Worry Magic (2 page)

Dad thumped past the lounge door in his socks.

Towards the kitchen.

Where Mum and Widget were.

I ran to the lounge door, flapping my arms about, not knowing what to do, my heart galloping.

But it was too late.

I peered round the corner into the hall, just as Widget gave an extra loud, sharp squeal.

Dad jumped at the noise, and froze in the kitchen doorway.

Then he shook his head and pointed into the kitchen.

‘Donna – tell me that isn't a
pig
behind the washing machine,' he said in a tired voice. ‘Tell me my eyes are playing tricks on me.'

‘It's a micro-piglet actually,' Mum said, a bit grumpily. ‘And they're
supposed
to live indoors as pets  … '

‘God help me – isn't this house in enough of a mess?!' Dad snapped back. ‘But no – now you're turning it into an actual PIG STY!'

‘Oh, don't start, Andy!' Mum huffed. ‘And he's only here for a bit, so I can hand-feed him  … '

‘Huh, yeah, how many times have I heard
that
one?!' Dad's voice had gone really hard and cold. ‘Absolutely no way  …  he has to go RIGHT NOW.'

‘Well, tough luck, because I say he's
staying
!' said Mum, her voice going all high and squeaky.

Oh no, I just KNEW this was going to happen – they were cooking up a big fight again. A wave of heat rushed up me. I was trying to breathe slower, but I couldn't. I whirled around at Kyle, making desperate faces at him.

‘Leave it, Courts,' he said, his eyes flicking off his screen for a millisecond. ‘Just keep well out.'

Great. No use at all AGAIN.

I made a face at him and went out into the hall on wobbly legs. Ooh, why was I feeling so faint and weird?

Mum and Dad's voices were getting louder – they were revving up and up.

I stood in the kitchen doorway, but they didn't even seem to notice me.

‘HOW can you be so mean?' Mum was shrieking. ‘Poor little orphan piglet needs TLC and a few drops of milk, and you won't  … '

‘For pity's sake, Donna! We're not a flipping animal hospital!' Dad was bright red and his eyes were bulging out. ‘We've been through this already  …  We have debts. We CANNOT afford any new animals! GET IT?'

‘Mum  …  Dad!' I began.

But I got drowned out as Mum blew up at Dad again:

‘Oh, hark at the big BOSS man. Well, I live here too! I get a say, you know  … ' She was totally off on one.

But I stopped listening for a moment. Because I'd suddenly noticed a ham quiche, out on the side, ready for tea. Ugh, no  …  Dad hated quiche – he said it looked like cold sick in a pastry case, and Mum knew that. I hoped he didn't spot it – the mood he was in right now, he might karate-chop it.

Dad was shaking his head over and over again as Mum went on and on. He was frowning so much that his bald head had wrinkled up into big ridges.

Then he put his hand up to stop her. ‘Hey, wait, here's an idea for you
,
Donna. Why don't you try harder to get a job instead of thinking of ways to spend? You know, like
grown-ups
do  … '

Ooh, he was having a right old dig.

Mum roared, nearly lifting off the ground. Her frizzy hair boinged as she waved her arms about, yelling stuff.

This got Widget so excited that he started running races round and round their feet, squealing and waggling his curly tail.

Dad glared down at him, and threw up his arms.

‘Right, STOP! I'm not listening to any more!' he bellowed over the din. ‘I've really had it!' he hissed.

Oh dear  …  oh no, that didn't sound good! My head came over so swimmy I had to hold onto the door handle.

Dad turned to walk out of the kitchen and sort of jumped, like he was surprised to see me there. But then he just squeezed past me, muttering and swearing.

I got out of the way as Mum rushed past me too, shouting-shouting-shouting in one big whoosh of crossness at Dad's back.

Dad blanked her, stamping his feet back into his trainers.

What? Was he going out already? But he'd only just got in  …  My heart flipped over. Why couldn't he just go and hide in his Shed, or tidy leaves off his veg patch, if he wanted to get away from Mum?

My dizzy feeling was getting worse  …  and worse.

‘Dad – where're yo-o-u going  …  ?' My voice sounded far away in my ears. ‘Da-a-d  …  ?'

My head dipped and spun. I caught hold of the radiator to try and get steady, but the world was whirling.

And then the weird thing happened.

Suddenly I couldn't keep my eyes open for a second longer. My legs crumpled under me, and I slid down the wall in an odd, SLO-O-OW sort of faint.

Onto the floor.

Conked out asleep.

Completely sparko.

I really was asleep cos I had this odd kind of dream – all these broken-up pictures that skidded away from me when I tried to look at them properly.

Dad taking his shoes off. Mum and Dad like dark silhouettes, heads together, talking softly. Mum in her green coat carrying Widget. Dad holding something with red and yellow flapping pages. Sweetcorn  …  slices of pepperoni  … 

And then suddenly the pictures just faded away like the end of a film.

I opened my eyes, blinking. I was still lying on the hall rug.

I looked up and Mum was peering down at me, her face white, her eyes starey. Kyle was standing right behind her, peering over her shoulder at me, his glasses pushed up on his head.

Dad was crouching down next to me.

‘Spud?' said Dad softly, stroking my hair out of my face. He hadn't called me Spud for a very long time – it was his nickname for me when I was tiny. ‘You OK?'

‘Yeah, yeah, Dad.' I nodded. Although actually I had NO idea what'd just happened to me.

I went to sit up.

‘No, just stay still for a minute, darling,' Mum said. She leant over Dad and put a cool hand on my forehead, her faced all pinched.

‘Really, I'm OK, Mum,' I said.

Dad nodded up at Mum. ‘She's fine, Donna.' But he said it in a nice voice for once – sort of gentle. ‘I think she just fainted.'

Did I faint? No, I was sure I'd been
asleep
 …  but since when did I fall asleep in the middle of the flipping day?

‘Come on – hup you come now.' Dad scooped me up into his arms like I was a baby again, and carried me to the sofa. Mum followed behind, putting cushions under my head, and covering me up with her knitted throw. I saw Kyle hover in the doorway for a minute, and then slip away up the stairs.

Mum and Dad stood in the middle of the lounge, half whispering. I tried to catch their words, looking back and forth between them.

‘Maybe she has a bug?'

‘No, she hasn't got a fever – I felt her forehead  … '

‘So what was it? Like a panic attack  …  ?'

Dad glanced down at me and saw my ears wagging. He tugged Mum's arm and they went right through into the hall where I couldn't hear, but I could still see them

They were stood close together. Two shadows against the street-lit glass porch door.

And that was when my dream suddenly filled my head again.

Silhouettes! This was exactly what I'd seen. Dark shapes  … 

Then I watched Dad kick off his trainers, still talking nicely with Mum. Uh  …  ? But that was like my dream too!

I rubbed my eyes. This was all a bit weird.

And then it just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Mum came back in, and put her hand on my head again.

‘How you feeling now?

I nodded. ‘I'm
honestly
fine.' And I really was.

‘OK  … ' she said, doubtfully. ‘You know, I think you were right – it
would
be
better if I took Widget back.' But she whispered it, like the words hurt her to say.

Really? Oh phew!

‘Karen's on duty at the sanctuary tonight, so she can take him home with her,' Mum said, picking up Widget.

I nodded slowly, but my brain was doing cartwheels.

Mum leaving with Widget  …  just like in my dream.

‘Is that OK, darling?' Mum said, giving me a long look and pulling on her green coat. ‘Dad's going to sort tea  …  I'll be back in a bit.'

Her GREEN coat  …  That was in my dream too.

What
was going ON?

I nodded again, trying to look normal.

But when Mum hurried out, I just lay there gawping, listening to Widget squeak in the hall, and the front door clunk as Mum left with him.

Was I losing it, or
what
? Dreams don't just come true!

Dad was scrabbling about in the sideboard drawer. And when he turned round, I nearly rolled off the sofa. He flapped some red and yellow pages at me.

A takeaway menu  … 

He pointed at it, and I knew what he was going to say even before he'd opened his mouth.

‘Sweetcorn and pepperoni – your favourite, madame?'

OMG.

We never had takeaway these days – way too expensive.

And OMG times a million OMGs – that was the final piece of my dream.

Now the whole thing had all come ABSOLUTELY TRUE! Every teeny-tiny bit of it.

Whoa! An amazing thought fizzled right through me  … 

This was like actual MAGIC  … 

Magic that had cast a spell on Mum and Dad and brainwashed them into being nicer. Magic that had sorted out everything I'd been panicking about  …  Widget, and even the dumb quiche-for-tea.

Like a special kind of magic that fixed worrying things  … 

Worry
magic.

But, pah, noooo, I was going loony  …  I loved magic stuff – me and my best friend Lois knew all the Harry Potter books off by heart – but this was proper cuckoo. Only people in storybooks had
magic
powers. Not real, alive
people like me.

I fell back on my cushion and listened to Dad ordering the pizzas out in the hall, tingling all over.

But – wow – if this was really and truly happening, it was just too EPIC.

We all sat in front of the TV later and ate the pizza together, which hardly ever happened any more. Dad often had his tea in his Shed if it wasn't too freezing, especially since he'd got a better radio and comfier chair in there. It was like his den.

I sat right in the middle of Mum and Dad on the sofa, and Kyle was slumped over the armchair. No one spoke much, but at least no one was yelling. And anyway all I could do was chomp on my pizza and stare at the telly in a daze. I was still feeling so weirded out by all that dream stuff.

When we'd finished, Mum went off to do things in the kitchen, and Dad changed the channel to some boring darts match.

Kyle just sat there, chewing his pen and frowning at one of his duh-brained sudoku puzzles. But when Dad went out to the loo, Kyle started looking at me a bit funny and sideways. He sighed, and I thought he was going to say something – but then he just stuffed some leftover pizza crusts from the box into his mouth instead.

‘Eww, those weren't even your crusts,' I said.

He made one of his cross-eyed monster faces at me, and ate with his mouth really wide open, so I could see all his chewed-up pizza.

‘You are SO gross,' I said.

Dad came back in just at that minute.

‘Kyle – leave it out, will you!' he snapped, screwing up his nose as he sat back down.

Kyle didn't say anything – he just glared at his puzzle, his face suddenly all dark and grim. Then he got up, grabbed his laptop, and stalked out of the room and up the stairs two at a time.

Grumpeeee!

I looked at Dad, but luckily he didn't seem to have noticed. His eyes were stuck back on the darts.

What
had got into Kyle? I felt some worry prickle in my tummy again. Why did he have to be so stupidly moody? If I really had magicked things calmer, he'd better not go and ruin it  … 

But actually the house went lovely and chilled out after that.

Mum was still in the kitchen, Dad went off to have his bath, and I was left by myself in the lounge. I turned the telly to silent – ahhhh! It was so quiet  … 

There was a funny noise outside the window  …  but it was just Puddy, standing up on his back paws, scratching on the glass –
chut-chut-chut –
to come in. He was
alway
s doing that. I let him in and he cuddled up in a ball against my tummy, like a hot-water bottle.

Then I listened to his loud, sleepy purr, and let my mind rewind and replay my magic dream and all its coming-trueness over and over again – until everything started blurring together, and it felt like the whole thing might've been one big dream.

Had it
really
happened?

I just couldn't get my head round it.

I stretched and yawned.

Still, I wasn't complaining.

Magic or no magic, everything was calm now.

I was still lazing on the sofa when Dad plodded back downstairs and popped his head round the door. He looked all scrubbed in his dressing gown, and was wafting a lemon-soap smell. He gave me a hard look like he was checking up on me. Then he did a thumbs-up, and padded off towards the kitchen to get his usual after-bath cuppa.

But then one second later, there was a loud clink and a smash, and –

‘ARGGGGGH! What THE  …  !'

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Puddy bounced in the air and shot out the door.

Dad's voice boomed in the kitchen –

‘ARRGH! Who left that on the floor?' he yelled.

What was going on?

I legged it to the kitchen and stopped dead in the doorway.

Dad was standing in a puddle of white, gooey stuff, next to a broken, upside-down dish. And it looked like he'd trodden on the edge of the dish and flipped it over, because loads of the goo had flicked up his legs and dressing gown, and all over one of the cupboards. There were even some small dollops on the window.

Mum was just leaning against the side, giggling helplessly. Her shoulders were shaking like mad, and she'd gone bright pink.

‘Oh yeah, ha, ha!' Dad said, although he didn't sound
too
angry. ‘What IS it?' He tried to flick some splodge off his leg, but it was all stuck to his hairs.

‘B-b-baby rice,' spluttered Mum through her giggles, wiping away a tear. ‘I put it down for the p-p-piglet, but he didn't like it.'

Dad did a big sigh, but he caught my eye, and for a tiny moment, I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. I stared at him hard, not knowing whether to smile, hoping he might be catching Mum's giggles. Please, Dad – just laugh! It's just some silly, spilt piglet rice.

‘Blinking madhouse,' he muttered. ‘I'm gonna need a clean sponge.' And he tugged open a cupboard.

But then he stopped completely still, his face clouding over as he glared into the cupboard. He pressed his lips hard together, squashing my hopes of a smile. And then without a word he took some things out and lined them up neatly on the working surface next to Mum.

Baby wipes. Two boxes of baby rice. A packet of rusks. A big tin of powdered baby milk. A new feeding bottle with teddies on  … 

‘I wasn't aware we had a baby,' he said in a tight voice.

I felt myself stiffen. Uh oh  …  look out! I started gulping. If the magic really
had
made Dad nicer earlier on, then it looked like it had worn off already. Because OMG, he was giving Mum daggers now.

‘Those are just a few bits I got for the piglet,' Mum said, her giggles vanishing. ‘I'll take it all to the sanctuary for him tomorrow.'

‘Ah right, I see,' Dad snapped. ‘And I s'pose you bought it all with the
thin air
in our bank account, did you?' His ears had gone pink and were wriggling up and down as he spoke. ‘
Organic
milk too. Only the best, eh!'

Mum scowled then, and my heart did a blip. Oh no, they were going off on one again – I could just tell by their faces  … 

How could I get them apart? What could I do?!

‘Andy, will you just GET OFF my case for once?' Mum snapped, folding her arms hard across her chest.

‘On your case? What case is that, then? A nutcase? A hopeless case  … ' Dad was being well sarky. Mum hated it when he got like that.

My heart started beating fast in my throat, and my eyes went blurry.

Oh, why did they keep arguing so much? They never stopped – and it was getting worse and worse. I just wished Gran was here – sometimes she could referee when they got like this. Because they wouldn't listen to me. They seemed to have forgotten I was even there.

I blinked hard and gulped down some breaths.

‘And this flipping stuff is gluing me to the floor!' growled Dad, lifting one leg, his slipper squelching off the lino.

‘Well, perhaps next time you'll look where you put your big feet!' Mum said, swinging away to the sink. ‘In the meantime, get mopping!'

‘WHAT?' spluttered Dad. ‘I'm not cleaning this up  …  you left the dish there.'

Oh  …  my head was muggy  …  heavy  … 

My throat was so tight I felt like I couldn't get enough air.

I sat down with a bump on the kitchen stool. I held my head in my hands to try and stop it from wobbling. But it was no good. My eyelids were closing.

I fell forward onto all fours  … 

‘Courtney  …  ?' I could hear Mum's voice  …  somewhere  …  echoing in my brain  … 

And then I just face-planted into the rice gloop on the floor.

I was gone.

Fast asleep again.