4 Mrs Riley

Chapter 4 Mrs Riley The Rileys lived in Morse Tower, a block of flats ten minutes from Melody Road. Peanut and Little-Bit arrived on the seventh-floor landing, slightly out of breath, to find a tall, elegant lady in an amazing black-and- white-check cycling suit, wheeling a bike through the front door of 7C. 'Hello, girls,' she said cheerfully. 'Come in, come in. Shoes off please. ROCKWELL, YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE!' The sisters followed her through a small hallway and into a stylish living room. They sat on the sofa and thanked Rockwell's mum for the glasses of orange squash she handed them. 'So, you must be Peanut, and you must be Little-Bit.' She smiled a radiant smile. 'He talks about you all the time.

'Likewise,' said Peanut. 'It's lovely to finally meet you, Mrs Riley.' Ooh, Bridget, please!' She sat on the chaise longue next to them. 'I'm so happy Rocky has made some friends at last. It hasn't been easy for him, you know. First, his dad and I split, and then he had to adapt to life at St Hubert's.'

Sounds familiar, thought Peanut. 'That stuff can be tough if you're sensitive like Rocky,' continued Bridget. 'He's a smart lad, and fairly happy with his own company, but he works so hard and he's such a worrier. Everybody needs friends of their own age to talk to, right?' 'I guess so,' said Little-Bit, 'although sometimes he talks a

bit too much. Especially about homework and revision and stuff.' Bridget and Peanut laughed. Suddenly, a door next to the kitchen burst open, and a tall boy with even taller hair emerged with a big grin on his face. ' What's so funny?' he said. ' Well, it's definitely not that T-shirt!' said Peanut. Rockwell looked down at the big symbol on his chest with the word 'Cutie' written in small type above it. 'Really?' A look of uncertainty flashed across his face, until he registered Peanut's teasing smile. 'Don't you think it's a good one for my nerdlinger fanbase?' he said. 'The mathmagicians at the, er, Science Museum are going to love it! Come on, let's get this show on the road, shall we?' Peanut and Little-Bit stood up. 'Thanks for the drink, Mrs Riley. It was lovely to meet you. 'You too, girls. Make sure you look after Rocky at the sleepover. Oh, and don't let him take things too seriously. Make sure he has a bit of fun!' 'Well, we'll do our best,' said Little-Bit, 'but it's hard to change the habits of a lifetime.'