Girl, 15: Charming but Insane by Sue Limb Read Free Book Online

I can’t sing anyway. We’ve got nowhere to practise. And I don’t suppose my parents will let me. My mum’s got a thing about protecting me from loud noises because I had so many ear infections when I was little.’
    ‘No, no – you’re gonna be big!’ Suddenly Jess couldn’t eat another mouthful of the cereal bar, not even for the sake of the starving. ‘You’re gonna be massive – global! Intergalactic! People will be watching your videos on Mars!’ Jess managed, with a heroic effort, to go on smiling.
    ‘You can come to our rehearsals,’ said Flora, looking guilty.
    ‘I’m not sure about that.’ Jess frowned. No way would she hang around at their rehearsals, like some kind of sad groupie. ‘I’m going to be really busy getting my new room ready. I’m going to paint it purple and fling leopardskin throws about. What I thought was going to be a disaster has turned into a great interior design opportunity. Thanks, bizarrely, to my granny.’
    ‘My granny’s just gone off for a holiday in Barbados!’ said Flora. ‘She’ll probably be water-skiing by now. Or snorkelling or something.’
    ‘Why does your granny have to be so glamorous?’ enquired Jess acidly. ‘Doesn’t she know grannies are supposed to hobble off to bingo and moan about their arthritis? Barbados! Honestly! What a showoff!’
    ‘Your granny is heaps nicer than mine,’ said Flora guiltily. ‘She’s so funny. I hope her knee gets better soon. And I’m dying to see your new room. Can I help you to paint it?’ Flora was trying so horribly hard to be nice. She would win an Olympic gold medal for niceness. Jess felt completely paralysed by it. It was like being trapped in icing sugar and nibbled to death by pink teddy bears.
    Jess stood up. ‘I’ve gotta go,’ she said. ‘I’ve got heaps to do on my room.’
    Flora had to go, too. She had already done her homework, of course – and possibly ironed it and sprinkled it with rosewater. She was planning to spend the evening chatting online with Mackenzie about the band.
    On the way home Jess dropped in at the petrol station and spent the last of her pocket money on a bunch of flowers for Granny. She felt, on the whole, she would rather not have a granny who went waterskiing in Barbados. It was going a bit too far. For Jess’s granny, luxurious fun consisted of trying out a new flavour of cough lozenge. Cherry instead of honey and lemon was her idea of living dangerously.
    Jess arranged the flowers in Granny’s room. It didn’t look like her room any more, and now she had the best bedroom upstairs, she didn’t mind about giving up the downstairs one. Jess went upstairs and stuck all her posters on the wall. She adored her new room. She made plans to cover the floor with astroturf and paint the ceiling sky blue with aeroplanes. Or perhaps she would adorn the walls with red velvet and make herself a four-poster bed with an antique Venetian shawl thrown carelessly across it and old brown leather-bound books on the bedside table. And a candle in an iron candlestick. And a stuffed owl in a niche. Looking a bit like Fred with his hood up.
    It was five o’clock. Where were Mum and Granny? Should she start to worry? Jess decided instead to make herself a cheese sandwich. She hadn’t eaten anything since the gravel and glue cereal bar at the Christian cafe. She hoped the catering in heaven was a bit more appetising. She had just taken a huge mouthful of sandwich when the phone rang.
    ‘Jess, love, I’m so sorry, we’re halfway home and the clutch has burned out,’ said her mum. ‘We’re going to stay the night in a B&B. Can you cope?’
    ‘Of course I can!’ cried Jess indignantly, even though the shadow of a werewolf was already visible on the opposite wall.
    ‘Well, maybe you’d like to have Flora over, or something – to keep you company,’ suggested her mum.
    This seemed like an excellent idea. If Flora came over, Jess could snoop on her Facebook chat with Mackenzie,