Cause when you’re standing oh so near, I kind of lose my mind.

Chapter 3 – The Stranglers

Miss Cork was standing outside the big old place I was about to call home, our stuff beside her. She chuckled nervously when we arrived. “Ha, the girls are suppositious of this place. They don’t really like to go in; they think silly things…about ghosts and SATAN LIVING AND TRYING TO BRING YOU OVER TO HIS SIDE and such silly things like that.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Right, well, I’ll keep an eye out for ghosts, but I don’t believe in Satan.”

Miss Cork looked shocked, and as I picked up two bags and started heading for the door, she started chasing after me, hissing. “You might not know him as Satan! He has other names! You might know him as THE DEVIL! Or Lucifer, or THE ROARING LION! THE WICKED ONE! OR ABADDON! Or ANTICHRIST! OR FATHER OF ALL LIARS!” She had stopped walking now and was shouting after me, “ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN! BEELZEBUB!”

Starr: Wasn’t that what you were going to call me if I was a boy?

“THE GREAT RED DRAGON! APOLLYON! TEMPTER! RULER OF DARKNESS! BELIAL! POWER OF DARKNESS AND DEATH! OLD SERPENT! SON OF PEDITION!”

I opened the door and stepped in.

“ANGEL OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT!”

The door slammed closed behind me, cutting off the start of another word beginning with ‘a.’

…and that is how you make an entrance. Mera stood with a slightly impressed, slightly exasperated, mostly trying not to laugh and not succeeding expression on her face. I grinned at her, then opened the door (making sure I could not be seen from the outside) to let Tal, Silver, Jer, Bastian and the parental figures come through. Room 17 was the one we were heading for, so we adventured through the building, the brave and amazing Alethea leading the way!

Nate: It’s not like the others were scared. You just insisted they all walk behind you.

Me: Yes.

The door was a black-red-wood colour and had the number 17 on in gold lettering.

“Allie, I found out the school motto for you.”

I spun round to Bastian, who looked suspiciously like he was trying not to laugh. “It’s ‘Donnant une deuxième chance aux enfants’.”

I stared at Bastian a moment. “Cool. Latin.”

He laughed, and so did Mera and Silver. Stupid linguists.

I shared a confused look with Jer—we united over not understanding other languages –ness.

Mera eventually said, “It’s French, for ‘Giving Children A Second Chance’.”

Cool! Delinquency! I opened the door. The room was made of the same wood, everywhere; it was in a sort-of rectangular/semi-circle shape. One end of the rectangle being where the door is, and then like a million miles away at the opposite side of the room from the door were massive windows in a semi circle shape.

In each corner of the room (two near the window and two near the door), each bed had a wardrobe/chest of drawer/dressing table combination nest to them, and then kewl old fashioned desks. I think I am in love with this room.

“Okay! Let’s get started.” I picked the right bed next to the window and threw my bag on it, then running over to Jer, grabbed the box with my ipod, speakers and bubble machine and started sorting them out so they were working. I put on Golden Brown by the Stranglers and decided to get to work.

Mera and I weren’t sure if we would be allowed to paint the walls or not, so we made wallpaper instead. Mera bought this cream coloured paper which has a gold border at the top and bottom and then painted all these wonderful little fantasy scenes on, like dragons and faeries and pixies and elves and mer-people and griffons and stuff…t’s so kewl. I bought each sheet in a different colour and gave one to each person I knew and told them to decorate it using a black sharpie. And I bought a few spares for you know, new friends. Crosses fingers.

Next came posters. Mera has ‘Lord of the Pineapples’, Travis, Neuton Fawlkner, John Mayer, U2, Keane, Lord of the rings, Ben Folds, fantasy pictures and some blown up pictures of friends. She had one of those gauzier princess draping from the ceiling things. I watched in amusement as Tal and Silver (being the able-bodied young men they are) came in carrying her massive pineapple armchair (you know, those round chairs with the pineapple stalk-bit at the top). And matching stool (which is just a foot stool shaped like a pineapple; they’re pretty damn kewl). She has this bedside lamp which looks like it’s made of faerie or dragonfly wings or something. It’s pertty.

My mother walked behind Tal and Silve,r her arms full of toy dragons. Mera’s been collecting them since she was five and a half. She put her clothes in her wardrobe and drawers and then put her faerie pyjamas under her pillow. I sat on my bed and watched in amusement.

My parents had bought me a kewl swivel chair, which, you know . . . . swivelled. I had loads of posters (including a bikini-clad woman, which I had just to see Tal’s reaction when he unrolled it to put it up. The reaction was better than expected, especially when he realized it was Mum from her modelling days. Then he rounded on her and gave her the female-decency speech. I noticed my father folded up the poster and put it inside his jacket, but I decided not to say anything).

I had a My Little Pony phone--where the wings and horse shoes glow when someone’s calling--the world’s largest beanbag, and gazillions of photos. I had some h2o: just add water, Pinky and the brain, Hannah Montana, Heroes and other random (yet so kewl!) TV shows posters, as well as Beatles, Dresden Dolls, Talking Heads and other bands. And my LUNAR CHART (claps for the lunar chart, cause I know when the next full moon is and you do not! Mwah ha ha ha ha!) You couldn’t really see the wall paper, but oh well. I set up my computer (laptop’s are for losers!), kettle (get your own frigging chai tea) and popcorn maker (cackles).

Then there are tons of books (from both Mera and I) which we’ve decided to be arty and have just piled them artistically around the room. And I made Mera put her cool easel thing in the window, along with her paints--I was allowed to use it as long as I paid for anything I destroyed. I then moved everything (including the beds, which I think may be nailed to the floor) out of the way, and she gave me a list of things I couldn’t paint (it involved things I thought she didn’t even know of, and I was shocked).

I was banned from exploring until I had met the roommates to see if they would tell on me if I disappeared at two in the morning because I wanted to see the attic (it only happened three times in that hotel. Honestly, these people need to get over it).

Mum decided to take us down to the local village (which we were allowed to visit whenever we wanted, but if we wanted to take the bus from the village to the town, we were to SIGN OUT – we were also banned from visiting the boys’ college…yeah, like that’s going to happen). We went to a nice little Chinese restaurant. It was quite amusing actually, because the waiter kept flirting with Mera, who didn’t realize and was just her overly nice self to him. Now that we’re living in the same room, I intend to teach her how to be mean. She’s too nice, and it could get her into trouble.

We were walking back when Fae called, asking for me. ME. I got a little over excited and scared this pair of old women out on a walk. People never call for me. “Hello Fae, dear Fae, old buddy, wonderful Fae!”

There was a short pause before Fae said (and with ‘said’ I mean screamed in my ear), “ALLIE! ALLIE! ALLIE! ALLIE! QUICK! RUN! GO FIND ROSIE! SHE’S MISSING! MISSING I TELL YOU! HER DAD CALLED! AND SHE DIDN’T COME HOME LAST NIGHT! GO FIND ROSIE!”

Ohmygoodness. Fae’s future wife is missing! I started running towards the school (might as well, if I want to get there at all). “Calm down, Fae! Allie the Amazzling shall find your fiancé and then call you back to tell you she has! Give me twenty-eight minutes.” I turned to face everyone else (jogging up a hill backwards is my expertise). “Alright, troops, here’s the deal! Private Rosemary is missing. We scour the grounds, hoping she’s here. And we have twenty-seven minutes. WHOEVER FINDS HER GETS A REWARD!”

I swear Tal’s ears just literally perked up. That boy needs a life.

I grabbed my ipod, turned on my hunting songs (the Little Shop of Horrors soundtrack) and started with the outside. Apparently Rosie was banned from the old building, so we doubted she’d be brave enough to head in there alone. I decided to scour the grounds (and so did Bastian and Jer. They better separate, because we need to find Rosie). The others went to search inside.

Two hours later, I was sitting on the ground, surrounded by trees in a forest. They came at me out of nowhere, I swear. But I also had a vague memory of Rosie mentioning a tree house, so I was keeping my eyes on the branches above me. That’s how I walked into a wall.

Nate: After walking into seven trees.

Me: Yes, well, maybe I wasn’t going to mention that!

It was a very secret garden-esque wall, all covered in vines and stuff. So I started looking for the door, and I know I didn’t have a kewy but that’s okay cause Jill totally didn’t teach me how to pick locks with my penknife (the same penknife I totally don’t own).

The door, when finally found, was unlocked.

Nate: Don’t look so disappointed.

Me: Oh, go play with your siblings!

Nate: stalks off

There wasn’t a garden. Just more trees, so I decided to return later. However, I did discover a path that led me back towards the school. When I got there, I saw Jeremy, Tal and Silver surrounded by girls all attempting to flirt with them at once. Bastian was standing to the side, glaring at them, not noticing the girls standing to the side and sending him glances.

“HELLO! AREN’T WE MEANT TO BE ROSE-HUNTING?!”

The girls ignored me until Jer and Silver pushed their way over (Tal apparently decided I wasn’t important enough). Silver put his arm round my waist, and Jer put his arm round Bastian’s.

“We found her over an hour ago. We sent you a text message telling you so,” Silver told me.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket. “No, you did- oh, hey, you did.”

Silver nodded. “She fell asleep in the library. Your sleeping habits are wearing off on her.”

I glared at Silver. “I have never fallen asleep in the library. I don’t go into libraries--they bore me.”

Silver smirked.

“Anyway, I wanna see if my room-mates have arrived yet.”

Silver sighed and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘five-year-old’.

When we returned to the room, we found Mera and Rosie in it, talking. I headed towards my bed to hide my stolen umbrella and put on “I was only 19” by Redgum.

As the song ended, I heard voices so I paused it. I could hear a voice muttering about unhelpful scaredy-cats in slightly more derogatory terms. And then a drum on legs walked in.

--

A/N: So i'm so sorry it took me so long, i've been up to a whole shazang load of other stuff, and i'm about to have my mock GCSEs/reall GCSE sciences. so i'm probably gonna be quite busy for a while yet, but here's chapter 3! i'm not quite sure when i'll post chapter 4, hopefully sooner though. So i hope you all liked your late christmas present!

xxxx