about the fun they had had on their date, and all the cool stuff they’d done with Conor and Lee. Then they went on and on about how they didn’t care about stupid camp activities, and that the camp disco was only for stupid babies anyway.
I tried talking to Alice a few times, but each time she just turned away.
I sat with Sarah for breakfast, as far away from Alice and Hazel as I could manage. Most of the kids had some idea that something had happened the evening before, but Alice, Hazel and I were the only ones who knew exactly what it had been.
When most of the other kids had gone to get ready for activities, Sarah asked me what was going on. I hesitated, but then decided that I had nothing left to lose, and told her the whole story. She listened without saying a word.
‘You poor thing,’ she said, when I had finished.
‘What would you have done?’ I asked.
Sarah didn’t even hesitate.
‘I’d have done exactly what you did.’
I’ll never know if she was telling the truth, but it made me feel a bit better anyway.
‘Come on,’ said Sarah, giving me a quick hug. ‘Try and forget about it for a while. Let’s go and get ready for basketball.’
I hoped that by lunch-time, Alice might have calmed down a bit, and that I could get a chance to explain my side of the story to her. There was no real hope though – now Hazel acted as if she owned Alice. Everywhere one went, the other followed, almost as if they were attached to each other by an invisible string.
And so the day dragged on. I think Sarah told Sam what had happened, because he wasespecially nice to me. He was so nice that I even began to feel a bit better for a while. That only lasted till Alice and Hazel walked by though, pointing at me and laughing, and then I felt as bad as ever.
Sarah stayed with me the whole time – a bit like my own personal bodyguard. She was really funny, and kept trying to cheer me up. It wasn’t the same as being with Alice, though. I’d only had one really bad fight with her before, when I was staying in Dublin, and she was trying to get rid of the man she thought was her mum’s boyfriend. Even that had only lasted for a short while though. We said really mean things to each other, but after half an hour we were best friends again – probably better friends than ever before.
This time I didn’t think it was going to turn out like that, though. As long as Hazel was around, she was going to do her very best to keep Alice and me apart. And by the time camp was over, Alice might have got so used to hating me, that she’d never, ever stop.
After tea, I went up to my room for a while.Alice and Hazel were downstairs in one of the classrooms, being watched over by a very cross Gloria. I sat on my bed and played with the tiny silver bus on a chain that Alice had given me during the spring break. We were very, very best friends then. And now it looked like that would never happen again.
The whole thing was so totally unfair – I’d only been trying to help Alice. The worst thing was, I’d often got into trouble because of Alice, but I always forgave her in the end. So why couldn’t she forgive me?
For a while, I thought about phoning home. If I told Mum and Dad how upset I was, maybe they’d let me come home. Home would have been much better than camp now that Alice and I were fighting. Even with all the porridge and organic vegetables, home suddenly seemed like a great place to be.
Then I got sense though. Mum would have been sympathetic, but she’s a great believer in sticking things out, and after paying so much money for the camp, it would kill her if I left early. Dad mighthave been more understanding, but I knew he’d do whatever Mum said in the end.
So I was trapped.
I was public enemy number one, as far as Alice was concerned, and I couldn’t do a single thing to change it.
Chapter twenty-one
A nd so the days went very, very slowly by. In the day-time, I stayed away from Alice and Hazel as much
I tried talking to Alice a few times, but each time she just turned away.
I sat with Sarah for breakfast, as far away from Alice and Hazel as I could manage. Most of the kids had some idea that something had happened the evening before, but Alice, Hazel and I were the only ones who knew exactly what it had been.
When most of the other kids had gone to get ready for activities, Sarah asked me what was going on. I hesitated, but then decided that I had nothing left to lose, and told her the whole story. She listened without saying a word.
‘You poor thing,’ she said, when I had finished.
‘What would you have done?’ I asked.
Sarah didn’t even hesitate.
‘I’d have done exactly what you did.’
I’ll never know if she was telling the truth, but it made me feel a bit better anyway.
‘Come on,’ said Sarah, giving me a quick hug. ‘Try and forget about it for a while. Let’s go and get ready for basketball.’
I hoped that by lunch-time, Alice might have calmed down a bit, and that I could get a chance to explain my side of the story to her. There was no real hope though – now Hazel acted as if she owned Alice. Everywhere one went, the other followed, almost as if they were attached to each other by an invisible string.
And so the day dragged on. I think Sarah told Sam what had happened, because he wasespecially nice to me. He was so nice that I even began to feel a bit better for a while. That only lasted till Alice and Hazel walked by though, pointing at me and laughing, and then I felt as bad as ever.
Sarah stayed with me the whole time – a bit like my own personal bodyguard. She was really funny, and kept trying to cheer me up. It wasn’t the same as being with Alice, though. I’d only had one really bad fight with her before, when I was staying in Dublin, and she was trying to get rid of the man she thought was her mum’s boyfriend. Even that had only lasted for a short while though. We said really mean things to each other, but after half an hour we were best friends again – probably better friends than ever before.
This time I didn’t think it was going to turn out like that, though. As long as Hazel was around, she was going to do her very best to keep Alice and me apart. And by the time camp was over, Alice might have got so used to hating me, that she’d never, ever stop.
After tea, I went up to my room for a while.Alice and Hazel were downstairs in one of the classrooms, being watched over by a very cross Gloria. I sat on my bed and played with the tiny silver bus on a chain that Alice had given me during the spring break. We were very, very best friends then. And now it looked like that would never happen again.
The whole thing was so totally unfair – I’d only been trying to help Alice. The worst thing was, I’d often got into trouble because of Alice, but I always forgave her in the end. So why couldn’t she forgive me?
For a while, I thought about phoning home. If I told Mum and Dad how upset I was, maybe they’d let me come home. Home would have been much better than camp now that Alice and I were fighting. Even with all the porridge and organic vegetables, home suddenly seemed like a great place to be.
Then I got sense though. Mum would have been sympathetic, but she’s a great believer in sticking things out, and after paying so much money for the camp, it would kill her if I left early. Dad mighthave been more understanding, but I knew he’d do whatever Mum said in the end.
So I was trapped.
I was public enemy number one, as far as Alice was concerned, and I couldn’t do a single thing to change it.
Chapter twenty-one
A nd so the days went very, very slowly by. In the day-time, I stayed away from Alice and Hazel as much
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