Alice-Miranda In New York 5 (8 page)

Lunch was served in several sittings, with each grade given half an hour before they went out to ‘play'. Some days that meant time in the gymnasium or the library or on the tiny rooftop terrace, but at least two days a week the girls trekked across Madison and Fifth avenues to Central Park where they could run around properly.

Alice-Miranda's stomach grumbled. She eyed her serving of cheesy lasagne and followed Lucinda to a table where Ava and Quincy were already halfway through their lunch. Alice-Miranda put Alethea
out of her mind. She wasn't planning to tell anyone her secret.

Quincy was munching on a crispy iceberg lettuce leaf. ‘What took you so long?'

Lucinda spoke first. ‘Alice-Miranda saw a girl in the sixth grade that she thought she knew.'

‘And did you?' Ava asked.

‘No, she just looked like someone I know,' Alice-Miranda replied.

‘Too bad.' Quincy stabbed at her last bite of lasagne. ‘It must feel weird being at a new school with no friends. It might have been nice to see a familiar face.'

‘Who said I have no friends?' Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘I've got the three of you, haven't I?'

Lucinda grinned. She'd known Alice-Miranda for less than four hours but already felt as if they could be friends for life.

Quincy nodded. ‘Point taken.'

Alice-Miranda asked her new friends if they had any brothers or sisters. Ava and Quincy said they had one each and Lucinda had two brothers. Ava's was younger but Quincy and Lucinda's brothers were all older. When Alice-Miranda told them she was an only child they groaned with envy.

‘You're so lucky,' Lucinda grouched. ‘I wish I was
an only child. Toby and Zeke get to do everything they want and because I'm the only girl, Papa treats me like a princess in an ivory tower.'

‘I'm sure there are much worse things in the world than being treated like a princess,' Alice-Miranda replied, chewing daintily on her salad.

‘I know that's true but you don't understand. I'm not allowed to do anything. I feel like I'm in prison – I'm either at school or at home or at some activity that Papa says is suitable for a “girl like me”. I just want to escape and have some adventures of my own – ones that don't involve play dates at my mother's friends' places or afternoon tea at the salon.' Lucinda's forehead was puckered into a frown.

‘You should come home with me,' Ava grinned. ‘Every day's an adventure there.'

‘Where do you live?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘East Harlem. It's north of the park – and I think it's an awesome neighbourhood. There are so many different nationalities and the food is amazing.' Ava loaded her fork with lasagne.

‘Do your parents work in the city?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘My mom is a detective downtown. My dad lives
in Hong Kong but I get to see him sometimes in the holidays. He hasn't been around since I was little,' Ava explained. ‘We live with our grandma too. She helps look after me and my brother.'

‘A detective? That sounds dangerous.' Alice-Miranda's eyes widened.

‘Yeah, it is. I really worry about her sometimes.'

‘I'd love to meet her,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘She must be very brave.'

‘I think she is,' Ava agreed.

‘I'll ask Mummy and Daddy if we can invite your family to the opening of the store,' Alice-Miranda suggested. ‘Your parents too,' she said, glancing at Quincy and Lucinda.

‘I don't know if my family would fit in with the people your parents are used to hanging out with.' Ava stuffed a chunk of bread roll into her mouth. ‘You know where we come from; it's different to the Upper East Side.'

‘I don't come from the Upper East Side either,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘Is your mother a good person?'

‘Of course she is,' Ava replied, breadcrumbs sputtering from her mouth.

‘And what about your brother and your grand
mother? Are they good people?'

Lucinda and Quincy had no idea where Alice-Miranda was going with her line of questioning but they gave her their fullest attention.

Ava swallowed before she spoke. ‘Sure they are.'

‘So why wouldn't my parents want to know them?' Alice-Miranda asked. ‘I don't care where you live. In fact, I'd really like to come and visit you one day after school, if you'd invite me.'

‘That would be great,' Ava grinned. ‘But I bet your parents wouldn't let you ride the subway home with me.'

‘I think they might. Daddy knows that I want to experience the real New York and riding around in a town car or a limousine is not how most people get about. Riding the subway is on my list of things to do,' Alice-Miranda replied. ‘I read in my guidebook that it's perfectly safe so long as you're sensible and don't go to out-of-the-way places after dark.'

‘What about you ride the subway with me and then another time we can go out somewhere in your limousine. This experience thing, it works both ways, you know?' Ava nodded and raised her eyebrows.

‘What about you Quincy? Do you live far from
school?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘I go in the other direction downtown to Hell's Kitchen,' Quincy explained.

‘And I've never been to either of those places, or ridden the subway,' Lucinda griped. ‘I've never been anywhere.'

Alice-Miranda wondered what Lucinda meant by anywhere.

‘Well, of course you must have been to lots of places, Lucinda. Manhattan Island is not that big. I'm sure you could actually walk from one end of it to the other in a day if you wanted to. My headmistress at home, Miss Grimm, well, her husband Mr Grump gave me the most wonderful guide book and it has this fantastic little map and on the way over I went through it with Mummy and Daddy and we marked all the places we're going to explore while we're here. We're going to Broadway and Madison Square Garden to watch a Knicks game and I'd love to see a baseball game at Yankee Stadium and walk along the High Line and visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There are so many places to see.' Alice-Miranda was fit to burst. ‘And I've heard about this place called Serendipity 3 which has frozen hot chocolate – I can't imagine how good that must taste.'

‘Oh, it's awesome,' Quincy nodded.

Lucinda's face fell. ‘I know you think I should have been to all of those places, but trust me, I'm not lying when I tell you that I haven't.'

‘None of them?' Alice-Miranda quizzed.

‘Well, I visited Serendipity 3 with Dolores our housekeeper one day when Mama and Papa were out of town. And frozen hot chocolate tastes every bit as good as you imagine. But I wasn't allowed to tell anyone at home because Dolores said that she would get into trouble for taking me there.'

‘What about the park and the zoo?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘I go to the park with school but I've never even been to the zoo,' Lucinda replied.

Alice-Miranda thought that was very odd.

‘I can't go because my father is allergic to fur and so he says that I'll probably be allergic too. It's stupid, I know – I pat Maisy all the time and I don't get a rash.'

‘Do you live in the city, Lucinda?' Alice-Miranda wondered if perhaps the Finkelstein residence was out of town somewhere.

‘Fifth Avenue, just opposite the Met,' she replied.

‘She lives in a mansion,' Quincy nodded. ‘You
should see it. It used to belong to the Rockefellers a long time ago.'

‘So you live in New York City but you don't live in the city at all.' Alice-Miranda was shocked. ‘That's just silly.'

‘I told you. My father wraps me in cotton wool. I can't wait until I'm eighteen and I can do whatever I please.' Lucinda placed her knife and fork neatly together on her empty plate.

‘Surely you don't have to wait until then.' Alice-Miranda smiled at her. ‘I'll speak to your father as soon as I can.'

Lucinda's face drained of all its colour. ‘Oh no, Alice-Miranda, you can't. That would only make things worse. My father doesn't appreciate anyone interfering with our family. He'd be so mad,' she pleaded. ‘I think he'd lock me in my bedroom and throw away the key.'

‘But you have to live Lucinda,' Alice-Miranda explained. ‘My granny always says that we should make the most of every single day, not just look forward to things in the future.'

Lucinda had a gnawing feeling in her stomach. Alice-Miranda was right. She had to let her father know that she wanted to do more and she didn't
want to wait until she was grown up. She knew if her father found out about Alice-Miranda he'd put a stop to their friendship immediately. But there was something about this tiny girl, with her cascading chocolate curls and eyes as big as saucers, that made Lucinda feel just that little bit braver.

The rest of the afternoon whizzed by. At 3.15 pm the bell rang proclaiming the end of the day. Hundreds of pairs of feet ran to their lockers and the hallways were jam-packed with girls eager to get home. Alice-Miranda said goodbye to Ava and Quincy, who headed for the back door on their way to the subway station.

‘I'd better not walk out with you,' said Lucinda, her gaze dropping to the floor.

‘Don't you go out the back door?' Alice-Miranda assumed that Lucinda must walk home, since
she only lived opposite the Met. It wasn't far at all.

‘No, Raymond picks me up out the front.' She looked embarrassed. ‘I'm not allowed to walk.'

‘Oh.' Alice-Miranda's mouth formed a perfect circle. Lucinda's situation was far more serious than she had first imagined.

‘Anyway, I don't want Raymond to see us together,' Lucinda added.

‘Why not?' Alice-Miranda asked. ‘Surely you're not worried about that silly Highton-Smith – Finkelstein feud? And he won't have any idea who I am, will he?'

‘No, I don't think so, but my father always asks him and Dolores who I'm with at the end of the day and if it's not the daughter of one of Mama's friends then Papa will ask me lots of questions until he gets to the bottom of things.'

‘You know, you could tell him the truth: I'm a new friend from overseas and I'm only here for a short time,' Alice-Miranda reasoned.

‘You don't know my father, Alice-Miranda. He won't stop until he knows your name. Once he's made up his mind about something there's no changing it,' Lucinda replied. ‘Please let's just keep our friendship
a secret, for now.'

‘If that's what you want.' Alice-Miranda reached out and held Lucinda's hands.

Lucinda gulped. ‘We have to.'

‘Oh, hello Lucinda.' Alethea had just spotted the two girls. ‘You haven't had an argument already, have you?'

Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘Of course not.'

‘Then why so sad?' Alethea asked in a baby voice as she stared at Lucinda.

‘I'm not sad, Thea, but thank you for asking,' Lucinda smiled. ‘It's nice to know that you care so much.'

‘Of course I care, I wouldn't want my new friends to be in a fight now, would I?' her southern twang was as thick as pumpkin pie. ‘Enjoy your afternoon, girls. Be careful in the traffic.' Here she glared at Alice-Miranda. ‘Manhattan's a dangerous place for little girls.'

‘Thanks for your advice, Thea,' Alice-Miranda replied.

Lucinda closed her locker door and headed for the front door.

Jilly Hobbs was standing in the foyer farewelling her students. It was something she liked to do every
day.

‘Hello Alice-Miranda, how was it?' Miss Hobbs enquired.

‘Wonderful,' Alice-Miranda fizzed. ‘I've made three lovely friends and we went to the Met for art class and this afternoon Mr Underwood told us that we're having a Science fair soon.'

‘I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself. Have a great afternoon.'

Alice-Miranda had arranged to meet her parents near the front steps. They had made plans to go to the Rockefeller Center and take the elevator to the viewing platform known as the Top of the Rock, providing that the weather was clear. She had given in to her mother's request to take the town car, but only so long as they could ride the subway later in the week.

Alice-Miranda spotted Whip Staples outside the front of the school wearing a brightly coloured vest. Traffic duties must have been another of his jobs.

‘Good afternoon, Mr Whip,' Alice-Miranda called out.

‘Good afternoon to you too, Miss Alice-Miranda,' he hollered back. ‘So how did we do? Will you be coming back again tomorrow?'

Alice-Miranda hadn't noticed Alethea join the
bus line behind her.

‘I hope not,' the older girl hissed into Alice-Miranda's ear. ‘That would make life better for everyone, wouldn't it?'

Alice-Miranda smiled at Whip and answered, ‘Of course. I've had a wonderful day.' She turned around and looked at Alethea. ‘I've told you. Your secret is safe with me.'

‘Yes, but I really don't think I can trust you after what you did to me last time.'

‘Alethea –' Alice-Miranda began.

‘What did you call me?' Alethea's face was blood red.

‘Thea,' Alice-Miranda corrected herself, ‘you have nothing to worry about.'

A yellow school bus pulled up at the kerb. ‘Save me a seat, Gretchen,' the older girl called out. ‘At the front. You know I get bus sick if we're anything past the fourth row.'

Gretchen turned around and tried to smile, hoping that the ten or so girls in front of her all preferred the rear of the vehicle.

Alice-Miranda spied her mother standing on the other side of the street beside the town car.

‘Stay there, darling, and I'll come and get you,'
Cecelia Highton-Smith called out.

A fleet of black vehicles lined the far side of the one-way street while yellow bus after yellow bus pulled in nose to tail to collect their cargo outside the front door.

Alice-Miranda spotted Lucinda crossing the street holding hands with a stout woman in a maid's uniform. She decided that was probably Dolores, who Lucinda said had worked for their family for years and was one of the only people her father trusted to look after her.

‘Hello Mummy.' Alice-Miranda embraced Cecelia who leaned down to kiss her daughter on the cheek.

‘Come on, you can tell Daddy and me all about your day when we're in the car.' She held tightly to Alice-Miranda's hand and they walked towards Mr O'Leary, who was holding open the kerbside passenger door. Just as Alice-Miranda was about to hop into the vehicle, she couldn't help but give Lucinda a quick wave as she got into the car ahead.

Lucinda had no idea what came over her, because without thinking she raised her hand and waved right back.

On the way to the Rockefeller Center Alice-Miranda barely stopped to take a breath. She told her parents and Mr O'Leary everything about her day. Hugh and Cecelia were so pleased that she was enjoying herself and that she had already made some friends.

‘You know I said that I want to go on the subway? Well, two of my friends, Ava and Quincy, catch the subway to and from school and they've both asked if I'd like to go home with them one afternoon, so may I?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Darling, I just don't know if it's safe,' her father replied. ‘It's all well and good for me to take you but I'm not so sure about two little girls on their own.'

‘Ava and Quincy go every day on their own, although they're not really on their own because at the end of school there are loads of other children around. Please?' Alice-Miranda smiled up at her father, her eyes sparkling.

‘Oh, all right, but I want to talk to their parents first before you go off on any of these excursions, young lady.' Hugh Kennington-Jones had come to the conclusion long ago that his little daughter was
as capable as anyone he knew and once she'd made up her mind to do something there was really no point stopping her.

‘Mummy, you know I will be absolutely fine.' Alice-Miranda intercepted her mother's protest before she had time to start. ‘And can we invite Ava and Quincy and Lucinda and their parents to the opening of the store?' she added.

‘Of course, darling, that's easy,' her mother replied. ‘You'll have to tell us their full names and addresses so we can add them to the official guest list.'

‘I'm not sure.' Alice-Miranda bit her lip. ‘I'll find out tomorrow. Oh, except for Lucinda. Her surname is Finkelstein.'

Her father and mother exchanged quizzical looks.

‘Finkelstein, you say?' said Hugh, frowning.

‘Yes, her parents are Morrie and Gerda,' Alice-Miranda explained. ‘The same ones you were telling me about this morning, Mummy, when we looking at their window displays.'

‘And she's your friend?' her mother questioned.

‘Oh yes, Mummy. Lucinda's lovely,' Alice-Miranda confirmed.

‘I wonder what her parents will say about you
two being friends,' said Hugh.

‘Lucinda is worried about that too, so she's not going to tell them just yet. But I told her I was happy to go and speak to them as soon as she decides it's the right time,' said Alice-Miranda.

Cecelia touched Alice-Miranda gently on the cheek. ‘Darling, if I know Morrie Finkelstein, he might never be happy about you being friends with his daughter.'