Ghost Club 2

by Deborah Abela

  ‘Students, congratulations on a very memorable night. I have no doubt that you are now filled with a new-found respect and admiration for yourself and your classmates. You placed your trust in them and they in you, while facing your fears head-on.’ She looked at her watch. ‘You have thirty minutes until lights out, which gives you time for a last visit to the bathroom and some well-earned time to relax.’

  The students gathered into their earlier cliques, reliving fun moments and joking about the mishaps. Edgar was swept up by the clusters of kids and laughed along with them.

  Angeline felt a small ache in her chest and wondered what it was about her that made it so hard to be like everyone else.

  In the dorm room, Angeline pulled out the pyjamas her mother had packed. She was relieved to find she hadn’t included the frilly pink ones Aunty Flora had given her for Christmas, and that Angeline had deliberately stuffed in the back of her drawer. She held her completely normal pyjamas close and silently thanked her mum, just as Lila unpacked hers. They were bright yellow with baby chicks all over them. Her eyes met Angeline’s. ‘I think my mum refuses to believe I’m not six anymore.’

  ‘For me, it’s my Aunty Flora.’

  Lila smiled. For a moment Angeline wondered if she was making fun of her, which was what she normally thought a smile from a classmate meant, but this one felt different.

  Lila shrugged. ‘Maybe by the time we’re twenty they’ll finally work it out. If we’re lucky.’ She looked at her pyjamas and laughed. It caught Angeline infectiously, and she laughed too. ‘Come on,’ Lila said. ‘We better brush our teeth before they turn the lights out on us.’

  They gathered their toiletries bags and headed for the bathroom.

  Over sinks of foaming toothpaste, a chorus of children’s voices echoed through the tiled, cavernous room.

  ‘Are you going to do it?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Ebony answered. ‘I’m still deciding.’

  ‘Do what?’ Lila squeezed toothpaste onto her brush.

  Ebony tried to keep her voice low. ‘Bloody Mary.’

  ‘What’s Bloody Mary?’ Ravi said with a frothy white mouth.

  ‘You tell it, Lila,’ Ebony said. ‘You’re the best storyteller.’

  ‘There are all sorts of legends about who Bloody Mary really was. Some say the story comes from a woman called Mary Worth, who lived over one hundred years ago and was believed to be a witch. Others are convinced it is from Mary Tudor, Queen of England.’

  ‘Daughter of King Henry the Eighth and Catherine of Aragon,’ Edgar added.

  Lila smiled. ‘Yes, and when she ruled England she had many people put to death for committing heresy.’

  ‘What’s heresy?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘In this case, people who didn’t follow the same religion she did. In a short five-year span she had so many people killed that she earned the name Bloody Mary. Folklore says that if you want to conjure her up, go into a bathroom, turn the lights off, stand in front of a mirror and repeat her name three times.’

  ‘Has anyone ever seen her?’ Ravi asked.

  ‘Not that I’ve read about,’ Lila answered.

  Ms Gently poked her head into the bathroom. ‘Lights out in five minutes everyone!’

  Groups of kids rinsed and wiped their mouths before they began heading back to the dorm.

  ‘I’m going to do it,’ Ebony whispered.

  ‘Me too,’ Charlie said.

  ‘If one of us goes, we should all go,’ Lila decided.

  ‘Why all of us?’ Ravi asked.

  ‘In case anything happens.’

  ‘Anything like what?’

  ‘Nothing most likely, but someone might bump their head or twist their ankle. Are you coming, Angeline and Edgar?’

  ‘Maybe it’s not such a good idea,’ Angeline said.

  ‘Why not?’ Lila asked.

  ‘Because summoning Bloody Mary is a story made up to frighten kids. It’s never really happened.’

  ‘How do you know?’ Charlie asked.

  Angeline knew because Endora and the Ghost Club would have investigated if it had happened, but she couldn’t tell them that. ‘Because it would have been on the internet by now.’

  ‘So if it is just a story,’ Ebony said, ‘let’s do it.’

  ‘Okay,’ Charlie agreed. ‘I’m in.’

  ‘Me too.’ Lila turned to Angeline and Edgar.

  ‘We’ll be there,’ Edgar said. ‘I agree with Lila – it’ll be better if we all go, so we can look out for each other.’

  Lila waited until the last of the kids left the bathroom before she made the final plans. ‘I’ll wait fifteen minutes after lights out, then sneak out of bed. Ebony, you go next, then Charlie, Ravi, Edgar and Angeline. We won’t do it unless everyone’s there. Deal?’

  They all nodded except Ravi.

  ‘Deal?’ Lila asked him.

  ‘Oh, okay.’ He shook his head. ‘I’ll be there. But if that ghost turns up and I die of shock, you have to explain it to my mum.’

  The others giggled.

  ‘When we go back to the dorm, count the number of footsteps from the door to your bed. We’ll be moving in darkness, so you’ll need to know how many it’ll take until you reach the hall. And remember to bring your torches.’

  Ms Gently’s voice floated down the hall from the dorm. ‘Lights out in thirty seconds.’

  They finished brushing their teeth and putting on their pyjamas before scarpering back to the dorm and slipping into their beds. Angeline and Lila noticed Travis already bundled beneath his blankets.

  ‘All that good behaviour must have worn him out,’ Lila whispered and settled beneath her blankets. ‘See you soon.’

  Angeline kept smiling as she nestled into the warmth of her bed and, for the first time that night, didn’t mind being there.

  Ms Gently sang a melodious goodnight to all, flicked off the light and, within moments, the glow of her torch disappeared with her fading footsteps.

  The dorm was swallowed by a deep, impenetrable darkness with not even the flicker of moonlight or the faraway glow of a streetlight. Apart from a few quiet murmurings, the room quickly fell into a weary quiet, followed soon after by the long, calm breaths of sleeping children.

  Right on time, Angeline heard Lila peel away her blankets and sneak out of bed. She tiptoed down the centre of the dorm and silently slipped through the open door. One by one, the others followed until it was Angeline’s turn.

  Edgar was waiting for her in the corridor. ‘Trying to conjure Bloody Mary won’t work,’ he whispered.

  ‘We know that but it doesn’t stop people trying it.’ Angeline yawned. ‘We’ll make sure no one hurts themselves, then go back to bed.’

  In the bathroom the small group was huddled in the glow of torchlight. ‘Great,’ Lila said softly. ‘We’re all here.’

  ‘What was that?’ Ravi whispered in a panicked voice. ‘I heard something coming from over there.’

  He pointed to a line of toilet cubicles.

  ‘It’s nothing,’ Lila tried to calm him. ‘You’re just a little jumpy. We’ll be fine as long as we stay together. Everyone ready?’

  Heads nodded in the shadowy light.

  Ebony stepped closer to the wide bathroom mirror above the sinks. The others gathered behind her.

  ‘Torches off,’ Lila instructed.

  ‘Can’t I leave mine on?’ Ravi asked. ‘Just in case we need it?’

  ‘Okay,’ Lila assured her. ‘But we hold it low – we don’t want to scare the ghost away.’

  ‘I don’t mean to be impolite,’ Ravi said, ‘but it’s not scaring the ghost that I’m worried about.’

  ‘Here goes.’ Ebony took a deep breath and began. ‘Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary .
. .’ She paused before reciting the name one last time. ‘Bloody Mary.’

  Their eyes flickered, searching the mirror for any signs of supernatural life.

  ‘Nothing,’ Ebony said with a mixture of relief and disappointment. ‘I guess I shouldn’t be disappointed but –’

  She halted at the sight of a person gradually appearing in the mirror. It stood behind them, caught in the edges of Ravi’s torchlight. Wrapped in a dark cloak, its face concealed, the figure lifted its arms and slowly moved towards them.

  ‘Aaaah!’ Ravi was the first to find his voice and scream. He fled from the bathroom, followed by the others – except for Angeline and Edgar.

  Angeline flicked on her torch in time to see the cloaked figure lower its arms and rush quickly down the hall. ‘That’s no ghost.’

  She and Edgar dashed after it, scooting out of the bathroom in time to see the edge of the cloak disappear around a corner. Behind them, overhead lights flicked on as teachers hurried into the dorm, summoned by the raised voices and screams.

  Edgar hurried beside Angeline. As they rounded the corner they saw a closing door come to rest – someone had just snuck inside.

  Edgar came to a stop. ‘Interesting.’

  ‘Yes,’ Angeline agreed. ‘You don’t often meet ghosts who need to open doors.’

  She carefully leant her hand against the wooden panel and pushed it open. Edgar switched on the light and they found themselves in a room brimming with furniture draped in dust-covered sheets. On the floor was a discarded grey blanket and in the centre of the room, in a throne-like chair, legs crossed, arms outstretched, was Travis.

  ‘Did you enjoy the show?’

  ‘I should have known it was you,’ Angeline said. ‘We thought you were asleep.’

  ‘I filled my bed with a few blankets cleverly and handsomely shaped as me.’

  ‘You’ve terrified a group of kids who don’t deserve your juvenile behaviour.’ Edgar glared at him.

  Travis shrugged. ‘They’ll get over it.’

  ‘No wonder people find it hard to trust you,’ Angeline said.

  ‘I’m not so concerned with that.’ Travis smiled gleefully. ‘What I am concerned with is that I was right.’

  ‘Right about what?’

  ‘You are part of that Ghost Club.’

  Angeline tried to brush off the comment. ‘You told me you were sorry for scaring everyone earlier.’

  ‘And your brother told me you had nothing to do with that ad in the paper.’

  ‘I said we didn’t have a problem with ghosts,’ Edgar replied.

  ‘You can try to talk your way out of this,’ Travis waved a finger in the air, ‘but while everyone else was running screaming from the ghost in the bathroom, I saw your faces in the mirror – you weren’t scared at all.’

  ‘We weren’t scared,’ Edgar pointed out, ‘because we know the Bloody Mary story isn’t real.’

  ‘How can you be so sure? The others seemed to believe once they saw me.’

  ‘Some people are scared of spiders or snakes,’ Angeline said defensively. ‘And some people are scared of ghosts. We’re not.’

  ‘No, no, no,’ Travis corrected her. ‘Most people are scared of ghosts.’

  They heard approaching footsteps in the hallway. Travis jumped to his feet as Mr Marksman burst into the room like he was ready for combat. ‘Is everyone okay?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Edgar answered.

  Mr Marksman searched the room, holding his torch like a weapon, his eyes alight and muscles flexed. ‘Did anyone see anything?’

  ‘Nothing, sir,’ Travis answered innocently. ‘We were searching for what could have spooked the others.’

  ‘Brave lad.’ Mr Marksman nodded. ‘I’ll take over from here. All students are to assemble in the sleeping quarters for a headcount.’

  ‘Sleeping quarters, sir?’ Angeline asked.

  ‘It’s military language for dorm room,’ Edgar explained.

  As they entered the corridor, the sound of crying lifted a creeping smile in Travis’s lips.

  ‘You’re very pleased with yourself, aren’t you?’ Edgar scowled.

  Travis’s grin grew even wider. ‘Very.’

  Inside the dorm, they saw kids huddled on beds, draped in blankets and talking in anxious bursts, while Ms Gently frantically tried to mark the roll. The other teachers were leaning over the more distressed students. At the front, looking decidedly distressed herself, was Principal Primm, confused at how such a successful night could have led to so much chaos, and now tears.

  ‘Um . . . children?’ The noise lowered only a little. ‘Children.’ Her nightgown was tied in a rough bow around her waist, her eye mask sat around her neck, and her bed-hair frizzed on one side of her head. She found it difficult to get anyone’s attention until she shouted, ‘Children!’

  The room fell into silence, apart from a few breathy sobs. ‘Yes, well . . . I’m sorry that there has been a little . . . glitch to this evening’s sleepover, but I assure you there is absolutely no such thing as ghosts.’

  A chorus of voices rose in protest. ‘But, Miss, we –’

  ‘I said –’ her patience was running out fast, and no principal’s manual she’d ever read told her how to deal with incidents involving ghosts – ‘I am sorry that some of you are convinced that something other-worldly is going on, but I am afraid it is nothing more than the overactive minds of an overimaginative few.’ She directed a look towards Lila, Ravi, Charlie and Ebony. ‘I’m sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for what you thought you saw.’

  Angeline and Edgar shot Travis a pointed look. Angeline mouthed the words, ‘Tell them.’

  ‘In fact,’ Principal Primm managed to regain a little more composure, ‘I am certain that –’

  ‘Excuse me, Miss Primm?’

  She stopped to see where the voice had come from. ‘Yes, Travis.’

  ‘I think I know what happened.’

  ‘You do?’

  ‘The ghost they thought they saw may have been me.’

  ‘You, Travis?’

  ‘A little after lights out, I needed to use the bathroom. I was there when Lila and her friends came in. They seemed to be playing some kind of game that involved someone called Bloody Mary. When I left the toilet stall they must have thought I was a ghost.’

  ‘Why were you in there in the dark?’ Ebony asked.

  ‘I didn’t want to wake anyone up by turning on the light.’

  Lila wasn’t convinced by his sudden considerate attitude. ‘So why did you have something draped over the top of you?’

  ‘It was cold, so I had a blanket over my shoulders.’

  When Travis acted innocent, he had a way of making other people feel like they had misunderstood what they’d seen with their own eyes.

  ‘Ah,’ relief flooded into every ounce of Principal Primm. ‘You see, children? A rational explanation. Thank you, Travis, for clearing this all up.’

  ‘You’re very welcome, Principal Primm. I’m glad I could help out.’

  Ebony’s face burnt bright red and Lila crossed her arms tightly against her chest.

  Travis lowered his head and his apologetic eyes gazed out from beneath his fringe. ‘I’m sorry I frightened you.’

  ‘There’s no need to apologise, Travis,’ Principal Primm jumped in. ‘From what I have just heard, it’s not you who should be doing the apologising.’ She glared at Lila and her friends who all mumbled a quiet ‘sorry’. ‘Now.’ The principal resumed a more confident stance. ‘There is nothing to worry about apart from a lack of sleep and waking up grumpy when your parents collect you tomorrow morning. So, into your own beds and –’

  Principal Primm was interrupted by the lights flickering on and off.

  ‘Oh dear,’ sh
e complained. ‘That’s all we need, a problem with the –’

  The door to the dorm opened with a slow, swishing hiss before it slammed shut.

  ‘Travis,’ Angeline warned in a whisper, ‘we’ve had enough of your games.’

  Travis stared at the door, looking confused.

  ‘Travis, I’m serious.’

  ‘It wasn’t me.’

  ‘What is it?’ Ravi asked. ‘What’s going on?’

  More whimpers rose from the children.

  ‘Shhhhh,’ Ebony scanned the room. ‘I can hear something.’

  Apart from a few sniffles, the room fell silent. Rising from a far corner, they could hear someone crying. They looked around and knew it wasn’t coming from any of them.

  ‘Now children.’ Principal Primm had exhausted her last reserves of patience. ‘This will stop immediately! There is nothing to be frightened of, so I demand that you –’

  The crying grew louder.

  ‘What is it? What’s happening?’ Ravi asked.

  ‘Maybe it’s Robert Thompson,’ Charlie cried out.

  ‘Or one of the murdered soldiers.’ Ravi pulled his blanket tightly around his shoulders. ‘Come back to haunt us.’

  ‘Murdered soldiers?’ Principal Primm blustered. ‘Where did you get a story like that?’

  ‘My grandpa told me,’ Lila said. ‘Robert Thompson was a soldier who –’

  ‘Okay, that is enough! Everyone to their beds immediately.’ The principal stared daggers at the four culprits. ‘And I will deal with you tomorrow when I see each of your parents. I’m sure they won’t be happy at all when –’

  An open window suddenly slipped down its frame and slammed shut. The glass smashed on impact and the sad sobbing grew louder.

  Ravi took a deep breath, his voice gripped with fear, ‘It’s a ghost. It has to be.’

  Children scrambled from their beds, screaming and hugging each other. Despite the calls of Principal Primm, the pleas of Ms Gently and the orders of Mr Marksman to ‘stand firm troops’, nothing would calm them down.