Just My Luck by Adele Parks (best interesting books to read TXT) 📕

I got the gist. Bottom line, the car is fast and expensive. We drove around for a bit. Neither of us wanted to go straight home—we drove past Ridley’s house and Megan’s house. Not, like, on purpose, that’s just the way home, although I think the revving outside their homes was deliberate. Dad is definitely being more crazy since we won the lottery. I think I saw someone at the window at Ridley’s house. Probably Jennifer, she’s usually at home. We decided to drive on the big A road.

“Just to let her open up a bit,” said Dad.

It wasn’t just schoolkids who turned to look our way—every other driver stared enviously, tongues lolling. He didn’t say anything for a bit, we just drove enjoying the warm feeling that comes from knowing you have it better than anyone else. Then he turned to me and asked, “So what was up at school?” I should have known I’d get grilled. Yeah, Dad is the fun parent, but he’s still a parent and so always wants to know what’s going on in my life.

“It sucks,” I muttered.

“I thought you liked school.”

“Nope.”

“You used to.”

I shrugged. “Ridley and I had a row. Megan, too.”

“About the lottery win?”

I shrugged again because technically I wasn’t supposed to talk about the lottery win but on the other hand Dad has just driven a great big, bold Ferrari up their street. Not exactly subtle.

“I know you won’t believe me now, but you are young and there will be other boys, other best friends.” I looked out the window. He’s wrong. Every emotion I have ever felt wanted to explode out of my body right then. I am, like, obviously really, really happy we are so rich but I just can’t believe Ridley and Megan! How could they act like that? It feels like they’ve punched me. I can’t explain it. Even if I could, Dad wouldn’t get it. He’s too old. Because I didn’t say anything he carried on, “And maybe it’s for the best. You are going to be busy in the next few months.”

“With my GCSEs,” I said with a groan. I’m in Year 10 but my GCSE mock of the mocks are in a couple of months’ time. Honestly, the results make zero difference to precisely anything but my parents still talk about those exams approximately every thirty seconds.

“Busy spending money,” laughed Dad. “We’ll be moving to a new house, going on holidays.” I beamed at him, relieved. To hell with school. I don’t need qualifications now! We are rich!

It was brutal today.

Ridley and Megan went schizo. They were pleased for me for like a split second when they thought that the win was between all three families but as soon as I told them that their parents had chucked in the syndicate before the win, they went proper mental. They kept saying that it wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right. Megan said—and I quote—she “hated fucking rich bitches.” She said we weren’t going to be able to be friends anymore. Just like that. An actual lifetime of friendship, like, binned.

“Ridley, what about you? Do you feel the same?” I asked, pulling him by the arm to make him face me. You know it’s weird, even in the middle of a big row the touch of him floors me. I feel him all the way through my body. Like I’ve swallowed him whole, or something.

“Em, this is hard.”

He is the only person who calls me Em. My mum is pretty keen that I get the full Emily thing as her homage to Emily Brontë and corrects most people if they dare to shorten it. She doesn’t do that to Ridley, though. She has some boundaries. He calls me Em and I call him Rids. It’s our thing. And even though he wouldn’t look me in the eye, his gaze bolted to the floor, he did call me Em so I was melting. Megan had stomped off, but was doing that annoying thing she sometimes does when she’s in a mood; she doesn’t disappear altogether, just keeps herself in our periphery, so we’ll chase after her. She can be quite the attention seeker. “I mean, I’m pleased for you,” he added. “It’s great news but I didn’t know my mum and dad had ditched the lottery. Probably Megan didn’t know, either. So when you said you’d won, I thought we’d all won. You know?” He kept glancing over at Megan as he explained this. “She’s upset. I’ll go and talk to her.”

“I’m upset, too.”

“Yeah, but you are rich upset and that’s never as bad.” He flashed me a fast grin and then ran off to catch up with Megan. It was confusing because in that moment I sort of thought I had everything and nothing at the same time.

Driving in Dad’s new car was fun, but I couldn’t get Ridley and Megan out of my head. “Can I leave school, Dad?”

“Maybe. You could take a year out, get tutors as we travel. Or just take a year out and drop back a year when you return. You’re young in your school year and, anyway, there’s more to life than classrooms. Your mum and I need to flesh out a plan. You can certainly change school if don’t like the one you are at. We can send you to a private school if you want.”

“Yeah, I think I do.”

That’s when he said we should loop back and pass the Heathcotes’ and Pearsons’ houses just one more time. God, that engine is loud.

CHAPTER 10

Lexi

I instantly like the lady from the lottery, Gillian. She looks just like someone who could work alongside me at Citizens Advice Bureau. Sensible, bordering on mumsy. She has dyed blond hair; her roots are a mix of a darker color and some premature gray streaks. She probably does her own color in the bathroom at home, like I do. This is somehow reassuring. Gillian wears secretary glasses and carries a large handbag that is