Room 13 by Robert Swindells Read Free Book Online Page B

do we? If we fetch Mr Hepworth we could land her in serious trouble.’
    Lisa gazed at her friend. ‘Ellie-May’s always getting other kids in trouble,’ she said. ‘I don’t think we should worry too much about that.’
    Gary nodded. ‘I’m with Lisa,’ he said.
    ‘Me too,’ growled Trot. ‘There’s something weird going on here, Fliss. We can’t keep it to ourselves. Not when Ellie-May might be in danger.’
    Fliss nodded. ‘OK. I wasn’t suggesting we keep it to ourselves indefinitely – just till morning. I’ll have a word with Ellie-May before breakfast. Tell her we saw her. Ask her what she was doing. Then, if she doesn’t come up with a satisfactory explanation we bring in the teachers. How’s that?’
    Gary shrugged. ‘Sounds fair enough to me. Give her a chance to explain.’
    ‘All right,’ said Lisa.
    ‘OK,’ sighed Trot. ‘I’m too shattered to argue anyway.’
    They left the bathroom and tiptoed away to their beds, but dawn was breaking over the sea before any one of them slept.

‘FLISS – HEY, FLISS!’ Somebody was shaking her roughly. She opened her eyes to find Marie grinning down at her. ‘Come on, lazybones – you’re going to be late for breakfast and it’s the abbey today.’
    ‘Mmm.’ She pulled up the covers and turned her head away. ‘Leave me here,’ she mumbled. ‘I just want to sleep for ever.’
    ‘You’ll write apologies for ever if you make us late. Everybody else has finished in the bathroom and some have gone downstairs.’
    Bathroom. Last night. Something she said she’d do. ‘Oh, crikey!’ She threw back the covers, leapt out of bed and grabbed her towel. ‘Listen, Marie – will you do me a favour?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Make my bed while I get washed? I’m supposed to see Ellie-May. I wanted to catch her before she went downstairs. Please?’
    ‘OK.’ Marie smiled. ‘Just this once. Go on.’
    Fliss ran across the landing, forgetting in her haste to check the linen cupboard door. She washed rapidly, splashing a lot of water about. It doesn’t seem two minutes since I was in here before, she thought.
    When she returned to room ten her bed was neatly made and Marie had gone. She pulled on some clothes, dragged a comb through her hair and headed for the stairs. Five past eight. Breakfast was at eight o’clock. Ellie-May would be in the dining-room by now, with no empty place at her table, and Lisa and the boys would be cursing her for being last again.
    The third-floor landing was deserted, which meant that Trot and Gary had gone down. The next floor was Ellie-May’s. Fliss ran down the stairs and nearly bumped into Mrs Evans and Mr Hepworth, who were talking in the doorway of room four. She slowed down and tried to creep past, but Mrs Evans said, ‘Stop, Felicity Morgan. Come here.’
    ‘Yes, Miss?’
    ‘Yes, Miss? I’ll give you “yes, Miss”. What time do you call this?’
    ‘Five past eight, Miss.’
    ‘Nearly six minutes past, actually. And what time’s breakfast?’
    ‘Eight o’clock, Miss.’
    ‘Exactly. So you’re six minutes late. And you were running. Why were you running, Felicity?’
    ‘’Cause I’m six minutes late, Miss.’
    ‘Don’t be cheeky! You’ve broken two rules already. Mrs Marriott will be in the dining-room. Tell her Ellie-May’s not well, and that Mr Hepworth and I will be down in a minute. Have you got that?’
    ‘Yes, Miss.’
    ‘Off you go then. And think on – I’ll be watching you, Felicity.’
    She hurried on down. She didn’t run, but her mind was racing. Ellie-May’s not well and there are two teachers outside her room. She’s in bed, then. That means I won’t get to talk to her, so what do we do – keep quiet about last night, or tell the teachers? Tell, I suppose.
    Everybody was eating cornflakes. Trot gave her a dirty look as she walked in. Mrs Marriott was sitting alone at the teachers’ table, chewing watchfully.
    Fliss delivered her message, and was sent down to the kitchen to