The Riddles of Epsilon Read Free

I’m on this island? Is V on Lume, too?
    Gotta go—Mom’s calling me, lunch is ready. Smells like leftover spaghetti bolognese from last night. Great. More later.

Chapter Five
    MY DIARY—NEXT DAY
    This is getting weirder! Maybe I am going crazy? But hang on, let me start at the beginning.
    First off, last night I was grounded. Again. What a rotten day yesterday was! I am so sick of Mom. Her and her baseboards. She made me do two really long ones, to make up for not helping the day before! Witch.
    Dad was still angry—even when his precious chickens arrived. Big deal. Lots of flapping and squawking, I thought at least a hundred chickens had come, but no—there were only two! Noisy little things. Rhode Island Reds, apparently. Still, they are funny. Kinda cute. Dad put them in the new run—not dug in the right way at all, since I’d stolen the shovel. Which is why he isn’t really speaking to me. He has this horrible habit of talking to anything nearby, instead of to me, when he’s angry. Last night it was the chickens.
    â€œSo, what are you fine auburn ladies called then, eh?”
    I nearly threw up on the spot, but the chickens just scurried about, boc-boc-bock ing.
    â€œPardon? What did you say? Your names are Boc and Boc-Boc? Splendid, splendid! I’m sure Jess will come to like you, once she stops sulking. As it is, she can just stop glaring at me and go and make me a nice cup of tea. Can’t she, Boc-Boc? And she can do it without that scowl. You’ll never lay any eggs at this rate, poor things!”
    My dad. He is sooooooo embarrassing.
    And so it went on, all evening. Supper was horrible, really strained. Mom’s back was bothering her, what with all the painting and sanding. It always makes her bad tempered. Dad kept jumping up from the table to dash to the back door and snap the sunset (which, I have to admit, does look good against the sea).
    Each time he got up, Mom tutted, ever so slightly.
    She kept asking me did I like it here, and what did I like, and what did I think of all the old stuff left in the house, and did I want any of it for my room? “For your penthouse suite.” She smirked. On and on and on, questions, questions. Didn’t I like the patio and gazebo at the back? Didn’t I even like the natural swimming pool? Acres and acres of ancient land, didn’t I like anything at all , for crying out loud?!
    In the end, she just sat still and stared. Dad rushed back, cameras swinging, knocking the saltshaker over. I went on shoveling in rice pudding, knowing it was coming. Sure enough, here it came: Mom’s formal voice.
    â€œJessica. If you are completely determined to dislike it here, that is quite all right by me. But I refuse to communicate with my daughter in the sulky language of shrugs. If you cannot utter words like a normal human being, then take your silence up to your room and sulk alone. Do not inflict it on me.”
    Same old thing. Her Head Teacher head on again.
    Not to be outdone, Dad picked up his precious Canon EOS-1n and spoke into it.
    â€œShutters down again, eh? All systems closed? Ah well. Bed, I think is the best place for her—don’t you, Elizabeth? We’ll all try again tomorrow.”
    So that’s how I came to be in bed, stupidly early, watching the sun go down.
    And so I saw the message. I don’t know what else to call it. I wonder what Avril will make of it? Whatever she thinks, I know what I think. I think this whole place is creepy. And now I can’t ignore the fact that something very, very strange is going on.
    THERE ARE TWO MEMBERS IN THE CHAT ROOM:
    A VRIL AND J ESS
    AVRIL: So what happened then? You said something weird happened! TELL!!!
    JESS: Well—I lay on my bed. The walls are slanted—you know, they’re attic walls?
    AVRIL: Well, yeah. They would be attic walls. Being in an attic. Duh!
    JESS: Shut up or I won’t tell you.
    AVRIL: Okay. Get on with it