Page 75 of The Suite Life
‘Good news – it’s still on the yacht,’ I tell Donnie. ‘And I can practically pinpoint the room. Let’s go – if someone has got it, we’re about to catch them red-handed.’
‘Okay, let’s do it,’ he says with a bemused laugh.
As we near a door, it seems like the phone is right behind it.
‘I definitely haven’t been this way,’ I tell him. ‘So someone must have it.’
The doors swing open dramatically, and I make a grand entrance into the room, where it turns out absolutely everyone is gathered around the table, as my mum sets up a game of Cluedo.
‘Here you are,’ Mum chirps, ‘just in time to play. Donnie, come over here, we saved you a seat.’
Donnie obediently takes his place, but I linger in the doorway.
‘I’ll sit down in a minute, Mum. First, I need to find my missing phone,’ I announce confidently.
‘Oh, did you locate it?’ Lucy asks, bemused.
‘Yep,’ I reply. ‘It’s somewhere in this room – someone has it. Someone at this very table.’
Dad, ever the joker, snorts.
‘What’s with the dramatics? You’re acting like you’re Poirot,’ he teases.
‘I basically am,’ I reply.
Sunshine places her hands on Donnie’s shoulders and gives them a playful rub.
‘I promise you, we’re not usually this dramatic,’ she tells him. ‘It seems like Gigi has had too many cocktails – as usual.’
A fictitious drinking problem. Amazing.
I roll my eyes, unfazed, as I find my own name in Lucy’s phone.
‘And the person who has my phone is…’
We all follow the sound of my ringing phone, tension building. Donnie’s face falls as he pats his pocket, and everyone here realises that the sound is coming from him. He takes out the phone, eyeballing it suspiciously.
‘I didn’t take this,’ he insists. ‘Gigi, I was helping you look for it.’
‘I know,’ I reassure him. ‘Let’s see?’
Donnie hands me the phone, before turning round, eyeballing Sunshine suspiciously.
‘Are you having money troubles?’ Sunshine asks Donnie with faux sympathy.
I open my camera roll, and the evidence is clear – the screenshot has vanished. It was definitely Sunshine.
‘You think I stole it?’ Donnie replies in disbelief.
Sunshine winces, avoiding a direct answer, but making her feelings clear.
‘It’s okay, I know you didn’t,’ I reassure him.
‘Maybe you picked it up by mistake, it happens,’ Mum reasons, attempting to defuse the tension.
‘Yeah, no harm done, no one thinks you stole it, lad,’ Dad reassures him. ‘Now, are we playing, or not?’
‘I’m just going to get some air,’ Donnie says.
