Secret Journal

by Laura Sieveking

  As we headed into the next exhibit, Grace gathered us all together.

  ‘OK, Saskia, here’s your dare,’ she whispered, careful not to catch Ms Montgomery’s attention. ‘You have to hide in one of the display scenes in the next room without Monty catching you!’

  ‘Grace, that’s impossible,’ Portia protested. ‘Saskia is in uniform. Don’t you think Monty will notice if there’s an Eden Girl in a panama hat in the middle of a caveman scene?’

  Saskia shushed her friend. ‘Challenge accepted,’ she chirped, putting out her hand for Grace to shake. ‘But remember, if I manage to do this dare without getting caught, you have to accept my dare for you back at school.’

  Grace shook Saskia’s hand.

  ‘Hurry up, girls!’ Ms Montgomery called.

  We trotted into the next room, eager to see where Saskia would have to hide. There were huge model ships, as well as many different shiny artefacts (that means really old and valuable stuff from history).

  ‘Vikings,’ Violet whispered.

  ‘Grace, go distract Monty and let me get to work,’ Saskia whispered, as she disappeared amongst the displays.

  ‘Where are all the helmets with horns?’ Grace asked loudly.

  ‘You’ll find that is a common misconception,’ Ms Montgomery answered. ‘Come over here, girls, and read the truth about Vikings. They were actually a very refined people, contrary to popular opinion these days. Look! Here are some artefacts from the time, including weapons, jewellery and other household items.’

  We all gathered around, looking at the Viking relics in the glass case.

  I peeked behind me and saw that Saskia had completely disappeared.

  We walked through the room, taking notes in our notebooks in case anything from the excursion showed up on our history test. Right before the exhibit’s exit, there was one final display.

  ‘Look at this!’ Ms Montgomery breathed. It was a huge Viking ship with mannequins on board, dressed for war. ‘This isn’t a real Viking ship,’ Ms Montgomery continued. ‘It’s simply a recreation of what historians think this kind of ship might have looked like. And see the outfits they are wearing? That shows us the climate was cold.’

  I looked at the scene in front of me. Suddenly, Grace burst out laughing.

  ‘What is so funny?’ Ms Montgomery scolded.

  ‘Oh, nothing,’ said Grace, smothering her giggles. ‘Just something I remembered from a movie I saw once. Maybe we should move on.’

  Ms Montgomery frowned and nodded, leading the rest of the girls out of the room. As we turned to follow, Grace pointed back at the display, her hand over her mouth. There, in the middle of the Viking warriors, was a smaller Viking with shining blue eyes and glistening blonde hair. She had a brown piece of sackcloth thrown over her and was frozen in a pose, pointing out to sea.

  Saskia.

  We all burst out laughing, and hurried into the next room so Monty wouldn’t come back and see Saskia in the display.

  It looked like Saskia had won the first round of dares after all!

  Chapter 3

  We continued through the museum, working our way up through time. I scribbled down notes in my notebook, not only in case we were tested at the end, but also in case I found a good story for Eden Press. I desperately hoped we’d foil a museum robbery, because that would have made a great story for the online newspaper. But everything seemed to be going disappointingly smoothly.

  Towards the end of the visit, we found ourselves in the wartime exhibit. There was information about both World War I and II, which was interesting because we had been studying World War II in history class.

  We walked around the room in a sombre silence. Sombre means deeply serious, or even a bit sad. I think it was because when you walk around the ancient rooms, like ancient Egypt or ancient Greece, it seems like such a faraway time—like you are stepping into a fairy story of talking cats and snake-headed monsters. But the war rooms didn’t seem all that distant. There were photographs of children—not that different to us—sitting in classrooms during wartime. I couldn’t imagine what that would have been like.

  I quietly walked up to a display and read the information board. It was all about a woman in the country of Germany who helped children to escape from the enemy through secret underground tunnels. I shivered slightly.

  Next to it was information about a secret diary that a young girl wrote during World War II. It told how she kept herself safe by hiding from the enemy in an attic. I frowned as I read it. I used to keep a diary, just like she did.

  ‘What are you thinking, Ella?’ a voice said from behind me.

  I turned to see Ms Montgomery looking gently at the display in front of us. She didn’t have her characteristic frown on her face. The creases on her forehead had smoothed and her mouth was relaxed instead of pursed. Her voice was softer.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I said slowly. ‘I think I’m just imagining what it must have been like to be alive at that time.’

  Ms Montgomery nodded. ‘It’s really not all that long ago, you know. My grandparents were both children during the war.’

  ‘I think sometimes you forget that these were real people. Kids, just like us,’ I said.

  Ms Montgomery patted me on the shoulder and smiled ever so slightly. ‘That’s an interesting thing to think about, wouldn’t you say? Perhaps something interesting to write about, too.’

  I looked up into her eyes, perplexed. She shook her head lightly and frowned. ‘I’d better gather everyone together,’ she said, as she turned to walk away.

  To write about, I thought. Could this be the article I needed for Eden Press?

  I leaned in closer to a real photograph of a classroom. The children in the grainy black and white picture were practicing evacuating their classroom in a drill. They looked different to us, with their old-fashioned uniforms and haircuts. But when I looked at their faces, I saw ordinary kids. Just like me.

  ‘Come on, Ella,’ Violet called, as she walked out of the war room. ‘Time for lunch!’

  I took one last lingering look at the faded black and white photos of the classrooms and tunnels and the child’s diary.

  Maybe, I mused.

  We gathered outside in the museum courtyard and the bus driver unloaded a cooler box, which was filled with food from the Eden kitchen. We all selected a sandwich of our choice and a piece of fruit and took them with us as we found a shady spot to eat.

  Grace, Zoe, Violet and I sat on the ground, as the warmth from the pavers seeped through our light summer dresses.

  ‘Can we join?’

  I looked up and saw Saskia standing with Portia and Mercedes—they were never too far from her side.

  Grace nodded and opened up our circle a little more.

  ‘So, did I complete your dare satisfactorily?’ Saskia asked.

  ‘That was hilarious!’ Grace laughed. ‘When Monty looked up at the Viking ship, I thought you were a goner. But you were so still!’

  We all laughed at the memory of Saskia in the scene on the Viking ship.

  ‘So, what’s my dare?’ Grace asked.

  ‘I’ve thought of something,’ Saskia said, narrowing her eyes.

  Mercedes and Portia let out little giggles. They clearly already knew Saskia’s plans.

  ‘Meet me at the back of the main building at school, tomorrow morning at sunrise,’ Saskia said. ‘And then I will give you your challenge.’

  ‘But we aren’t allowed out of the dorms until breakfast,’ Violet said.

  ‘You don’t have to come!’ Saskia sneered.

  Violet’s cheeks reddened.

  ‘I’ll be there,’ Grace said.

  ‘Looking forward to it,’ Saskia smiled.

  I had no idea what Saskia was going to challenge Grace to do, but I had a bad feeling about it.

  Chapter 4

  I looked out the window and saw the first rays of sunlight, glinting through the trees. A magpie warbled a tuneful morning song and a cockatoo squawked angr
ily into the fresh morning breeze. I turned around and saw Grace, who had thrown on light tracksuit pants and an old t-shirt. Zoe and Violet stood by her side.

  ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ I asked. ‘This wouldn’t be the first time we were in trouble for leaving our room out of hours.’

  Grace nodded firmly. ‘A dare’s a dare, Ella. But you guys totally don’t have to come. Honestly, I can handle Saskia on my own.’

  ‘No way,’ said Zoe firmly. ‘We are friends, so we do this together.’

  Violet nodded nervously. She didn’t seem as sure.

  I followed the other three out of our room, checking the hallway for teachers or prefects. The inside of the boarding house was still dark with the remnants of night, the morning sunshine not yet beaming through the windows.

  We crept silently up the carpeted hallway, being careful to walk right against the wall where the floorboards creaked less. When we got to the stairs, Grace went down by herself, just in case there was someone down there. It’d be easier to make up an excuse for being out of bed on her own. When she was confident the coast was clear, she waved to us at the top of the stairs. One by one we stalked down the winding staircase until we were all standing at the foot of it.

  Suddenly, we heard movement behind us. Violet gasped, and I quickly clapped my hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming.

  Meow.

  Violet put her hand to her racing heart and shook her head. It was just Crystal—Ms Montgomery’s cat.

  Grace gently unlocked the front door, which clicked open with a noisy clack. We all winced as it echoed down the hallway. I eyed Ms Montgomery’s bedroom door, which was at the back of the house. No movement.

  Grace pushed open the front door, freezing every time it creaked. Finally, we bundled outside into the fresh morning air, quietly shutting the door behind us.

  ‘Phase one complete,’ Grace breathed.

  We all grabbed each others’ hands and jogged across Centenary Lawn towards the back of the main building, where we had agreed to meet Saskia. As we jogged, our eyes darted from side to side, wary that the groundskeepers could already be around the school.

  It didn’t take us long to find Saskia standing by some rose bushes with Mercedes and Portia. She had a huge grin on her face and Portia and Mercedes looked like smug cats who had just caught mice.

  ‘So, you came,’ Saskia grinned.

  ‘Of course,’ Grace said, with her eyebrows raised. ‘So, what’s the dare?’

  Portia smothered a giggle.

  ‘You have to climb to the top of the bell tower and ring the old bell,’ Saskia smiled.

  ‘But the bell tower is out of bounds!’ Violet said. ‘Nobody has been up there for years. And besides, the wooden door into the tower is always locked.’

  Saskia held out her hand. Dangling from it was an ancient-looking key.

  ‘How’d you get that?’ Zoe asked bluntly.

  ‘I have my ways,’ Saskia said mysteriously.

  Grace grabbed the old key from Saskia and turned to face the bell tower. A new expression crossed her face. She looked a little pale, and less confident than usual.

  ‘Are you OK?’ I whispered.

  Grace began to walk over towards the bell tower door, but as she walked she pulled me in closer.

  ‘This is probably not the time to admit this,’ she whispered ‘but I am terrified of heights!’

  ‘Don’t do it then!’ I hissed. ‘It’s really high!’

  ‘Well, I have to now, don’t I?’ she whispered back.

  ‘Is there a problem?’ Saskia called from behind us. ‘Because if you are chicken, just say so.’

  ‘Nup! I live for this stuff,’ Grace said loudly. But the wobble in her voice was unmistakable.

  We all gathered around the old wooden door that led to the bell tower. Grace took the antique-looking key and pushed it into the lock. She turned it and it made a loud clunking noise. Once the door was unlocked, she handed the key back to Saskia, who slipped it into her pocket.

  As Grace pulled the door open, a gust of air came rushing out of the stairwell. It was cold and dank and made us cough. We all peered inside. The stairwell was very dark—almost black—but we could make out a very narrow, winding staircase, which coiled upwards as tight as a corkscrew.

  Grace breathed in sharply.

  ‘It … it might take me a while to get up there,’ she stammered. ‘It’s pretty steep.’

  ‘OK, you go and we’ll keep watch,’ Zoe said to Grace.

  Grace took a tentative step forwards. She put her foot on the first step and turned back to look at us.

  ‘Too easy,’ she said. But the nerves in her voice betrayed her confidence.

  As Grace ascended the staircase, she disappeared from view. We stood at the bottom of the bell tower, waiting.

  It reminded me of the time my family went to an amusement park with my Nanna Kate. Max desperately wanted to go on the roller-coaster with me and Olivia. When he was measured at the entry line, he was only just tall enough to get through—Dad joked that if it weren’t for the hair gel spiking up his hair, he may not have made it. As we stood in the line, Olivia became more and more excited about the roller-coaster. She’s a complete daredevil. But Max became quieter and quieter.

  As we neared the front of the line, the roller-coaster seemed to grow taller and taller with every step we took. Max’s eyes grew bigger and bigger, and his skin went all white. He looked like he wanted to be sick.

  When we got to the front of the line, we saw Nanna Kate standing by the barrier. She leant over and said, ‘Sometimes it takes more courage to say “no” and face the embarrassment of backing out, than it does to do something you don’t want to do.’

  We all stared at Max, as relief flooded over his face. He climbed up the bars of the barrier and Nanna Kate lifted him over. Then they went and got fairy floss.

  I wished I’d remembered that story before Grace had started climbing the bell tower.

  We waited for what seemed like forever.

  ‘Look!’ Violet said finally, pointing up to the top of the bell tower. ‘She’s up there!’

  We all stumbled back to get a better view. Just peeping over the ledge of the belfry, we could see a little hand waving.

  Then a loud GONG sounded from the top of the tower.

  ‘We’d better get out of here!’ Portia squealed. ‘If the teachers hear that sound, they are going to know somebody is in the bell tower. Let’s go!’

  Saskia, Portia and Mercedes bolted away.

  ‘Hurry up, Grace!’ Zoe called.

  We waited.

  ‘Grace?’ Violet yelled. She looked around nervously.

  ‘You guys go,’ I said. ‘I’ll wait for Grace. No point in all of us putting ourselves at risk.’

  Zoe and Violet looked at each other with worried eyes.

  ‘Seriously, go!’ I said.

  Zoe and Violet nodded. ‘We’ll cover for you,’ said Zoe, and they trotted away.

  ‘Grace—you OK up there?’ I yelled through my cupped hands.

  No response.

  Grace had been up there for ages and I began to worry. What if she’d hit her head on the bell? What if she’d fallen?

  There was only one thing to do. I walked into the bell tower and began to climb. The stairway was incredibly tight and I could easily put a hand on each wall without even stretching my arms out. It was very dim and cold, and I began to feel a little dizzy as I walked around and around and around the corkscrewing stairwell. I glanced back down behind me, only to see darkness. My head swooned slightly.

  I continued to wind my way upwards, wondering if the staircase was ever going to end. Finally, I saw a glimmer of light, and I emerged into the small area where the huge bell lived at the top of the tower. It hung there, an old bronzed colour, with a large crack down the middle. I looked past it and out across the school. The tower was so high! I could see over the dorm to the surrounding bushland.

  But where was Grace?<
br />
  I walked around the huge bell until I saw her, huddled with her knees tucked up to her chest, sitting on the cold stone floor.

  ‘Are you OK?’ I gasped, crouching down beside her. ‘Are you hurt?’

  Grace’s face was in her hands. She jerked her head up at the sound of my voice. ‘No, I’m not hurt. What are you doing up here?’

  ‘I came to find you!’

  ‘Sorry—I started to make my way back down the stairwell, but I just got really overwhelmed. It’s so high up here and those stairs are so steep and I have such a bad fear of heights,’ she said, her voice shaky.

  ‘Why didn’t you call for help?’

  Grace shrugged. ‘I didn’t want Saskia thinking I was a chicken.’

  I put my arm around Grace. ‘Don’t worry,’ I said soothingly. ‘We’ll sit here for a bit till you feel better, then I will lead you back down. There are no teachers around yet, and we still have plenty of time before our wake-up call.’

  ‘Really?’ Grace asked. She looked pale and small— nothing like the usual Grace.

  We sat together in silence, listening to the morning songs of the surrounding bush birds. I think it was the first time I’d ever heard Grace be silent for a long period of time. She usually even talked in her sleep!

  As I sat, looking around me, I began to run my fingers along the stone wall we were leaning against. One of the stones was a bit loose and I fidgeted with it, wobbling it to and fro.

  Suddenly, the stone brick fell right out of the wall.

  ‘Are you breaking the bell tower?’ Grace asked, laughing.

  ‘No, I just …’

  My voice trailed off. As I’d gone to put the brick back into the wall, I noticed there was something blocking it. I peered inside the space and saw something reddish-brown. It looked like old leather. I reached my fingers in and tried to pry the item out of the wall.

  ‘What have you found?’ Grace asked, curious.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I said, as I continued to jimmy the item in the wall. After a few seconds, the thing came loose and spilled out onto the cold stone floor of the bell tower.

  It was old.