Olivia nods, but she has an odd feeling about the new girl and she isn’t sure why.
“Tannith’s not from around here, she moved over from England,” Kellyanne explains. “Ms Hellings asked me if I could help her settle in.”
Olivia wonders if Kellyanne is trying to explain why Tannith had been sitting in her seat today.
“What’s it like in England?” Olivia asks, making an effort to be friendly.
“Mostly dark and cold,” Tannith says without much enthusiasm.
“There’s Lollie and Darcy.” Kellyanne points and bounces up, running across the quadrangle to meet them.
Tannith’s upper lip curls, just the tiniest bit. “Let me see your scar.” Her voice is low but it’s a demand, not a request.
Olivia pulls her hair further across her face to hide the horrible scar.
Tannith giggles and gets up to join the other girls.
Lollie skips toward Olivia. “We’re going to play chasings with Tannith on the oval. Come on. You can be it.”
Olivia looks at her stiff, injured knee and squeezes her eyes shut to stop her tears from falling. All of her friends have seen her limping in the corridor and on the way to class. They must know she can’t run.
“Well, are you coming?” Tannith asks. “I told the girls we should include you in our game.”
Olivia doesn’t respond. She is too angry.
“Well if you don’t want to.” Tannith grabs Kellyanne by the arm and turns her away, toward the oval. She whispers something in Kellyanne’s ear.
Kellyanne looks back over her shoulder and shrugs. She follows Tannith and the others across the quadrangle.
Olivia watches them go. When she turns back she sees Brother Westerman hurrying across the quadrangle towards her. His boots scuff on the concrete as he walks.
“Great,” Olivia moans. “This is all I need.” She isn’t in any state to deal with the old priest today. She feels like curling up in a ball and crying.
Brother Westerman glances back and forth around the area. He stops, turns and sniffs at the air. He looks confused. There are dark circles under his eyes like he hasn’t slept for days.
“I warned them,” he mutters to himself. He sniffs at the air again and walks right up to Olivia without even noticing her. He is standing beside Olivia, staring out at the grass. “It has to be something powerful to breach the wards and come onto the grounds.”
Olivia knows he isn’t talking to her. He isn’t snarling and calling her names.
“They never should have taken them down.” He turns back toward the main building and shakes his fist. “All this trouble, the blood and deaths are on your hands,” he yells.
Several children look over and quickly turn away. Seeing Brother Westerman ranting is a common thing at St. Giles.
He is standing so close to Olivia now, the folds of his coat brush against her arm. He pats his pocket as though he’s checking for something. He reaches inside and Olivia hears keys rattle. She freezes as he looks down at her.
His eyes widen in recognition and his lip curls up to show yellow teeth. Then his face softens and he reaches down to pat her on the shoulder.
Without a word, he stalks off, back toward the West Tower.
That was just weird. Olivia has seen Brother Westerman do all kinds of strange things over the years. He is unreasonable and rigid in his dislike of girls at the school. He often walks around muttering to himself or shouts up at his precious gargoyles. Once when she was in infant’s school, he had gotten into a tongue poking competition with her. She’d started it but he’d won because she was so shocked he poked his tongue out at her. His face had stayed stern on that day but Olivia thought his eyes crinkled into a smile, just for a second.
Today’s antics are just strange. Olivia thinks he might be finally losing it.
Chapter 17
The Door at the Bottom of the Stairs
Kooky old man.
Yip’s patience is finally rewarded when the voice sounds in his head again. He wasn’t imagining it earlier, though he was beginning to think he had. He has to be careful now. He didn’t want to scare the voice’s owner away.
Hello, he thinks tentatively.
Not again, comes the reply.
Please, you need to help me, Yip projects his thoughts at the voice.
No, no, no! I’m not listening to you. You don’t exist.
I do so! Yip snaps. What a silly thing for the voice to say. Of course he exists.
No you don’t, I’m going mad, the voice snaps back.
That is beside the point, Yip explains. You still need to help me.
Don’t.
Do.
I’m not listening.
Obviously you are listening because you are answering me, Yip scolds. I don’t know about mad but you’re obviously not very bright.
Olivia gasps out loud.
If Yip could shake his head in disgust, he would. The one person in this place who can actually help me turns out to be an idiot.
I am not an idiot.
I thought you weren’t listening?
I’m not.
Definitely an idiot, Yip states.
That’s it. I’m definitely not listening now. The voice sounds angry.
Are you going to help me?
No.
It’s important.
I don’t care.
People could die.
There is no reply.
People will die if you don’t help me.
There is still no answer.
I’m the only one who can stop it, Yip says, but he isn’t sure if he can. The Trixies had beaten Cygnet and he was the strongest of all the Guardians. And goodness knows what else has come across since the Guardians have been locked away.
What can he do?
People have died, the voice says. It sounds very small in his mind.
Yip’s heart sinks. He is responsible for them too.
How many? Yip asks.
Lots.
You have to help me, Yip pleads. It’s my fault. I have to try and make it right.
I can’t, I can’t do anything anymore.
Yip can hear anguish in the voice.
I’m locked in a room somewhere in the school, Yip said. You have to find me and get me out.
Weren’t you listening? I can’t. There is anger in the voice now.
I’ll go mad locked up here.
Join the club.
More people will die.
I don’t care.
Yes you do. Yip knows he is right with that statement.
Leave. Me. Alone.
I can’t. There is a hint of apology in Yip’s tone but he has to convince the voice to help. What’s your name?
There is a long pause.
Olivia, Olivia Stone.
Hi Olivia, I’m Yip. Please help me.
I can’t.
Yip is getting annoyed now. Selfish little brat. If you don’t help me I’ll annoy you until you do.
~~~
Olivia had reached the door to the classroom when the angry voice started chattering relentlessly in her head. A long, endless torrent of words was numbing her mind. She can’t go into class like this. Ms Hellings is already mad at her and Yip’s voice is a hundred times worse than it was this morning.
Suddenly the voice stops and the silence hits her like a wave. She takes a deep, relieved breath.
He’s given up, she thinks.
I haven’t, Yip replies. I just had a brilliant idea. I was just thinking about the most annoying thing I have ever heard in my life.
“And…?” Olivia asks.
Yip starts to sing…
This is the song that never ends…
On the third cycle of the song Olivia put her hands over her ears and starts banging her head against the wall.
“OK! OK, I’ll help!” Olivia shouts—out loud.
A group of kindergarten boys give her an odd look as they edge past keeping their backs as close to the far wall
of the corridor as they can.
About time, Yip says. First you have to find which room I’m in.
“Can you give me any hints?” Olivia asks.
It’s dark, so I don’t think there are any windows. There were stairs but I don’t think there were enough to be in one of the towers.
The bell has gone for class, but Olivia hasn’t gone in. She makes her way back to the toilet to think.
Any idea? the voice asks.
Yip’s voice isn’t as loud now she is in here.
Are you whispering? she asks.
No, what a ridiculous question, he accuses.
Do you want my help or not? Olivia snaps. You are quieter here and I could hardly hear you at all in the principal’s office.
Where are you now? The voice asks.
I’m in the girl’s bathroom on the ground floor of the main building, she says.
And where could you hear me the loudest?
In my classroom, 7H. Olivia thinks about the layout of the main building. Her classroom is in the south-east corner of the main building, right beside the stairs going down…
The basement storeroom! They say at the same time.
~~~
Olivia walks toward her classroom but glances about when she nears the stairway. The corridor is empty.
She ducks down the stairs. At the first landing, Olivia remembers how creepy the stairway had made her feel earlier. She hesitates but continues down.
The door to the storeroom is tall and solid with flaking green paint near the doorknob. She reaches out and twists it but it only rattles.
I can hear you, Yip says. Quick, hurry.
It’s locked. Olivia rattles it again for emphasis.
Well-go-and-get-the-key! He projects each word very slowly.
How should I know where the key is? Olivia demands.
You could try the key cupboard in the office…with all the other keys. The voice sounds flustered. It’s like trying to explain rocket science to a baboon!
I heard that.
Of course you did. You’re stupid, not deaf.
Olivia clenches her hands into tight fists, well her right fist at least. The left one shoots shards of pain into her wrist but doesn’t move. The pain brings her back to the task. I’ll have to find a way to sneak in to get the key.
Excellent.
I’ll be back, Olivia thinks in her best Schwarzenegger voice.
Why are you talking funny?
”Don’t worry about it.”
The voice in her head finally quietens as she goes in search of the key.
Chapter 18
The Key
Olivia sorts through the ideas as they pop into her head. None so far have been very practical.
‘May I borrow the key to the basement storeroom? I’ll bring it straight back.’ The idea is simple but it will never work.
Breaking into the school after dark and hanging upside down by a rope through the skylight, like in the Mission Impossible movies is not going to work either. For one thing, her injured arm and leg aren’t up to the task. And there is no way Mum and Dad are going to let her out after dark. Anyway, the office being on the ground floor of a three-storey building didn’t have a sky light to hang from.
Setting off the fire alarm and hiding until everyone is outside before sneaking into the office to borrow the key could work. Although, the trouble she’d be in if she got caught would be unimaginable—she would probably get expelled.
Olivia is running out of options as she approaches the office. Then she sees it.
The sick bay.
The sick bay door is right across the corridor from the office. From in there, Olivia can watch and wait. The office ladies have to eat, or go to the toilet or the photocopy room.
All she needs is one minute with both of them gone.
The key cupboard is a metal box the size of a briefcase attached to the back wall. There is a clipboard hanging from a screw next to it with a sign out list. As Olivia stands at the window in the foyer, she can see that the key cupboard isn’t locked. Its door is slightly ajar.
This could actually work, Olivia thinks.
“What can I do for you, dear?” Mrs Paulson asks, coming up to the window. She is thin as a stick with dark-brown hair pulled tightly back from her face.
“I’m not feeling very well.” Olivia looks at the bench. She doesn’t like lying. But come to think about it, she doesn’t feel all that well. So technically it isn’t really a lie. “I think Mum and Dad made me come back to school too early.”
Mrs Paulson looks at Olivia’s bandaged arm and leg. The dressing over the stiches in her temple and ear is hidden by her hair.
The bandages must have been impressive enough.
“How about I give your parents a call and they can come and pick you up?” she asks.
Great, thinks Olivia, groaning inwardly. Calling Mum and Dad is the last thing she wants. “I’ll probably be all right in a little while. If I could just have a lay down for bit, I’m sure I’ll feel better.”
Mrs Paulson looks dubious. “I don’t think we should take any chances. Maybe I should give them a ring.”
Olivia tries to think fast. It isn’t working.
Mrs Paulson walks over to the phone and picks up the receiver. She starts flipping through the contact numbers.
“But they won’t be home yet,” Olivia blurts out. “They had to go out today…”
Mrs Paulson looks up from the cards.
“…and they won’t be back ‘til after lunch.”
“I should still try,” she says.
“Honest, Mrs Paulson. I’ll be fine in a little while. I just think I over did it at recess.” Olivia can see the hesitation on Mrs Paulson’s face. “And I’ve already missed enough school work. I don’t want to get too far behind the others.”
“OK.” Mrs Paulson relents. “But, if you are not feeling better by lunch, I will be calling them.”
Mrs Paulson leads Olivia into the sick bay. As the door swings shut, Olivia sees Ms Whittemore sitting at a desk, working on a computer.
It’s 12:05pm according to the clock on the wall. The lunch bell goes at 1:00pm so she has fifty five minutes to get the key. It will take Mum at least twenty minutes to come and collect her if the office ladies call.
Olivia watches the office door from the sick bay bed. Now all she has to do is wait. The clock on the wall ticks loudly, counting down.
At 12:17pm Mrs Paulson hurries out, carrying a sheet from the message book.
“Come on,” Olivia whispers. But Ms Whittemore doesn’t budge.
The office telephones are running hot and Mrs Paulson ducks out three more times in the next ten minutes with messages. No wonder she is so skinny. She is up and down like a yoyo. Still, Ms Whittemore refuses to budge.
As the clock ticks around to 12:35pm Olivia expects Mrs Paulson to come in to check on her. Every time she steps out of the door, Olivia holds her breath and doesn’t let it out until Mrs Paulson hurries past.
If she stays very quiet, maybe Mrs Paulson will forget all about her altogether.
At 12:45pm, Ms Whittemore stretches in her seat and stands up, massaging the small of her back.
“Janette, I’m just going to duck up to the staff room for lunch,” she says. “Will you be right here for fifteen minutes?”
“I’ll be fine,” Mrs Paulson replies. She tries to sound cheerful but her voice is flustered.
“You can take your break as soon as I get back.” Ms Whittemore waddles up the corridor toward the staff room.
Ten minutes. That’s all the time Olivia has. Once the lunch bell rings she will have no chance. The place will be full of teachers and kids coming and going to pick up their medication or get icepacks or Band Aids for skinned knees.
Olivia can see Mrs Paulson through the glass panel in the office door. She is standing, shuffling uncomfortably from foot to foot.
“Please, need to go to the toilet,” Olivia whispers.
Sud
denly, Mrs Paulson pulls the door open and hurries up the corridor toward the staff bathroom.
Yes! Olivia gives a silent cheer. She gets off the bed and creeps to the sick bay door, peeking out into the corridor. As Mrs Paulson reaches for the toilet door, Olivia prepares to dash across into the office.
Brrriiinng, brrriiinng…
The telephone rings.
Mrs Paulson spins back and Olivia only just manages to duck back without being seen.
Olivia wants to say words her mum would definitely not approve of.
“Hurry up,” she whispers, her feet bouncing up and down nervously. “How long can you talk for?” She can never think of stuff to say on the phone and can’t understand how people can chatter away for hours on end.
Finally, Olivia hears the receiver being placed back on the carriage. She looks up at the clock. Ms Whittemore is due back any second and the lunch bell is about to ring. She clenches her fist and her leg jitters intensify.
Matthew Huppert is the bell monitor and although he had been known to ring the bell at end of lunch five minutes late, he has never, ever missed the bell for the start of lunch. He is very conscientious when it came to lunch and recess.
One minute.
Mrs Paulson can’t hold it any longer. She flies out of the office and disappears up the corridor.
Olivia can’t wait any longer either. It’s now or never. She darts across the corridor while Mrs Paulson walks to the toilets. Olivia hopes she doesn’t glance back over her shoulder.
The door to the office makes a little squeal as Olivia slips inside. She nearly knocks a tall stack of papers off the desk in her rush to get to the key cupboard.
Calm down, Olivia! she chides herself. She takes a deep breath and edges around another pile of files.
Olivia pulls the key cupboard door open. The hinges squeak, almost stopping her heart. She glances over her shoulder then scans the rows of keys.
Yes! she thinks. All the key hooks have neat, clear labels. ‘A Block Front Door’, ‘A Block Rear Door’, ‘Sports Storeroom’, ‘Music room’, ‘AV Room’, ‘Science Room’ and ‘Library’. And all of the classrooms have their own key.
Olivia’s heart sinks. There, right in the middle of the third row, is one empty peg. The ‘Basement Storeroom’ label stands out stark and white against the grey metal of the box.
Olivia Stone and the Trouble with Trixies Page 6
