Page 15 - My Home on the Earth

Elise was full of herself and without drawing breath chatted at full speed. First the thrill of having to vacate the school: ‘It was awesome, Grandma. Gemma and I couldn’t see any smoke so it wasn’t a real fire.’
Gemma was her friend and lived in the coastguard’s cottage that overlooked Skipper Beach.
She carried on. ‘I didn’t enjoy the pizza today, but I ate the salad and then we had apricot tart and custard. I got good marks for my literature test.’
‘That’s good, Elise. Well done!’ said Alice, navigating her way through traffic.
‘Grandma. You know my pet hate is people chewing gum with their mouths open? Well, Kayla, who sits next to me, chews bubble gum and then she takes it out and sticks it under the table. It’s dotted with the disgusting stuff. Today, she tried to blame me when our tutor confronted her. I didn’t let her get away with it though. I refuse to sit with her any longer. She is such a pain.’
‘Oh, dear,’ said Alice, trying not to laugh. Elise had never been slow in coming forward.
Today, Cara seemed quiet and distant sitting in the back seat. Alice peered in her rear mirror. ‘It was a gas leak, wasn’t it, Cara?’
‘Yes,’ she replied, absent-mindedly.
Alice carried on listening to Elise and left Cara to her thoughts. Something was on her mind. Leaving the bypass, Alice drove along Sunbury Avenue and pulled up outside Cara’s house. ‘What’s wrong? You haven’t forgotten your key again?’ she sighed, as Cara fumbled in her bag.
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