Rebecca is Always Right by Anna Carey Read Free Book Online Page A

people will come along too.
    It still doesn’t take away my drum worries, though. I really will have to ask Rachel on Saturday, I can’t take this stress for much longer.

    I have drums! I mean, I can keep the drums! Oh, I feel so relieved. It’s like a big drum-shaped weight has been taken off my shoulders. We had just sat down to dinner (sausage casserole, one of my favourites) and Rachel said, ‘Oh yeah, Bex, I meant to tell you. I heard from Tom’s friend Sam today.’
    My stomach sank to the floor. I couldn’t say anything.
    ‘You remember Sam, right?’ said Rachel. ‘The originalowner of your drums?’
    ‘Yeah, of course I do,’ I said. ‘How is he? Does he, um, like America?’
    I think I sounded completely normal, but really I was just thinking, ‘This is it. He wants his drums back.’
    ‘He’s grand,’ said Rachel. ‘He loves it there. But he’s not coming back. I mean, I presume he will eventually. But his mum’s been offered a permanent job and it looks like they’re all staying in New York. He’s talking about going to college in America too and everything. He wants to go to Yale.’
    ‘Oh,’ I said. I took a deep breath. ‘So does he want me to send his drums over there? I don’t really know how we’d do that. I mean, it would cost a fortune.’
    ‘What?’ said Rachel. ‘No, of course he doesn’t! He told me to tell you that you could keep them for as long as you liked. And … didn’t he lend you some other musical things as well?’
    ‘An amp,’ I said. ‘And some mikes.’
    ‘Well, you can keep all of it,’ said Rachel. ‘He says he’s producing most of his music on his laptop now, anyway.’
    I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t.
    ‘Wow,’ I said. ‘That’s brilliant. Tell him thanks very much from me!’
    ‘Oh dear, does that mean we have to put up with youbanging away on that small drum forever?’ said Mum, but she didn’t look too annoyed really.
    ‘Yes,’ I said happily.
    ‘Maybe I should tell him to demand them back after all,’ said Rachel.
    As soon as dinner was finished, I rang Alice and told her the news. This was such important news it had to be told in person rather than in text or IM.
    ‘The band is saved!’ I cried.
    ‘Well, it wasn’t really in danger,’ said Alice sensibly. ‘We could have used the drums in the Knitting Factory. But it’s very cool.’
    ‘I feel so relieved,’ I said. There was a pause on the other end of the phone, and I have a feeling Alice was thinking that I could have avoided the last week of stress if I’d just asked Rachel to get in touch with Sam in the first place. But she didn’t say anything about it, because she really is a good and noble friend who never says ‘I told you so’. I am not sure I would have been able to resist if that were me. In fact, I feel quite embarrassed by the whole thing myself.
    But anyway! Drums forever! I am so happy, even though I now have to write a very boring fake e-mail for German homework about booking a place in a youth hostel.

    I have found out why Mrs Harrington has been so quiet lately. She is writing a book! Apparently, she has been writing for hours every night and is too tired in our classes to do anything but actually teach us, which is fine by me. God knows how much time she wasted last year going on about my mother’s books. Usually I am all for teachers wasting time talking about other things besides the subject we’re meant to be studying, but not when they’re raving about my mother. Though of course Mrs Harrington hasn’t forgotten about Mum, because she is her great inspiration!
    It all came out at the end of class today. I was walking out of Room 7 and looking forward to eating my ham and salad sandwich when Mrs Harrington said, ‘How’s your mammy’s writing coming along, Rebecca?’
    Sadly, I couldn’t ignore her, so I said, ‘Oh, fine.’ And then I thought of something that might cheer Mrs Harrington up. ‘She’s finished writing the book