The History Mystery Read Free

swallow half a glass of milk and rush out with a biscuit or a piece of fruit in her hand to get her lift with Colin to Dr Barry’s law firm. You’d think it was the most desirable job in the world, in the most important company on the planet, but actually she was just an intern.
    This morning, though, Andrea took a moment to catch her breath before running out the door. She turned to her two sisters, who were sitting at the table, and said, ‘By the way, Sonia, I’ve been meaningto tell you for days and keep forgetting, I think your computer has a virus.’
    Sonia was running late too but, unlike her sister, she was still half-asleep at the table. She couldn’t understand how Andrea could be this electric when she woke up, talking her head off. Sonia was much slower: she woke up gradually, slow and steady.
    But this piece of information woke her up all right. A virus? Oh, no! Let’s hope it isn’t true, or at least let it be nothing too serious . Her computer had never been infected by a virus, but she’d heard some awful stories. She would have to call Pedro so he could reformat the hard drive, like he’d done with Matt’s computer when he’d had problems. Pedro was great with technology. Come to think of it, calling Pedro for help was really an excellent idea, even if there turned out to be no virus. It was a good excuse to get him to come to her house.
    She took a little sip of her tea. Ah, good . It was finally at the temperature she liked: not so hot that it burned your tongue, not so cold that it tasted bad. Just right.
    She sighed and thought about Pedro again. Or still.
    This had been happening a lot lately. She kept catching herself thinking about Pedro. Like the tea, he too was just right. But what should you do when you find out that your best friend, your classmate for years, is suddenly more to you than just a friend?A new boy would be easier – there’s an exchange of looks, some flirting. It becomes clear to both people. It’s part of what everybody expects: two people meet, like each other, things can happen. But what about somebody who’s been in your class your whole life, since your first day at school? It’s hard to change all of a sudden.
    Maybe she would need that thing they had been talking about the other day in literature class: a new image, seeing the familiar in a fresh way, the kind of thing advertisers are good at.
    â€˜â€¦ but on ours?’ Carol’s voice interrupted Sonia’s thoughts.
    â€˜What did you say?’ Sonia asked her little sister.
    â€˜You were really in another world, weren’t you? It’s like you don’t care about what your sisters have to say.’
    â€˜Don’t start, Carol. What do my sisters have to do with anything?’
    â€˜Everything! Your older sister just said our computer has a virus. And your younger sister has been asking how she even knows that? Andrea shouldn’t be messing around with our stuff. She’s got her own computer.’
    That was true. The family had a better, newer, faster computer that, in theory, they all shared in their dad’s study. But Andrea had taken it over. All that was left for the two younger sisters was the old PC, which had been put in their room. It really wasa dinosaur and took hours downloading anything. But there was an advantage: it belonged to the two of them and them alone. Andrea didn’t need to use it. Apart from the family computer, she also had a computer at the company where she was doing work experience. And her boyfriend was always offering to let her use his laptop. So why on earth had she been sticking her nose into their computer?
    â€˜Fair enough,’ said Sonia. ‘You’re right. I’ll have to ask Andrea about that.’
    â€˜Not just ask ,’ Carol corrected her. ‘You need to give her a good telling off.’
    â€˜OK, leave it to me. I’ll have a serious talk with Andrea.