Maybe they couldn’t see like I could. Maybe, in the dark, they couldn’t tell that they were about to slam into the wall.
I nearly screamed out to them, ‘No! You’re going to hurt yourself!’
But then, as I gasped in awe and horror, the three girls arrived at the foot of the wall, crouched low to the ground and leapt right over the top.
I stood for what felt like eternity, staring at the empty space left by the three girls.
It was impossible.
I hadn’t seen it.
I was imagining things. It wasn’t … it couldn’t have been … real.
When I fell before, after the jolt, back in my room, I must have bumped my head. That must be it. What I had just ‘seen’ was not possible.
‘Hey, Tessa?’ The voice shocked me so much I nearly fell over. I stumbled as I turned around.
With my strange night-time vision, I could make out quite clearly the owner of the voice and the girl standing beside her.
Laurel and Erin.
They were walking towards me, hugging their woollen jumpers around themselves. On their bottom halves, they wore flannel pyjamas. Laurel’s were decorated with pigs, and Erin’s had hundreds of tiny yellow baby chickens. Laurel’s red curls were wild and messy. As they got closer, I saw that Erin’s lips were pressed back in a wicked grin and her dark eyes were sparkling.
‘Whatcha doing out here?’ asked Erin.
‘Yeah, I thought you were sick,’ Laurel said.
‘I am much better,’ I lied, quickly.
I wondered what Laurel and Erin had seen. I wondered how well they could see in the dark.
This was an opportunity to make sure I had simply been hallucinating. If Laurel and Erin had seen nothing, then I must have injured my head. Or I was mad.
‘Did you see anything … strange just then?’ I asked.
Laurel thought for a moment, a finger tapping on her chin. ‘Well, we did see Inga Koch running down the hall, yelling, “Okay, who stole my L’Oréal moisturiser? Whoever it was is going to die ”!’ Laurel waggled her fingers in my face and made a voice that sounded like a witch’s. Then she grinned from ear to ear as she pulled a white tube from her pocket.
The label on the tube read, ‘Advanced Perfect Night Cream.’
‘Why did you steal Inga’s night cream?’ I asked distractedly. Inside my head, the words were repeating: You’re mad, you’re mad, you’re mad.
Laurel shrugged. ‘Partly for you. Those girls are being total bitches to you. But mostly for fun. You should have seen her, running down the hallway with her hair all scraped back in this big pink claw grip and no makeup on!’
‘Yeah, she looked like one of those photos you see in Woman’s Day : “Stars Without Their Makeup”. It was classic!’ said Erin. ‘Just goes to show those girls are only human once their ten centimetres of makeup come off. Which is kind of disappointing. I was sort of wishing they were covered in scales …’
‘I might go in now,’ I interrupted. I was suddenly feeling very tired, and my head was beginning to ache. I was grateful that Laurel and Erin were standing up for me (in their own peculiar way) but I needed to get away from them. I just wanted to lie down and sleep and forget about what had just happened … and what it might mean.
‘No, hang on, love. You haven’t told us why you are outside at 11 pm,’ said Erin. ‘Didn’t they tell you we have a curfew?’
‘If there is a curfew, then why are you outside now?’ I retorted.
Erin rolled her eyes. ‘We don’t really do curfew,’ she said. ‘But if you don’t do curfew, you gotta do it right. Stay safe and stay hidden. You go in, but I think we’ll hang around outside for a while. It’s for our own safety. You know, because we have an insane makeup-deprived ogre on our tail. Right now, she’s probably rallying the troops, and there’s nothing scarier than a gang of bimbos who’ve had their makeup stolen!’
Laurel bent over double with silent, wheezy giggles.
And I laughed too. Just a little bit. Laurel
I nearly screamed out to them, ‘No! You’re going to hurt yourself!’
But then, as I gasped in awe and horror, the three girls arrived at the foot of the wall, crouched low to the ground and leapt right over the top.
I stood for what felt like eternity, staring at the empty space left by the three girls.
It was impossible.
I hadn’t seen it.
I was imagining things. It wasn’t … it couldn’t have been … real.
When I fell before, after the jolt, back in my room, I must have bumped my head. That must be it. What I had just ‘seen’ was not possible.
‘Hey, Tessa?’ The voice shocked me so much I nearly fell over. I stumbled as I turned around.
With my strange night-time vision, I could make out quite clearly the owner of the voice and the girl standing beside her.
Laurel and Erin.
They were walking towards me, hugging their woollen jumpers around themselves. On their bottom halves, they wore flannel pyjamas. Laurel’s were decorated with pigs, and Erin’s had hundreds of tiny yellow baby chickens. Laurel’s red curls were wild and messy. As they got closer, I saw that Erin’s lips were pressed back in a wicked grin and her dark eyes were sparkling.
‘Whatcha doing out here?’ asked Erin.
‘Yeah, I thought you were sick,’ Laurel said.
‘I am much better,’ I lied, quickly.
I wondered what Laurel and Erin had seen. I wondered how well they could see in the dark.
This was an opportunity to make sure I had simply been hallucinating. If Laurel and Erin had seen nothing, then I must have injured my head. Or I was mad.
‘Did you see anything … strange just then?’ I asked.
Laurel thought for a moment, a finger tapping on her chin. ‘Well, we did see Inga Koch running down the hall, yelling, “Okay, who stole my L’Oréal moisturiser? Whoever it was is going to die ”!’ Laurel waggled her fingers in my face and made a voice that sounded like a witch’s. Then she grinned from ear to ear as she pulled a white tube from her pocket.
The label on the tube read, ‘Advanced Perfect Night Cream.’
‘Why did you steal Inga’s night cream?’ I asked distractedly. Inside my head, the words were repeating: You’re mad, you’re mad, you’re mad.
Laurel shrugged. ‘Partly for you. Those girls are being total bitches to you. But mostly for fun. You should have seen her, running down the hallway with her hair all scraped back in this big pink claw grip and no makeup on!’
‘Yeah, she looked like one of those photos you see in Woman’s Day : “Stars Without Their Makeup”. It was classic!’ said Erin. ‘Just goes to show those girls are only human once their ten centimetres of makeup come off. Which is kind of disappointing. I was sort of wishing they were covered in scales …’
‘I might go in now,’ I interrupted. I was suddenly feeling very tired, and my head was beginning to ache. I was grateful that Laurel and Erin were standing up for me (in their own peculiar way) but I needed to get away from them. I just wanted to lie down and sleep and forget about what had just happened … and what it might mean.
‘No, hang on, love. You haven’t told us why you are outside at 11 pm,’ said Erin. ‘Didn’t they tell you we have a curfew?’
‘If there is a curfew, then why are you outside now?’ I retorted.
Erin rolled her eyes. ‘We don’t really do curfew,’ she said. ‘But if you don’t do curfew, you gotta do it right. Stay safe and stay hidden. You go in, but I think we’ll hang around outside for a while. It’s for our own safety. You know, because we have an insane makeup-deprived ogre on our tail. Right now, she’s probably rallying the troops, and there’s nothing scarier than a gang of bimbos who’ve had their makeup stolen!’
Laurel bent over double with silent, wheezy giggles.
And I laughed too. Just a little bit. Laurel
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