I Lost My Mobile At the Mall by Wendy Harmer Page B

of your eyes.
    Then it's Dad's turn to make an effort. I can see that he's squirming as he tiptoes in and perches on the wooden toy chest at the end of my bed. I must admit I feel sorry for him sometimes – it can't be easy to be a man surrounded by emotional females. Although surely he's had enough practice with Tilly's broken hearts. She's had at least three bust-ups I can remember and we all had to creep around the house and not look at her for weeks on end. Tilly takes rejection really hard. And as bad as I feel right now, I'm determined not to be so pathetic.
    'It's a tough business, all this "love" stuff isn't it, ma belle ?' says Dad.
    And then I'm blubbering like a baby in his strong arms and being totally pathetic!
    'Tilly showed Mum and me all that stuff there on the computer and, well . . . I don't think Will can talk his way out of it, really. And what about all those nasty comments from the peanut gallery who want to put in their two cents' worth? Bet they wouldn't be so game if they had to put their names on there.'
    Again, if this is supposed to be cheering me up, it's a crap effort. Before I can stop him, Dad's off again.
    'When I was a young bloke you could two-time girls all over town and never get caught. But now, when everyone's got a phone with a camera and computers to send photos, everyone has to be on their best behaviour all the bloody time!'
    I'm now hiding behind a cushion out of sheer embarrassment. I don't want to hear about his lovelife either. Has he got something to hide?
    'Not that I've ever done anything like that!' he says quickly. 'I'm just thinking, that's all. I don't envy you having the internet when you're trying to have a social life. There's too much information these days, if you ask me.'
    I hadn't asked him, actually. And surely Dad's not feeling sorry for Will?
    'That boy's been a damned ratbag and a nuisance. In fact, he came over here to see you and I sent him packing quick smart. I reckon I should build a moat around this house and put bloody sharks in it.'
    Will came here? What did he want? What did he say? I know I shouldn't ask, but it's hard not to.
    'I dunno what he wanted. I just told him to clear off. Good riddance! There'll be plenty of boys wanting to take you out, ma belle . Just you wait and see.'
    Groan! The old 'plenty more fish in the sea' line. I was wondering how long it would be before someone came up with that one. Dad's finished his sermon and he leaves.
    Two down, one to go. Sure enough, there's a tap at my door and it's Tilly.
    'I've found out what happened last night,' she huffs, and sits on my bed.
    I watch as she swishes her hair, pulls two of Nan's old clip-on daisy earrings off her ears and rubs at her flattened lobes. So she knows what happened. So what? Nothing will change unless she can tell me that Will has a secret twin brother . . . and one tiny fragment of my heart leaps with the possibility! Then my poor tired brain kicks in and reminds me that I'm not starring in The Bold and the Beautiful .
    'I caught up with Georgie and Lily and they told me the whole saga,' sighs Tilly. 'And it's so dumb, you wouldn't believe.'
    Try me. Could anything be as dumb as me thinking that Will loved me? Truly. I'm in the Guinness World Records for dumb. I nod to Tilly that she should go on as she flops back and traces her lips with a stick of beeswax.
    'Jayden dumped Lily on Thursday and she didn't tell anyone. Not a soul.'
    This is odd. There's actually someone in Oldcastle who doesn't blab continually about their entire life? Usually word of this stuff is out within hours . . . or minutes. This was three days ago now.
    'Obviously, if I'd known I would never have included her in the plan,' Tilly says. 'You can't trust the brokenhearted, Els. They're not really rational.'
    Hah! I know that. Right now I have this weird urge to wade through the fountain in Victoria Square and jump off the statue of King George in a silverbeet bikini!
    'Her whole motivation was to get