as simple as that. Then I texted Dad. I don’t want to be here.
Coming, princess. Wait until you see my chariot!
The car is awesome. It’s just like this great big daffodil-coloured pile of perfection. You can see it a mile off and hear it from even further away. Dad sat at the school gates revving the engine. Since I was skipping lessons, I should have been keeping a low profile, that would have been the wise thing to do, but it was pretty cool to see kids with mouths hanging wide open. Ridley was one of them. I pretended not to see him but I could feel his glare on my back. I flicked my hair over my shoulder and then Dad zoomed away. It cheered me up a bit after my fallout with Ridley and Megan. I just can’t believe the way they acted! It was like we’d never been friends! Like we weren’t a thing! So jealous.
‘Did you see their faces, did you?’ I asked Dad as we sped away.
‘Sure did.’ Dad started to give me lots of info about the car then. I didn’t take much of it in. I got the gist. Bottom line, the car is fast and expensive. We drove around for a bit, neither of us wanted to go straight home, we drove past Ridley’s house and Megan’s house. Not like on purpose, that’s just the way home, although I think the revving outside their homes was deliberate. Dad is definitely being more crazy since we won the lottery. I think I saw someone at the window at Ridley’s house. Probably Jennifer, she’s usually at home. We decided to drive on the big A road.
‘Just to let her open up a bit,’ said Dad.
It wasn’t just school kids who turned to look our way, every other driver stared enviously, tongues lolling. He didn’t say anything for a bit, we just drove enjoying the warm feeling that comes from knowing you have it better than anyone else. Then he turned to me and asked, ‘So what was up at school?’ I should have known I’d get grilled. Yeah, Dad is the fun parent but he’s still a parent and so always wants to know what’s going on in my life.
‘It sucks,’ I muttered.
‘I thought you liked school.’
‘Nope.’
‘You used to.’
I shrugged. ‘Ridley and I had a row. Megan too.’
‘About the lottery win?’
I shrugged again because technically I wasn’t supposed to talk about the lottery win but on the other hand Dad has just driven a great big, bold Ferrari up their street. Not exactly subtle.
‘I know you won’t believe me now, but you are young and there will be other boys, other best friends.’ I looked out the window. He’s wrong. Every emotion I have ever felt wanted to explode out of my body, right then. I am like obviously really, really happy we are so rich but I just can’t believe Ridley and Megan! How could they act like that?! It feels like they’ve punched me. I can’t explain it. Even if I could, Dad wouldn’t get it. He’s too old. Because I didn’t say anything he carried on, ‘And maybe it’s for the best. You are going to be busy in the next few months.’
‘With my GCSEs,’ I said with a groan. I’m in Year 10 but my GCSE mock of the mocks are in a couple of months’ time. Honestly, the results make zero difference to precisely anything but my parents still talk about those exams approximately every thirty seconds.
‘Busy spending money,’ laughed Dad. ‘We’ll be moving to a new house, going on holidays.’ I beamed at him, relieved. To hell with school. I don’t need qualifications now! We are rich!
It was brutal today.
Ridley and Megan went schizo. They were pleased for me for like a split second when they thought that the win was between all three families but as soon as I told them that their parents had chucked in the syndicate before the win, they went proper mental. They kept saying that it wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right. Megan said (and I quote), she ‘hated fucking rich bitches’. She said we weren’t going to be able to be friends anymore. Just like that. An actual lifetime of friendship like binned.
‘Ridley, what about you? Do you feel the same?’ I asked, pulling him by the arm to make him face me. You know it’s weird, even in the middle of a big row the touch of him floors me.