Ruby Ali's Mission Break Up by Sufiya Ahmed

Author:Sufiya Ahmed
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE SURPRISE PRANKSTER

I creep down the stairs to the kitchen, early morning. It will be another hour before Jim and Cheryl wake. Taking my time so that I get it right, I stick the duct tape under the sink tap. Jim is always the first one in the kitchen and his routine involves putting the kettle on.

Back in my room. I wait by the door to listen out for his reaction. At exactly ten past seven, I hear him yelling.

Ha!

The duct tape will have caused the tap to spray water in all directions. Judging by the furious reaction, he may well be soaked. My suspicions are confirmed when I catch a glimpse of him through the gap in the door when he comes upstairs. His work suit is wet!

“Fairies again,” he says aloud. “We’ll have to strike back!”

Strike back?

Good! This pretence can end. They are finally going to ask me to leave.

“What shall we have for dessert?” Cheryl asks after a very tasty meal of Chinese noodles.

Before I can say ice cream, Jim jumps up from the dinner table. “Fly!”

I look around. He must have laser vision because I can’t see a thing. “Where?”

Jim stretches his arm up to the ceiling and grabs something in his fist. He opens his palm and I lean over for a glimpse. There’s nothing there. I throw a glance at Cheryl by the dishwasher.

“Can I help?” I ask. So far, she hasn’t given me any chores, except to keep my bed made and to bring my basket of dirty clothes down every two days.

“No, you’re alright,” Cheryl says, her head lowered over the arrangement of the crockery. “Why don’t you go through to the living room and I will bring the ice cream when I’m finished here.”

Good idea. I scrape back my chair just as Jim launches himself into the air with a tea towel. He just narrowly misses knocking me over.

“Jim!” Cheryl exclaims.

Jim’s eyes shine bright and there is excitement on his face. “I’ve got it.”

“Got what?” I demand.

“The fly!” Jim bends down to pick the dead fly off the floor with the tea towel. “Got it!”

I assume he will throw it in the bin. He does no such thing. I watch in horror as he unfolds the tea towel, picks up the black insect and pops it into his mouth.

I want to vomit.

“Ugh!” I gasp in disgust. “You just ate a fly!”

“It’s very nice,” he says, chewing noisily. “A bit like asparagus.”

I am literally gagging. “Ugh! That’s sick!”

“Jim!” Cheryl is trying not to laugh.

“You think this is funny?” I shriek. “He just killed and ate a fly.”

They both burst out laughing. I don’t get it. I stare at them, confused.

“He tricked you,” Cheryl says, holding her side as though she has a stitch.

“What?” I don’t understand.

“I hid… hid a dry currant in the tea towel and then… then pretended to pick up a fly,” Jim explains in between laughing. “It was the currant I ate.”

I stare, appalled. “Why would you do that?”

“To play a trick on you,” Jim says.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.