Average Alice by Whalley Gail;

Author:Whalley, Gail;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Published: 2019-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

The Plan

Alice was still reading as many books as she could consume after sorting out homework deadlines and trying to keep up with recorder practice. She usually visited the library with Katie after school on a Monday to change her books and check out the new displays. It was where she had seen the “Music with Mother” poster and, she noticed, a new one had just gone up. Apparently, the sessions were starting again that week at the library in the toddlers’ area, on Friday at 2 pm. The cost was £20 for a six-week course and you were invited to sign up by emailing the contact name. Alice scribbled down the address on the back page of her homework diary with no particular plan to actually do anything, but later that evening, alone in the study on the home computer, she found herself emailing and putting Violet’s name down. She added that Violet had a disability and would this be a problem, then signed herself as Mrs Fielding. Almost immediately, she had a reply, thanking her for the application and confirming that Violet and her parent/carer would be very welcome. The emailer, called Rose Trevallion, also assured her that Violet’s disability was no problem at all and all the sessions would attempt to be inclusive according to her needs. Payment of £20 due on the first session.

Guiltily, Alice deleted the emails, logged off and then sat wondering what on earth she was doing. She had some Christmas money still in her purse and pocket money due so the £20 wouldn’t be a problem but who was going to take Violet? Next Friday, Jan had been persuaded to give up her pottery class to look after Violet, for double her usual hourly rate, but there was no way she would agree to attend a music class with her. Well, somehow or other, Violet was going to get there, Alice decided.

She needed someone to help her in this scheme because it was going to involve some subterfuge, a much more sophisticated word than lying, although it amounted to much the same thing.

Alice was on tenterhooks most of the week as she planned how to get out of school Friday afternoon, go home, collect Violet without alarming Jan and then attend the class and get home before Gran arrived. First of all, of course, she needed a reason to leave school and a note. The dentist was an obvious first choice and typing a note on Dad’s headed work paper was no problem. Forging his signature was less easy but he had a scanned copy for quotations which she practised endlessly until she could produce a very fair copy with a confident flourish. It might not be perfect but it was good enough for the Drama class teacher who was going to receive it. If only Katie agreed to hand it in, saying that Alice had tried to see her earlier in the day but hadn’t been able to find her.

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