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Authors: Gill Arbuthnott
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possible but still stay afloat.
“How was Falkland?”
“Meh… I suppose it’s quite nice as palaces go. I liked the tennis court; you know, it’s one of those crazy old ones where you have to hit the ball off the roof or something…”
“Royal Tennis?”
“Yeah… that’s it. And Mum was raving about the gardens. I suppose they were quite pretty.”
“Mmnn… George likes them too.”
“That reminds me – how did your history tutorial go?”
“My what?” Callie lifted her head clear of the water, wondering what on earth Josh meant.
“Yesterday. With Rose and her friends.”
Callie let her feet sink to the floor of the pool and pushed herself upright.
“Oh, that,” she said, suddenly remembering the lie she had told him. “Fine.” She swam over to the side andlooked out of the window and across the field to The Smithy.
Should I tell him about what’s been happening at home? It’s so tempting
…
But he’ll think I’m more than weird if I tell him. That’ll probably be the end of our friendship, and I need a friend right now
.
“So what did you learn?”
“Just… bits and pieces. Nothing really interesting.”
There is something
, Josh thought,
that Callie isn’t telling me. She’s distracted, preoccupied. What’s going on between her and Rose’s friends?
He was sure it was something more interesting than local history. Maybe she’d be more talkative out of the water.
“Do you fancy some chocolate cake?” he asked.
***
Callie hadn’t realised they would have to make the chocolate cake themselves before they could eat it.
“I didn’t know you could bake,” she said as she licked cake mixture off a finger.
Josh raised his eyebrows. “What, you think guys can’t bake? That’s a bit sexist.”
“No, of course… well, I suppose I did mean that, sort of.”
Josh shook his head in mock disgust. “For that, you have to wash-up. Honestly, you country people, you’re practically prehistoric.”
Three games of pool, one DVD and half a chocolate cake later, Callie set off for home, having arranged to spend the next day at the beach with Josh andsuccessfully defeated his attempts to find out more about the “tutorials”.
It still wasn’t properly dark when she got home, although it was nearly eleven o’clock.
“Hello, Callie,” said her dad. “Good time?”
“Yeah. I beat Josh at pool.” She yawned. “I’m going up to bed. Still tired after last night.”
“Let’s hope there are no nightmares tonight, then,” said Julia.
“Hope not. Goodnight.”
Callie pushed her bedroom door open cautiously, unsure what to expect. It all looked normal. Chutney Mary had already come in through the window and was curled up snoozing at the foot of the bed.
Maybe whatever had happened last night had been a one-off, a sort of waking nightmare.
***
Callie was woken from a deep sleep by the sound of the cat hissing. Half asleep, it took her a few seconds to realise what the noise was.
“What is it, puss?” she muttered groggily.
Chutney Mary was perched at the end of the bed, staring fixedly at a point under Callie’s desk. Every muscle in her body was taut and the fur on her tail stuck out like a bottle brush.
Callie was suddenly very wide awake, adrenalin surging in her blood.
What is the cat staring at?
There was some moonlight coming in through the half-open curtains, so the room wasn’t particularlydark, but under the desk was a pool of total blackness.
Very slowly, Callie reached out to turn on her bedside light. It gave out a wan glow, quite unlike its usual self, that barely reached the end of the bed. The pool of darkness beneath the desk remained utterly unilluminated, and the cat continued to hiss.
Fighting down fear, Callie sat up properly and moved slowly forward until she was kneeling beside the cat. From here, the darkness looked solid, three dimensional, squatting malevolently on the floor. If Callie looked straight at it, it seemed to blur and
“How was Falkland?”
“Meh… I suppose it’s quite nice as palaces go. I liked the tennis court; you know, it’s one of those crazy old ones where you have to hit the ball off the roof or something…”
“Royal Tennis?”
“Yeah… that’s it. And Mum was raving about the gardens. I suppose they were quite pretty.”
“Mmnn… George likes them too.”
“That reminds me – how did your history tutorial go?”
“My what?” Callie lifted her head clear of the water, wondering what on earth Josh meant.
“Yesterday. With Rose and her friends.”
Callie let her feet sink to the floor of the pool and pushed herself upright.
“Oh, that,” she said, suddenly remembering the lie she had told him. “Fine.” She swam over to the side andlooked out of the window and across the field to The Smithy.
Should I tell him about what’s been happening at home? It’s so tempting
…
But he’ll think I’m more than weird if I tell him. That’ll probably be the end of our friendship, and I need a friend right now
.
“So what did you learn?”
“Just… bits and pieces. Nothing really interesting.”
There is something
, Josh thought,
that Callie isn’t telling me. She’s distracted, preoccupied. What’s going on between her and Rose’s friends?
He was sure it was something more interesting than local history. Maybe she’d be more talkative out of the water.
“Do you fancy some chocolate cake?” he asked.
***
Callie hadn’t realised they would have to make the chocolate cake themselves before they could eat it.
“I didn’t know you could bake,” she said as she licked cake mixture off a finger.
Josh raised his eyebrows. “What, you think guys can’t bake? That’s a bit sexist.”
“No, of course… well, I suppose I did mean that, sort of.”
Josh shook his head in mock disgust. “For that, you have to wash-up. Honestly, you country people, you’re practically prehistoric.”
Three games of pool, one DVD and half a chocolate cake later, Callie set off for home, having arranged to spend the next day at the beach with Josh andsuccessfully defeated his attempts to find out more about the “tutorials”.
It still wasn’t properly dark when she got home, although it was nearly eleven o’clock.
“Hello, Callie,” said her dad. “Good time?”
“Yeah. I beat Josh at pool.” She yawned. “I’m going up to bed. Still tired after last night.”
“Let’s hope there are no nightmares tonight, then,” said Julia.
“Hope not. Goodnight.”
Callie pushed her bedroom door open cautiously, unsure what to expect. It all looked normal. Chutney Mary had already come in through the window and was curled up snoozing at the foot of the bed.
Maybe whatever had happened last night had been a one-off, a sort of waking nightmare.
***
Callie was woken from a deep sleep by the sound of the cat hissing. Half asleep, it took her a few seconds to realise what the noise was.
“What is it, puss?” she muttered groggily.
Chutney Mary was perched at the end of the bed, staring fixedly at a point under Callie’s desk. Every muscle in her body was taut and the fur on her tail stuck out like a bottle brush.
Callie was suddenly very wide awake, adrenalin surging in her blood.
What is the cat staring at?
There was some moonlight coming in through the half-open curtains, so the room wasn’t particularlydark, but under the desk was a pool of total blackness.
Very slowly, Callie reached out to turn on her bedside light. It gave out a wan glow, quite unlike its usual self, that barely reached the end of the bed. The pool of darkness beneath the desk remained utterly unilluminated, and the cat continued to hiss.
Fighting down fear, Callie sat up properly and moved slowly forward until she was kneeling beside the cat. From here, the darkness looked solid, three dimensional, squatting malevolently on the floor. If Callie looked straight at it, it seemed to blur and
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