Cypress Alley

Chapter 15

I was home four hours before Eliza. I didn't know where she had gone and apparently, neither did Ms Hartley, who sat by the front door to make sure she'd be the first one to greet Eliza when she opened the door. I saw Eliza walking tentatively towards the front door and considered calling to warn her but thought better of it. She didn't deserve it.

To cut a long story short, Eliza was grounded for a week. Ms Hartley's punishment was on the grounds that Eliza had come home late, and also because her grades had begun to drop. That's what happens when you get so caught up in a case, I guess. Her past few tests were looking pretty bad – even for Eliza, who was not known for being the best student. Sure, she wasn't the worst, but I would be pretty upset with myself if I had her average.

I kept the straightest face I could as she walked past. If Ms Hartley noticed that we weren't speaking, she didn't say anything, however, she had been separating our jobs times in the house, which I guess was a good thing. I heard Eliza slam the door shut and smiled guiltily. It's not like I was happy that she was grounded, but I was slightly assured knowing she was getting what she deserved.

As I went into my room, I could hear Eliza complaining loudly. "It's just not fair, Charlotte! I just came home late for one day, and now I'm grounded for a month! Don't tell me that's fair!"

I bit my tongue and went to bed. She wasn't my problem anymore. I could hear her through the wall, given that our beds were right against the same wall. She continued her rant for almost two hours. Turn out, she'd gone to Jane's house (surprise, surprise) and they had lost track of time. She intended on telling Ms Hartley that she'd been studying at a friend's house, but I doubt it would have worked. First of all: Eliza was not known for studying, and second of all: Eliza had no friends other than me, and Ms Hartley didn't know about her recent union with Jane-Rose.

The next morning Eliza was brought her breakfast to her room by Lucy and grudgingly came out of her room to go to school. She was warned to be home on time to avert dire consequences, however, Ms Hartley allowed her to walk to school which surprised me. I guess she didn't want to waste her time driving her.

School was a bore and I decided not to work on the case that day. Assessments were starting to build up and we had a full-packed day of intense learning. Eliza, however, didn't think so. Despite her grounding, she paid no attention in Science, and in Humanities she spent her time chatting to her new friends. It was almost as if she wanted to stay grounded.

At home, I studied in my room while simultaneously eavesdropping next door. Eliza was calling Jane-Rose and I think they were plotting an escape.

"It's just not practical, Jane-Rose," she said. "How can I work on the case in my room?"

A long pause.

"Oh shush. I'll work on the case if I want to."

I wondered whether Jane had realised what a hypocrite Eliza was yet. There was another pause.

"OK, OK. But still. Anyway, I just called to see if you could sneak me out of here."

A short pause.

"OK, great. I was planning on climbing out the window, which shouldn't be a problem but Ms Ha- I mean, my mum had literally the best ears ever which is not a good thing if you're me. So I just need you to rock up at the front door and distract her-"

A long pause.

"Great! You do that but afterwards, just come around the back and we'll run together. Sound good?"

A short pause.

"Awesome. See you in a couple of minutes."

I considered sabotaging her but decided it wasn't worth my time. Her plan would never work out anyway. Not against Ms Hartley.

Approximately fifteen minutes later I heard a rapid knock on the front door and Eliza's phone ringing. Eliza answered and remained silent as the door opened. For approximately five minutes, Ms Hartley exasperatedly refused Jane's homemade cookie offer, as Jane squealed at her to buy "just one". The window in Eliza's room swung open, and the fly-screen was clunkily removed and sent flying onto a mattress. For someone as boisterous as Eliza, the mission was almost silent, which was certainly a first. I left my room and strolled towards the front door. From my vantage, I could see a girl with an obnoxiously large bun on her head and a box in her hands, squirming on her tiptoes as Ms Hartley clenched the doorknob. 

"No, I've told you for the last time, dear, I do not want to buy your cookies." 

Dear. I'd never heard the word used so menacingly before. Jane, however, thought she was being friendly.

"Oh please, ma'am!" she sighed. I almost puked at her politeness. "Just one!"

Then there was a bang, and a crash, and a cry of "Oh sh*t!". But it came from two different directions simultaneously. The first was Eliza's room - the other Jane's phone. Apparently, someone had forgotten to mute themselves on a call. 

If she'd only heard the sound from Eliza's room, Ms Hartley might not have suspected anything - it was just Eliza and her usual antics. But she'd heard the phone, too. Loud and clear. She froze momentarily as her eyes boiled with rage, then raced to find Eliza. I ducked under the kitchen bench to avoid the stampede. Jane had grown pale and was inching away from the door. Eliza, on the other hand, didn't have the option of such an easy escape.

I won't go into the details of what happened next, however, I will say that Eliza's punishment was extended by two months. And her phone was confiscated. She got what she got.

Three hours later I heard the pulling away of a poster and a knock on the wall. "Hey, doofus."

I pulled my covers over my head and pretended to be asleep.

"I know you're awake. It's 9 pm, idiot."

"Calling me an idiot isn't getting you anywhere, idiot," I mumbled.

"Fine, Mr Sir Wonderful Person," she squeaked dryly. "Get up for one second. I need to talk to you."

"Talk to yourself," I said. "Or Jane."

"It's Jane-Rose!"

"Bye."

"Oh come on. Please?"

I sighed and sat up. Slowly, I peeled the poster away. Eliza was not impressed.

"Hurry up!"

"Hurry up!" I mimicked. She groaned. Finally setting the poster aside, I was met with a red-faced Eliza. "What do you want?"

"Look," she said. "I know you and I aren't on the best terms right now..."

"You could say that again."

"Shush! As I was saying, I know we're not really talking to each other right now."

"What are we doing now, then?"

"Just shush! All I'm asking is can you please get me my phone back? I need it."

"For what? To plan another escape-fail?"

"No! Well, sort of – minus the "fail" part, but I just need it. It's my phone for goodness sake. Please, will you do this one thing for me?"

"And why?"

"Because we're the bestest of friends?"

"No."

"Because I deserve it."

"Really?"

"Oh Eli, please?"

"Hm..."

"Pretty pretty please please please please please?"

I almost felt sorry for her. Mostly, though, I just wanted her to stop whining.

"OK, fine. Now shut up and go away." Slamming the poster back into place, I pulled my covers over my head. A triumphant shout of "Yess" boomed through the wall beside me. If she thought I was going to go out of my way to get her phone back, she was wrong. I had more important things to worry about - like the case.