Girl, 16: Five-Star Fiasco by Sue Limb Read Free Book Online Page B

tower.
    ‘Help!’ cried Donald faintly, and, to be honest, slimily. ‘I don’t even know where she lives!’
    ‘Don’t worry!’ called Lord Volcano. ‘You’ve got SnailNav! Just switch it on!’
    ‘But how?’ screamed Donald in alarm, as he reached ground level and scorched away through the grass like a dropped firework. Before Lord Volcano could utter a word, poor Donald had vanished.
     
    Jess wished there really was such a thing as magic. She sent the email and stared blankly into space. If only she could order a dinner dance to be delivered to St Mark’s Church Hall on 14 February at 7.30 p.m. And it would help if she could see right into the mind of Fred. Knowing what he was thinking was sometimes so tricky. The witty banter they shared was the best thing in her life, but witty banter wasn’t always appropriate. Sometimes there was serious stuff to talk about, problems to wrestle with. Where was Fred then? In fact, where was Fred now?
    She picked up her mobile and hesitated. Should she call him? They had to organise the buffet and the band, if nothing else. Maybe she should ring Dad and ask his advice. Although, strangely, since they’d started writing this book together, they hadn’t communicated by text or phone as they normally did.
    She dialled Dad’s landline (he was always losing his mobile). It rang twice and then somebody picked up.
    ‘Hi, Phil speaking.’
    ‘Oh, hi, Phil. This is Jess. How are you?’ Phil, Dad’s boyfriend, was great and really, really funny.
    ‘Oh, good thanks, Jess. How about you?’
    ‘Oh, fine. Just the usual crises and fiascos.’
    ‘Life, huh?’
    ‘Yeah. Er, is Dad there?’
    ‘No, sorry, Jess. He’s out. Can I give him a message?’
    ‘No, it’s OK – just say I rang. If he rings back, remind him not to use the landline after ten or Mum goes ballistic.’
    ‘Will do!’ Phil laughed. There was a slight pause. ‘Sorry, Jess, but I’ve got to go now, I’m in the middle of something. Give my best to your mum.’
    ‘OK. Lots of love! Bye!’
    ‘Bye!’ He hung up.
    Jess listened to the purr of the dead telephone line. It was a shame Phil had been too busy to talk properly. He’d sounded a little bit preoccupied. Maybe Dad had left a pile of dirty dishes in the sink or something.
    Later that evening, after Granny had gone out to see her friend Deborah, Mum got out her laptop.
    ‘I’m going to give it one more go,’ she said, looking serious.
    ‘What?’ Jess was beginning to wonder if one last tiny slice of chocolate cake would hurt. She’d only had three very small ones, and she didn’t want Granny to think she was ungrateful.
    ‘This online dating thing,’ said Mum. ‘I don’t think I should give up too easily, just because Ken was a bit smelly. There’s a guy here who might be quite interesting. He actually does look passable.’
    ‘Let me see!’ Jess bounded over and stared at the screen. ‘Hmmm . . . after a nose transplant, maybe.’
    ‘He’s divorced with a teenage daughter,’ Mum went on. ‘That’s partly what attracted me to him.’
    ‘Don’t drag me into it!’ Jess backed off.
    ‘I thought maybe you could be friends . . . ?’
    ‘I’ve already got friends! Mum, I’m not being mean, but you should be thinking about what you want, not about me.’
    ‘Well, he does look rather nice. His name’s Ed and he’s a builder.’
    ‘A builder?’ Jess was surprised. Somehow she’d expected him to have one of those arty jobs.
    ‘I thought maybe he could help me with the built-in storage project for my office,’ said Mum.
    ‘Mum! This is a dating website, right? If you want him to fix your cupboards and stuff, that’s something totally different.’
    ‘Hmmm, I suppose so,’ said Mum doubtfully. She really wasn’t focusing properly on this dating business. ‘I thought maybe we could all go out together as a foursome – you know, me and you and him and, er, Polly. His daughter’s called Polly.’
    ‘Not Polymyalgia