My Sister Jodie (4 page)

‘I'm so happy for you that you're going to this boarding school, Pearl. It's a wonderful opportunity. You're a very bright girl. I know you'll make the most of it.' She straightened up, shaking her head now. ‘What about that big sister of yours? How does she feel about going?'

I shrugged awkwardly.

‘I was very fond of Jodie, though she was always a handful,' she said, smiling. ‘Still, maybe she'll turn into a lovely young lady at boarding school.'

WE GOT UP
at six sharp on moving day, even Jodie. Mum had been practising big breakfast fry-ups – egg and bacon and sausage, sometimes black pudding and hash browns and bubble-and-squeak as well – but this morning we had a marmalade sandwich and a mug of tea as we worked, doing all the last-minute packing up. Dad was useless, fretting about his work tools, taking them out of their boxes and unwinding all the bubble wrap.

‘I'm just checking, just checking,' he kept muttering when Mum screamed at him.

I tried to help Mum pack up in the kitchen but I was trying to be too quick, too eager, because I knew she wanted everything out of the way before she gave the floor one last scrub. The milk jug slipped right out of my hands and crashed on the floor, shattering into blue and white shards and splashing all over my socks.

‘For pity's sake, Jodie!' Mum snapped. It came out automatically – she was so used to telling Jodie off and not me. ‘
Pearl
, I mean, you silly careless girl.'

Jodie herself was clearing up the bathroom, packing all the washing things into one last box and then cleaning the basin, the bath, the toilet, the floor.

‘I'll give it a going-over after you. You'll leave it all smeary,' said Mum, but when Jodie called for her inspection, she had to shake her head.

‘Well, you've made a really good job of it, Jodie. Look at that shine! There, it just shows what you can do when you put your mind to it.' Mum sounded almost put out, as if Jodie was playing a trick on her.

As soon as the two removal men came, Mum got them clearing the living room first while she vacuumed busily behind them. We followed when they went on to the big bedroom, trying to help with the small stuff while they tackled the heavy furniture and the carpets. Jodie rolled me right up in a rug, calling me her Pearl Swiss Roll, while Big Alf and Young Bernie roared with laughter. Big Alf seemed the same size as Bernie and they looked about the same age too, but these were their official names for each other.

‘I'm Big Jodie then and you're Young Pearl,' said Jodie.

They laughed again and started chatting away to her as they collapsed the bed and swathed the mirrors in bubble wrap. Jodie tore off a strip herself and started popping it, sitting on the edge of the dressing table. She kept giggling at their jokes. I
giggled too, though I didn't understand half of them.

Mum peered round the door and looked cross. ‘Jodie, how dare you! Get
off
that dressing table, you'll make marks on the wood. And Pearl, why is your dress all creased? Whatever have you been up to?' She glared at Big Alf and Young Bernie too. When she was gone, they waggled their eyebrows and pulled faces. Jodie pulled faces too and they pretended to tut at her.

‘You're a saucy baggage,' said Big Alf. ‘You're going to be a handful in a couple of years.'

‘I reckon she's a handful right now,' said Young Bernie. He pursed his mouth up like a goldfish and made slurpy kissing noises at Jodie.

I suddenly stopped liking him, but Jodie laughed and made kissing noises back at him. I tried to tug her away, telling her I needed her to help me bubble-wrap my doll's house.

‘That's it, you go and pack up all your dollies – but we need Big Jodie to give us a hand here,' said Young Bernie.

Jodie jumped down from the dressing table, doing a little tap dance in her red shoes and finishing with a flourish, so that Big Alf and Young Bernie clapped. But then she smiled at me. ‘Come on, Pearl.'

She marched us out of the room, neatly avoiding Young Bernie's patting hand with a twitch of her hips.

‘You don't
like
him, do you?' I whispered on the landing.

‘Of course not,' said Jodie.

‘Then why were you mucking around flirting with him?'

‘Because it's fun,' said Jodie. ‘Take that look off your face, you look like
Mum
. Now, let's get your doll's house done.'

She wrapped it up expertly, stopping for a few last pops of the bubbles. ‘There! All done.'

‘I don't really play with it any more,' I said, running my fingers over the chimney and sighing. ‘And it'll make our new bedroom look ever so babyish. But I can't chuck it out. Dad would be so hurt.'

‘Maybe we'll be able to shove it in a cupboard,' said Jodie. ‘So, we're having a grown-up glamorous bedroom, are we? No fluffy teddies, no fairy lamps, no posters of cute little puppies?'

I hesitated. Jodie laughed. She knew I was devoted to Edgar, Allan and Poe, the little triplet black bears who lurked in a cave under my pillow all day and came out to play with me at night. She knew I was frightened in the dark, even cuddled up close with her in her bed. I needed my fairy nightlight to shine softly so I could see if there was anything creeping up on me. She knew how much I wanted a puppy, though Mum thought all animals were nasty messy nuisances and wouldn't even let us have a hamster. I had one lovely poster of white poodle puppies that I pinned above my bed. I gave all four puppies names: Ice Cream, Sugar, Salt and Mashed Potato.

‘
Mashed Potato?
' said Jodie, snorting.

‘Well, I wanted white food things and it was all I could think of,' I said huffily. ‘I think it's a
lovely
name for the big puppy. He
looks
like fluffy mashed potato.'

I pretended he was the naughtiest, forever
fighting with his brother Salt and pushing his dainty little sisters out of the way. I even used to pretend to take them for walks, whistling to them and slapping my knees, but I'd grown out of that now.

I supposed I'd grown out of my poster and the lamp and the three teddies, but I couldn't bear the thought of chucking them in a black plastic rubbish bag.

‘Don't look so worried, Pearl,' said Jodie. ‘Of
course
you're keeping them. You can have your lamp by your bed, and the puppy poster above your bed and the teddies
in
your bed, same as always.'

‘But it won't be very glamorous then,' I said.

‘Yes it will! It'll have
us
in it,' said Jodie, striking a sexy-lady pose, her chest stuck out and her hand on her hip. ‘Come on, look glam too!'

She grabbed two rolled balls of socks out of my suitcase and stuck them up under my T-shirt. ‘There you are, Pearl, instant boob job. Show them off, then!'

I stuck out my socks and waggled my bottom, pursing my mouth up to do fishy kisses like Young Bernie. Jodie shrieked with laughter, clutching me so that we both over-balanced, falling onto my suitcase.

‘For pity's sake!' said Mum, poking her head round the door. ‘What are you two up to? We haven't got time to mess about. We've got to be packed and out of here by lunch time.'

‘We've packed ourselves, Mum!' said Jodie, tucking her legs right into the suitcase.

‘She's a card, that girl of yours,' said Young Bernie, putting his head round the door too.

Mum glared at him. ‘She's a very silly little girl,' she said. ‘Now, I think we'd all better get on.'

Young Bernie bobbed back to the bedroom to help Big Alf with the wardrobe.

‘What are you
playing
at, showing off like that!' Mum hissed at Jodie. ‘I won't have you making eyes at that man!'

‘He's the one making eyes at
me
,' said Jodie, climbing out of the case.

‘You go out to the shed and help your father,' said Mum. ‘Pearl, tidy this mess and then come and give me a hand. What's that stuck up your T-shirt? Oh, for goodness' sake!'

We were all exhausted by the time we'd emptied the house. Big Alf and Young Bernie went off for an early lunch break while Jodie and I wandered around the house hand in hand, saying goodbye to each room. It looked so strange now it was empty, almost as if we hadn't really lived there. It was a comfort seeing the pencilled marks on the kitchen door where Dad measured our height each birthday, Jodie on the left, me on the right.

‘It's not fair, I won't ever be able to catch you up now,' I said.

‘Quite right too, little Titchy Face,' said Jodie, squeezing my hand.

When we looked round, there were marks made by Jodie everywhere: biro scribbles and paint spills, scuffs where she'd kicked the doors, crumbling plaster where she'd once whirled her school bag and it had banged the wall, a cracked window pane where she'd thrown a tennis ball, a splintered floorboard where she'd stamped hard. I'd been scared she'd stamp her way right
through the floor like Rumpelstiltskin in the fairy tale.

We walked this Jodie devastation trail, telling each other the story of every mark and crack and splinter, both of us giggling.

‘It's not a laughing matter!' said Mum. ‘You're a total disgrace, Jodie. The landlord will think we've been keeping a wild animal in the house. I don't think we stand a chance of getting our five hundred pounds deposit back.'

‘Every house has to put up with a little wear and tear,' said Dad. His voice was hoarse, his eyes overly bright as if he was about to cry.

‘I'm sorry, Dad,' said Jodie, sobering up. ‘Look, I'll save up and pay the deposit out of my pocket money.'

‘Well, we'll all be in our graves by the time you've paid it off.' Mum sniffed.

Jodie glared at her. ‘I'll get a Saturday job when I'm old enough, you'll see. And I can do babysitting now, easy-peasy.
Please
don't look so upset, Dad.'

‘No, no, it's not the deposit, pet. I'm just – well, it sounds so soppy, but I'm sad to be leaving. We've been so happy here, the four of us.'

We stared at him.

‘My three girls,' said Dad, holding out his arms.

‘You sentimental old sausage,' said Mum, but she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Dad grabbed her and pulled Jodie and me into the hug too. We all clung together tightly for a moment. Jodie's shoulders started shaking. I thought she might be laughing, but when I wriggled sideways to take a good look at her, I saw she was crying.

‘Jodie!' I said, stricken, because she hardly ever cried.

‘What's up
now
?' said Mum. ‘Jodie?'

‘I wish we weren't going. Dad's right, we
have
been so happy here. I don't
want
to go to Melchester College.'

‘Don't be so silly,' said Mum. ‘We'll be much happier there! It's our golden opportunity. Now, dry your eyes and pull yourself together, you daft ha'p'orth.' Mum looked at me. ‘Oh, for pity's sake, Pearl, don't you start blubbing too!'

I was crying because I felt so guilty. I knew Jodie had only agreed to go to Melchester College for my sake. Maybe I didn't want to go there either now.

We all cheered up when we were in the car actually on our way. Mum had packed a picnic. We expected another round of marmalade sandwiches, but there was a surprise home-made chicken and ham pie, Scotch eggs and cheese straws and a tomato salad, and then Mum's special pink iced fairy cakes studded with little silver balls. She always made them for our birthdays, and the birthday girl had to make a special wish, eating her cake with her eyes closed.

‘We can
all
make a wish today,' said Mum, feeding Dad as he drove.

‘Well, I don't think
I
'd better close my eyes,' said Dad, chomping happily. He pretended he thought Mum's fingers were the icing and licked them appreciatively.

‘Get off, you sloppy devil, you're making me all slurpy,' said Mum, but she was giggling.

Jodie wolfed down her own cake, eyes squeezed
shut, her long lashes fanned out. Then she swallowed, opened her eyes and smiled.

‘What did you wish for?' I asked.

‘It won't come true if I tell you,' she said.

‘Oh, go on, please,' I begged her.

‘Absolutely not,' said Jodie, licking her lips.

‘I'll tell you what
I
wished,' I said.

‘I
know
what that will be,' said Jodie. ‘I won't say it properly because then your wish won't come true either, but I bet it involves you and me, and Melchester College, and I expect there's a “happily ever after'' at the end.'

She'd guessed my wish, word for word.

‘Oh, you!' I said. ‘So is that what you wished too?'

Jodie smiled mysteriously. I could never get her to tell me anything if she didn't want to. No one could ever guess what Jodie was thinking.