Sophie Cleverly - The Curse in the Candlelight

We waved to Ariadne, who was on the other side of the crush. Muriel was there too, her beanpole legs making her stand head and shoulders above most of the other girls. She was staring at her Rookwood regulation toothbrush, looking unimpressed.

But everything changed when Ebony walked in.

The crowds parted like she was Moses. She had that enigmatic smile on her face as she glided along. She walked straight up to where Muriel was standing and said, “I’m going to use this mirror.”

Muriel stopped, the toothbrush still in her mouth, and turned to look down at Ebony. Despite being smaller than Muriel, Ebony gave the impression she was eight feet tall.

“Mmscuse me?” Muriel said around the toothbrush.

“I said I’m going to use this one.” Ebony didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. Everyone had gone silent and was staring at her. “Or …”

Muriel spat a foamy mouthful into the sink. “Or what?”

“Or you’ll regret getting in my way,” said Ebony. She tipped her head on one side. That smile wasn’t going anywhere. “The world has a way of punishing people who don’t do what I want.”

Now, having heard about the fearsome Muriel from Ariadne, I assumed we were about to witness something dramatic. So of course I stood on tiptoe to get a better look.

But to my surprise, Muriel just looked hurt . “Why?” she said. “I waited my turn. I’ll be done in a moment.”

And then, as I watched, she turned, slipped on something and fell backwards into a heap on the floor. There were gasps. But no one moved.

Ebony looked down at her. “I told you so,” she said. She stepped over Muriel and began brushing her silky hair in the mirror and humming something. It was a tune I didn’t recognise. It sounded almost like a nursery rhyme.

I didn’t like what I had seen one bit.

How did that happen? I wondered. There was a moment when there was no sound in the bathroom but the strange humming. And then a second later, Muriel sat up and choked back a sob. It was as if there had been a spell that had just been broken, and everyone started talking again.

I frowned and began shoving my way over to the sinks. “Come on,” I said “Are none of you going to help her up?” I reached down. Muriel reluctantly took my hand and climbed up unsteadily. She rubbed her bruised legs and glared at Ebony. And without a word, she ran into the corridor.

I didn’t know what Ebony was playing at, but she was reminding me uncomfortably of our old enemy Violet – or at least, how vile Violet had been in our first year. The sort of person who thought they were better than everyone else and ordered them around. And people were just letting her get away with it!

I stood beside her, hands on my hips, while she preened. “What did you do that for, Ebony?” I asked.

She just blinked at me, and then she leant forward and whispered one word: “Power.”

“What?” I looked around at the other girls to see if they were listening, but everyone had moved on to something else. It was as though the events of the past few minutes had evaporated from their minds.

“Power,” she repeated. “Some of us have it …” She looked towards the door. “Some of us don’t.” And then she turned back to the mirror and carried on humming that same song.

“Right, well,” I muttered. “Perhaps you could use some of that power to stop being a nasty piece of work.”

She ignored me.

Ariadne pushed through and stood next to me. “I should … I should go and see if Muriel’s all right,” she said.

I was a little surprised, but not completely. No matter what Muriel had done to Ariadne in the past, they’d been getting on better and Ariadne was very forgiving – a good person at heart.

I didn’t think I’d be able to say the same about Ebony.

Ivy and I eventually managed to reach the sinks and get ourselves ready for bed, and then we headed back to room thirteen. I had to admit I was a little relieved not to run into Ebony again. Something about her just wasn’t quite right.

Getting under the sheets was the strangest feeling after being away from Rookwood for so long. Our beds had been made with hospital corners as usual, meaning I had to untuck the whole thing before I could actually climb into it. But once I was lying down, I had to admit … it almost felt like home. More than anywhere else did, anyway.

I thought briefly about hiding my new diary in the mattress, but that wouldn’t be much of a hiding place, since everyone knew about it now. Do I need to hide it? I thought. I didn’t have so many secrets these days.

But then I thought of what had just happened in the lavatories. I was no longer faced with Miss Fox or Violet, and Penny seemed to have mellowed a little, but then there were people like Ebony.

I decided to put the diary inside my pillow, just for now. I’d have to find a better place, though, or it could get tossed into the laundry.

Ivy yawned in the bed across the room. “Back at Rookwood,” she sighed.

“Everything’s different, but …” I took a deep breath. “There’s more of the same. Bullies and secrets and—”

“Stew,” Ivy finished for me. “Lots and lots of stew.”

We smiled at each other in the darkness.

“Night, Scarlet,” she said.

“Night, Ivy.”

It was chilly and the sheets were a little scratchy against my skin. But only a few moments passed before I slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep.

I woke to a loud clanging, and almost panicked before I realised it was Rookwood’s regular morning bell.

I sat up, stretched and looked around to find Ivy already sitting at the desk, brushing her hair with our mother’s brush.

“How are you awake already?” I asked.

She shrugged happily. “I slept well.”

“Me too,” I said. I unfolded myself from the covers and got up. A glance out of our window with its threadbare curtains revealed a bright day outside. The leaves were rustling in the trees, waving gently like green fingers.

“I wonder how Ariadne got on,” Ivy said. “With her first night sharing with Muriel, I mean.”

Once we were dressed and ready, we went to investigate. We knocked on their door and Ariadne’s mousy face peered out. “Morning,” she whispered, slipping into the corridor.

“So … did you survive?” Ivy asked, even though it was plainly obvious that she had.

Ariadne’s brow wrinkled. “Nothing happened. She seemed upset after that incident with Ebony, and I asked if she was all right. That cheered her up a little. Then she just said she was going to read a book and didn’t speak another word.”

“See?” I poked her gently. “I told you it would be fine.”

“Scarlet, stop poking people,” Ivy said.

I poked her in the arm, just to prove a point.

Ariadne still didn’t look very reassured. I noticed there were bags under her eyes, and her hair was a bit of a tangle. “So you didn’t sleep as well as we did?”

She shuffled her feet. “Well, I know it’s silly, but I couldn’t relax knowing she was in the room. It was like … being haunted or something. I can’t forget what she was like before.”

As if on cue, the door opened and Muriel appeared. We all looked up – and Ariadne went a bit white. But she didn’t seem to have heard what we’d been saying. She just smiled at us. “Morning,” she said. “What do they do for breakfast around here?”

“Porridge,” I said.

“Oh.” She didn’t seem too disappointed. For someone who had apparently been the worst bully since Penny, she appeared to be quite cheerful. “Well, see you down there.” She strode away towards the stairs.

We both looked at Ariadne without saying anything. I raised my eyebrows, as if to say: A bully? Really?