Hollow Pike (2 page)

‘Careful, love, don’t ruin your shoes.’

As soon as she was out of the car, the magpie, bigger than she’d anticipated, took one final look at her and darted for the safety of the trees. But Lis barely noticed. She was struggling
to breathe as she looked around, taking in the full scene for the first time. Everything seemed so familiar: the water, the thick, earthy air.
This was her dream – the stream, the blood,
the darkness.

Tears started to prick her eyes and Lis told herself to get a grip. This couldn’t be the forest she so often saw in her dreams because she’d never been here before. And, when you got
down to it, all forests and streams looked pretty much alike. She was just upset by the creepy, staring bird and the move and her mum and, oh, everything today – the sooner she got to
Sarah’s, the better. She drew a steadying breath.

‘Elisabeth, are you going to get back in the car or not?’

Lis dragged herself out of her stupor, tiptoed through the glacier-cold brook and clambered into the passenger seat.

‘Bad luck, that is,’ her mother said as Lis slammed the passenger door.

‘What is?’

‘Seeing one magpie. What is it they say?
One for sorrow
.’

The rest of the journey passed quickly. Her sister was right: avoiding the roadworks saw them driving down the hillside that led directly to Sarah’s new home in no time.
And there it was – cut into the landscape like some sleek, modern sculpture – her sister’s dream house. Max, Lis’s brother-in-law, had recently completed work on the
building, nicknamed ‘The Cube’ and Lis could see how it had earned that title. It was as if a giant had carelessly abandoned a block of glass and wood at the edge of the copse. Lis
thought it was nothing short of stunning – and she got to live there.

As the car finally pulled into the driveway, Lis was sure that she could still hear the whispering of the branches in the wind and, if she really strained, the busy little stream making its way
towards the river. She shook her head firmly; she had to get over herself, she wasn’t a baby any more. Who makes such a drama out of a few bad dreams?

Sasha, the lumbering family setter galloped to meet the car. Lis flung herself out and allowed the shaggy russet beast to jump up at her chest.

‘Sashey!’ she cried in a munchkin voice. ‘How’s my doggy dog?’

‘Elisabeth! Don’t get all dirty!’ her mother put in.

A new voice interrupted from above, warm and affectionate but with an air of exasperation. ‘Leave her alone, Mother! You’re always nagging!’

They both looked up to see a tall, striking blonde standing on a balcony that ran all the way around the first floor. Sarah, twelve years older than Lis, was her half-sister from their
mum’s first marriage, but Lis couldn’t possibly have loved her more if they’d had the same dad.

‘Leave all your stuff in the car,’ Sarah instructed. ‘Max is on his way down to lend a hand. Come on up, you two, the kettle’s on!’

Lis ran up the wooden stairs to greet her sister. Sarah wrapped her up in a bear hug and the pair tossed greetings at each other – Sarah actually complimenting Lis on her chic new clothes
– until Deborah arrived and received a similar embrace.

Sarah invited them inside and, looking around the huge kitchen, Lis could feel warmth and love radiating from every beam and tile Max had installed. Huge windows filled the whole house with
heavenly light. Everything was clean and modern, but in no way cold or minimalist; if anything the space was cluttered, filled with the beautiful furniture that her sister had collected and
restored, not to mention a scattered selection of baby toys.

‘Lis? Do you want to come and see your new room?’ Sarah asked. ‘I hope you don’t mind, I’ve put some pieces in there. If you don’t like them, I can find
somewhere else for them.’

Lis resisted the urge to bounce up and down. Her sister restored vintage furniture for a living, so this promised to be
good
. ‘Yes please!’

Sarah grabbed Lis’s hand and pulled her through the lounge and upstairs to the next level, where two of the bedrooms were. One was in use as a study and the other was evidently Lis’s
room.

Lis gasped. It was like walking into a magazine spread. Sarah had installed a massive white sleigh bed next to French windows leading onto the back terrace. Other exquisite choices included a
mirror and chaise longue – no doubt lovingly crafted in the basement workshop.

‘You like?’

‘Sarah, I love, love,
love
!’ Lis beamed and gave her sister a second massive hug. ‘It’s like a princess room or something!’ It was as if her sister had read
her mind across county borders, sensing her wish to move away from her childlike, poster-filled life in Bangor, and step into a glamorous, sophisticated new skin here in Yorkshire.

‘I’m glad you like it. You have no idea how long it took us to get that bloody bed through the door. We’d need a chainsaw to get it out!’

Lis laughed and crossed to the glass doors. The terrace was beautiful: Parisian-style table and chairs and a little fish pond. She could already see herself reading a book with a huge cup of hot
chocolate beside her, and chatting with Sarah in a way she could never chat with her mum. She felt a million miles and a hundred years away from the Elisabeth London who’d spent last summer
caring about best friends, Bangor and . . . Bronwyn. This was more than she could have ever hoped for. She’d miss Mum, sure, but this was worth it.

‘Mum’s making the tea; I’ll go give her a hand. And then I want to know all the Bangor gossip!’ Sarah said.

‘I’ll be down in a sec.’ Lis sat on the chaise longue, tenderly stroking the gorgeous upholstery. Her shoulders relaxed and Lis realised how tense she’d been –
whether it was the weird incident on the way, or the worry that somehow this new chapter of her life wouldn’t be what she’d hoped, she didn’t know. She breathed out, closed her
eyes and counted to five. It was fine . . . Bangor was all in the past and she was safe now. Safe from Bronwyn Evans. Free from the taunts, jibes and whispers. She stood, ready to go and join her
family.

As she turned she saw another lone magpie hop across the terrace and come to a standstill before her bedroom windows. For a second she wondered if it was the one from the copse.
Oh, come
on
, she told herself,
how many magpies must there be in this town?
It cocked its black head, staring straight at her with shiny onyx eyes – there
was
something awfully
familiar about it . . . Curious, she pressed a hand to the glass and it was enough to send the bird into retreat.

The magpie flew away, but she couldn’t so easily forget what her mother had said:
One for sorrow.

Fulton High

I should have rolled in the mud
, thought Lis. Her pristine uniform stood out a mile; she may as well have carved ‘new girl’ into her forehead with a scalpel.
Eyes burned into the back of her skull, and even though she knew this would pass in a matter of hours, she hadn’t anticipated how wretched it would make her feel. Boarding the school bus,
she’d felt as fresh and confident as a toothpaste commercial, yet just five minutes into the journey she felt anything but.

The weather had clearly understood that it was the first day of autumn term, providing students with an unrelenting spray of fine drizzle to accompany them on an already depressing day. The
whole world was the colour of slate. Worse still, as the bus filled with soggy pupils, it became more and more like a sauna. Peering through the steamed-up window, a slender, isolated figure at the
side of the road swam into focus. Lis rubbed a little porthole for herself, but the silhouette remained shrouded in the murk.

With a hiss, the bus scraped to a halt and the damp newcomer boarded. There was a pregnant silence before an electric ripple of hushed giggles, lowered voices and meaningful glances ran down the
bus. The newcomer’s presence was intense. Lis watched, fascinated, as the new arrival made her way down the aisle towards the back seats.

She was a fearsome Amazon of a girl, approaching six feet tall and with a shock of spiky black and purple hair that only added further inches. Lis couldn’t even think of a word to describe
her futuristic style: her skirt was the shortest Lis had ever seen dared as part of a uniform, and massive black construction boots finished off endless legs. Oh, and safety pins were lined neatly
up the side of each ear. But by far the most striking feature was her face. Lis kind of thought of herself as pretty, but this weird girl was
beautiful
– mixed race, with flawless
brown skin and twinkling blue eyes.

Lis knew she should look away but she was mesmerised. Craning her neck around, she saw the girl join two other oddities already tucked away at the very back of the lower deck. How had she not
noticed
them
? The second girl was much shorter than the first, although equally stunning – a living china doll. Lis had never seen such a mass of bright red curls. They tumbled down
almost to her waist. Red had also managed to radically reinterpret the dress code, swapping the regulation skirt for a flowing floor-length one. She had tiny ballet flats on her feet and thick NHS
glasses balanced on her petite nose.

Their male companion was a stark contrast. A pale young man, he huddled in the corner by the fire escape, his uniform almost as immaculate as Lis’s own. His hands were thrust tightly into
his duffel coat and his eyes were fixed on his lap. He was neither handsome nor
un
attractive, but next to his outlandish female companions, his neutrality was shocking in itself.

Lis tuned into the nearest whispers and, although much was lost in the roar of the bus pulling away, she was able to make out the occasional word such as
Freaks!
or
Gay!
.

Lis was suddenly haunted by a familiar dread. The same sensation she’d fought every morning on her old school bus when Bronwyn and her mates had been whispering about
her
. Oh God,
what if Fulton was no different? The dread intensified and Lis gripped the edge of her seat.
One day
, she thought,
I’ll be living in New York or Paris and none of this will matter.
Just hang on in there
.

She stole another glance, and was surprised to see the ‘freaks’ staring at
her
. Apparently, no one was above glaring at the new girl. The shy young man gave her a half-hearted
smile that said
I know
. Red grinned and whispered something in his ear, giving Lis a coy wave. Lis returned the smile. In Hollow Pike, she was determined to rise above the ridiculous social
pecking order that had blighted her time at her previous school. That school had had its own group of freaky outsider kids. They had been mocked and harassed, a shared punch-bag for the whole
school. Once upon a time she had figured they’d brought it on themselves by dressing so crazy. She knew better now.

Turning to the front, Lis found herself looking straight into the face of a delicate blonde girl with slightly pointed features.

‘You don’t wanna go talking to them,’ she said in a low, genuinely concerned voice.

‘No?’

‘No. That tall girl is like a proper lesbian. She’ll totally try to rape you. It happened to our friend, Laura.’

‘Oh, right. Thanks for the advice,’ commented Lis with mock gratitude. The first blonde girl (‘Platinum Blonde’) and her equally blonde companion (‘Honey
Blonde’) nodded earnestly, flicking poker-straight hair out of their eyes. ‘You are
so
welcome. We were all new once.’

OK, so the blonde girls seemed vacant, but at least they’d deigned to speak to her. Lis knew she probably shouldn’t shun prospective friends at such an early stage. Anyway, for all
she knew the tall girl
could
have attacked someone. She was certainly intimidating enough.

‘I’m Fiona and this is Harry,’ said Platinum Blonde.

‘Not like Harriet, like Debbie Harry,’ explained Honey Blonde.

‘Wow, cool name,’ smiled Lis. ‘I’m Lis. Lis London. And today is my first day.’

Fiona and Harry grinned broadly at each other, wordlessly communicating.

‘You are going to like Fulton so much. Are you Year Eleven?’ gushed Harry in her broad Yorkshire accent. She was wearing so much foundation, her skin was matt.

‘Yeah, I am.’ An imitation accent slipped out before Lis could stop it.

‘Excellent,’ nodded Fiona who hadn’t seemed to notice. ‘We will totally show you round and stuff. Our friends are, like, really nice. You’ll so fit in.’

‘Thank you! I’d love that.’ Lis felt her mind-set quickly adapting to fit in with her new guides. ‘I’m totally freaking out about starting a new school!’

‘Don’t worry.’ Harry reached forward and squeezed her arm. ‘We’ll
totally
look after you!’