Six Read Free Page B

shoved out one hand and Poppy laughed. ‘I usually just need a piece of clothing…but this will do,’ she said.
    I closed my eyes and let the sound wash over me. I’d heard Poppy’s readings before and they were all pretty predictable. Poppy talked about fame and bright lights and money.
    ‘What about love?’ demanded Virginia.
    My ears pricked up and I listened intently as Poppy described someone tall and handsome, an athlete, someone who sounded very much like Finn.
    ‘There’s something else,’ she muttered. ‘I can’t quite read it… no. No that’s it. That’s all I can see,’ she said abruptly.
    It finally got so hot that we had to go inside to the air conditioning. We watched a movie, in the theatre room of course, then Mum rang my mobile to see if Virginia was coming for dinner. While I was on the phone, Mrs Sloan came in and fussed around, wondering if we’d had a good day and asking if Poppy and I were staying for dinner.
    ‘Actually, we’re going to Sarah’s for dinner,’ said Virginia rudely.
    She seemed annoyed with her mother, though Mrs Sloan seemed so nice. Maybe it was the fussing that Virginia hated.
    ‘Well, I’ll just have a quick shower to freshen up, then I’ll give you girls a lift,’ said Mrs Sloan.
    ‘Don’t bother,’ said Virginia. ‘We’re leaving now. I’ll ring when I need a lift home.’
    We grabbed our bags and Virginia hustled us outside, although I wasn’t sure what the urgency was. By now it was late afternoon. The atmosphere was so heavy that I could nearly see each separate water droplet suspended in the air, just waiting for the sweet release of a drop in temperature.
    ‘Sorry about that,’ said Virginia. ‘I just…she just…’
    As far as I could see, Mrs Sloan had been perfectly okay, but I did understand about mothers. Somehow they could push your buttons without anyone else noticing, so I just gave Virginia an understanding smile.
    ‘Let’s walk,’ said Virginia. ‘We can take a shortcut through Batesford Park.’
    Later on I would try to follow the trail of events that led us to the car accident and always I ended up here, at this moment. I wasn’t sure who was to blame for the decision to cut through Batesford Park. Poppy agreed to it. But I could have said no.
    In the end, blame was a waste of energy; a sickening bunjee-jump of emotions that always left me dangling with nowhere to go.
    We cut through Batesford Park that day.
    We went into The Woods.
    And we became part of a secret that would end in disaster.

3
SARAH
    Within an
    unfrequented wood
    where babes
    did quake for fear!

    THE TREK FROM Virginia’s house to Batesford Park felt like it might go on forever. I offered to ring my mother for a lift, but Virginia insisted that she needed the exercise, so we stuck close to the edge of the footpath, keeping to the shade of overhanging trees and once, for a few minutes, in a bus stop shelter that was missing one of its glass sides. Virginia stuck an earbud in one ear for her music, keeping the other ear free for conversation, and strode out in front of us in a power walk. Every now and then she’d remove her mobile from her bag, type a message, then stow it back in her bag.
    ‘I think I might die,’ moaned Poppy, who was prone to being dramatic.
    ‘I can’t die yet,’ said Virginia as she executed a perfect arabesque, then continued walking. ‘I have too much to do.’
    ‘How can you have so much energy?’ complained Poppy.
    ‘Keep walking,’ I said to Poppy, at times pushing, sometimes pulling her, towards our destination.
    ‘At least it will be cool in Batesford Park,’ she mumbled.
    My feet were getting hotter by the minute, and my thongs sometimes stuck to the path and tripped me up. I struggled to keep the idea of the cool pool back at Virginia’s house, but Poppy’s moaning made it hard to concentrate on anything except being uncomfortable. At one point she started complaining about a stomach ache and stopped to lean over