Alice Parker's Metamorphosis (Book 1 of the new adventure series for children)

by Palmer, Nicola

  ‘Shall we watch one of the films you brought?’ she asked Sarah, casting aside her ‘Glitz’ magazine.

  ‘Sure, choose which one you like,’ Sarah replied, rummaging in her bag. She handed over four DVDs and Alice turned the TV on. They just caught the news headlines:

  ‘Bank robbers have escaped with a haul of over £300,000 – police are trying to determine how they accessed the main safe. Another lottery jackpot in lucky Warwickshire! The winner wishes to remain anonymous. And finally, a local entrepreneur has bought Aylesford Castle.’

  Alright for some, thought Alice. She chose an animated film about monsters and they settled down on bean bags with the sweets they had bought earlier, Jack drooling at their feet.

  The film was actually quite good, though the challenge lay in preventing Sarah from talking during the important bits. Each time she started to speak, Alice waved a jelly snake or fizzy cola bottle in front of her mouth.

  When the film had finished, Alice went downstairs to let the dog out and fetch them a drink. Just as she was putting the orange juice back in the fridge, Jack started barking in the garden. She dashed outside to find him looking up at the sky, wagging his tail and barking.

  ‘What’s up boy?’ she asked. ‘Did you see a pigeon?’ Jack loved chasing pigeons, the temptation of those fat, waddling birds was too much to resist, but they always managed to fly off before he could catch one. He grudgingly followed Alice back to the kitchen and she carried the drinks up to her room. Sarah was staring out of the window.

  ‘What on earth was that?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘What was what?’

  ‘That thing that hovered outside your window just now! Jack must have seen it too, he was looking up here barking, I saw him down in the garden!’

  ‘Er, a pigeon?’ Alice felt butterflies in her stomach as she dared to hope that her friend had shared one of her strange experiences.

  ‘That was no bird, it was something big.’ Sarah had been reading with her back to the window when she noticed a shadow cast over her shoulder. She turned quickly and just glimpsed something darting away.

  ‘Perhaps it was a pterodactyl,’ joked Alice uneasily.

  ‘Oh, very funny. You saw it as well, didn’t you? I can tell by your face! What was it?’

  Alice passed Sarah a drink and sat down on the bed. ‘I didn’t see anything. Not today.’

  ‘You’ve seen it before?’

  ‘I’ve seen something several times. I just don’t know what it was, I didn’t get a good look.’

  ‘Well, I could swear it was a...no...it couldn’t be. For a moment, I thought it was a person... Maybe it was a large bird after all, like a heron visiting your pond. Whatever it was, it gave me a fright.’ She sat down next to Alice.

  ‘I’m just glad you’ve seen it too,’ admitted Alice, gulping down her orange juice. ‘I began to think I was imagining things.’

  After a take-away and plenty of dreadful Saturday night television, the girls went up to bed. Alice had a sofa-bed in her room which they made up for Sarah. For once, Alice was glad that her friend could talk the hind leg off a donkey. At least her whispering helped to pass the hour or two that she needed to fall asleep.

  Unfortunately, that night, Sarah didn’t sleep very well either. She remained wide awake, the vision outside the window that afternoon was playing on her mind. The concoction of junk food she had eaten probably wasn’t helping either and she lay there listening to the dog snoring by Alice’s bed. The room was light, as if the moon were trying to force open the curtains and she could see Jack’s paws twitching as he was running along in his dream. Soon Alice began to fidget too and appeared to be fighting with her duvet. Sarah could hear her mumbling as well.

  ‘What did you say, Alice? Are you OK?’ she whispered, getting out of bed to see what was wrong.

  Like a shot, Jack leaped to his feet and created a four-legged barrier between her and Alice, growling and baring his teeth.

  Sarah stepped back, shocked. ‘What’s got into you?’

  Jack put his front paws on the bed and licked Alice’s face, whining. She grumbled, turned her back to them and went back to sleep, though the fidgeting and noises would continue all night. Jack resumed his position on the floor, keeping one eye on Sarah as she got back into bed. She had a rotten night and was justifiably grumpy the next morning.

  It was quarter past ten when Alice finally woke up and Sarah was ready for her. She sat in her bed, arms folded, at a safe distance from Jack and demanded, ‘Spill the beans then, what’s going on with you and your nutty dog?’

  As usual, Alice’s head was spinning as she sat up. Great, an interrogation. She didn’t like Sarah’s snotty tone either, it was out of character. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘First you toss and turn all night, making noises in your sleep. Then, when I get out of bed, your mad dog turns on me and snarls, as if I was going to hurt you. What with that thing outside the window yesterday, I’ll be glad to go home.’

  ‘Don’t be like that, I’m sorry if I kept you awake but I can’t help it. I told you I’ve not been sleeping very well. I get these pains and an itchy feeling across my back, then I get so hot and my head starts to hurt. She could feel the anger rising in her. ‘You’re sick of it after one night. Imagine how I feel! It’s been going on for weeks. I’ve had enough!’ she complained, thumping the bed with her fist in frustration.

  ‘Well, what do your parents think? Your dad’s a paramedic after all!’

  ‘Nothing much. Dad thinks it could be bad posture causing backache and I don’t bother mum with it. She’s too busy with work at the moment. Plus, it’s mostly during the night – it wouldn’t go down too well if I woke them up with an itchy back and a headache would it?’

  Sarah just shrugged and pulled a face that seemed to say, you’re weird, I don’t understand and I’m worried. ‘You look awful as well,’ she added.

  ‘Thanks very much. I know. Anyway, let’s get some breakfast, your mum will be here soon.’

  At the kitchen table, without even realising it, Alice continued to unsettle her friend. Sarah watched in disbelief as she packed away a disturbing amount of food. Five slices of toast with lashings of apricot jam, two huge bowls of honey flakes and a whole carton of pineapple juice. She had noticed that Alice had been drinking a lot of fruit juice at school and assumed she was trying to be healthy. But this eating capacity was something different.

  ‘You’ll be sick if you’re not careful,’ she warned, ‘and a fat porker.’

  Alice put down her glass and looked guilty. ‘I can’t stop,’ she confessed. ‘I just want fruit and sugar all the time.’

  She looked over her shoulder to make sure they were alone and lowered her voice. ‘Mum thinks it’s Thomas taking all this extra food and juice while he’s home.’ Her voice cracked as she added, ‘but it’s me.’

  She put her head in her hands and dragged her fingers through her untidy hair, as if she wanted to tear it out. ‘Please help me, Sarah, I don’t know what’s wrong with me and I’m so tired all the time.’ She had begun to sniff as she was talking, and when she looked up, Sarah could see that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

  ‘Course I will, if I can. Maybe you’re just over-tired, as my mum says. Leave the homework and rest today. You’ll feel better tomorrow and you won’t look exhausted.’

  Since her marks had been so impressive, Alice had taken a lot of stick from certain people at school. It was mainly jealousy, she knew that, but they had also been teasing her about yawning and the dark rings under her eyes. When Sarah left, she went back upstairs and lay on her bed. She reached for the book they were supposed to read for English by tomorrow, but after flicking from cover to cover, threw it down. Not a chance, she felt exhausted – perhaps Sarah was right. Still holding the piece of fabric she had intended to use as a bookmark, she now noticed how unusual it was. In spite of being rescued from the dog’s mouth, it was beautifully shiny and soft. It sparkled with dazzling shade
s of purple as it reflected the light and as she ran it between her fingers, it felt cold on one side and warm on the other. Very odd. She fell asleep almost immediately. Now that really was odd.

  Chapter 2

  Brains and the Banana

  Monday morning arrived and Alice awoke feeling surprisingly good. She had slept well and felt much better. No aches or itching, just a hot back and she could live with that. While her parents were still upstairs, she seized the opportunity to eat an enormous breakfast, stuffing more fruit and a carton of juice into her bag. She opened several cupboards in the hope of finding chocolate and spotted a pack of iced mince pies and a bag of red, white and green jelly beans on a high shelf. She turned to grab a chair so she could reach them.

  ‘Would you like me to get those for you?’

  The voice startled Alice. Thomas had crept downstairs and was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching her with a bemused expression.

  ‘Er, I wanted something...for school, for the...er...Christmas fair,’ garbled Alice.

  ‘Well, we’d better get those down then, I think the kids will be disappointed with bananas and apple juice!’

  Damn. He’d seen her take those as well. ‘What are you doing up this early anyway?’ she snapped. ‘You don’t usually leave your room during daylight hours in the holidays.’

  ‘I love your charming manner in the morning,’ he mocked. ‘I’m catching a train to Oxford, I need some books from the library before Christmas. I’ll walk to school with you. I was just leaving.’

  He reached up to the top shelf and passed the Christmas goodies to Alice. She raised her eyebrows in approval as she realised that they were from The Coffee Cauldron. ‘Actually, I did buy those for you,’ he admitted.

  ‘Oh! Sorry! Have I found my present then?’ Alice felt guilty now.

  ‘No, it’s not your Christmas present, I just thought you might like them.’

  Now she was flummoxed. Thomas being nice? Thoughtful, even. Something wasn’t right.

  ‘No need to thank me!’ he said sarcastically, before she could think of a response. ‘I’ve been taking the rap for all the food you’ve been eating, so I thought I’d get you some more, Wiglet!’ Wiglet had been his nickname for her since they were small – it started when he meant to call her a wicked piglet for eating his Christmas selection pack one year. Alice smiled.

  The walk to school began in silence, as she pondered why Thomas had indeed taken the blame for the missing food at home. As a rule, he would grass her up in an instant. She noticed that a blackbird and a robin seemed to be following them as they walked, flitting from tree to hedgerow, chirping happily. Perhaps everyone was simply in good spirits today. ‘Thank you,’ she murmured.

  ‘For the sweets? No problem. Are you feeling alright today?’ he asked.

  Now this wasn’t just unusual, this was downright strange. Now her brother appeared to care! ‘What?’ she exclaimed with a look of amazement.

  ‘Well, you’ve not been yourself lately, have you? And anyone can see the bags under your eyes. This sleep thing, don’t worry about it, it will right itself soon enough.’

  Alice was confused but intrigued by his apparent awareness and concern. ‘Have you had it as well?’ she asked.

  ‘Something very similar when I was your age. You’ll grow out of it.’

  ‘I feel fine today anyway,’ Alice assured him. ‘And a hot back in this weather is a bonus!’

  ‘Oh...er...how convenient!’ replied Thomas. They carried on walking, their faces glowing in the wintery air, until they came to Beaumont Avenue. Langley School was a beautiful old building, a former manor house converted into a private school, with two town houses opposite forming the infant school and sixth form centre. Alice had been a pupil there since she was four years old.

  ‘Have a good day then, Wiglet,’ said Thomas with a grin.

  ‘Er, thanks, you too,’ muttered Alice and watched him carry on down the road towards the station. How bizarre, she thought, as she stood at the entrance. Not just Thomas’s behaviour, but those two birds had now stopped and were looking down at her from the tree by the school gate. ‘Well, that makes a change, it seems everyone wants my company this morning,’ she concluded before turning to walk up the steps.

  She spoke too soon. As she hurried up the grand staircase to her classroom, she was pushed against the wall as the coven jostled past her, looking down their noses at her as if she had stepped in dog poo and brought it in onto the carpet. The coven comprised Lucinda Rowbottom, Katy Blackwell and Olivia Staines-Downe, and Alice despised all three. They were at the centre of the ‘cool crowd,’ which, needless to say, Alice had never been part of. Lucinda No-Bottom was a tall, thin girl with pale blue eyes and long, brown hair. She would have been quite pretty if it weren’t for those ears which stuck out beneath her hair and reminded Alice of a chimpanzee. She was a horsey type with several ponies of her own. Her father was a formidable, insufferable man, a multi-millionaire making his money from several different businesses. A finger in every pie, as Grandad called it. Brian Rowbottom was feared by some and loathed by many, renowned for stopping at nothing to get what he wanted. Money was at the centre of his world; he wanted to take over everything, it seemed. No wonder Lucinda was so obnoxious. Katy Smackwell had no pony of her own, which was probably why she followed Lucinda everywhere like a bad smell. She was short and blonde, with an equally short modern haircut. It was shaved into a deep V in her neck, which Alice thought made her look evil. Olivia Stains-Brown was, unfortunately, stunning. She was like a catwalk model, with a perfect figure and shoulder-length ebony hair. All the girls envied her, though some took comfort in her one weakness – she was painfully stupid.

  Alice sighed and carried on up to Room 12, the form room of Year 8. Spaced around this elegant landing with its ornate wooden balustrade, were five classrooms and to the right, the headmistress’s office. Unfortunately for Alice’s class, this was next to Room 12. As she neared the door to her form room, she saw Sebastian Seaton standing in his usual place outside the door. He rather fancied himself as a comedian and often nominated himself as doorman. It was school tradition that someone would stand outside to greet the teacher, but also provided the opportunity for that pupil to bang on the door on their approach, warning everyone to shut up and look sharp. For Sebastian it was the chance to practise his stand-up comedy on all who entered, making a witty or cruel remark, depending on who you were. This morning for Alice, he simply pulled down his eyes to reveal the red, bloodshot part, then yawned ‘Sorry to drag you out of bed.’

  She pursed her lips and waited as he opened the door, waving his hand in a grand gesture. ‘I can see you as a toilet attendant rather than a comedian,’ she said as she walked in. He pulled a face like a sad clown and darted back outside. The room was noisy with friends chattering and laughing about their weekend. Sarah was waiting for her in their usual place, second row from the back, but Alice had to walk past the coven to reach her.

  ‘Nice tights,’ said Lucinda No-Bottom, pointing a bony finger at the hole in the left knee. Quinton O’Connor looked over and wolf-whistled.

  ‘Won’t Mummy buy you some new ones for doing so well?’ he asked with a grin. His sidekick, Lawrence Lovett, sniggered, while trying to extract a chewy sweet from his brace with his finger.

  ‘Want this?’ asked Alice sarcastically. She waved the window pole in front of him, which had a large brass hook on the end. Lawrence shut his mouth and went red.

  Sarah was laughing, but soon stopped when she realised that Alice wasn’t. ‘So? Did you get some rest yesterday?’ she asked, changing the subject.

  ‘Yes, thanks. I had a much better night’s sleep too.’

  There was a frantic banging at the classroom door as Sebastian alerted them in his usual, subtle manner to the arrival of Mrs Barnett, their form mistress. They fell silent and stood up when she entered the room.

  ‘Good morning Year 8!’ she beamed.

  ‘Good morning Mrs Barnett,’
they droned in reply, like bored infants at a pantomime. They sat down, scraping their chairs and shuffling in their seats as Mrs Barnett called the register and read out some announcements. Over the heads in front of her, all Alice could ever see was a talking mass of red curls at the front desk. She had the most wild, curly hair, which she attempted to tame with combs and clips, but by the end of the school day it had usually broken free, making her look as though her pupils had dragged her through a hedge. At 9 o’clock the buzzer sounded for first lesson.

  ‘Enjoy maths!’ she said and dashed off.

  ‘Is she trying to be funny?’ asked Quinton, pulling out his maths textbook and beating himself over the head with it in slow motion. He hated maths and they had a double lesson on Monday mornings. Alice tried to look sympathetic, though it wasn’t very convincing.

  ‘Ooh, test results today!’ remembered Sarah. ‘Bet you’ve done well.’

  ‘If I have I’ll be amazed. I didn’t even revise I was so tired.’ Towards the end of term, there was always a maths test on everything they had learned that term, which was quite a lot. It had taken place on Thursday and Alice had felt so rotten last week that she just didn’t feel up to revising.

  ‘So you say,’ Sarah sneered.

  ‘I wrote what I could on the day and that’s it,’ protested Alice. ‘My dad says not to worry as long you answer every question.’ And she had, with time to spare, which she found disturbing.