Moving On

She peeps over the mountain of cereal and sniggers.

“Whoops,” she says tipping the last few flakes into her bowl and shaking the empty box.

“Scarlett,” I wail. “Those are my Coco Pops.”

“Not anymore,” she cackles, shoving the cereal into her mouth, milk dribbling down her chin.

My sister shrieks as I slap the spoon from her hand. She spins round, yanking a clump of my hair and stamps on my foot. Grabbing the empty packet, I plunge it into the bowl and…

… “What on earth is going on in here?”

We freeze as mummy appears out of nowhere, hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing as she looks at the milk and cereal dripping onto the floor.

“It was her,” we both squeal, pointing at one another.

“She stole my Coco Pops,” I say.

“Oh, for goodness sake Ruby, what’s wrong with these?” she says, slamming a box of Shreddies in front of me.

I scramble into the seat beside Scarlett and stare at the packet. I hate Shreddies. They taste like chewed up pieces of cardboard. It’s not fair.

My sister smiles when she catches me looking at her. It’s not a nice smile. All I can see are rows of sparkly teeth like the shark in Finding Nemo. She’s up to something, I know she is. She had the same look on her face when she stole the sweets I’d hidden at the back of my cupboard or when she put a worm in my lunchbox, or when she…. What’s she done now?

Scarlett’s still grinning as mummy disappears into the laundry room.

“Guess what?” she whispers into my ear. “I’m going to get the bigger room in the new house too.”

“No way. That’s not fair Scarlett. You always get the…”

“Can you two please stop bickering,” says mummy rushing back into the kitchen and unplugging the toaster. “We haven’t got time for all this today. Just hurry up and finish your breakfasts.”

I’m about to tell mummy that I’d have been a lot faster if I’d had my Coco Pops but then I see her blotchy cheeks and keep quiet. She looks pretty wild today. Her hair is sticking up at the back and she’s wearing her glasses with the thick black frames. She only ever wears those when we’re running late for school, and she throws on a tracksuit over her pajamas.

“Come on girls, get a move on,” says mummy. “The removal company should be here any minute. Have you packed what you want for the journey yet?”

“No,” we both chorus.

“Well can you do that pronto please. Oh god, where did I leave my phone,” she says dashing into the hallway.

I slide down in my seat, the spoon clanking against the side of the bowl as I stir the sludgy mess round and round. The kitchen looks weird. It doesn’t feel like home anymore. All my drawings that mummy pinned to the fridge door are missing and there are piles of boxes with pan lids sticking out of the top. Even the cat baskets that are usually underneath the radiator have disappeared and…

“… Where’s Katy Purry?” says mummy skidding on the kitchen tiles and holding up an empty cat crate.

I shrug my shoulders, gulping as I swallow the cardboard mush. Katy Purry is the bestest cat in the entire world, but she’d looked so miserable earlier when I’d skipped down the stairs. She didn’t even move when I wiggled my fingers through the gaps in the cage. Not like Scarlett’s cat, Meatball, who’d swiped at my hand with her razor-sharp claws.

“Don’t know,” I say. “I’m not sure where she goes.”

“But you did let her out?”

Mummy’s face is just inches from mine and she says each word really slowly, her neck and cheeks both blazing red. I nod and she mutters ‘Jesus bloody Christ’ under her breath.

Scarlett snickers and claps her hands over her mouth: “Ooh, mummy said a swear word.”

“Mummy’s going to have a nervous breakdown,” says mummy pulling her glasses off and rubbing at her eyes.

“Everything okay?” says daddy.

He wanders into the kitchen whistling and kisses mummy on the cheek. His hair is damp, and he smells of the stinky aftershave that makes me sneeze.

“Where’s the kettle?” he asks mummy.

“Packed.”

“Oh, there it is,” he says plucking it out of one of the boxes. “Do you want a coffee?”

“Dylan, we haven’t got time.”

“Chill out Ally, everything’s fine,” says daddy ripping open another box and lifting out the toaster.

Mummy puffs out her cheeks like she did when she was blowing out the candles on her birthday cake and growls: “I’ve literally done everything whilst you were asleep and taking a shower and now, you’re…”

“… nice and clean and ready for breakfast,” says daddy smiling and winking at us.

“I’ll be in the garden looking for Katy Purry if anyone needs me,” she says, banging the back door so hard the whole house shakes.

Daddy’s only just sat down when the doorbell rings and he jumps up and heads into the hallway, still munching his slice of toast. I’m bolting down the last of the disgusting cereal when he reappears with three huge men. One of them is so tall he has to duck his head to get into the kitchen. Daddy asks him what the weather’s like up there and everyone laughs. I don’t. I don’t understand how the weather can be any different when we’re all inside the house.

The men are all still laughing as they go into the lounge and start wrapping the sofa in a giant blanket. Daddy slurps the last of his coffee and chucks the cup into the sink.

“Right girls,” says daddy looking at his watch. “We’d better get a move on. Can you go upstairs and grab your bags so I can put them in the car.”

Scarlett races ahead, pounding up the stairs and yelling over her shoulder that she’s the fastest. Who cares. Not me. This has got to be the worst holiday ever. Everyone in my class is doing something exciting. Lily Banks is going to Disneyland. Brett Smith is sailing around the Greek islands. Even Connor McKenzie is going to stay on his grandma’s farm in Wales. And what are we doing? Moving house. Boring.

I stomp across my room to the window and press my nose against the glass. Two of the men are lugging the sofa out to the lorry and the tall guy is carrying a dining room chair under each arm. Chompers, next door’s dog, is barking and snapping at them as they walk by the fence. I won’t miss him, and neither will Katy Purry. He once chased her up the oak tree and daddy had to get the big ladder out of the shed to get her down.

Oh blow. Daddy’s waving and shouting at me to hurry up. I cram my favorite books into the bag and squeeze Colin my teddy bear on top before dragging everything downstairs and dumping it by the car. When I run back into the house mummy is in the kitchen, washing daddy’s plate and cup and telling Katy Purry that we’re never moving house again.

Good.

I stick my fingers through Katy Purry’s cage, stroking her head and patting her velvety belly when mummy whips round, yelling at me not to let her out again or I’ll be grounded until I’m 21. I sigh and throw myself down onto one of the boxes. I wasn’t doing anything. I don’t know why she’s so grumpy today.

“Do you want to play hide and seek,” I ask.

Mummy leans against the kitchen counter, pinching the top of her nose and says: “Do I look like I have time to play hide and seek?”

And I think, well that’s why I’m asking, but before I get chance to say anything daddy and Scarlett charge through the door.

“I won, I won,” screeches my sister, jumping up and down, punching her arms in the air. She’s so annoying.

“Maybe you and Scarlett can play hide and seek together,” suggests mummy.

“Will you come and find us mummy?” I ask.

"I’ll find you,” says daddy, stepping across the room and wrapping his arm around mummy’s shoulders. “Go on. Hurry up.”

Don’t get in the way of the removal guys mummy yells after us as we fly out of the kitchen and race up the stairs. Scarlett pushes me out of the way as we reach mummy and daddy’s bedroom. I stand in the doorway and glance round the room. It’s almost empty. There are just four squished bits of carpet where the bed was, and all the clothes are missing from the wardrobe.

“Find somewhere else to hide,” hisses Scarlett, clambering into the wardrobe. “And if you tell anyone where I am, I’ll cut off Colin’s ear.”

I shrink backwards. I believe her. A couple of weeks ago she tied one of my teddies to a balloon and let him fly away. There’s no way I’m letting her get her hands on Colin too.

“Are you still there?” she says, cracking the door open and glaring at me. “Get lost.”

I hurry from room to room trying to find the perfect hiding place, but all the furniture has vanished. I think about lying in the bath but one of the men is in there picking up the boxes of towels. Bother. I’ll have to try and find somewhere downstairs. My foot is on the top step when daddy appears in the hallway.

“Whatever’s the matter?” he asks when he sees the tears rolling down my cheeks.

“I couldn’t find anywhere to hide,” I say, running into his arms and wiping my eyes on the front of his shirt.

“Oh Ruby,” he says. “Do you think a chocolate biscuit might help?”

I nod and follow him into the kitchen, sliding onto the floor next to Katy Purry. I break off tiny pieces of biscuit and poke them through her crate, giggling as her sandpapery tongue licks the crumbs off my fingers. We ignore mummy when she warns us not to eat too many, or we’ll be sick. I won’t. I once ate nine chocolate biscuits at grandma’s house and was totally fine.

It feels like we’ve been sitting there for days when the removal men say they’re all loaded up and ready to leave. They lean against the wall and make lots of huffing and puffing sounds. The tall guy wipes sweat from his head and gulps back an entire can of coke in one go.

“Where’s Scarlett,” says mummy, snatching up the car keys from the worksurface.

Daddy shrugs his shoulders.

“What do you mean you don’t know. You were the one playing hide and seek with the girls earlier,” she says.

“Well, I found Ruby, and she was upset so I assumed Scarlett was….” Daddy trails off and chews his bottom lip.

“Oh god, Scarlett,” says mummy and then her and daddy take off running round the house calling my sister’s name at the top of their voices. The removal men join in the search and head outside to check the shed and the garage.

“She’s been abducted. I know it. It’s all my fault,” sobs mummy. “I should have kept a better eye on her.”

“Let’s try and stay calm,” says daddy, patting mummy’s back. “I’m sure she’ll turn up any minute.”

“We can’t afford to waste time,” wails mummy, pushing him away. “She could be anywhere by now. We need to call the police.”

Daddy turns pale and opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, but in the end just nods and picks up his phone.

Mummy and daddy can’t sit still, and I give up counting how many times they pace round and round the kitchen. Daddy doesn’t say a word, but mummy rubs her hands together and keeps whispering: “Please God let her be okay.” She jumps when there’s a loud knock and Daddy runs off to answer the door. When he returns, he’s followed by two policemen, well one of them is a lady, but they’re both wearing dark uniforms and serious faces.

The policeman asks the removal men if they wouldn’t mind waiting outside whilst they take down a few details about my sister. The three of them shuffle outside and perch on our garden wall, kicking their legs back and forth.

I huddle in the corner, pressed up against Katy Purry’s cage as mummy and daddy answer loads of questions. The lady policeman asks to see a picture of Scarlett which makes mummy cry even harder. I leap up and wrap my arms round mummy’s waist and she squeezes me tight, saying she loves me so much.

“And you’re absolutely sure you’ve got no idea where your sister could be?” asks the policeman, leaning across the counter and staring at me. I shake my head and bury my face in mummy’s side.

“You won’t get into any trouble,” the lady policeman says.

“Are you sure I won’t get into trouble?” I ask, opening one eye.

Mummy pushes me away, grabbing both my hands and says: “Ruby Louise Gaskell. If you know where your sister is, you’d better start talking right now.”

And so, I tell them about Scarlett stealing the last of the Coco Pops and saying she was going to get the bigger bedroom in the new house and how she’d threatened to cut off Colin’s ear if I told anyone where she was hiding and…

“… but why didn’t she just let herself out of the cupboard?” says mummy.

“I might have turned the key and locked her in,” I whisper, scuffing my trainers along the tiles, not daring to look at mummy’s face.

“Outside now,” hisses mummy.

We all troop into the garden and daddy speaks to the removal men who run and open the doors of the lorry. I inch backwards when I hear Scarlett bellowing and banging on the insides of the cupboard. My sister flies out of the lorry and is even wilder than Katy Purry after she’s been to the vets.

“Looks like there’s no harm done,” says the policeman and daddy says he’s really sorry for wasting their time.

I cling onto daddy’s legs as he waves the policemen off, but I know I’m in big trouble when I hear Scarlett telling mummy that she fell asleep and when she woke up, she couldn’t get out of the cupboard.

“So, I think that I should definitely get the bigger room,” says Scarlett, the tears vanishing, her eyes narrow and glittery as she glares at me.

“On the contrary,” says mummy. “I think your sister should have first pick…”

… Wow. I wasn’t expecting that…

“… yes, it’s only right she gets to choose,” says mummy, holding up her hands to stop Scarlett yelling. “Because she’s grounded for the rest of the holiday, possibly even the rest of her life.”

I collapse onto the garden wall. Mummy was right. I’m never moving house again.