Party Time Read online

  “You really should have asked him first though, you know Lyndsey.” Lyndz’s mum sounded serious, but then she added, “You’d better toast in the New Year before anything else happens!”

  When Lyndz’s parents, Stuart and Tom had left, us we all looked at each other. Then Kenny cracked up.

  “That was class! Did you see Stu fall?”

  “Felt him, more like!” moaned Fliss, although she was grinning. “Your brother is one big lump, Lyndz!”

  That seemed to cheer Lyndz up. She poured out our lemonade and we wished each other a “Happy New Year” as we clinked glasses.

  When we finally settled down to sleep, Fliss said, “Your mum was right though. It wasn’t a great start to a New Year, was it? Let’s hope we have better luck with the real one!”

  “Except I won’t be there, will I?” mumbled Kenny quietly. “You’ll all be starting the New Year together and I’ll be in Scotland.”

  She sounded really miserable.

  “But we’ll toast you, won’t we guys?” I comforted her.

  “Sure will!” the others agreed. Kenny seemed kind of thrilled about that, but still a bit sad.

  Saying goodbye to each other in the morning was pretty hard because we knew that we’d next see each other at Fliss’s party and Kenny wouldn’t be there. It didn’t seem right, somehow.

  Still, I was relieved to get home, just so I could reassure myself that Mum was OK.

  “Did you have fun, darling?” she asked.

  “Yes, it was coo-ell!” I told her all about the fruit fight and the lemonade at midnight and Stuart getting mad and falling over.

  “And you should have seen Fliss’s dress!” I gabbled. “Well, you will, won’t you? She’ll be wearing it at her mum’s party.”

  “Ah yes, the party!” Mum said sarcastically. “Nikki rang last night in a bit of a flap.”

  “When isn’t Fliss’s mum in a bit of a flap?” I asked.

  “Well, she’s in a lot of a flap actually,” Mum continued. “She was having a major crisis about some napkins, so I said she could borrow some of ours. You wouldn’t mind taking them round this afternoon, would you Frankie?”

  Now, going round to Fliss’s house when her mum’s in a tizz is not exactly high on my list of fun things to do. But it didn’t really look as though I had much choice. So later that afternoon, armed with a carrier bag full of napkins, I set off.

  It was obvious as soon as I got to the door that things were not exactly rosy inside. I could hear a high-pitched squeaking that at first I thought was Fliss, but then Fliss bundled out of the front door all red in the face.

  “Are you OK?” I asked.

  “Oh, Frankie, thank goodness!” Fliss grabbed hold of my arm. “Mum’s going off on one. You should hear her!”

  “I think I just have,” I admitted. I could still hear the squeaking, but it was getting louder. It was coming closer. It was Fliss’s mum!

  “Don’t you dare run away from me, Felicity!” she squeaked. Then she saw me. “Ah, Frankie, I don’t think I’m going to need those napkins now. I’ve decided I’m not having a party, it’s too much to cope with. Too much food, too many people, too much mess. I wish I’d never told anyone about it. I don’t think I can face it, I really don’t.”

  It was amazing. I mean, the woman never stopped to draw breath! And boy, did she look rough! Usually she’s dead trendy, but not today. Today she made King look like Naomi Campbell. I knew something must be really wrong because she hadn’t even bothered to put any make-up on. She usually wears enough to supply the cosmetics counter at Boots.

  “You can’t cancel the party now, Mrs Sidebotham,” I told her, alarmed. “Everyone’s really looking forward to it.”

  Fliss’s mum’s chin began to wobble and she started to sniff. I wasn’t sure that I could face seeing her break down in tears. It’s bad enough coping with Fliss when she’s like that.

  “Why don’t I make you a cup of tea?” I suggested, as Fliss and I steered her towards the kitchen.

  And that was another sign that Fliss’s mum wasn’t quite right – she actually let me into the house without me taking my shoes off first. And that almost never happens. But I wished I hadn’t thought about it, because you know how your mind sometimes wanders? Well, mine went on a major expedition! I kept thinking how funny it would be if Mrs Sidebotham made everyone take off their shoes when they came to the party. There’d be a great pile of them by the door and they’d all get muddled up and everyone would end up going home in the wrong pair …

  “What’s so funny?” demanded Fliss as we got into the kitchen. I hadn’t even realised that I was smiling. But fortunately, before I had a chance to explain, Andy and Callum appeared, carrying huge boxes piled high with bags of crisps and things.

  “Hiya, Frankie, how are you?” Andy beamed at me and dumped his box on the breakfast bar.

  “Fine thanks,” I smiled back at him. I really like Andy. He’s Fliss’s mum’s boyfriend, but we tend to think of him as Fliss’s stepfather because he’s been around forever. Even Fliss calls him her stepfather sometimes. Anyway, he’s always really bright and cheerful, and I’ve no idea how he manages that, living with Fliss and her mum – not to mention Callum!

  Mrs Sidebotham was slumped on one of the stools next to the breakfast bar, and as Andy and Callum carried in more and more boxes from the car, she started to whimper again.

  “Oh, I can’t cope with this, I just can’t!” she wailed. “We’re going to have to call the party off!”

  “Now, now, we’ve been over this,” murmured Andy soothingly, putting an arm around her shoulder. “We’re having someone in to prepare the food. We’ve bought all the drinks, the house is clean, the decorations are still up from Christmas, and we’re here to help out, aren’t we guys?”

  Fliss and Callum nodded solemnly.

  “So you see, all you have to do is look beautiful, my love.” Andy kissed Fliss’s mum on the cheek. “And you can’t help doing that, can you? This party is definitely going ahead, because I want to show you off!”

  Yuk! I thought I was going to throw up, I really did, but at least Mrs Sidebotham was smiling again.

  “And besides, Mum, you’ve got to have the party because you want everyone to know about …” Fliss bent over and whispered something in her mum’s ear. I don’t know what it was, but Mrs Sidebotham went all giggly and pink.

  After that she went back into traditional ‘Fliss’s mum’ mode. You know, twittering about and fussing over where to put things so they wouldn’t get broken. That was definitely my cue to leave.

  “I’ll see you at the party, then?” I called as I left.

  “OK, sweetie, thanks for the napkins!” Mrs Sidebotham called out from the lounge. It was like she’d totally forgotten all about the state she was in when I first got there.

  Fliss came to the door with me.

  “Thanks for coming, Frankie. I think Mum’s excited, that’s all!”

  “Yeah, course,” I nodded. I was just glad that my mum didn’t go off on one whenever she was excited.

  “I wonder what the party’s really for?” I asked Mum when I got home. “Fliss’s mum’s certainly all ga-ga about something, and it’s definitely not just New Year’s Eve.”

  “If it’s what I think it is, Nikki will want to make it a party to remember!” Mum replied.

  Well, let me tell you, none of us will ever forget that New Year’s Eve party. But I don’t think it was exactly what Fliss’s mum had in mind!

  When the day of the party finally came round, I was well up for it. I suppose I was excited because it was the first grown-up party I’d ever been to, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I just figured it would be sophisticated and glamorous and—

  “Boring!”

  That’s what Dad said, anyway. He reckons that whenever grown-ups get together, all they talk about is how tiring their jobs are and how much money they spend. Great! I was in for a really fun evening, wasn’t I? I didn’t tak
e much notice of him actually, because I think he was just trying to put me off. I don’t think he and Mum were really looking forward to Fliss’s mum’s party.

  I was kind of hyper as soon as I got up, but I knew that I had a whole day to get through before we went out, so I thought of all the things I could do to calm me down. The first thing on my list was to ring Kenny. I was sure that she said they were going to drive up to her grandparents in Scotland at about ten in the morning of New Year’s Eve. But when I rang her at nine, there was no reply.

  “They probably set off early,” Mum suggested. “It’s quite a drive up there.”

  “They might even have gone up last night,” Dad chipped in. “I’m not sure I’d want to drive all that way and be thrown straight into the Hogmanay celebrations. It gets pretty wild up there, I gather.”

  “Kenny will fit in well then!” I chuckled.

  “Ooh, I’ve just had a vision of Kenny doing the Highland fling!” groaned Dad. “Now that’s not a pretty sight at breakfast time!”

  “Dad!” I laughed, and punched him on the arm.

  I was a bit miffed that Kenny hadn’t rung me before she left, though. But then again, she had been kind of upset knowing that we would all be together on New Year’s Eve without her. Perhaps she was still a bit cut up about it.

  When the phone rang a little later I pounced on it, expecting it to be Kenny. Wrong! It was Fliss’s mum and she was in another tizz. In fact, we are talking Panic City!

  “Ooh Frankie, is your mum around, only …”

  I held the phone out to Mum and mouthed “Fliss’s mum!”

  Mum rolled her eyes and took the receiver. “Hello, Nikki, are you ready for the party then?”

  Stupid question, Mother. Mum was on the phone for forty minutes, trying to reassure Fliss’s mum that yes, she was sure she had enough food, and no, she didn’t think there would be any gatecrashers, and…Well, you get the picture, don’t you? Poor Mum looked shattered when she got off the phone.

  But if that wasn’t bad enough, Fliss’s mum kept ringing back. When the phone rang for the fifth time, Mum said:

  “Will you get that, Frankie? And if she asks for me, tell her I’ve gone to the doctor’s with earache!”

  “Mum!” I pretended to look shocked and picked up the receiver.

  “Hi, Mrs Sidebotham, I’m afraid Mum’s had to pop out,” I fibbed. “Yes, I’ll tell her you rang. See you tonight then, bye.”

  “My father always told me it was wrong to lie,” I said in a sickly-sweet voice when I’d put the phone down.

  “Well, Frankie, there are nasty big lies and there are little white ones that might just save someone’s sanity …”

  “…and that was one of those, right?” I asked seriously.

  “You bet your life it was. I’m going to lie down, I feel exhausted.” Mum pretended to clutch her head and swept dramatically out of the room.

  I don’t know how I got through the rest of the day without going crazy. I tried on my outfit about a million times (I’d decided to wear what I’d worn to our sleepover), and experimented with loads of different make-up. I picked out one of the fake tattoos Lyndz had bought me, then decided to have a bath before I put it on. And all the time excitement was kind of bubbling inside me.

  When it finally got to early evening and Dad was fixing us all something to eat, I could barely contain myself.

  “Do you think there’ll be dancing? I can’t imagine Fliss’s mum dancing, can you? Ooh, thanks Dad, veggie bangers, my favourite! Do you think there’ll be lots to eat there tonight? I mean, am I going to be too full up if I eat these now?” I babbled on, barely pausing for breath. “Oh, Mrs Sidebotham won’t have those silly little sandwiches, will she? What’s up, Mum, aren’t you eating anything? Are you saving yourself for the food later?”

  “No, I think I’ll just have a piece of bread or something,” Mum said quietly. “I’ve just got a touch of indigestion again. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Nikki’s worn you down with all her fussing hasn’t she?” Dad turned to Mum and started rubbing her back. “Never mind – after tonight it’ll all be over. We probably won’t see Nikki for a month, she’ll be in such a state of shock after all those people have trampled through her house!”

  “Aw, don’t say that, Dad! I’m looking forward to this party, even if no one else is,” I told them defiantly. “Do you think you can teach me the words for that song you sing at midnight, ‘Old Land Signs’ or whatever it’s called? I don’t want to be the only one who doesn’t know the words.”

  Mum and Dad looked at each other.

  “The song’s called ‘Auld Lang Syne’,” Dad explained. “But I don’t think you’ll be needing the words for that. We’re only popping along to the party for a couple of hours, you know. We’ll be home well before midnight.”

  “What?!” I yelled. “What’s the point of going to a New Year’s Eve party if you don’t stay till midnight? This is, like, a new year!”

  I was really, really gutted. I mean, I’d been building up to this party for a week, and they had to choose now, like an hour before we went, to drop the bombshell that we were only “popping along”, like it was a tea party or something!

  “All the others will be staying. It’s not fair!” I knew that I was whining and that I must sound like Fliss. But I didn’t care.

  “Well, if you’re going to behave like a spoilt child, we needn’t go at all.” Dad was looking at me sternly over the rim of his glasses. “We thought you were more mature than that, Frankie.”

  I felt awful. I didn’t know what was worse – being disappointed myself, or disappointing Mum and Dad because of the way I was reacting.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, and went up to my room.

  I felt kind of hopeless, you know? I mean, what was the point of getting all glammed up to go out, if we were going to be back home as soon as we got there? What made it worse was that Kenny wasn’t even going to be there. She can always manage to cheer me up, however gloomy I am.

  There was a knock at the door.

  “Can I come in?” Mum peeped round the corner, then came in and sat on the bed.

  “Sorry you’re so disappointed, love, it’s just that I’m kind of tired, you know.” Mum did look a bit pale, and she still looked to be in pain from her indigestion. I suddenly felt very guilty for being so selfish.

  “I’m sorry, Mum, I know you really aren’t looking forward to going at all,” I smiled apologetically. “And I guess I might be fed up of Fliss’s ‘Isn’t-this-a-wonderful-party and isn’t-my-mum-clever?’ routine after two hours anyway!”

  Mum just laughed. “OK then, you’d better get your glad rags on before your dad decides not to go at all!”

  Then Mum noticed the fake tattoo I’d put round my arm. She stared at it, and I really thought she was going to go ballistic …

  Then a big grin spread over her face.

  “Is that one of the tattoos Lyndz gave you for Christmas?”

  I nodded.

  “Will you put that rose one on me, just there?” She pointed to her shoulder. “I can’t wait to see Nikki’s reaction when she sees it!”

  We both collapsed into fits of giggles and went into the bathroom.

  I have to say that Mum looked well cool when I’d finished with her. Not only did I apply the tattoo for her, but she also let me do her make-up. When we were both dressed, we went downstairs together and Dad whistled really loudly.

  “Wowee!” he smirked. “You both look fantastic! You’d better wrap up warm though, it’s starting to snow.”

  He hadn’t even noticed Mum’s tattoo! When she put on a jacket as we went outside, she gave me this big, soppy wink. We couldn’t stop giggling all the way to the party, and Dad just couldn’t work out what was going on.

  “What is it with you two?” he asked. “You’re like a couple of monkeys.”

  That, of course, made us laugh even more.

  When we pulled up outside Fliss’s house, there seeme
d to be loads of noise coming from inside.

  “It sounds pretty lively!” Dad said.

  And I suddenly began to feel really nervous. I knew that the others would be there and Mum and Dad and everything, but I really began to miss Kenny. We’re always there to support each other, and I knew that she wouldn’t be nervous about going into a big party at all.

  We started to walk carefully up the path. The snow was starting to settle, and it was kind of slippery. I gingerly slid one foot in front of the other – and that’s when I saw it. A figure. A very familiar figure. A figure wearing a bright Leicester City top. A figure which just had to be Kenny!

  “Kenny!” I yelled, tottering up the path as fast as I dared. “What are you doing here?”

  Kenny turned to me, beaming all over her face. “Blizzards and flu,” she said, ever so seriously.

  “You what?”

  “There are going to be blizzards in Scotland and Granny and Grandpa have gone down with flu,” Kenny explained. “So here we are!”

  We grabbed each other and did one of our silly dances. Well Kenny did – she was wearing her trainers so she was all right in the snow. I just kind of stood there whilst she danced round me.

  “You are so childish, do you know that?” moaned a voice from the shadows.

  Uh-oh! If Kenny had made it to the party, then so had her cruddy sister, Molly the Monster.

  “Molly’s in a foul mood because Emma’s at home with Stuart and Tom, and she wanted to stay too. But Mum said she was too young and had to come here with us, worse luck!” Kenny whispered.

  “That doesn’t mean she’ll have to hang around with us, does it?” I asked anxiously.

  “No fear!” huffed Kenny dismissively.

  Mum and Dad meanwhile were walking up the path with Kenny’s parents. They all get on pretty well together, so I was kind of hoping that Mum and Dad might stay at the party a bit longer now that they were here too.

  Suddenly the front door opened and the music from inside the house spilled out to meet us.

  “Oh good, it’s you! Do come in and let me take your coats,” twittered Fliss’s mum, staring very hard at our shoes. Now we all know how fussy she is about us trailing dirt into her house, so we all wiped our feet extra hard before we went in.