I think she’s kind of upset that we’re not going to our grandparents in Holland at half-term,” Lyndz confided. “She’d really been looking forward to it, then we had to cancel it. I think it was probably because it was going to cost too much money. I heard her and Dad arguing about it.”
“Oh dear!” we all clucked sympathetically.
“But I can’t believe she’s still upset about that,” Lyndz mumbled. “She’s known for weeks that we couldn’t go.”
“Maybe she’s really ill,” Fliss suggested. “She doesn’t look too great, does she?”
“Fliss!” we yelled together, piling on top of her to shut her up.
“Gerroff!” Fliss spluttered. “I was only saying…”
“Well, don’t!” Rosie giggled, twanging one of the scrunchies in Fliss’s hair and mussing up her beautiful blonde plaits.
“You’re going to pay for that!” shrieked Fliss and chased us out of Lyndz’s room, down the stairs and through the lounge.
“Chase, chase, chase!” yelled Ben, Lyndz’s four-year-old brother, tagging along behind us.
We ran out into the hall – but didn’t realise until it was too late that a load of plywood had been stacked against one wall. It was dark so we couldn’t see too well, and the first thing we knew about it was when we tripped over it. It came shooting down all over us and all over the floor. It made such a loud CRACK that Ben started to howl from shock.
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” a voice boomed from behind us. “Lyndsey Collins, I thought you had more sense, I really did.”
Lyndz’s mum appeared with a face as black as thunder. She scooped Ben into her arms and just stood there ranting at us with her hair all over the place.
“I have enough to deal with without extra chaos brought about by you lot. Now you know the rules, Lyndz – stay in your room and don’t go chasing about all over the house. Mind you, if your father ever finishes sorting out this hallway it will be a miracle. All my married life I’ve lived in a mess, and I’m just about sick of it. Now go upstairs and play quietly. I’ll call you when supper’s ready!”
She stalked back into the kitchen and we slunk up to Lyndz’s room.
Nobody said a word until we were safely upstairs. Then we all sank down on Lyndz’s bed.
“Crikey Lyndz, I see what you mean!” Frankie gasped.
“Yeah, I mean that sounded more like Fliss’s mum than yours!” I agreed. “Has she been taking lessons from her?”
Fliss looked as though she was about to have a go at me. Then she noticed the big fat tears trickling down Lyndz’s cheeks.
“Never mind,” she soothed, putting an arm around Lyndz’s shoulders. “Your mum’s probably just having a bit of a bad time at the moment. You know, sometimes stuff seems to get on top of mothers, doesn’t it? It’ll pass, I’m sure.”
We all nodded, although you could tell that really we weren’t sure at all.
“Well I hope it’s passed before half-term,” Lyndz sniffed. “Because it’s not going to be a barrel of laughs with Mum like this, is it?”
We all had to agree with that.
And I just couldn’t get that thought out of my head as Dad was telling us about Great Uncle Bob’s marvellous party. I just wished there was some way that I could cheer up Lyndz. And her mum.
When I got to school the next day, Frankie was in the middle of a kickboxing frenzy. I had to dive out of her way pretty sharpish otherwise I’d have had my teeth kicked out.
“Hey Buffy, slow down there! I’m not a vampire that needs slaying, you know!” I grinned, leaping on to her back. We’ve been best friends forever, me and Frankie. The Sleepover Club kind of came along later. It was at times like this that I felt like we were about four again!
“Ha-ya!” She flung me on to the ground. “How do I know that? Appearances can be deceptive!”
“Well I haven’t got pointy teeth for a start…”
“That’s a matter of opinion!” grinned Rosie.
“…and blood is definitely not my drink of choice!” I continued. “I much prefer Dr Pepper!”
“Aha! You mean you enjoy quaffing a medico’s vital juices!” Frankie hovered over me menacingly. “Interesting!”
“Hey Lyndz, Fliss, help me out, would you?” I called over to them. “Buffy here’s gone into overdrive!”
But neither Lyndz nor Fliss moved. They carried on leaning against the wall. We could tell just by looking at their faces that something was seriously wrong.
“Wassup?” Frankie, Rosie and I raced over to them.
Lyndz just shook her head and started to sob.
“It’s Lyndz’s mum,” Fliss told us quietly. “She went ballistic again last night, then started to cry and couldn’t stop. She said she didn’t know why she was so upset, she just felt miserable.”
“Is she OK today?” Rosie asked sympathetically.
“She said she was going to go and have a chat with a friend,” Fliss continued, not giving Lyndz the chance to reply. “I think that should make her feel better, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah!” Frankie nodded. “My gran always says, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’. She’ll probably be feeling much better by tonight Lyndz, you’ll see.”
“I hope so,” Lyndz sniffed. She looked so miserable.
We all gave her a big hug, and for the rest of the day we made sure that we did whatever Lyndz wanted. If she was having a rough time at home, the least we could do was cheer her up at school.
I know that as the afternoon wore on, Lyndz started to feel pretty churned up at the thought of going home. But when we saw her mum at the school gates in their big van she smiled and waved at us like she always used to.
“Your mum does look a lot brighter.” Fliss gave Lyndz’s arm a little squeeze.
“Yeah, she’ll be fine now!” Frankie reassured her.
Lyndz gave us a little grin and ran to the van. As we waved her off, Rosie whispered:
“I hope she will be OK. I hate seeing her so down.”
I thought about Lyndz all the way home. And spookily, the first thing Mum said to me as I got through the door was:
“Have you got a minute, Laura? I want a word about Lyndz.”
“Crikey Mum, how long have you been able to read minds?” I asked her. Although actually that was a pretty silly question – Mum always seems to know when I’ve done something wrong.
Mum ignored me. “Lyndz’s mum came to see me today. I think things are getting a bit on top of her at the moment.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Well,” Mum continued, “I’ve had a word with your father and he agrees with me. What Patsy needs is a complete rest – away from the house, away from the chores, away from Cuddington.”
Now if Dad suggested that, I knew it must be right. Dad’s a doctor and he always knows what he’s talking about. I’m going to be a doctor just like him when I’m older – after I’ve finished playing