The Zigzag Effect by Lili Wilkinson

Author:Lili Wilkinson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Young Adult, humour
ISBN: 9781743313039
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2013-03-31T18:30:00+00:00

Sage woke to the sound of her mother screaming. Hurrying downstairs, she stopped in the kitchen doorway and stared at her mum, who was capering around like a lunatic while Zacky jumped and wriggled around beside her.

‘Mum?’

Sage was thrown against the wall as her mother barrelled into her with a fierce, lung-squeezing hug. ‘Oh, Sage!’

‘Did we win the lottery?’

‘Better. I got a job. A really good one at a design firm. I start on Monday!’

Sage felt a rush of emotions and questions whirl around her. ‘A job?’ she said. ‘Here?’

‘It’s in the city.’ Mum did a little dance.

‘Does this mean we’re not moving back home?’

Mum frowned. ‘What? We were never moving back. Your father’s job—’

‘But I heard you,’ said Sage, and glanced at Zacky. She lowered her voice. ‘I heard you and Dad the other night. Talking about … splitting up.’

Mum stared blankly at her. ‘You mean … splitting up our family contract?’

Sage felt panic rise up inside her. ‘What does that mean?’ she almost wailed.

Mum started to laugh. ‘For our phones,’ she said. ‘You, your father and I are on a family mobile phone plan. But your dad can’t get a decent signal at his new office. So we’re splitting up the family plan so he can go to a different provider.’

Sage felt as if she was about to burst into tears. Her parents weren’t splitting up. That was a good thing. But she wasn’t moving home. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She was in the stupid Zigzag cabinet again, being pulled in different directions.

‘You should be more explicit when you have these conversations,’ she growled, feeling embarrassed and confused and exhausted from having spent all week worrying about it.

‘You shouldn’t eavesdrop on private conversations,’ said Mum, still chuckling. ‘But seriously, darling, your father and I are definitely not splitting up. I know this move has been hard, but now I’ve got this job, things are going to get much easier. We’ll have more money again, and we can fix up this old house. I know it’s weird adjusting to a new place, but I promise that within six months, you’ll love it here. Okay?’

Six months seemed like an awfully long time. ‘Okay,’ said Sage without much conviction.

‘Now be excited about my job.’

‘Hurrah,’ said Sage. ‘Congratulations.’

‘What about me?’ Zacky tugged on Mum’s sleeve. ‘What will I do when you’re at work?’

Mum ruffled Zacky’s hair. ‘Well, Sage can look after you on Mondays and Tuesdays because she’s not at the theatre. And I’ll be home on Fridays. I’ve asked Kate next door if you can go and play with Roman on Wednesdays and Thursdays until school starts.’

Zacky’s eyes went wide. ‘All day with Roman?’

Mum nodded. ‘If that’s okay with you.’

Zacky’s face split open in a toothy grin. ‘We’re training to be wizards,’ he told Sage importantly. ‘We’re going to learn how to limitate.’

Sage laughed. ‘Don’t you mean levitate?’

‘No-o,’ scoffed Zacky, giving her a superior look. ‘Obviously you don’t know about magic, even though you work for a magician.

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