Viva Alice! (4 page)

Chapter Eight

A
fter lunch, Gavin went upstairs, Lorna and Eddie went to play tennis, and Grace, Alice and I went back to our sunloungers.

‘That was a great idea,’ said Grace. ‘I’m glad you two were able to fix things for Gavin.’

‘Hey,’ said Alice. ‘We’re not finished yet. That was only the beginning. We’ve got lots more to do.’

‘Like what?’ I asked.

‘Well,’ said Alice. ‘Clearly Gavin doesn’t feel good about himself.’

‘Why do you say that?’ asked Grace.

‘Because if he felt good about himself, he wouldn’t have let that awful Leah person treat him so badly,’ said Alice.

‘And now that she’s dumped him again, he must feel even worse,’ I said.

‘Exactly,’ said Alice. ‘So our next job is to make him feel better about himself. As soon as we’ve managed that, we’ll find a nice girl and get them together. It’s time he moved on.’

‘Hey,’ said Grace. ‘Hang on a sec, Alice. Don’t you think you’re getting a bit carried away here?’

‘No,’ said Alice.

‘You’re just going to find some randomer, and hope that Gavin falls in love with her?’ asked Grace.

‘Sure,’ said Alice. ‘And anyway, don’t forget that everyone in the world is a randomer until you get to know them.’

Grace was looking at Alice like she should argue with her, but I shook my head, warning her that she’d only be wasting her time.

‘Let’s worry about the love story of the century later,’ I said. ‘Before we get to that, we’ve got to make Gavin feel better about himself. How do you suggest we do that, Alice? Are we all supposed to sit around taking turns saying nice stuff about him?’

‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ said Alice.

I’d only been joking, but I like when Alice goes with one of my ideas, so I didn’t argue.

‘Gavin’s up in his room,’ said Grace. ‘And there’s no way I’m sitting on the landing saying nice stuff to him through his bedroom door. That’s just weird.’

‘And I want to sunbathe,’ I added.

‘Calm down, you two,’ she said. ‘I’m not suggesting that we stalk the poor boy. That
would
be crazy. We can take the afternoon off to catch some rays, but at dinner-time, we have to get going on part two of the plan. Everyone has to help, so I expect you two to have lots of good things ready to say about Gavin. OK?’

Grace and I nodded obediently.

‘Yes, Boss,’ I said. ‘Whatever you say, Boss.’

Alice rolled her eyes. ‘Sometimes you are sooo immature, Megan,’ she said.

Whatever,’ I said. ‘Now pass me my suncream, I’m wasting precious sunbathing time.’

That evening, when we were sitting enjoying the delicious barbecue that Eddie had prepared, Alice went into action.

‘Hey, Gavin,’ she said. ‘I totally love that shirt you’re wearing – and those shoes are great. What do you think, Megan? Doesn’t Gavin look well tonight?’

The table was lit by lots of flickery candles, and I hoped that no one could see how red my face had gone. As usual, Alice was going completely over the top. Also, I was kind of starting to think that Gavin looked really well all of the time, and there was
no
way I wanted anyone to know about that.

Alice wasn’t happy with my silence. ‘Hello? Megan? Don’t you think Gavin looks great tonight?’

‘Er, yes, I guess he does,’ I said, not looking up from my dinner.

‘And your hair is totally cool, Gavin,’ said Alice. ‘I love the way the sun has started to bleach it at the ends. You look like a Californian surfer or something.’

Eddie gave a sarcastic laugh. ‘It would be a miracle if the sun managed to bleach Gavin’s hair. We’ve barely been in Lanzarote twenty-four hours, and Gavin has spent most of that time in his bedroom.’

I’d have been embarrassed, but Alice wasn’t even listening to what he said.

She turned to Grace. ‘What’s your favourite thing about your brother?’ she asked. Grace hesitated, and then I saw Alice kick her under the table. I felt sorry for her. Alice’s kicks are usually kind of painful.

‘Er …’ said Grace, ‘I guess he … well … he …
he’s … he’s funny. He’s good at telling jokes and … stuff …’

That was fairly pathetic, but Alice didn’t seem to notice.

She turned to Lorna. ‘What’s your favourite thing about Gavin?’ she asked.

Lorna leaned over and put her arm around Gavin. ‘He’s my son,’ she said. ‘And I think every single thing about him is perfect.’

Grace rolled her eyes and pretended to vomit into her serviette. Before anyone else could say anything, Alice turned to Eddie. ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘What’s your favourite thing about Gavin?’

Eddie looked up from his dinner and stared at Alice. ‘That’s easy,’ he said. ‘I think my favourite thing about Gavin is that he doesn’t keep on and on asking stupid questions while I’m trying to enjoy my food.’

Ouch. That was direct enough, even for Alice.

‘I’m just trying to make conversation,’ she
muttered. ‘Is there a law against that in Lanzarote? And would someone mind passing me the salad?’

Gavin picked up the salad bowl and passed it to her. She smiled at him, like he’d just given her a bowl full of diamonds. ‘Thank you so, so much, Gavin,’ she said. ‘You’re always really, really helpful.’

Lorna gave Alice a funny look. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked. ‘Is this an official “be-kind-to-Gavin” night?’

This was a bit close to the truth, and I hoped it was the kind of question that didn’t expect an answer. Alice suddenly seemed very interested in cutting up her steak, and Grace started to tear her serviette into tiny shreds.

Suddenly Gavin stood up. Alice had done her best, but he didn’t look like he felt better about himself. Mostly he just looked embarrassed, which wasn’t really part of the plan.

‘I’m finished my dinner,’ he said. ‘And I’m kind of tired. May I be excused?’

‘Of course you may,’ said Lorna. ‘Good night, and sleep well.’

As soon as Gavin had gone inside, Alice leaned over to me. ‘OK, so maybe that wasn’t a huge success,’ she whispered. ‘But don’t worry. Tomorrow’s another day, and we’ve got the whole night to come up with a bigger, better plan.’

Chapter Nine

W
hen I woke up the next morning, Alice was sitting on the end of my bed, grinning.

‘What?’ I asked, rubbing my eyes.

‘I’ve been awake for ages,’ she said. ‘And I’ve got a brilliant plan to make Gavin feel good about himself.’

‘What is it?’ asked Grace, sitting up in bed. ‘It needs to be good, because, no offence, Alice, last night’s plan was a bit of a disaster.’

‘I’ve already forgotten about last night,’ said Alice primly. ‘The past is past – and today’s plan is perfect.’

‘What is it?’ I said, half afraid to hear the
answer. Alice’s plans are never boring, but often they are totally, totally crazy.

‘The new plan is simple, but effective,’ said Alice. ‘I’ve realised that saying nice stuff about people is a bit weird, especially if you do it all in a rush, like we did.’

Grace giggled. ‘It took you the whole night to figure that out?’ she asked.

Alice ignored her. ‘I’ve just remembered a really interesting article I read in a magazine last year.’

‘Do share,’ I said.

‘The article was about six pages long,’ she said. ‘And I got bored and stopped reading halfway through it, but the basic point was that helping people makes you feel good about yourself.’

‘That’s probably true,’ I said. ‘I felt really good about myself when I helped Rosie to cycle her bike without stabilisers. And for weeks afterwards, every time I saw her on her bike, I felt all warm and happy.’

‘So sweet,’ said Grace. ‘And I see where you’re going with this, Alice, but there’s one problem. Who around here needs help?’

‘Oh don’t you worry about that,’ said Alice. ‘Leave it to me. I’ve got it all figured out.’

‘What are you going to do?’ I asked.

‘I’ll tell you when the time is right,’ said Alice. ‘I’m working on a need-to-know basis, and for now, I’m the only one who needs to know. Now who’s coming down for breakfast? I’m starving.’

I should have known to be afraid.

After breakfast, Lorna and Eddie went shopping. When the rest of us had tidied the kitchen, Gavin went upstairs as usual and Alice, Grace and I went to lie beside the pool.

‘Poor Gavin,’ I said as we settled down on our sunloungers. ‘Can you hear that sad music coming from his room again? He’s playing the
same few songs over and over again. A broken heart must really hurt.’

Alice jumped up from her sunlounger, and I suddenly remembered the plan she hadn’t shared with us.

‘You’re right, Megan,’ she said. ‘A broken heart must be awful. We can’t waste any more time. We need to move on to the next stage of our plan.’

She walked across the patio until she was standing right under Gavin’s window. She grinned at Grace and me, and then she took a deep breath. ‘Er, Alice,’ I said nervously. ‘What exactly are you––?’

Before I could finish my sentence, she screamed loudly. ‘Gavin!!’

When my ears had finally recovered, I noticed that the sad music had stopped. A second later, Gavin leaned out of the window. Even from a distance I could see how sad his huge brown eyes were. He looked like a big, lost puppy.

‘What do you want?’ he asked. ‘Why are you
calling me?’

‘We need your help,’ said Alice sweetly. ‘Grace told me before that you’re a really good swimmer.’

‘Er … I suppose I’m not too bad,’ he said. ‘But how is that going to help you? It doesn’t look like you’re drowning or anything.’

‘Ha, ha,’ said Alice. ‘That’s really funny, Gavin. The problem is – Megan can’t swim.’

‘Alice!’ I hissed, but she ignored me and continued. ‘So we thought maybe you could give her a lesson.’

‘Oh,’ said Gavin, looking surprised. ‘Would you like that, Megan?’

I could feel my face going red, and before I could answer, Alice answered for me.

‘Of course she’d like it. She’s just a bit shy, that’s all. You’d love a swimming lesson from Gavin, wouldn’t you, Megan?’

I was totally, totally embarrassed. I felt sorry for Gavin too, though, so I didn’t argue. I put my hands over my red face and half-nodded.

‘OK,’ said Gavin. ‘I’ll be down in a sec.’ And then he vanished from the window.

‘That’s totally unfair, Alice,’ I said as soon as he was gone. ‘You know I don’t need a swimming lesson. I can swim perfectly well already – better than you.’

‘You can pretend, can’t you?’ said Alice. ‘It’s all in a good cause. Don’t you want to help Gavin?’

‘But I’ve just finished putting on my sunscreen.’

Alice picked up the bottle and read from the label on the back. ‘100 per cent waterproof. I knew we could rely on Sheila. You can swim all you want, Megan. Isn’t that lucky?’

Grace giggled, but stopped when I glared at her.

‘This is totally stupid,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t you say …?’

Before I could finish, Gavin appeared. There was no way I was letting him think I was a total idiot, so I tried to smile.

‘Er, thanks for coming down, Gavin,’ I said. ‘But Alice got a bit mixed up – she does that sometimes. But the thing is – I can actually swim.’

‘So you don’t need my help?’ he asked, looking surprised.

I was about to agree with him, when I saw Alice glaring at me. I suddenly remembered that she wasn’t deliberately embarrassing me. In her usual OTT way, she was trying to be nice.

‘I do … kind of need your help, Gavin,’ I said. ‘It’s just maybe … you know … you could give me a few pointers … you know … to improve my stroke and stuff.’

‘Sure thing,’ said Gavin. ‘I can easily do that. Why don’t you swim a length or two and we’ll see what needs to be done?’

So I climbed into the pool, and swam up and down a few times. It was totally embarrassing, knowing that the others were all watching me, but there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it.

When I stopped swimming, Gavin sat at the
edge of the pool. I concentrated on his big brown eyes, and did my best to ignore Alice and Grace, who were making faces at me behind his back.

‘You could be a really nice swimmer if you just tweaked a few things,’ he said. ‘Your kick is a bit off, and if we fix that, you’ll see a huge improvement.’

‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I’d like to do that.’

‘Well let’s get started then,’ said Gavin, and he gave me a big smile, that made me feel kind of embarrassed and happy at the same time.

Gavin was really, really patient. He explained things carefully, and encouraged me when I got it right. After a bit, he took off his t-shirt and got into the pool to demonstrate what he’d been describing. Alice was still watching, but she wasn’t making faces any more. I got the weird feeling that she was a bit jealous. I grinned and waved at her, and she sat back on her sunlounger and pretended to read her book.

After half an hour, Gavin climbed out of the pool. ‘You did really well, Megan,’ he said. ‘I can give you another lesson tomorrow if you like.’

‘I’d love that,’ I said, grabbing a towel and rubbing it through my hair, so he wouldn’t see how embarrassed I was.

When I’d finished drying my hair, he was gone, and from inside the house I could hear the sad music starting up again.

‘OMG,’ said Grace. ‘That plan totally worked. Did you see how much Gavin smiled while he was teaching Megan? I bet he didn’t think about evil witch-woman the whole time. You’re a genius, Alice.’

‘Thanks,’ said Alice. ‘But I knew that already. We’re not finished with Gavin yet, though – he’s still playing that awful music. Now be quiet, so I can think of a plan for tomorrow.’

After lunch, Grace showed us these cool motor-scooter things we were allowed to use, and we spent ages driving around the villa complex, checking everything out. Then we did more sunbathing, and I practised my swimming and Lorna and Eddie prepared for a barbecue.

Mum rang just as we were getting ready to eat. It was nice to hear her voice, but it quickly turned into a question and answer session.

‘Did you remember to put on your sunscreen?’

‘Did you make sure not to swim until an hour after eating?’

‘Did you help Lorna and Eddie with the dishes?’

‘Are you avoiding sweets and biscuits?’

‘Are you eating plenty of fruit and vegetables?’

‘Are you drinking plenty of water?’

My answer was always the same. ‘Yes, Mum. Yes, Mum. Yes, Mum.’ It was like I was singing the chorus of a very boring song.

In the end, I couldn’t take any more. ‘Er, Mum, it’s lovely to talk to you,’ I said. ‘But I need to go. We’re having a barbecue and I think it might be ready.’

That was a mistake. A big mistake. My innocent excuse set off a whole new string of commandments.

‘Don’t stand too near the barbecue.’

‘I’m sure Lorna and Eddie are very careful, but make sure you don’t eat any pink chicken.’

‘Burned food is very bad for you, so be careful not too eat anything that’s too black.’

‘Mum,’ I said impatiently. ‘I really need to go. Everyone’s waiting for me.’

Her voice went all soft and mushy and I felt sorry. ‘OK, darling,’ she said. ‘We love you and we miss you. Rosie and Dad and Domino send hugs and kisses and cuddles.’

‘Bye, Mum,’ I love you too,’ I said, and then I hung up.

Later I managed not to get burned or poisoned by the barbecue, and then we went to
bed and that was the end of our first full day in Lanzarote.