Missing Me by Sophie McKenzie Read Free Book Online

Allan squeezed my shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Madison, you’ll be fine.’
    I shrugged, embarrassed that he’d seen through my anxieties so easily. We reached the large driveway. There was a bouncer on the door who asked politely for our phones. Allan rolled his
eyes but gave up his mobile without complaint. I handed mine over too.
    ‘Baxter is
very
protective of his privacy,’ Allan whispered darkly as we went into the house. The entrance hall was huge . . . and decorated with streamers and balloons like a
carnival. It was full of smartly dressed adults, all drinking and chatting. A woman in a white Lycra bodysuit with clown-style face make-up appeared with a tray of glasses. Allan took an orange
juice for each of us.
    ‘Need to keep a clear head,’ he said with a wink. ‘Let’s go through to the circus.’
    The way was wreathed with bunches of balloons and the same brightly coloured decorations as the hall. As we turned down a short corridor, the smell of fried onions wafted towards us. Another
face-painted girl in Lycra, this one also wearing a red and pink apron, was handing out hot dogs from a huge oval platter. She smiled at me, offering the platter, and the big red paint circles
round her eyes crinkled.
    ‘Er, no thanks,’ I said.
    ‘Me neither.’ Allan patted his stomach. ‘Watching my weight.’
    Allan steered me through the crowd. More adults, all talking loudly and clinking glasses. I hadn’t seen a single person under twenty so far.
    ‘Ah, there’s Hobbs,’ he said. ‘He works for Declan Baxter; he’ll be able to tell me when the man himself is most likely to be free for a chat. Won’t be a
second, Madison.’
    Before I could say anything, Allan was across the room and talking with a middle-aged man wearing a waistcoat and a yellow tie. Hobbs didn’t look that pleased to see him, although his
manner was so stiff and formal it was hard to tell. After about thirty seconds, he walked off. Allan hesitated a moment, then left the marquee through an exit marked
Toilets this way
. I
waited, feeling self-conscious. After what felt like ages but was only really a couple of minutes, he was back. He was still smiling brightly, but there was a new look of disappointment behind his
eyes. I hoped it wasn’t because I was here, making it tricky for him to talk properly to people.
    ‘Are you going to be able to talk to Mr Baxter?’ I asked.
    Allan sighed. ‘Not if Hobbs has anything to do with it. He was no help.’ He paused. ‘By the way, the loos are just out there.’ He pointed to the door he’d just come
through. ‘If you need to freshen up. Er, I’m going to circulate for a bit. See if I can get close to Baxter another way. I won’t be long. Will you be OK on your own for a
bit?’
    ‘Sure.’ In fact, I wanted to tell Allan not to leave me, but it would have sounded really lame.
    I watched him fight his way through the thickest part of the crowd. I had no idea which man was Declan Baxter. Almost everybody here was taller than me and I soon lost sight of Allan in the
crowd. I walked past a stilt-walker and a man on a unicycle to where a group of acrobats swung from a row of long white rope-ribbons. Two of them were juggling with five balls. I stared,
entranced.
    ‘Not much of a show, is it?’ a woman walking past sneered.
    ‘This is just for decoration,’ the man beside her said. ‘Declan’s saving the big stuff for the show, later.’ They moved on.
    Wow. There was
more
? Declan Baxter must be even richer than I’d thought. There was still no sign of anyone remotely my age. And Allan hadn’t reappeared. Grown-ups kept passing
me and staring. I was feeling more and more uncomfortable. After another minute of wandering about, I headed for the door Allan had pointed out earlier. He was obviously still trying to talk to
Declan Baxter and I didn’t fancy hanging around inside the marquee any longer. A few minutes in the bathroom would kill some time.
    I left the marquee and