Eva's Journey by Judi Curtin Page B

I couldn’t help comparing Dad’s handiwork with the very flashy maple and steel kitchen that Victoria’s parents had had fitted in their house a few months earlier.
    â€˜I’m doing the bathroom next,’ said Dad. ‘FirstI’m going to re-grout the tiles, and then I’m going to sand the floorboards, and then—’
    â€˜Dad,’ I wailed. ‘Victoria isn’t here for a DIY lesson.’
    â€˜Oh,’ said Dad, disappointed.
    I grabbed Victoria’s arm and pulled her towards the hall.
    â€˜Come on,’ I said. ‘Before he gets started again.’
    Victoria laughed, and followed me.
    â€˜Your dad’s changed,’ she said as we went upstairs.’
    â€˜Tell me about it!’ I said.
    â€˜Don’t knock it. Some changes are good you know. And your mum – she seems kind of different these days too.’
    I smiled.
    â€˜Yes she is, isn’t she? She always used to go out to lunch and coffee mornings and stuff – but she never had any real friends. Now that’s all changed though. She’s forever having the neighbours in for cups of tea. They’re always teaching her these weird recycled craft things, and talking aboutallotments and stuff. Sometimes I can’t concentrate on my homework, they’re laughing so much.’
    â€˜That’s good isn’t it?’
    I shrugged.
    â€˜I suppose so,’ I conceded.

    â€˜So, any real news?’ said Victoria when we were settled in my room.
    Before I could answer, she noticed my new bracelet on my wrist. She leaned over and touched it, running her fingers along the tiny, shimmering beads.
    â€˜That is so, so beautiful,’ she said. ‘Where did you get it?’
    â€˜You mean “where did a poor girl like me get such a beautiful bracelet”?’ I snapped.
    Victoria shook her head.
    â€˜Stop being so defensive, Eva. I mean it’s a beautiful bracelet, and I’ve never seen it before and I’m wondering where you got it.’
    â€˜Sorry,’ I said.
    She smiled.
    â€˜And?’
    I hesitated.
    I
so
didn’t want to tell Victoria about Ruby and the market.
    I didn’t know how to say it without making myself sound like a loser.
    But Victoria was my best friend in the whole world, and how could I be proper friends with someone I kept telling lies to?
    So I took a deep breath, and told Victoria all about Ruby, and how I’d started to help her in the market on Saturdays.
    Victoria listened to my story with a puzzled expression on her face.
    â€˜That’s really nice of you, and everything, but … er … why?’ she said in the end.
    â€˜Why what?’
    Victoria sighed.
    â€˜This is what I’m hearing. There’s this girl, that you don’t seem to like very much, and she doesn’t seem to like you – or anyone else – that much.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t exactly say that I don’t like her,’ I corrected Victoria. ‘It’s just that she’s different to anyone I’ve ever known before.’
    â€˜Whatever. She’s in your class, but she doesn’t talk to you at school, and you don’t talk to her?’
    â€˜Well…yes.’
    â€˜And yet you spend all of your Saturday mornings helping her to sell cabbages in the market.’
    I giggled.
    â€˜Pay attention. It’s not just cabbages. We sell carrots, broccoli, apples, oranges. We have a very wide range of produce!’
    Victoria giggled too.
    â€˜Well you know what I’m trying to say. I mean, you’ve always been a nice girl and everything, but you’re not a saint. So why are you doing this?’
    I hesitated again.
    It was one thing telling Victoria about Ruby.
    Did I really want to tell her about Madam Margarita as well?
    But Victoria was smiling at me, and I knew thatif anyone in the whole world was going to understand this crazy story, it had to be Victoria. So I took another deep