CHAPTER 3 GETTING A BAD NAME

From the corner of her eye, Sally watched Peter leaving. She wished that she had agreed to go out with him. But, she did not want to show her interest in him so obviously.

This was especially when the other girls did not like him. Jenny had called him a show-off. She even said he was not a boy a nice girl should see with.

Sally wanted her clique of friends to think well of her especially Jenny. So, she had to consider Jenny's opinions and comments.

Soon, it was six o'clock. This meant it was time to leave.

Sally caught the bus home. Two thoughts were buzzing through her mind.

One was her science test on Monday. She did not study for it at all. She was going to fail the test. And her father would have a lot to say about that.

The other was Peter. She was asking herself why she refused to go to a movie with him. Oh, if only she had accepted his invitation. But, this would cause her to lower her standing in the eyes of the girls, especially Jenny. That would be a too big sacrifice.

She took the lift up to her apartment on the twelfth floor and rang the door bell.Her father opened the door and glared at her angrily.

She could sense trouble with a capital T. He was very angry that evening. She could feel tears coming to her eyes when he started to criticize her clothes. He even accused her of seeing boys and behaving badly.

“Where were you? ” he shouted.

She replied softly, “I went to see a few friends.”

“Friends! You and your Pyramid gang! The whole neighbourhood is laughing at you all. You are getting a bad name for loafing in the shopping complex and getting into mischief. Don't you all have a better way to spend your Friday afternoons? ”

Then, he added, “isn't it better that you spend more time with your family? ”

Sally was thinking to herself, “With you shouting at the whole family all the time, what kind of family do we have? ” But, she dared not say the words out.

Her mother agreed with her father. She always felt so lonely with her husband and children out the whole day. She really wished Sally would stay at home more and talk to her.

She still remembered those days when Sally confided in her and shared the events of her days at school with her. Sally told her about her teachers and classmates.

For instance, Mrs. Lee praised the class for working hard on Food Carnival Day. The principal, Mr. Wong, announced her class as the model class in the school and requested other classes to follow her class as an example.

However, these days, Sally seemed to prefer her friends' company. Oh, how she missed those days when Sally would cuddle against her body and whisper in her ears.

Flashing in her mind was a cute Sally always asking her parents and elder brother, Mark, to hold her. She and Mark were inseparable. To her, Mark was her hero. And she imitated him in the way he talked and sang.

But these days, she hardly did anything with Mark. Even he complained she did not talk to him anymore.

Sally, on seeing her father's bad mood, decided not to argue with them. If she did, that would be asking for more trouble. She knew that it was best to keep quiet.

So, that night, she went to bed early.But, the thought of Peter made her stay awake. She was wondering how to show him she wanted to go out with him. Should she pass him a note? Oh no, the girls, especially Jenny would come to know about it. And they would laugh at her. She could not risk that.

A better way would be to phone him. She just had to find out his phone number.