[alli55]

Ten days last summer


Saturday 5th August 2017


“How’s your foot?” Dad asked, when Holly joined us in the main living area of the caravan.

“It’s a bit better,” she replied, “but it still feels a bit sore!”

“I think it’d be best if you rested it again today!” he told her. “Let it start to really heal!”

She nodded, with a disappointed look on her face.

“At least you should be able to sit outside, if you want,” he said, trying to cheer her up, “it looks like it’s going to be a nice day!”

“What are we going to do all day?” I asked Freya, once the others had set off in the car to wherever Dad and Jenny were taking the littlies today.

“I’m working on it!” she told me. “At least let’s go and sit in the sun!”

Having actually got dressed today, I readily agreed to that! We grabbed a couple of the fold-up chairs and picked a sunny spot next to the caravan. As I checked my WhatsApp, Freya began texting.

‘Hi, Jake, would you and Amber like to come over again, if you’re free?’ I texted.

My phone pinged a minute or so later. ‘Sorry, we’re out for the day with Mum. See you this evening.’ That was plan A scuppered!

“Jake and Amber have gone out with their Mum,” Freya said to me, looking up from her phone, “I’ll try Caitlin!”

“Really?” I asked. “Must you?”

“If I can get her to come, maybe she’ll be alright on her own if we can get her playing something. You know how she seems to like games.”

Holly sighed, but nodded. I started typing.

‘Hi Caitlin. Me and Holly are at our caravan and we’re bored. Would be great if you were free to come over and play some games with us. Let me know, please. Freya.’

I sent the text, and switched to my WhatsApp to catch up with Lottie and the others, waiting for the ping that would let me know Caitlin had replied.

There was no ping. Plan B had failed, too! I had no plan C!

The two of us got progressively more bored as the morning dragged on. I was feeling sorry for myself, and even more sorry for Freya, since it was me that was causing her to have to waste her time just sitting around.

They appeared in the nick of time!

Holly was clearly getting more and more frustrated and I was starting to worry that she was going to just get up and hobble off somewhere and damn the consequences to her foot. We were both getting hungry as well, and I was considering going to the little shop, but putting it off because I couldn’t trust Holly not to try to come with me!

Then, we heard voices. Young-sounding voices.

“Hi!” they said in unison.

I looked up, and there, smiling at us, were two blonde-haired girls, who were quite clearly sisters.

The older one said, “I’m Alice, and this is my sister, Hannah.”

“Holly,” I said.

“Freya,” I added.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Alice continued, “are you twins by any chance. It’s just you look really alike and about the same age.”

“Yes, we are,” I confirmed, “but you and Hannah look really alike as well.”

“Yeah,” she said, “you could say we’re twins separated by two years!”

“Are you free for a bit?” I asked Alice and Hannah, an idea having come to mind.

“Yeah, sure!” Alice replied.

Freya fetched two more fold-up chairs, and Alice and Hannah joined us. Freya then explained that she was going to the shop to get some sandwiches and stuff for lunch. She asked Alice and Hannah if they’d mind sitting with me to keep me company, and they happily agreed.

“Make sure she stays off that foot!” I told them, half-jokingly, before setting off for the little shop by the site entrance.

Alice was really chatty, and it didn’t take long before Hannah began to come out of her shell as well. They reminded me of the way Freya and I worked, me breaking the ice for Freya to join in as she became more comfortable.

When I got back the three of them were chatting and laughing away. Quite clearly, Alice and Hannah were excellent company!

I’d bought enough sandwiches and drinks for all four of us, but when I told them, Alice explained that she and Hannah would have to go because their parents were only expecting them to have gone for a quick look around the site.

Before they left, I told them about the hang-out each evening.

“You have to go,” I implored them, “you’ll love it, and everyone will love you two!”

They promised to be there, and then wandered off.

After lunch, Holly fell asleep in the chair! Like old people do!

I think I dozed for a little while …

An hour and a half!

… because the next thing I knew Freya was doing a word-search puzzle. Like old people do!

I found some paper and we played Boxes for a while, trying to kill time, until, in the end we got so desperate for something to do that we ended up playing …

…Hangman! Can you believe it?! Jake and Amber could never get to hear of this!

Finally, after what seemed like weeks sat in those chairs, the others returned.

Gracie came running over and climbed onto Holly and sat on her lap.

“Guess where we went!” she said.

“Um, to the beach?” I guessed.

“No!” she said.

“To the swimming pool?” I ventured.

“No, silly,” she said, “we didn’t take our swimming costumes!”

Silly me!

“We give up,” I told her, “you’ll have to tell us!”

“We went to Monkey World!” Zack announced as he joined us.

“What, and they let you back out?” I teased him.

Gracie started to cry. “I was telling them!” she protested. Holly cuddled her and stroked her hair.

“Why don’t you tell me all about it!” she told Gracie. Gracie did, at great length!

I was hoping to go to the hang-out that evening, but Dad wouldn’t let me.

“It would be stupid to do something now that wrecks all the good you’ve done the last two days! The doctor said rest it for two days, so we’ll see how it looks in the morning!”

He was right, of course, but it didn’t stop me from being very disappointed and frustrated.

Holly virtually ordered me to go, telling me I had to help introduce Alice and Hannah to everyone. From what I’d seen, I didn’t think Alice needed any help with that!

From some way off, I could tell that there were a lot more people at the hang-out this evening, and a lot of them were new. Faced with that situation, I needed Holly, but, of course, I didn’t have her.

Along with Alice and Hannah, there were three others there who I hadn’t seen before: a boy called Michael, whose arms and legs seemed to have grown without the rest of him joining in; and a black girl, Marcie, and her younger brother, Beckett. Marcie was a little older than me, whilst the other two were maybe slightly younger.

Jake and Amber were there again, but when I looked across to her usual spot, I noticed that Caitlin wasn’t there.

I talked with Hannah for a bit, two shy wallflowers together, and then Amber joined us. Another girl wandered up from the site. She introduced herself as Becca and made a beeline for Marcie and Alice. After a while, I left Hannah in Amber’s capable hands and wandered over to where Jake was sat with the other two boys.

“Mind if I join you?” I asked them, and sat down without waiting for them to reply. They were talking about football, which didn’t interest me at all, so I just sat there, in my own little world, vaguely listening to them at the same time as wondering where Caitlin was.

Beckett and Michael moved off a while later, leaving me and Jake on our own. He asked how Holly was, so I gave him the latest update.

“Have you seen Caitlin today?” I asked.

“No, why?”

“It’s just, I texted her this morning, to invite her to come over and keep us company, and I never had a reply!” I told him.

“Maybe she’s out for the day or something,” he suggested.

“Yeah, probably!” I replied. “But she could have texted!”

We sat and talked about everything and nothing, until I decided to ask him something that I had been wondering at, and secretly admiring.

“How come you’re so close to Amber?” I enquired. “I’ve never seen a brother and sister with such a good relationship as you two have.”

“Circumstances, mainly!” he replied, as if trying to avoid the question.

“What d’you mean?” I asked, intrigued.

“Well,” he said, hesitatingly, “three years ago my Dad walked out on us. He just left, without any warning, no goodbyes, no nothing. Amber was a real daddy’s-girl and it hit her extra hard. I sort of became a substitute dad to her in a kind of way. She would always want to be with me, you know, and I didn’t like to see her upset, so I went along with it. She’s a lot more independent now than she was, but she still prefers to be with me than with kids her own age. But that’s what big brothers do, isn’t it: look out for their little sister?”

I put my arm around him as I told him, “Not many teenage boys I know would be so loving and kind towards their little sister. She’s very lucky to have such a caring big brother!”

“I s’pose!” he said, quietly, and slipped his arm around my back, pulling me a little closer to him. We sat like that, talking, until it started to get dark. I walked back with Amber, Jake, Alice and Hannah, until we got to our caravan, where I said goodnight and went straight in.

“You were gone ages!” I said, when Freya entered our room. I was back in my pyjamas, lying on top of my bed. Gracie was back in her own bed tonight, thank goodness! Two nights was enough!

She told me about all the other new people, which made me even more determined to be there the next evening.

“Was TeeJay there?” I asked.

“No,” Freya replied. “Jake said she was at her athletics championships.”

“Oh, yeah,” I remembered, “I can’t wait to find out how she did!”

“Caitlin wasn’t there either,” Freya added, an hour or so later, as we were getting into bed. “I don’t know why!”

“Maybe you scared her off with your friendliness!” I half-joked.

“I hope not!” she said. “Night, Holly!”

“G’night!”