Kind of

"Hi Mum." The greeting could not have been and more different from the 'what?' greeting Betsie had given her mother ten minutes ago.

Betsie's mum was taken aback. She had expected the usual confrontational greeting from her daughter. Instead she got one filled with warmth. "How you doing?" she asked trying to keep any suspicion out of her voice. "Everything okay?"

Betsie could see Tom looking at her expectantly. She decided to gamble and put her mum on speaker phone. "I'm good and everything is fine. You're on speaker. I'm with Tom getting the package at the moment. Say hi."

"Hi Tom, how are you?" Betsie's mum hope she didn't sound too weirded out.

"I'm, er, good. How are you?" Tom could not help how awkward he was coming across.

"I'm good thanks. I was just ringing to make sure you had the delivery."

"Got it," Betsie said too enthusiastic for the situation. She motioned for Tom to pass her the parcel which he promptly did. She was the only one out of the three of them that wasn't finding the phone call completely strange and that was because she wanted to manipulate her mother into giving her a task to do. Betsie figured that if Tom heard her mother asking her to do something then she would have the perfect get out of jail free card. "What do you want me to do now?" Betsie hoped her mother would twig that something was off. Betsie would never volunteer her services.

Betsie underestimated her mother's powers of perception. She knew something was off by the greeting. However if you asked her to make a list of what was wrong, the answer my daughter's just offered to give a neighbour she despises the time of his life wouldn't be in the top million. "Yes please. I need a birthday card for your Aunt Susan"

"No problem. I'll do it now." Betsie silently thanked her mum. She could see the look of disappointment on Tom's face.

"Thanks. That's a massive help."

'No thank you,' thought Betsie. "Love you!" Betsie meant that too.

"Love you too sweetheart. Bye." Betsie's mum didn't know why her daughter was being so nice but it was something she could get used to.

"Bye." Betsie hung up and looked at Tom, he appeared crestfallen. 'Awesome,' Betsie thought. "You heard what my Mum said didn't you Tom?" Tom nodded his head. "I'm going to have to get the card," Betsie said in conciliatory tones. "Thank you for the package." Betsie held up the delivery as if to emphasise how grateful she was.

"You're welcome," said Tom. Betsie could hear the deflation in his voice and was jumping for joy on the inside. All of a sudden there was a huge change in Tom's mood. "I could give you a ride into town!" The excitement was back in his voice.

'No fucking way,' was Betsie's first thought. For once her brain was working faster than her mouth so instead Betsie said, "I wouldn't want to put you out but thank you."

"It's no problem," insisted Tom.

"I can do it by myself." This time Betsie put a lot more **** into her voice.

"I'll grab my keys."

"No." What Betsie meant by 'no' was fuck off you creep and leave me alone.

"Do ask you're told and get in the car!" Tom shouted as he raced back to the house to collect his car keys.

"I wish I told him to fuck off," said Betsie under her breath as she headed towards Tom's car.