"She's been drinking again," I say as I yank a pair of snake-skin trousers out of the wardrobe. The phone is in the crook between my shoulder and my ear and I can hear the girls yelling and Mum and Geoffrey arguing in the next room. It is twenty to eight, it's Saturday the twenty-ninth of April and I'm running out of time.
"Jade, you know what? I wouldn't worry about it. She's got Geoffrey. Enjoy the party and forget about your mum for a bit."
"I would love to enjoy this party Sam. If anything fitted." I am grouchy and irritable. I've been looking forward to this night all week. I should have had hours to get ready. I wanted a bubble bath and time to paint my toenails in fiery red but there was no hot water and no time.
I sigh. "Look I'm sorry for being in a crappy mood. See you later, okay?" I end the call.
"Jade?"
"What?"
"Sorry we've been nagging you when you’ve got your party." Tasha appears next to me. Her face is serious and full of concern.
"It's okay baby," I say, and encase her in my arms. "It's me, it's not your fault. I'm a teenager." I turn her round to face me. "Which means I've got lots of chemicals called hormones going round and round my body. They make you feel lot of different things - they can make you feel happy, or sad, or angry, or all mixed up."
Tasha's eyes are wide like saucers. "Do I have hor… horm-mones going round my body Jade?"
"Well. Yes, but not ones like mine. Everybody has different hormones. It depends on your age, whether you're a boy or girl, your personality.. lots of things."
"Okay…"
"Don't looks so scared, Tash! You'll learn about it at GCSE Biology." I tell her, grinning. She's put me in a better mood already. I glance at the clock.
"I've really got to go now, Tash. I'll tell you and Sammie all about it tomorrow."
"Okay, bye-bye."
"Geoffrey! I need a lift," I call.
"You could have told me earlier." Geoffrey grumbles, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Am I suitably attired?"
I take in his creased jeans decorated with Maya's finger paints, his too-big t-shirt with a cartoon of Barney from the Flintstones on the front, his hair flopping over his face which is well due a wash, the flecks of tomato sauce on his cheeks and that trademark cheesy grin.
"You're just right, Geoffrey," I say. He notices a tear rolling down my cheek.
"Oh Jade, honey. What's wrong?"
"It's just, you're a better dad… than any of the girls' real dads. Including mine," I whisper the last part so quietly I'm not sure he even heard. I am aware that I sound pathetic but Geoffrey's arm still goes around my shoulders.
YOU ARE READING
When Nothing is Ever Simple
Teen Fiction"Taking care of my six out-of-control little sisters twenty-four seven is not a piece of cake..." Jade Gardner is sixteen and has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her mother is an alcoholic, and leaves Jade to care for her six other daughte...
