down for another six months,’ said one.
‘Seems they’ve brought the schedule forward,’ said the other woman. ‘My cousin knows someone who works for McAllistair. It’s going at the end of January.’
‘Sooner they do it, the better,’ said the first woman. ‘That fairground is an eyesore, if you ask me. You know what they say about it, don’t you?’
The other woman snorted. ‘I can’t believe you’d fall for that nonsense!’
‘People hear things though! And how do you explain the fact that there are sometimes lights in there?’
‘I tell you, if that old dump is haunted, then I’m Lady Gaga!’ said the other woman. They both burst out laughing.
My thoughts were churning around my head like clothes in a tumble dryer.
Hardly surprising that the fairground had a weird reputation. But I was more worried about the other thing they’d said. Luka wouldn’t know that he only had a month left to live in the fairground. I pictured a huge pile of rubble. What would happen to him then? Maybe he’d leave Slumpton and move on somewhere else to look for Eva. The thought of never seeing him again was suddenly so awful I sank back against the hard plastic seat in a way that made the two mothers stare at me. I had to see him again, even if he was funny with me after yesterday.
The bus appeared and the doors opened with a loud hiss. The women clambered on with all their stuff but I just stood there.
‘You getting on or what?’ said the driver.
‘Do you go anywhere near Sunshine Park?’ I asked.
The driver nodded. ‘Get a move on, if you’re coming.’
I used one of my tickets to get through the gates. I shivered as I looked around, thinking about the violence we’d witnessed yesterday. I felt a spasm of guilt about not going to the police. I’d pounced on what Luka had said because I was scared, but it wasn’t right to let something like that happen and not be reported, was it?
I was getting colder and colder standing there so I decided to just put one foot in front of the other until I found Luka.
I walked further into the fairground, but I only found his sleeping bag by the carousel. I bent down and touched the thin, shiny material.
The wind whistling through all the boarded-up places made the back of my neck prickle but I forced myself to go on, trying not to look at the ghost train.
Before long, the entrance to the old rollercoaster soared above me. It looked about four hundred years old. I shivered at the thought of rattling along in the rusty-looking carriages. Dad would have been on there like a shot. He thought I loved these rides too, but secretly I’d rather have stayed with Mum down on the ground and eaten candyfloss. Not that I was ever going to admit it.
Towards the back of the fairground there was a low row of stalls with a roof and shutters along the front. A flaky sign on the roof read, Munch Zone and there was a picture of a huge open mouth with a big red tongue. It made me feel as though the mouth wanted to eat me too. There was something about this place that just blew up fears like a big magnifying glass.
At that moment, I heard a noise and spun round.
Luka was sitting up high on the side of the rollercoaster staring straight ahead. I couldn’t read his face at all. He looked like he’d been there for ages. Suddenly he got up and started to climb further up the metal struts. My heart began to thud as I ran over. He glanced down, but it was like he didn’t see me at all.
‘What are you doing? Come down, Luka! You’ll get hurt!’ I shouted. But he just carried on climbing. A big gust of wind blew a sheet of cardboard into the air and it whooshed towards Luka. I screamed. He batted it away but slipped, so that he ended up on his knees on the narrow ledge.
‘Luka!’ I was scared to breathe, as though I might somehow make him fall and I was shaking hard now with fear as I watched him heave himself upright again. He looked down at me finally, the wind pushing his black
‘Seems they’ve brought the schedule forward,’ said the other woman. ‘My cousin knows someone who works for McAllistair. It’s going at the end of January.’
‘Sooner they do it, the better,’ said the first woman. ‘That fairground is an eyesore, if you ask me. You know what they say about it, don’t you?’
The other woman snorted. ‘I can’t believe you’d fall for that nonsense!’
‘People hear things though! And how do you explain the fact that there are sometimes lights in there?’
‘I tell you, if that old dump is haunted, then I’m Lady Gaga!’ said the other woman. They both burst out laughing.
My thoughts were churning around my head like clothes in a tumble dryer.
Hardly surprising that the fairground had a weird reputation. But I was more worried about the other thing they’d said. Luka wouldn’t know that he only had a month left to live in the fairground. I pictured a huge pile of rubble. What would happen to him then? Maybe he’d leave Slumpton and move on somewhere else to look for Eva. The thought of never seeing him again was suddenly so awful I sank back against the hard plastic seat in a way that made the two mothers stare at me. I had to see him again, even if he was funny with me after yesterday.
The bus appeared and the doors opened with a loud hiss. The women clambered on with all their stuff but I just stood there.
‘You getting on or what?’ said the driver.
‘Do you go anywhere near Sunshine Park?’ I asked.
The driver nodded. ‘Get a move on, if you’re coming.’
I used one of my tickets to get through the gates. I shivered as I looked around, thinking about the violence we’d witnessed yesterday. I felt a spasm of guilt about not going to the police. I’d pounced on what Luka had said because I was scared, but it wasn’t right to let something like that happen and not be reported, was it?
I was getting colder and colder standing there so I decided to just put one foot in front of the other until I found Luka.
I walked further into the fairground, but I only found his sleeping bag by the carousel. I bent down and touched the thin, shiny material.
The wind whistling through all the boarded-up places made the back of my neck prickle but I forced myself to go on, trying not to look at the ghost train.
Before long, the entrance to the old rollercoaster soared above me. It looked about four hundred years old. I shivered at the thought of rattling along in the rusty-looking carriages. Dad would have been on there like a shot. He thought I loved these rides too, but secretly I’d rather have stayed with Mum down on the ground and eaten candyfloss. Not that I was ever going to admit it.
Towards the back of the fairground there was a low row of stalls with a roof and shutters along the front. A flaky sign on the roof read, Munch Zone and there was a picture of a huge open mouth with a big red tongue. It made me feel as though the mouth wanted to eat me too. There was something about this place that just blew up fears like a big magnifying glass.
At that moment, I heard a noise and spun round.
Luka was sitting up high on the side of the rollercoaster staring straight ahead. I couldn’t read his face at all. He looked like he’d been there for ages. Suddenly he got up and started to climb further up the metal struts. My heart began to thud as I ran over. He glanced down, but it was like he didn’t see me at all.
‘What are you doing? Come down, Luka! You’ll get hurt!’ I shouted. But he just carried on climbing. A big gust of wind blew a sheet of cardboard into the air and it whooshed towards Luka. I screamed. He batted it away but slipped, so that he ended up on his knees on the narrow ledge.
‘Luka!’ I was scared to breathe, as though I might somehow make him fall and I was shaking hard now with fear as I watched him heave himself upright again. He looked down at me finally, the wind pushing his black
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