Free Eva's Journey by Judi Curtin

money from her.
    How could I, when I had no idea when I was ever going to be able to pay her back?
    I sighed.
    â€˜I don’t mind if you want to go home,’ I said. ‘Or maybe one of your other friends would like to go to the cinema with you.’
    She shook her head.
    â€˜Stop being an idiot,’ she said. ‘It’s you I want tohang out with. We’ll find something to do that doesn’t cost money.’
    In the end, we went to a chemist’s shop near Victoria’s house. Victoria’s sister’s friend, Bethany, was working there, and she let us try on all the make-up. I had so much fun trying on all the different lip-glosses that I forgot to be upset that I couldn’t afford to buy any of them.
    After a while, Bethany made us wipe our faces clean.
    â€˜I’ll do you up properly,’ she said. ‘I need to practice for my night class. The theme this week is “Dramatic Looks.”’
    Much later, Victoria and I fell around laughing as we left the shop.
    â€˜That’s the best fun I’ve had in ages,’ I said. ‘But you look like you’ve been in an accident.’
    â€˜Well, you look like there’s been an explosion in the blusher factory,’ she retorted.
    â€˜I think poor Bethany needs a bit more practice,’ I said, and then we laughed some more, as we headed towards home.

    We hadn’t gone far, when I saw a familiar figure wheeling herself along a side street. She wasn’t wearing her shiny turban or her sparkly shawl, but I knew straight away who it was.
    â€˜Can you hang on a sec?’ I said to Victoria. ‘I need to talk to that woman.’
    Victoria shrugged.
    â€˜Who is she?’
    I was glad that Victoria hadn’t seen Madam Margarita the time before, and now I certainly didn’t plan on explaining who she was.
    â€˜Oh, it’s just someone I know,’ I said. ‘I’ll only be a minute.’
    I ran up to Madam Margarita. She looked surprised to see me.
    â€˜Oh, it’s the Princess,’ she said, but not unkindly.
    I didn’t answer. She had never looked very mysterious, but now she looked nothing at all like a fortune-teller.
    She just looked very cold and very tired.
    â€˜Nice make-up,’ she said.
    I put my hand to my face in embarrassment.
    â€˜I’d forgotten about that,’ I said. ‘You see—’
    Madam Margarita put her hand up to stop me.
    â€˜You don’t always have to explain yourself to me,’ she said. ‘Don’t apologise for being young and exuberant.’
    â€˜Er … can I ask you something?’ I said.
    She shrugged her thin shoulders.
    â€˜It’s a free country.’
    â€˜Remember what you said, about helping people?’
    She didn’t answer, so I continued.
    â€˜Well, I did it. I did what you said. I’ve helped loads and loads of people.’
    â€˜I see you’ve been helping pre-schoolers with their spatter-painting classes.’
    â€˜What …? I began before I realised that she was talking about my make-up.
    â€˜Ha ha, very funny. Not.’
    â€˜Sorry,’ she said, smiling. ‘I couldn’t resist. Anyway, you were saying?’
    â€˜I’ve helped loads of people,’ I said again. ‘But it didn’t work. Nothing has changed.’
    Madam Margarita raised one eyebrow.
    â€˜Maybe things have changed for the people you helped, though.’
    â€˜I don’t care about the other people….’ She raised the other eyebrow and I corrected myself. ‘Well, I do care about them, and there’s this one woman, Dawn, I totally turned her life around … but I care about me too. Why can’t I be happy?’
    She smiled.
    â€˜You seem like a nice girl – underneath it all. I’m sure things will turn out OK for you in the end. Keep on helping others and you won’t go far wrong. Just remember, nothing changes quickly. You have to be