George arrived home from school in high spirits after getting the better of bully Ryan and giving him the appropriate punishment. When she walked into the house she found her mother, Roland, Anne, Julian, and Dick all sitting around together. Anne, Fanny, and Dick were all crying and Roland and Julian were doing their best to comfort them. Julian himself looked like he wanted to cry but was brave for the others.
''What's happened?'' George said ''Has something happened to my father?'' She knew it must be her father because he was missing since last night
''They think daddy committed suicide'' Anne wailed ''His car was found on the edge of a cliff''
''It's a well-known spot for jumpers'' Fanny added grimly ''the body hasn't been found it was probably washed out to sea. The currents are very strong on that stretch of the coast''
''No I refuse to believe it'' George said tearfully. She might have had her battles with her father, he was strict and he might not have reacted well to her wanting to be a boy but she still loved him.
''We have no choice but to believe it'' Fanny said, trying to be strong but underneath she was dying inside ''He's gone, he's dead''
''No, you said the body hasn't been found so we don't know for sure that father is dead'' George cried ''How can we decide he is dead without seeing a body? I will refuse to believe it until they find his body which they won't because he will come home at any moment''
''I didn't want to believe it either at first'' Fanny told George ''but we have to face it, all the evidence points to suicide''
''Well, why would my daddy even commit suicide?'' Anne cried ''I mean just why? what reason was there?''
Roland took hold of Fanny's hand. George watched and looked angry, was this man trying to step into her father's shoes already? ''I think we should tell the children the whole story'' he told her ''everything you told me today''
Fanny nodded her head ''Yes you're right they deserve to know. Your father already talked about suicide a little while ago, he was in a very bad depression but we hid it from you children. The thing is you see we have got into rather a lot of debt and your father didn't know how to cope with it and he was struggling to deal with it.
The children were stunned and silent
Fanny continued ''Well I thought he got a little better for a while but I guess it all got too much for him again. Also Georgina dear I'm sorry but you haven't really helped us with your difficult behavior recently''
George stared at her mother and couldn't hide how hurt she felt ''You're blaming me for this?''
''No Georgina of course I'm not blaming you, I'm just saying it can't have helped. I know it was worrying him a lot''
Julian had been sitting quietly taking in what his mother had just said. At last, he spoke ''You said we're in a lot of debt? what does that mean? Are we going to be in trouble?''
''The house will probably be repossessed and we'll all be homeless'' Fanny said ''I'm so sorry kids, this is awful''
''How did father get into debt that's what I want to know'' George said ''He was always very sensible with money''
''He got scammed'' Fanny replied ''He invested in some company that he thought was legit but it was a scam and he lost all our savings. As if that wasn't bad enough he ended up taking out a loan to cover our living costs because we were totally broke, in the end, the interest just built up. I wish I could get my hands on the scum who scammed us, I'd kill them''
''I think I'd be there helping you'' George said, feeling the anger again inside
''Mum are we really going to be on the streets?'' Anne asked with terror in her voice
YOU ARE READING
1. GEORGE HAS A PERFECTLY WRETCHED TIME
General FictionA darker, more modern version of Enid Blyton's second famous five novel ''Five go adventuring again'' 14-year-old schoolgirl George is struggling with her desire to be a boy and battles with her parents and siblings. A childhood friend of her parent...
