it Soph. Itâs not that strange, itâs probably just a business call or something work-related,â Janice assured me.
âHuh? A business call in the middle of the night Janice? Mr George runs a post officeâwhat mail-related emergency could there possÂibly be?â Theo disputed.
âW-well, I donât know exactly, but what I meant to say was when the phone rings in the middle of the night at our house, itâs just one of Dadâs partners from America or Japan. You see over there, no one remembers the time difference to us all the way down here in Australia. But all that will change when I become a famous lawyer like Dad. Iâll just move to Tokyo or to New York instead,â Janice announced proudly.
âInstead of moving time zones why donât you just turn your phone off before you go to bed?â Theo asked.
âOhâ¦shut up Theo you donât know anything!â she snapped rudely.
âHey stop it you two! Iâd like at least one morning on the way to school where you donât bicker at each other,â I growled. I didnât mean to sound like a grown-up but they needed someone like me to keep them in line. The three of us dawdled up the road in silence.
âYesterday afternoon after I delivered all the parcels,â I said breaking the silence, âI overheard Dad talking on the phone but this time he was talking inside the broom closet.â
âTHE BROOM CLOSET!â my friends exclaimed.
âYes! It seems to be the place he takes all his âimportant callsâ lately,â I said using my fingers as inverted comas to emphasize the words âimportant callsâ. âThatâs when I overheard him mention âWall Streetâ.â
âBut thatâs in New York City!â Janice interrupted me.
âDUH, WE KNOW THAT!â Theo scoffed at Janice.
âWell so-rr-y for speaking,â she huffed as she folded her arms tightly and walked a little faster ahead of us.
I could tell Janice was annoyed because whenever she got mad her freckles glowed bright orange.
âI also heard Dad say the name âTiffanyâ,â I said ignoring her. Theo let out a dramatic gasp with both his hands clasped over his mouth. He always showed a lot of enthusiasm during conversations; I liked that about him.
âWhoâs Tiffany?â Janice asked as she stopped and waited for us to catch up to her.
âI donât know. Iâm not even sure if he was talking to a woman called Tiffany or he just happened to mention the name,â I said.
âWell it sounds to me like heâs got another girlfriend,â announced Janice.
Janiceâs comment took me so by surprise that I coughed and choked for air. Theo quickly pushed her out of the way and began patting me hard on the back.
âYou shouldnât say things like that Janice, Sophie couldâve choked to death!â he exaggerated. âBesides Mr George would never do anything to hurt Chelsea, theyâve been together for ages and he really loves her!â
âYeah I agree. (Cough, cough.) Itâs just her idiot son Michael I canât stand!â I spluttered.
Theo nodded agreeing with me while he kept patting my back.
âDid you see him at lunch yesterday picking on poor Dunstan again?â I asked in a croaky voice.
âYeah, that Michaelâs a real idiot. I feel so sorry for you Soph. Can you imagine if your dad marries Chelsea, then Michael would become your step broâ¦â
âDONâT EVER SAY IT, JANICE!â I yelled.
Theo shot a nasty look at Janice as he grabbed me by the arm. âAre you trying to kill Sophie today, Janice?â he scowled escorting me briskly up the lane way. Janice followed behind us sulking. âHurry up or else weâll be late for school,â he said.
We walked in silence and my head swirled about with so many thoughts. Chelsea was such a nice lady, and it was such a
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