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Authors: SK Sheridan
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with numbers all over it out of her pocket and slipped it through a device on the glassy door. Something inside the door clicked and it slid open.
‘Kind Mr Cerise gave it to me earlier,’ she said boastfully, flicking a load of light switches then pushing me forwards. ‘We had to drive all the bloomin’ rubbish over this morning that you kids have been painting – Mrs Fairchild was watchin’ us load it all in to my car or we wouldn’t ‘ave bothered – and he gave it to me then. Said all the gallery staff would be out of our way by this evening so we could get on with the time honoured tradition of putting up the Egmont Show. As if.’ Croaka and Pike looked at each other and sniggered.
They marched us through the entrance hall, past the golden field of poppies by Monet, then down corridor after corridor, past a few famous paintings I recognised and loads that I didn’t, until we got to a door that had a yellow and blue sign on it.
‘Cleaning cupboard,’ Arabella whispered.
Croaka used her pearly white magic card to unlock the cupboard door. Then they pushed us inside, a little bit harder than necessary in my opinion, then slammed the door shut. We heard their horrible laughter fade in to the distance as they went off to steal paintings.
It was pitch black.
‘Right. Let’s get out of here,’ came Arabella’s strong voice. I could feel her stand up and stumble around.
‘Aha, I’ve found the light switch,’ she said, flicking it on. I looked around.
We were squashed amongst vacuum cleaners, bottles of cleaning stuff and brooms. There were lots of shelves above our heads, piled with spray cans and dusters. There was an inside door handle and I tried it with all my strength, but as expected, it was firmly locked.
‘Now what are we supposed to do?’ Arabella said crossly. She kicked a pile of crumpled boxes that were in front of her and they tumbled over. Things spilled out everywhere and soon I was surrounded by old sponges, cloths and dusters. I noticed something shimmering under a cloth and leaned forward to pick it up.
‘Arabella, look!’ I said. ‘It’s a pearly white card, exactly like the one Croaka used to open all the doors.’
‘Good find, Davina.’ She said, leaning over to have a closer look at it. ‘Hmm, it’s a bit chipped round the edges.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It must have belonged to the cleaners. They probably need to open all the doors in the building so they can clean everywhere. Maybe they chucked it in that box and forgot about it when they were given a newer one.’
‘The question is, will it open this door, or is it too broken?’ Arabella asked.
‘Only one way to find out,’ I said. I turned back to the door. It had the same device on this side as it did on the other, a little box with a narrow gap down one side of it. I took a deep breath, then whooshed the card through the gap. There was a pause. Then a click!
‘Nice one,’ Arabella grinned, carefully picking her way over the floor. I turned the handle as quietly as possible, just in case. and in a minute we were standing in a dark corridor full of enormous shadowy paintings. We looked at each other.
‘Now what?’ I whispered.
‘Now we find a telephone and call Carrie. The sooner the police get here the better.’ Arabella whispered back.
I nodded. My heart was hammering loudly as we stood in the corridor, with no idea which way to go. It was dreadfully important that we found a phone before Croaka and Pike found us. I knew that at some point they’d come back and check on us and find an empty cupboard. And who knew what would happen then. Scary.com .
Anyway Diary, that’s where we are now, still in the corridor. I had a chance to write in you while Arabella looked for a phone in every room that’s off this corridor. She’s coming back from the last one now, shaking her head, so I must go. I can hear some muffled tapping noises and I think we should find out what they are. Wish us
‘Kind Mr Cerise gave it to me earlier,’ she said boastfully, flicking a load of light switches then pushing me forwards. ‘We had to drive all the bloomin’ rubbish over this morning that you kids have been painting – Mrs Fairchild was watchin’ us load it all in to my car or we wouldn’t ‘ave bothered – and he gave it to me then. Said all the gallery staff would be out of our way by this evening so we could get on with the time honoured tradition of putting up the Egmont Show. As if.’ Croaka and Pike looked at each other and sniggered.
They marched us through the entrance hall, past the golden field of poppies by Monet, then down corridor after corridor, past a few famous paintings I recognised and loads that I didn’t, until we got to a door that had a yellow and blue sign on it.
‘Cleaning cupboard,’ Arabella whispered.
Croaka used her pearly white magic card to unlock the cupboard door. Then they pushed us inside, a little bit harder than necessary in my opinion, then slammed the door shut. We heard their horrible laughter fade in to the distance as they went off to steal paintings.
It was pitch black.
‘Right. Let’s get out of here,’ came Arabella’s strong voice. I could feel her stand up and stumble around.
‘Aha, I’ve found the light switch,’ she said, flicking it on. I looked around.
We were squashed amongst vacuum cleaners, bottles of cleaning stuff and brooms. There were lots of shelves above our heads, piled with spray cans and dusters. There was an inside door handle and I tried it with all my strength, but as expected, it was firmly locked.
‘Now what are we supposed to do?’ Arabella said crossly. She kicked a pile of crumpled boxes that were in front of her and they tumbled over. Things spilled out everywhere and soon I was surrounded by old sponges, cloths and dusters. I noticed something shimmering under a cloth and leaned forward to pick it up.
‘Arabella, look!’ I said. ‘It’s a pearly white card, exactly like the one Croaka used to open all the doors.’
‘Good find, Davina.’ She said, leaning over to have a closer look at it. ‘Hmm, it’s a bit chipped round the edges.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘It must have belonged to the cleaners. They probably need to open all the doors in the building so they can clean everywhere. Maybe they chucked it in that box and forgot about it when they were given a newer one.’
‘The question is, will it open this door, or is it too broken?’ Arabella asked.
‘Only one way to find out,’ I said. I turned back to the door. It had the same device on this side as it did on the other, a little box with a narrow gap down one side of it. I took a deep breath, then whooshed the card through the gap. There was a pause. Then a click!
‘Nice one,’ Arabella grinned, carefully picking her way over the floor. I turned the handle as quietly as possible, just in case. and in a minute we were standing in a dark corridor full of enormous shadowy paintings. We looked at each other.
‘Now what?’ I whispered.
‘Now we find a telephone and call Carrie. The sooner the police get here the better.’ Arabella whispered back.
I nodded. My heart was hammering loudly as we stood in the corridor, with no idea which way to go. It was dreadfully important that we found a phone before Croaka and Pike found us. I knew that at some point they’d come back and check on us and find an empty cupboard. And who knew what would happen then. Scary.com .
Anyway Diary, that’s where we are now, still in the corridor. I had a chance to write in you while Arabella looked for a phone in every room that’s off this corridor. She’s coming back from the last one now, shaking her head, so I must go. I can hear some muffled tapping noises and I think we should find out what they are. Wish us
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