Sugar and Spice -Chapter Eleven

 

Chapter Eleven

October 17 Friday Afternoon

Cambridge Police Headquarters

Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

GLORIA MASTERS WAS in an Uber on her way to the Cambridge Police Station, when her mobile vibrated.

Her mother was on her phone talking to Gloria’s father.

“I don’t care if you have an important meeting. Your daughter is more important.”

Gloria couldn’t hear his response.

“Of course, it isn’t like her to be any trouble. If it were Robby, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Gloria knew her older brother was always in trouble, not big things, but little things like cutting classes or letting the air out of their grouchy neighbor’s tires.

She slipped the phone out of her pocket. Usually it was in her bookbag, but when she didn’t go to school today because they had to go to the police, she left the bookbag at home.

She wasn’t wearing her school uniform. Her mother insisted that she wear her good slacks and a sweater with a stripe that matched the color of the slacks. Her mother always cared about color.

Although her school uniform was ugly, at least she never had to worry about Amanda making fun of her clothes. Amanda could be really nasty sometimes. Gloria had all she could do to keep on her good side.

Her mother was still yelling at her father, which was good. By holding her phone at an angle, she could see the text message from Gloria.

“I said we made up a play. Drama club contest. Back me up.”

Her mother hadn’t noticed. That was one good thing about her mother. She was usually too busy to pay much attention to what she was doing. As for her father, she sometimes pretended he was a ghost who might visit the house every few days. A good ghost who brought presents from whatever trip he went on. She could almost set up a town, no, make that a city, of Barbies and Kens with their houses and stuff, never mind all kinds of strange junk from the countries he’d visited.

Robby had shown her how she could do what she wanted without getting caught. It helped having an older brother. It also helped having a brother who didn’t mind having a younger sister, as long as she never gave away his secrets.

“I’m on the way to the police station. I’ll tell you what happened later, if you can bother to take my call.” When the Uber pulled up in front of the station, Rebecca Masters dropped her phone into her purse. She thanked the driver and headed for the reception.

Gloria was only slightly nervous. She’d never been questioned by the police, but she was sure she wouldn’t like it.