The Circle

The Circle - Chapter Thirteen

Thirteen: 

The three friends spent the rest of the afternoon trying to track down Ally and Ammie De Souza but they were nowhere to be seen. April was certain that once they found one, they would find the other. The twins were never apart. It was strange enough that the twins told Claudia about the cash prize, but now they were missing and that was even more worrying. Why would the twins pass on a rumour when surely they knew it wasn't true? Being best friends with Loretta would have guaranteed that and she even announced the fact over the microphone.

Although April's mind was overly occupied with endless questions, she couldn't help but think about her dream the night before. Caleb hadn't mentioned anything about being captured by The Pergatorio and it became apparent that there were a lot of things she didn't know about him. As far as April was concerned, he was a total stranger but for some reason, she felt closer to him than was normal. Looking at her watch, she realised that the bell was due to ring for the end of school and there was no way they were going to find the twins in that space of time. She was beginning to give up.

"You'd think that finding two people would be easier than finding one," Alex chatted as they walked through the main building and toward the school gates. "They're like chameleons."

"Well as soon as we do, I'll be giving them a piece of my mind," Jinx added as she lit a cigarette. "There's something weird going on there or my name isn't Jinx Garcia." She puffed out a huge cloud of smoke as if to make a point.

"I agree. There's something very 'Midsomer Murders' going on here," April added as they left the school gates and wandered toward Hilltop Green's only decent coffee shop, The Bean Grinder.

"On a lighter note, are we still going to Mad-Hatters tonight?" Jinx changed the subject. Sure she wanted to find out who had trapped her friends Halloween night but she was beginning to forget what it felt like to lead a normal life. With everything that had been happening to April, Jinx needed a night off and she was determined to make it a good one. "I could do with getting out of the caravan and away from this crazy life we seem to be leading, it's getting weirder by the second."

Mad-Hatters was Jinx's favourite nightclub and was situated on the South side of Hilltop Green. It was a great place to go when you just wanted a night out, plus all the local bands played there. It had good music, a bar and the chance to dance and chat to people. All in all, it was good enough for her and most of the Hilltop Green Sixth Form populated it. Unfortunately though, so did Loretta Antonio.

"Yeah definitely," Alex replied, excited at the prospect of getting out of the house. "You girls' best watch out, I'm getting my secret weapon out tonight and that can only mean one thing. Dance moves."

The group finally reached The Bean Grinder and as usual Polly-Sue Lorenzo, an eccentric old lady who had owned the shop for years, was working hard behind the counter. Although Polly-Sue was in her mid-sixties, she dressed as if she was twenty and a tacky twenty at that. If a stranger walked into The Bean Grinder, they were definitely in for a shock but luckily the group were used to Polly-Sue by now. Her bright white hair was piled on top of her head and pinned with a huge fuchsia bow and she wore tonnes of make-up although it didn't suit her. Her lipstick was consistently as bright as her clothing and today it was bright pink to match her bow, leopard skin vest and jeans.

"Hey kids!" She greeted the group with a wide smile as soon as she heard the bell ring above the door, displaying a set of yellowing teeth. "I've not seen you kids around in weeks, where've you been? Don't tell me you've been studying, it’s the last thing you want to be doing. Good old hard work, that's what you kids need. A taste of the real world not all that education crap. In my day you were sent away to work before you were sixteen and that was all that mattered. Good hard-earned cash, that's what."