Pick 'n' Mix Read Free Page A

her ‘stuff’ and how no one’s got to touch it. “The thing is —”
    â€œCould seem like for ever,” said Skye.
    â€œWell, it won’t, cos it’s not! The awfulthing is she’s coming tomorrow and tonight we’re going to swap bedrooms and Mum’s going to discover there’s a hole in my carpet!”
    The words wailed out of me. There was a silence. Then Skye, very solemnly, said, “A hole.”
    â€œIn my carpet!”
    They looked at each other. “You mean it’s, like, threadbare?” said Jem. “No! I cut it.”
    â€œYou what?” said Skye.
    â€œI cut it!”
    â€œCut your carpet?”
    Honestly! It is so annoying when people keep repeating everything you say.
    â€œYes,” I snapped. “I cut my carpet!”
    â€œBut why?”
    â€œCos I wanted Gran’s cabinet to fit in the corner and the ceiling wasn’t high enough!”
    â€œSo you cut the carpet.”
    Really, for someone who is supposed to have this immense great brain, always getting A pluses and coming top of everything, Skye can be incredibly slow on the uptake. How many more times did I have to tell her? Yes, I cut the carpet!
    â€œIt would have been all right,” I said, “if it hadn’t gone and frayed round the edges. Nobody would have noticed. It was Rags that messed things up. He tugged at it. He’s made a bald patch!”
    â€œDunno what to say,” said Skye.
    Jem sniggered. “Bet her mum’ll find something!”
    She thought that was funny ? One of my best friends thought it was funny that Mum was going to be mad at me? I glared at her.
    â€œWell, sorry,” said Jem, “but really! You do the stupidest things.”
    I resented that. “It wasn’t stupid,” I said, “it was the logical solution. If you can’t make the ceiling higher , you make the floor lower. I was just being practical! You can’t have a corner cabinet not standing in a corner.”
    â€œOf course you can’t,” said Skye, soothingly. “You did what anyone would have done… you cut a hole in your carpet !”
    She and Jem both fell about.
    â€œIt was only small,” I pleaded.
    â€œOnly small!” shrieked Jem, clutching herself round the middle.
    â€œNow it’s this size –” Skye held her arms out in a circle. They collapsed on each other, helpless with foolish giggles.
    Crossly, I said, “How was I to know it would start unravelling?”
    â€œUnravelling!” squeaked Jem.
    Screech. Hoot. These were supposed to be my friends.
    Skye wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. “Maybe you could say it was Rags that made the hole.”
    â€œAnd get a poor little innocent dog into trouble? I couldn’t do that! In any case,” I said, “you can tell it’s been cut.” Not meaning to boast, I added that I had made a proper pattern. “I cut right round the edge of it with Dad’s knife. The one he uses for carpets. It’s really sharp! I was ever so careful, cos I didn’t want to cut myself. I just wanted my cabinet to go in a corner!”
    â€œAnd now it’s in one,” said Skye, soothingly.
    â€œYes, but there’s a great bald patch!” I explained how for the moment I’d hidden the bald patch beneath a pile of clothes. “But Angel’s like this real tidiness freak? She’ll want it all cleared up. I tried suggesting me and Emilia share my room, I even offered to sleep downstairs, like on the sofa or something, so’s Emilia could have the room to herself, cos she probably wouldn’t mind a few clothes lying about the floor, but M—”
    â€œHow old is this girl?” said Jem.
    I looked at her, annoyed. I felt like saying, “Pardon me, but I was in the middle of speaking.” It is really bad manners to interrupt a person.
    â€œEmilia,” said Jem. “How old is