Yeah. Big time
WHO CARES? YOUR BFF IS SKYLAR CHASE. AND YOUR BOYF IS ETHAN DUKE. SOMEONE JUST DROPPED A SAUSAGE ROLL ON ME
Grace. Get up off the floor. I promise to fill you in at school, OK? I’ll tell you everything.
Enjoy the party
Mum and I sat in silence for a very long time. As soon as I’d walked into the hotel, she’d just pointed at the lift without saying anything and then stood inside with me, still not saying a word. We got to our floor and I sheepishly followed her into the flat where she simply pointed again, this time at the sofa. I sat down nervously.
And then it was just silent for ages.
Actually, that’s a lie. It was like that for about four seconds until I heard Fritz’s scrambling paws come pattering from my bedroom. He saw that we had returned and excitedly bounded over to climb up my leg.
‘Not now, Fritz.’
Mum’s low, stern voice echoed round the room. Fritz immediately stopped jumping and ran back to my room, his tail in between his legs.
Andthenit was silent for ages.
I’d never quite realised before just how excruciating silence is, especially when it’s not a boring silence, but a terrifying, bad, bad silence. I watched her as she put her head in her hands, then she pinched her nose and concentrated for a bit. I thought she might be waiting for me to make the first move.
‘I can expla–’
I thought wrong. Mum sharply held up her hand. I stopped talking. She inhaled deeply and opened her eyes to meet mine.
‘What I can’t understand, Flick,’ she said slowly, ‘is why you wouldn’t talk to me about this.’
‘About the fashion show?’
‘Yes. About the fashion show.’
‘Because,’ I began, slumping back on to the cushions, ‘you wouldn’t have let me go.’
Her expression softened. ‘Flick, do you know why I’m so upset?’
‘Because I broke the rules.’
‘You’re wrong.’
I didn’t say anything.
‘I’m upset because nobody knew where you were. Audrey, Matthew and I, we all thought you were upstairs studying and you were in fact in a completely different part of London.’
‘So?’
‘So!’ I saw a flash of anger cross her face. ‘What if something had happened? Something in the hotel? Nobody would have known where you were! Can you imagine how worried we’d have all been?’
‘Mum, I had my phone on me. It really is not that dramatic.’ I picked up one of the cushions and clutched it to my chest.
‘Flick,’ she said, so quietly I could hardly hear her, ‘you are being incredibly selfish.’
‘I get what you’re saying.’ I sighed. ‘But nothing bad happened and the whole world knew where I was, because it was all over the Internet. So it’s not like I just disappeared.’
‘Do. Not. Pull. A. Stunt. Like. This. Again.’ She exhaled.
‘I won’t. And I’m sorry that I sneaked out when I was grounded. But it is Fashion Week and this was my only chance, and it wasn’t just anyone who asked me to go with her, it was Skylar Chase. I didn’t have much of a choice.’
‘You should have told me. We could have compromised.’
