Chapter 3
I woke up … without Diamond and Rosy! Where were they? As I remembered last night’s happenings, as I saw the man again, I screamed. I pictured him, standing over us, face in the window. I screamed again. Riel walked over, glaring.
“Shut up! Kindly be quiet when you’re in my wagon!”
I sat up quickly, straining to see. Rosy was sleeping fitfully in the corner of the room, on a mattress. Diamond was about two metres away, staring sadly into space. Her mouth was open. No sound came out. Poor Diamond, screaming silently into empty air.
I felt like I wanted to scream too. I was really scared. I’d never felt like this before. Another man pottered over, but this time an anxious, kindly one with nerdy glasses. He wore a white coat with blue lining and straps and buttons. He carried a big black case.
“Hello, Sapphire. I … I heard you had a problem last night?” he asked, looking at me nervously. I pictured all the happenings, explaining it all in vivid detail.
“A s-s-scary man … with – with a knife … He looked in at the window … he was in the wagon. There was a thunderstorm, and we were all a-a-awake,” I replied, stammering and stuttering like a complete fool.
He nodded, and scribbled something down in his folder. I knew he was a doctor by now.
After a whole lot of boring questions that I couldn’t answer to save my life, he left me alone and walked worriedly away. I lay down, covering my throbbing head with a soft pillow. It felt cold and comforting, and I relaxed a little. Diamond and Rose Quartz were now awake, lying motionlessly or sobbing. As little Diamond started to sob again, I whispered across to her, “Hey, Diamond – don’t worry, little star. You’ll be fine, just wait and see.” I hoped my words would be enough, and Diamond smiled, but in five or ten minutes she was howling under her three pillows, trying hard to muffle her pitiful sounds.
Soon, Rosy was crying. She had obviously had very, very scary nightmares because she went to sleep calmly and woke up sobbing and shaking in a terrible state.
In about an hour, two slim figures slipped through the door. Who was it? My tumbling sisters! Emerald ran across to Diamond’s bed, looking worried. Her pale face was even paler than normal, her lips standing out strangely. Her long, mousy brown hair was unwashed and tangled, just like Gem’s. Gem had a long bob, but it was very thick, and took rather a lot of time and attention when it came to washing it. Gem hated it. But now she didn’t care, rushing straight to little Rosy’s bed and feeling her forehead, listening to her pulse. She acted just like a little doctor, and Topaz laughed at her.
“Honestly, Gem, you don’t half look stupid!” she remarked, raising her neat eyebrows. Her hair flew out in a wavy ginger halo, making her look oddly angelic.
“Hey – where’s Marble?” I asked after a while, peering nervously at the door. “I don’t see her.”
“Oh, Marble’s just slipped off to town for a bit. I’m sure she will be back soon. You know what she’s like.” Emerald practically spat the words out.
I was puzzled by this latest remark, as Emerald was timid and easy-going, not usually speaking badly of others. Her eyes looked red and sore, and she ducked her head awkwardly. I wondered if they had fallen out, although it was an unspoken rule that we always stuck together and never fought each other, even if it was only fooling.
My questions were answered as Topaz whispered, “They had an argument. Marble had said something to Gem about Emerald, and they both burst out laughing. They kept on looking at her and giggling for absolutely ages. Emerald exploded with anger, and hit Marble on the face. It was an accident, although neither of the two believed her and ran away. Emerald shouted after her, ‘Come back, you stupid silly cowards’, but they took no notice. Now they’re not speaking.” She glanced at Gem, who had her back turned to Emerald, who kept glaring and muttering under her breath.
“Girls, come on, it’s lunch time! All of you, hurry up. Sapphire, Diamond and Rose Quartz, come and look at this,” Riel beckoned us over, stabbing at a faded newspaper. “Look! This guy, William Meads, has been prosecuted for scaring a group of girls at a Brownie camp. One fainted in fear, and his record isn’t good. So far, he’s been in prison for stealing money from Lady Bounty and Lord Galley, who lost over £10,000 each. He served ten years.” We stared, open-mouthed at the grey picture. It was the man with the knife!
Sapphire Page 3
