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plan.’
    Alice threw herself onto her bed, and wriggled in excitement. ‘It’s one of my best. It’s a classic. Simple, but effective.’
    She looked at me intently. ‘Simple is always the best. Then there’s less to go wrong.’
    I was impatient. ‘Cut the waffle, and tell me. What’s your plan?’
    She smiled. ‘Well, you see, I’m going to pretend to go back to Dublin, but I won’t. Dad will think I’m with Mum, and Mum will think I’m with Dad. Like I said, it’s simple. They’ll ….’
    I interrupted her. ‘Yeah, but if you’re not with your mum, and not with your dad, where exactly will you be?’
    ‘That’s the great part. I’ll be staying in your house.’
    My heart sank. Here was the big flaw I’d been afraid of. This plan could never work. I decided it was best to tell Alice now, before she got too excited. ‘Sounds like fun, but my mum and dad will never agree to let you stay. Not if yourparents don’t know. You know how parents always stick together. It’s like they have some secret code of honour or something.’
    Alice laughed. ‘That’s the best thing of all. That’s what makes this plan so brilliant. Your mum won’t know I’m there. I’ll be in hiding. I’ll be like a hostage. I’ll sneak into your room, and no one will know, except for us.’
    Already I could see all kinds of problems, but then I suppose that was the difference between me and Alice. I always saw problems where she saw opportunities. ‘How long do you think we’ll get away with this? Until you’re eighteen?’
    Alice shook her head impatiently. ‘Of course not. I’m not a complete dork you know! Dad will go up to Dublin on Friday to visit me, and I won’t be there.’
    That sounded like real trouble. ‘They’ll go crazy.’
    Alice was unconcerned. ‘Well, I suppose they’ll panic a bit. That’s the whole point.’
    ‘And then?’
    ‘And then, before they get really scared, and before they get time to call the guards, I’ll ring and tell them I’m safe, and they’ll be all happy and relieved.’
    I thought I could see where all this was leading . ‘And then they’ll get back together, and the four of you can live happily ever after? I’m sorry Al, but I don’t think it’ll be that easy. I think you’ve watched The Parent Trap once too often.’
    Alice shook her head. ‘Did I mention the fact that I’m not a complete dork? I know that won’t happen. That would never happen. But if Mum finally sees how upset I am about the move, she might just feel sorry enough for me to move back to Limerick. It’s not like she’s got a job or anything in Dublin. She could easily come back here. She could move into one of the new apartments around the corner, and I could go back and forth between her and Dad whenever I liked. It could be almost as good as before. Maybe even better. I wouldn’t have to listen to Mum and Dad fightingall the time. And I could go back to school with you. And we could do stuff after school. It would be the best thing ever.’
    She gave me a huge smile, and all of a sudden the whole thing seemed wonderful, and fantastic and not at all impossible.

Chapter nine
    S tep one of the big plan was to make sure Alice’s dad wasn’t around on Monday afternoon, when she was supposed to be catching the train back to Dublin. That was easy. We approached him after lunch on Sunday, when he was relaxing in their living room with the papers.
    Alice kind of sidled up behind him, and sat on the arm of his chair. She put on her sweetest voice. I thought it sounded a bit over the top, but her dad didn’t seem to notice. ‘Dad, are you playing golf this weekend?’
    He smiled at her. ‘No love. I want to spend timewith you, since I see so little of you these days.’
    ‘But Dad, I don’t mind, honestly. I know how much you love playing golf. Isn’t there a competition on tomorrow afternoon?’
    We knew already that there was. We’d checked it in the local paper.
    Alice’s dad sat up,