“Life just can’t get any worse,” Daisy thought.
Chapter 1 is here: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/give-me-your-answer-do-chapter-1.html
If you want to read the earlier story about Daisy and Charlie, it's here:
Prologue: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/its-not-fair-prologue.html
Chapter 1: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/its-not-fair-chapter-1.html
Chapter 2: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/chapter-2.html
Chapter 3: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/its-not-fair-chapter-3.html
Chapter 4: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/its-not-fair-chapter-4.html
Chapter 5: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/its-not-fair-chapter-5.html
Chapter 6: http://samelasstories.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/its-not-fair-final-chapter.html
The mop and bucket came from CycloneSue at TSR, and the eggs and book in the kitchen from Sandy at ATS3
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