Free The Secrets Club by Chris Higgins Page B

Monday
morning I can’t help noticing how cross and disapproving she looks.
    This isn’t actually that unusual
for Lissa. But it is for Ali and Tash who are looking cross and disapproving
too.
    ‘What’s wrong?’
    ‘Thought you were going to see
your grandmother on Saturday?’ says Lissa.
    ‘I was.’ Correction.
‘I did.’
    It was true. I had seen Gran. Briefly.
For the first time ever since we’d been visiting her I’d gone straight
to the park when I got off the train and sent Jade along to Gran’s on her own.
I’d had to. I had no choice;
the match was about to start.
    Two hours later, when the match was
over, I’d arrived at Gran’s house on cloud nine. But straight away I
knew something was wrong. She was on the doorstep waiting for me with her arms
folded and her first words brought me right back down to earth.
    ‘Where have you been all this
time?’
    ‘The park! I told Jade to tell you
where I was.’
    ‘What are you getting up to down
there for hours on end? You’re not getting into bad company, are
you?’
    ‘No!’ I darted a look at
Jade, wondering if she’d said something. It wasn’t like Gran to play the
heavy guy.
    But Gran must’ve seen the look
because immediately she said, ‘I’m responsible for you two when
you’re here, you know. If you’re up to no good, I’ll have your
mother to answer to.’
    I knew Mum coming up here last week was
a bad idea. Now Gran had realized she’d been allowing me a bit too much
freedom.
    ‘
I’m
not up to no
good!’ Jade said indignantly. ‘I came straight here. It’s not my
fault.’
    ‘Neither am I,’ I retorted quickly.
‘I’ve just been hanging out with a few mates, that’s all,
Gran.’
    ‘What do you mean by
“mates”? Girls?’
    Jade snorted at that point and my cover
was blown. Though, to be fair, she did try to turn it (unsuccessfully) into a
cough.
    ‘Boys, actually,’ I finally
admitted. There was no point in lying for the sake of it.
    When I sat at the table for my lunch
Gran plonked a plate of fossilized cottage pie down in front of me.
‘Don’t blame me if it’s spoiled. It’s been in the oven for
hours,’ she snapped and sat down opposite me. Now I knew I was in for the
third degree.
    ‘Mmmm! Yummy!’ I forked
dried-up minced beef and peas as hard as bullets into my mouth, trying to distract
her. ‘This is delicious, Gran!’ There was no fooling her though.
    ‘You know, Dani, I think I’m
going to have a word with your mother. I’m not sure she, or your father for
that matter, would be happy to know that you’re coming up to Blackett on the
pretext of seeing me in order to meet up with boys in the park.’
    ‘I’m not meeting up with
boys in the park!’
I said, my face
fiery red. ‘Not like that, anyway.’ What does she think I’m
getting up to? That would be the Barbies’ idea of heaven, not mine! ‘I
don’t like boys, not the way you mean. I was just playing football with them,
that’s all.’
    ‘Really?’ She studied me
carefully. ‘So why all the secrecy?’
    How do you tell your grandmother
you’ve been passing yourself off as a boy? ‘There is no secrecy!’
I lied wildly. ‘I just kick a ball around with them. We’re
mates.’
    She gave me a suspicious look.
‘That’s all right then. Maybe we’ll come along and watch you next
week, shall we, Jade?’
    Jade looked nervously at me. She
didn’t know what to say.
    ‘It’s not a proper
match,’ I protested. More lies. ‘It’ll be really
boring.’
    ‘Let me be the judge of
that,’ she said. ‘Now eat up your lunch.’
    I tried but it was hard to force down.
Not because it was burned but because I could tell that she didn’t believe a
word I was saying. And when she found out the truth I had no idea what would happen
next.
    And now it’s Monday morning and I’ve got three more
accusing faces glaring at me.
    Lissa (pointedly): ‘Oh really? You
went to visit your gran? Play football, does she?’
    Me (defensive): ‘Why