Free Alice Next Door by Judi Curtin Page A

sitting in Rosie’s little old playhouse, right at the end of the garden. She was in a bit of a sulk, but I was soglad to see her, I didn’t mind.
    She spoke crossly. ‘Where were you all this time? I’m frozen.’
    ‘Sorry. Mum gave me loads of jobs. I couldn’t get out of the kitchen.’
    ‘You could have said you needed to go to the toilet, couldn’t you?’
    Suddenly I felt very stupid. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Had I no imagination? ‘Sorry, Al. I’ll say that the next time.’
    She brightened suddenly. ‘It’s OK. Now let’s go in, while I can still move my fingers and toes.’
    Luckily, I was first to climb in the bedroom window. I was sitting on the window-sill ready to jump down, when I realised that Mum was on her hands and knees, looking under my bed. I had just time to be grateful that we’d hidden Alice’s sleeping bag and clothes in the back of my wardrobe, when Mum looked up in surprise.
    ‘Megan! What on earth are you doing there? Were you out in the garden?’
    I nodded. ‘Er, yes.’
    ‘But it’s dark outside. What took you out there at this time of the evening? And why on earth are you climbing in through the window?’
    I thought as quickly as my panicked brain would allow. Alice was much better at instant lies than me, but I could hardly shout out to her for ideas, could I? She was only a metre away, but I was very much on my own. I did my best.
    ‘Em …I …you see…I ….. well, actually I…. what happened was…..’ Even in my panic I knew I was being totally pathetic.
    For once in her life Mum didn’t want a big long discussion. She stood up. ‘Well, whatever. I must finish off the dinner before Dad gets here. Just get down and shut the window, and don’t be so silly again.’
    I jumped down and closed the window, smiling out into the darkness, just in case Alice was watching. Suddenly I was a bit worried. What had Mum been doing? Did she suddenly suspectsomething strange? She didn’t normally look under my bed. I had to ask. ‘Er, Mum, why were you looking under my bed?’
    She sighed. ‘I think Rosie’s hidden the television remote control again. Every time I ask for it, she just laughs. She’s being a right little monkey. And your dad will go crazy if it’s not there when he wants to watch TV tonight.’
    I gave a small sigh of relief. ‘Oh, is that all? I’ll help you look for it later, will I?’
    Mum smiled. ‘Thanks, love.’
    Then she went out and closed the door, and when I was sure she wasn’t coming back, I opened the window once more and let Alice in. She sat down on my bed and she didn’t look terribly happy.
    It was turning into a very long day.

Chapter fourteen
    D inner that evening seemed to take forever . Mum told Dad about me spending the day in the tennis club, and the two of them went on and on about it, like I’d just been awarded the Nobel Prize or something. They kept saying totally stupid things like:
    ‘Isn’t it lovely to see Megan getting some independence?’
    And:
    ‘Physical activity is so important. And tennis is such a lovely game.’
    And:
    ‘It’s such a sociable sport. If you play tennis you’ll never be without a friend.’
    I was sure that if I didn’t get back to my bedroom quick, I’d be without Alice as a friend, she’d be so cross and fed-up. In the end, Rosie rescued me by throwing up all over the dinner table. It was totally gross, but at least it distracted Mum and Dad for a while, so I could concentrate on thinking of a way to get boiling water in to my bedroom for Alice’s noodles.
    Much, much later, when I got back to my room, I still hadn’t any good ideas.
    ‘It’s not my fault, Al!’ I protested. ‘Mum never seems to leave the kitchen. She always says she’s chained to the kitchen sink, and I’m beginning to think she might be right.’
    Alice wasn’t sympathetic. ‘Well, we’d better think of something. I’m starving.’
    She picked up a pot of noodles and shook them. They made a nice