Swap Over (4 page)

 

Maddy rushed through the kitchen door with her head down. Mrs. Walton didn't seem to notice anything was wrong.

“Why don't you watch some television until dinner is ready,” she suggested.

Maddy went into the lounge room and turned on the television. Gradually, as she sat and watched her favourite television program, the hot, angry feeling went away.

She had been silly to rush home so quickly! She should have tried making a wish while in the Matson backyard. If it worked, she would have been safe back home again. Once she was Maddy Walton again, she would still have Brett Havington's pool party to look forward to next Saturday night.

If it hadn't worked, she would then know that the mysterious white rabbit must have had something to do with her silly wish being granted. The white rabbit had to belong to someone in the district and she would find it. She had to find it, she corrected herself.

Not that she wanted to return right now. She still had pony club to look forward to on Sunday. Also it was terrific to sprawl on the couch and relax with her favourite show. No one nagging her to do chores, or screaming little sisters demanding to watch their own shows instead.

She heard the phone ring and then stop. Shortly after that, Mrs. Walton came in and turned off the television halfway through her next show.

“But ...” Maddy protested.

Mrs. Walton, who had taken off her apron, sat down in the chair beside Maddy. Her face was grave. “I've been talking to Miss Dewitt.”

Maddy just stared at her. Surely Miss Dewitt couldn't have rung Mrs. Walton over what had happened this afternoon? In her experience, teachers never bothered parents outside parent- teacher nights once a term. But she was attending Jennifer Walton's posh school, and who knew what teachers did in these sorts of schools?

“About your behaviour this afternoon,” continued the grave voice.

Maddy's heart sank. Surely Miss Dewitt hadn't rung to repeat Bronwin's accusation of her cheating at draughts?

“Everyone carried on like absolute pills, and it wasn't my fault,” Maddy said sulkily.

“She spoke to Mr. Brown before she rang me.”

Maddy waited. Miss Dewitt had actually checked on Bronwin's accusation! She hadn't realized how busybody and sneaky Miss Dewitt was. Another description of Miss Dewitt occurred to her. She was a troublemaker and by the look on Mrs. Walton's face, Maddy was the one in trouble!

The next morning Maddy woke to the sound of rain. It splattered against the window in fitful gusts and gurgled steadily down the pipes. Her first and most thankful thought was she had dodged the visit to Grandma's place. It was dreadful enough when it was fine, but when rain forced Grandpa's unwilling and irritable presence inside, it was even worse.

Then the memory of the previous evening of solid lectures, grave concern, and disappointment returned. She scowled. For a while, the lecture had moved on to really weird things.

“Making everyone else feel bad because you feel bad is childish and unladylike.”

“I am a child.” Maddy had pointed out at that point, but Mrs. Walton had kept on and on.

“You represent our family, and you are expected to behave properly all the time, not just when you feel in the mood for it.”

“Selina and Linda and Bronwin were being beastly,” Maddy protested. “I'm allowed to stick up for myself.”

“It's how you talk and act that sets off the way other people treat you. You must be more thoughtful, and try to put yourself in their shoes. Look at how nice that little Jennifer Matson is. She deserves to be the most popular girl in the district with that happy nature.”

“What?” Maddy stammered, but Mrs. Walton kept on going.

Maddy had lost track for a while. What topsy-turvy thing was happening that Jennifer now-Matson was still the most popular girl in the district? Maddy scowled again as she remembered her dreadful evening. It had been totally wasted on endlessly rewriting apology notes.

Moving those pieces around was no big deal, but Mrs. Walton had carried on as if it was the equal of starting World War Three, smashing windows, or burning down high schools.

“I'm disappointed in you, Maddy,” the lecture finished at long last, while Maddy had tried to keep her face solemn and nod at the right intervals. “You not only let yourself down by such petty-minded and despicable actions, but you also cast a slur on us because we are your parents. You will write an apology to Mr. Brown, and hope that he is generous enough to overlook and forgive what you did.”

She had missed out on all of the evening's television, cooped up in the bedroom as she had struggled to compose her note of apology. And she wasn't even allowed to work out what she wanted to write on the computer.

She had to sit at the desk, and hand write and endlessly rewrite, until Mrs. Walton was satisfied that the letter contained the right note of grovelling, sucking up and putting herself down.

It took all evening before Mrs. Walton was satisfied, and then Maddy had to write it out again in her best handwriting and sign it. After that, she had to go straight to bed.

She kept protesting that on Friday nights her favourite late show “Tales from the Crypt” was showing, but Mrs. Walton ignored her protests. She had been bundled off to bed and given a foul mixture to swallow to make her sleep.

“You get yourself over-tired and you end up cranky, unreasonable, and fighting with everyone like you did today. Even though I requested you have a quiet day with the social studies class instead of going swimming.” Mrs. Walton turned off the light. “Sleep well.”

Maddy had pulled a face in the darkness. She had never thought of Mrs. Walton as nasty before, but it was a hateful, spiteful thing to do under the pretence of worrying about swimming being too tiring. She loved swimming. It was her favourite sport.

Miss Dewitt had been spying on her and then reporting everything she heard and noticed back to Mrs. Walton. She had drifted off to sleep, drowsily wondering whether it was a disadvantage that the Waltons had plenty of money.

They probably paid Miss Dewitt to spy on her all the time. How did poor Jennifer always manage to look so happy and contented with everyone watching and spying on her all the time?

Still, she had slept well and today was the start of her wonderful weekend. Maddy got out of bed and pulled on the warm tracksuit. She would take a pile of hot, buttered toast into the lounge and settle down to a peaceful Saturday morning of watching cartoons.

“What do you think you are doing, Maddy?” Mrs. Walton asked as she came into the lounge room about an hour later.

“Watching cartoon carnival,” Maddy explained. “Did I disturb you? I had the telly turned right down.”

Mrs. Walton looked at the remains of the buttered toast on the floor beside Maddy. For a few seconds she looked bewildered and then she shrugged. To Maddy's horror, she walked over and turned off the television.

“Come and finish eating at the breakfast nook, Maddy,” she said.

“What's wrong with me watching it in front of telly?” Maddy protested. “That was my favourite segment you turned off.”

“We do not eat in the lounge or in front of television, that's what,” Mrs. Walton said.

The kitchen was pleasant with the smells of bacon and eggs. Mr. Walton sat in the breakfast nook with a paper in front of him. He was reading the financial section of his paper. He looked up and smiled at Maddy. Maddy sat down beside him.

“Can I have the comic pages please?” she asked.

“No reading at the table,” Mrs. Walton said sharply.

“I was just glancing through it,” Mr. Walton said, as he folded the paper and put it down. “So what's my Princess doing this morning?”

“I'm watching cartoon carnival,” Maddy said.

She almost felt as if she was in the right family for once. Did all fathers call their daughters Princess?”

“Showering and changing into a good dress and going for your piano lesson,” Mrs. Walton said.

Maddy stuck out her bottom lip. There went her peaceful morning of cartoon carnival! She had forgotten about the way Jennifer rushed off to piano lessons every Saturday. Although Jennifer had always confided that she loved piano lessons and wouldn't miss them for the world.

What a shocking way to waste a perfectly good wet, Saturday morning! Maddy and her sisters were supposed to be learning the piano, but she hated every wrongly pressed key of her lessons.

It was Grandma who kept paying for the three Matson girls to have lessons. Every now and then they were expected to play something on the dark yellow keys of Grandma's spooky piano to prove they were still learning and practising.

Mr. and Mrs. Walton exchanged smiles. Maddy felt the back of her neck prickle. The sort of smiles they exchanged hinted at something secret and interesting happening.

“We have a special nice surprise for you this afternoon,” Mrs. Walton said.

“Really! What?”

This was more like it, Maddy decided. The Waltons were into giving Jennifer nice surprises. They made such a fuss of Jennifer all the time.

The Waltons always bought tickets for the most exciting things. Jennifer had seen the troupe of dancing horses when they were in town, and the big circus that was much too high priced for ordinary people, and the air show with the stunt planes.

“Wouldn't be a surprise if we told you first,” Mrs. Walton said. “Wear your new gold velvet to piano class. We will have an early lunch in town and keep going.”

“Going where?” Maddy insisted.

Were they going somewhere in the city, or were they having an early lunch because they had a long drive afterwards? There was a big country rodeo about two hours' drive from the city. Was that where they were going? What about the exciting Disney ice show in town at the moment? Was that where they were going?

Maddy took in a deep breath of sheer pleasure and excitement. Hanging around for the Walton's weekend was the right thing to do! Life just couldn't get any better.

“You'll have to wait and see,” Mr. Walton said and winked. “But I do guarantee you're going to love it.”

Maddy flew off and showered, remembering to hang up her towels and tidy up afterwards. She put on the new, gold velvet dress and inspected her reflection with delighted awe. The gold velvet made her look like a beautiful stranger, as if her dark hair and dark eyes were something attractive instead of something ordinary.

Jennifer was so lucky to have such wonderful expensive clothes and spend her weekends going to wonderful, exciting places. I am so lucky, she reminded herself, as she danced out to the car.

Mrs. Walton pulled the car under the shelter of the post office and produced the letter addressed to Mr. Brown. “Post this please, Maddy,” she said pleasantly.

Maddy hesitated. Post that horrid, grovelling, sucking up apology to Mr. Brown! She would rather stuff it in the rubbish bin or drop it in the fast- flowing gutter.

“Hurry up, Maddy,” Mrs. Walton said, still pleasantly, but there was a firm note in her voice.

Maddy opened the car door. Could she accidentally drop it in the gutter? She sneaked a look back at Mrs. Walton, who watched her with a glint in her grey eyes. Maddy sighed and swung out to drop the letter into the letter slot.

Her pleasure at living life as Jennifer Walton dimmed through the tedium that was called her piano lesson. The teacher, old Miss Rofe, nagged and carped about her not practising, not sitting correctly, not pressing foot pedals correctly and not turning pages correctly. Worst of all, she threatened to tell Mrs. Walton to make Maddy practise more regularly.

It was still raining when the lesson was over. Mr. Walton was waiting for her with an umbrella, looking very smart in his dark grey suit. Mrs. Walton was driving and smiled happily at them. She was wearing a loose coat over a dark blue dress with beading glittering on it.

Maddy immediately felt happy again as she climbed into the back seat. Mrs. Walton wouldn't wear a glittering beaded dress to a rodeo, nor would Mr. Walton wear a suit. They must be going to the Disney ice show!

She had a crumbed cutlet with salad for lunch, and studied the wonderful desserts on the menu. It was wonderful to be rich and eat out. Wouldn't it be fun to eat in cafés all the time?

“Can I have chocolate ice-cream cake for dessert?”

“As this is a special day, I suppose just once won't hurt you,” Mr. Walton said doubtfully.

“I don't really think you should, Maddy.” Mrs. Walton looked at the way Maddy's face dropped and sighed. “Don't blame me if it makes you sick.”

The chocolate ice-cream cake was the most delicious sweet Maddy had ever tasted. Plain Maddy Matson never ate like this.

Afterwards they got back in the car and Mr. Walton drove across town to an indoor car park. Maddy was so excited, she had trouble sitting still. The placards for the Disney ice show were all over the front of the big building as they drove past. People were queuing up to go inside. They drove up the spiraling ramps until they found a spot to park the car on the fifth floor.

“We can catch the lift down to the basement and walk across,” Mr. Walton said, as he pressed the lift button. “Finding parking is the worst thing about coming on opening day.”

“I think it's wonderful that you managed to get tickets for the matinee at all,” Mrs. Walton said.

“Wonderful,” Maddy echoed dreamily.

They got out of the lift in the basement, walked across the car park and got into another lift up to the ground floor. It opened into a big, carpeted lobby. Lots of people were gathered around talking. The men mostly wore suits like Mr. Walton, and the women all wore good dresses and high heels like Mrs. Walton. There were lots of girls wearing the same sort of long-sleeved dresses with longer hemlines like Maddy's.

A bell chimed. Everyone started walking towards the doors where the ushers waited to take tickets.