Mumnesia Read Online Free PDF Page B

tomorrow!

15 LUCY
    ‘Ooh, check out those funky
tops!’ Shazza cries, rushing over to a display of
skin-tight Lycra in the window of the
Simply Teen
store.
‘Aren’t they rad?’
    ‘Um, yeah, but . . .’ I falter.
    ‘But what?’
    But the thought of my middle-aged mother wearing them is SO
not. ‘There’s a much better place just down
here.’ I say quickly. ‘I’ll be your personal
shopper!’
    I hook my arm through Shazza’s, hurry to the biggest
department store in town and take her straight into the changing
rooms. That way a) she can’t choose any inappropriate
clothes, and b) there’s no risk of anyone I know seeing me
shopping with my mother with her mad hair and nose-stud!
#SocialSuicide
    I hurry around the women’s fashion section, and deliver
several cool but age-appropriate outfits to Shazza – who
has no idea how to wear any of them!
    ‘This shirt’s
way
too big!’ she
moans.
    ‘It’s a dress!’ I laugh. ‘Try it with
a belt!’
    ‘But now it looks like I forgot to put any trousers
on!’
    ‘It’s
fashion
!’ I protest.
    ‘And these jeans don’t have a zip!’
    ‘They’re jeggings!’
    ‘What on earth are
jeggings
? And is this top
supposed to button up at the back?’
    ‘Yes!’ I sigh.
    ‘Ugh! Aren’t there any
normal
clothes out
there?’
    ‘Hang on, I’ll grab some more.’ I turn to go
– then hear a familiar giggle.
    I dive back inside Shazza’s cubicle and yank the curtain
closed – just in time! I peep through a gap, and see Megan,
Nicole, Cara and Viv saunter into the changing rooms. I check my
watch. School finished twenty minutes ago. I’d no idea it
was so late.
    ‘What’s the matter?’ Shazza frowns.
    ‘Shh!’ I hiss. ‘It’s the Megababes
– the coolest girls in my year.’
    ‘So?’
    ‘So – I’m supposed to be ill! I’ll get
into heaps of trouble if they tell any teachers they’ve
seen me shopping!’
    Plus if they see me buying clothes with my mother
they’ll think I’m completely lame.
    We both peer round the blue velvet curtain to see Megan
twirling in front of the big mirror in the most beautiful sparkly
white dress I’ve ever seen, her perfect blonde hair fanning
out in a circle around her.
    I sigh. ‘I could never pull off a dress like
that.’
    ‘Of course you could!’ Shazza scoffs.
‘I’ll get it for you.’
    I block her way. ‘You
cannot
go out
there!’
    ‘Why not? They don’t know
I’m
supposed to be ill too, do they?’ Shazza whispers.
    ‘Well, no, but –’
    With a swoosh of velvet she ducks past me out of the
cubicle.
    OMG. Who knows
what
she’ll come back with?

16 SHAZZA
    I wander round the store, past all the
frumpy florals to a section filled with funky colours and trendy
styles. That’s
much
more like it. I find the white
dress almost immediately – it’s on display –
then gleefully grab greedy armfuls of clothes before hurrying
back to the changing rooms. The girls from Lucy’s school
have gone, so I kick her out of my cubicle while I get
dressed.
    ‘Can I look yet?’ she asks
impatiently.
    ‘No! You’ve gotta wait for the big
reveal!’
    ‘And Mum calls
me
a drama
queen!’ she exclaims.
    ‘Maybe it’s genetic!’ I laugh.
‘OK . . . now! Ta-da!’
    I sweep back the curtain and Lucy’s jaw
drops.
    ‘OMG! What are you
wearing
?’
she squeals.
    ‘Aren’t they gorgeous?’ I grin,
stepping out and twirling in front of the big mirror. I’m
wearing a lime-green crop top, pink miniskirt and studded leather
jacket. ‘
Much
better!’
    ‘But . . . but you can’t wear
those!’ Lucy gawps. ‘They’re for
teenagers
!’
    ‘I
am
a teenager!’ I protest.
‘Well . . . almost.’
    A woman checking her outfit in the mirror behind
us looks at me strangely. Oops!
    ‘Ha ha! Not for about twenty years,
Mum!’ Lucy laughs awkwardly, shoving me back into the
cubicle and snapping the curtain shut. ‘You have to get
changed.