Miss Understood Read Online Free PDF Page B

the tips of my fingers together under my chin. ‘To be honest, Marty, I thought the runny stuff went really well with the chunks. You know, a bit to slurp, a bit to chew. It’s no good if you have to use a spoon, and it’s no good if it’s too dry.’
    ‘Very true. And the flavour?’
    ‘Strong chicken flavours, with a bit of tomatoey-ness around the edge.’
    ‘Nice review. How many stars, Betty?’
    ‘Five solid stars,’ I replied. ‘How many from you, Marty?’
    I saw him glance across the table at Mum. Even though our review game is all in good fun, Dad doesn’t like to hurt her feelings by giving her cooking low or even medium scores, especially when he’s such a bad cook himself. That’s why he says the same thing every time.
    ‘Four-and-a-half stars.’
    ‘Still leaving room for the perfect meal, Marty?’ Mum asked.
    ‘Of course. It’s like being an Olympic figure skating judge – I’ve got to give myself somewhere to go.’
    ‘You could go to Yuck Sausage.’
    ‘You know what I mean,’ Dad said.
    ‘Yes, I do. And one day we’ll get there,’ Mum sighed. ‘One day.’
    While we ate, I kept sneaking glances across the table at Dad. The night before he’d been in his study sniffing like a crazy thing. I hadn’t seen his eyes then, mainly because he hadn’t even turned around in his swivel chair, but I did know from having had hayfever myself that his eyes would have been very red at the time, and even a bit puffy. Now, almost twenty-four hours later, his eyes looked completely normal. But my hayfever never goes away in less than a day, so either he’d got better extra quick, or he’d never had it in the first place.
    But my dad’s not a liar, so it had to be the first thing.
    ‘Dad,’ I said. ‘How’s the hayfever?’
    ‘The what? Oh, the hayfever! Yes, it’s fine now. Thanks.’
    Mum was looking back and forth between us. ‘Hayfever?’ she said. ‘You had hayfever, Marty? You never get hayfever.’
    ‘I know. Weird, huh?’ Then, as if he was making a point, he sniffed, before turning back to me. ‘Anyway, Betty, tell me about your day.’
    ‘I just did.’
    *
    I don’t think anyone anywhere should have to go a whole day without talking to their best friend in the whole world, so before getting ready for bed I called Jenni.
    ‘How was your first day?’ she asked me.
    I had to think before I answered. I’d been all ready to say, ‘It was terrible! The work was boring, I was lonely, and my new teacher is really horrible.’ That would have made Jenni feel better, which would have made me feel better as well, but I couldn’t say it. I really couldn’t, because it wasn’t true.
    That’s why I said, ‘Don’t tell Mum I said this, but it was actually pretty good. How was yours?’
    ‘It was terrible,’ Jenni said. ‘Boring. Plus I was lonely. And Ms Richardson was in a horrible mood.’
    ‘That’s a shame,’ I said.
    ‘Hey, Lizzie, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go,’ Jenni said, right out of the blue.
    ‘Already? I just called you!’
    ‘I haven’t finished my homework yet. Man, I hate maths! Do you have homework?’
    I wondered if I should tell her that I did, just so she wouldn’t feel too jealous.
    But she wasn’t going to let me get away with not answering her. ‘Lizzie?’
    ‘I didn’t get any,’ I said. ‘Mum doesn’t believe in it. Besides, all my schoolwork is homework now, isn’t it?’
    Jenni sighed. ‘You’re so lucky,’ she said.
    Just then, Dad came to my doorway and stood there, waiting for me to notice him. This is something he does. He says it’s because it’s rude to talk over someone’s phone conversation, but I reckon it’s more rude to stand there listening in.
    ‘Jenni, can you wait for a second?’ I said. ‘Yes, Dad?’
    ‘It’s getting late, Lizzie, and you’ve got school in the morning.’
    ‘Is that meant to be funny?’ I asked.
    He sighed. ‘Sorry, I mean . . . Anyway, it’s late, so you should get to bed. Oh,