String of Fate

Chapter Fifty Seven

Even with trousers on, the school hallway floor was cold against my legs. I didn't know how Meredith could wear skirts during the winter but she liked showing off her legs all year around in school. She was staring at me, waiting for me to answer, even though she knew that she wasn't going to like the answer. "Please, Poppy! It'll be fun. You'll get a ball as your birthday party."

"I can't grasp what is in it for you, though. You'll be spending the weekend with my dads' and my annoying older brother who still hasn't got a partner." I replied. I didn't know why she wanted us to swap places for the weekend of our birthdays – she was sixteen on Saturday and I was sixteen on Sunday. How could she expect her parents to not notice anything was up? Even if everyone outside our families confused us for each other because we looked so much alike, shouldn't her parents notice? She gave me a pleading face, and there was no way that I could say no to her. She was my best friend, after all. "Fine! I'll go to your house for the weekend and you can go to mine."

"Yay! Thank you, Pop!" She squealed, moving across the hallway to hug me. Why did I feel like there was something that she wasn't telling me? I decided that I was just going to let it go. It would probably be better and I would find out eventually.

After classes, Meredith and I changed in the toilets so I was wearing her skirt and shoes and she had my trousers and trainers. My legs were freezing, but she was happy and I needed to wear her clothes so her butler would think that I was her. Then, she left me and headed to the bus while I went to the car her parents sent for her to commute back and forth to school. Her family were too posh for the family princess to go on the bus. Her butler got out of the car to hold the door for me to get in. "Hello, Miss Poppy."

"Hey, Alistair. Meredith didn't want to go to her birthday party for some reason. I don't know why." I said, getting in the back of the car in the seat that Meredith usually sat in. I didn't know why Alistair could always tell us apart but it was a weird, yet neat, trick that he could do. "Please, don't tell anyone. It's just for the weekend."

"Merry probably doesn't want to deal with all the boys coming to the ball. She seems to think that her parents are trying to find her a partner. They do actually want her to get with whoever is at the end of her string, but she seems to think otherwise." Alistair explained from beside me. He leaned forward and pulled a bag from a hidden compartment. He passed it to me, making me realise that I had forgotten to swap bags with Meredith to her designer bag. That was going to be fun for her when she got back to my house. One of my family were bound to notice. "You should probably change your bag. Her mother might notice. She's actually quite observant. She wants to speak with Meredith as soon as she gets in."

"Oh, right. Why has Meredith got to meet with her parents straight after school?" I wondered, moving my stuff into the bag that looked exactly like Meredith's. The good thing about having the butler on our side meant that I had a bit of a heads up against her parents with this whole situation. Hopefully they wouldn't have any hiccups over the weekend.

"She wants to tell Meredith something important." Alistair explained as the car turned into the driveway, not really elaborating on the situation, but I didn't know if he even knew the whole situation. "This couldn't have happened at a worse time. Then again, it concerns you, too, Poppy."

The car stopped and Alistair got out, holding the door for me. I was confused as I got out of the car and headed into the big house. As I headed to the main living room, I wondered how it could concern me. Meredith's mother was sitting on the settee, her father probably still in work. "Meredith, come and sit with me a minute. I need to tell you something."

She patted the seat next to her, so, I sat there. She turned to me and took my hands. "Meredith, there I something that I need to tell you."

"What's wrong?" I questioned, thinking that it would have been so much better if Meredith had actually come home. This was information that she really needed to know.