Chapter 5- Veruca's POV

(A/N: this chapter has 3 POVs, Veruca's, Mike's and then Veruca's again, I did this because in the 3rd POV section, it connects both the stories of Veruca being a disgrace to her parents company and Mrs Teavee going missing.)

That was when I realised I didn't have my phone with me. I'd left it in the attic. I wonder what Mum and Daddy were having for dinner.

Probably some fancy stuff. 2-minute noodles are actually a very sufficient dinner.

Mike and I turned to face his dad, who was talking to the police on the phone.

It was way past sunset now, and it was raining again.

"I think I'd better go home." I whispered to Mike, picking up the raincoat.

"Okay. Bye then." He said back. I waved to Mr Teavee, who was still on the phone, slipped on my boots and left.

I flipped my hood up over my face, zipped up the coat and walked down and across Silver avenue, up Park street and halfway along Track road to my house, the brown two storey house with 'beach views'. And by 'beach views' they mean looking directly at the middle of town, which is somewhere near the sea.

I pressed the button on the gate.

"Hello?" Daddy's voice said.

"Daddy, it's me, Veruca!" I said.

"You've brought enough disgrace to this company."

"What do you mean Daddy?"

"Your bags are on the footpath out the front."

"Where will I go?"

"Do whatever."

"B-but DADDY!" I yelled. He can't do this to me! It's... It's... Illegal! Isn't it?

Nope.

He did.

I spent at least two hours walking in the rain with three heavy suitcases stacked up in a rusty old Walmart shopping trolley I found on the side of the road.

"So this is what it's like to live.. Live like... The opposite people..." I whispered to myself.

In case you weren't already up to date, the 'opposite people' are homeless people or people with very little money. I used to call them that when I was younger.

I really need to pee. But where?

Mike's POV

Where could mom have gone?

"Mikey, I think you should go to bed now. I'm going out." Dad said quietly, grabbing his umbrella.

"Where?" I asked.

"The police want to ask some questions. Stupid really." He replied, leaving.

I decided not to argue. I went to bed.

Not really. I was playing 'Zombies Attack 7' for Xbox.

Soon I was too tired to even move my thumbs, so I put on my pyjamas and climbed in bed to go to sleep.

I dreamt of the microwave, making the 'ding' sound when the food is ready, watching the little cup of 2-minute noodles spin around and around in circles, imagining how it must feel like to be a cup of 2-minute noodles, spinning around in a huge box with glass windows. A bit like the Great Glass Elevator*. The door goes 'ding' when it's time for you to get out, just like a cup of 2-minute noodles in the microwave. 'Ding', 'ding, 'ding'.

Wait a second. Was that the doorbell?

'Ding ding ding ding'.

"Mike! Mike! Miiiiiiike!"

I ran downstairs, flung the door open, and Dad nearly hit me in the head with the door.

"What's the time?" I asked, looking at my wrist to see if there was a watch there. Nope.

"Three-fifty-two." He said, angrily putting down the umbrella.

"What time did you leave?" I asked.

"Nine thirty, Mike." He continued, "I've been waiting outside for four hours."

"I was asleep."

"Why?!"

"You told me to!"

"I did not!"

I sighed. It's painful having a parent like this you know. Maybe Willy Wonka was right, and 'ew' parents... But Willy Wonka's never right!

"So what did the police say?" I asked.

"They just asked me a heap of questions about mom, okay? Go to bed." Dad replied.

Lies. I can tell by the tone of his voice that he's hiding something.

I went to my room and picked up my phone. I called Veruca.

"Hello, you've called Veruca Salt, I'm obviously not available at the moment, please leave a message and your details."

"We need to buy some more paint for the grass on our project, it's due back at the end of the holidays, remember?" I said, "BTW, this is Mike."

Veruca's POV

(yes we've switched back to Princess Veruca now.)

I walked past a noisy bar, and then found a relatively clean bench to sit on.

"Hey!" A drunk woman's voice called out. I turned around to see a short woman walking towards me, smoking a cigarette. She puffed smoke into my eyes and sat down next to me. I coughed.

"Ebola!" A man yelled from the darkness, where the short woman had come from.

"We're gonna die!" Shouted a tall blonde girl about a year older than me, this girl had an empty wine bottle in her hands.

"I'm gonna call you... Ebola. Welcome." The first, the short woman said, blowing another puff of smoke into my face.

I was confused, "Welcome to what?" I asked.

The tall girl laughed very loud. The short lady did too. So did the man. And another thinner man, then a fatter woman.

"The party!" The short woman said. For a second, I though I recognised her. Never mind.

"Now, can I call you guys a taxi to get home?" I asked them, trying to be nice.

"Okay, can you get me a taxi to the next nightclub?" The fatter woman asked. She laughed, although she didn't seem as drunk as the others. Then the blonde came up to me. That was when I realised, she was pregnant! Or, at least I think she was.

"Call Mop a taxi to the 'Three Blind Mice.' Thanks." She said, "Take me and Alan to the corner of Crumble street."

Sometimes drunk people are fun. But when they're sitting right next to you on a crowded bench, it's scary. I called them all taxis. Except for the short woman.

"I'm MT. Of course that's not my real name, well, it kinda is.. But..." She started laughing before she could finish.

I decided that was NOT the place for me, and left MT on the bench alone.

"Goodbye little girl!" She called out in an almost 'motherly' voice, waving like an idiot. I'm 21. Not a little girl.

The woman did seem familiar. Oh well, probably some old weird schoolteacher or something.

(A/N: Veruca's been kicked out of her house! That's a bit of a change from her normal life! Mike T's mother is still missing, keep reading to find out what happens to Mrs T! How is Veruca going to manage? I'm sorry the chapter's kinda short compared to the others, but at least it's a chapter! If you've got the hints I've carefully laid out, you should realise what's about to happen, but don't worry, the next chapter will still be a surprise.)

*The Great Glass Wlevator idea was given to me by Turrislucidus (I hope I spelt that correctly!)

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