The Secrets of Finchrock Manor

Chapter One

'Rose!' Cassandra called. 'Hurry up, we're going!'

'Yep, one sec!' Rose opened her cupboard, and pulled out a bunch of clothes, not bothering to check which ones she got. Then she ran to the bathroom, grabbed a small bag and filled it with all the necessities for a two week holiday, which only included a toothbrush,   toothpaste, shampoo and a hairbrush.

'I'm not waiting any longer for you!' Cassandra yelled.

Rose hurriedly stuffed everything in her suitcase, zipped it up, and brought it downstairs where her mum was waiting.

'You can just leave without me you know,' Rose told her mum, raising her eyebrow hopefully.

'Don't be cheeky Rose,' Cassandra said, rolling her eyes. 'Now are you sure you've got everything?'

'Yes, I'm sure,' Rose lied. The truth was, Rose was sure that she forgot half the things that she was supposed to bring, as she had been putting off packing until the very last minute..

'Ok, hop in the car then,' Cassandra gestured to the car, and Rose reluctantly trudged towards it and sat in the back seat, her arms folded.

Cassandra came and sat in the car a moment later. 'Alright, are you ready?'

'For what?' Rose asked grumpily.

'Well, you're going to your grandmother Eliza's old manor again, which you haven't been to since you were a baby,' Cassandra started the car. Aren't you a little bit excited?'

'Not at all,' Rose replied, and pulled out her phone. The car pulled out of their driveway and onto the road.

'Goodbye house,' Cassandra called, looking out of the window and smiling. 'Come on Rose, wave goodbye!'

Rose groaned. 'Oh my gosh Mum, you're so cringy.'

'All right then. What can I say that's not cringy?'

'Nothing,' Rose retorted. 'Please, I'm trying to talk to my friends.' She waved her phone in Cassandra's direction.

'Well you better get used to talking to me because at Finchrock Manor, there isn't any wi-fi.'

'WHAT?!' Rose almost dropped her phone. 'Are you kidding me right now?'

'Do you think Grandma Eliza had wi-fi and smartphones and internet and all of that?'

'All I know is that I do, and I can't survive without it!' Rose protested.

'Well, the answer is no, she didn't. Neither did I for a bit, so I think that you can live without it for two weeks. All that texting and Insta-chatting isn't good for you.' Cassandra shook her head and eyed her daughter in the rear-view mirror.'

'Insta-chatting Mum? Really? God, you are SO behind on technology.' Rose rolled her eyes.

'Maybe I am, but I'm sure you'll love to explore Finchrock Manor.'

'In your dreams,' Rose muttered.

'I heard that,' Cassandra said warningly. 'I hope you will be well behaved with everyone else.' 

'Everyone else?' Rose exclaimed. 'You mean there will be other PEOPLE at the manor?'

'Yes of course, all of your relatives!' Cassandra chuckled. 'Aunty Dana, Aunty Belinda, Uncle Stuart, Uncle David, your cousins Josh, Henry, Lewis, Ivy, Sophia and—'

'Ok thank you Mum. I-I get it. A lot of other people are there.' Rose dug into her jumper pockets, and pulled out her earphones. Then she stopped. 'Mum,' she said, frowning in

'Mm-hm?' Was Cassandra's response.

'Um, so last time I was at Finchrock Manor, I was a baby, right?'

Cassandra nodded. 'Only ten months old.

'So, why didn't we go back after? Why now, 13 years later?'

Cassandra sighed and looked down. 'Well, last time you were there, we all had a big fight over our inheritance from Grandma. We all stormed out and didn't speak to each other for over a decade. We only made up a few months ago.'

Rose nodded slowly. 'Okay. That's good that you made up, because otherwise, things could get messy.'

Word Count: 723

This was my first book I wrote in middle school.

QOTD: What's your fav animal? Mine's a tiger. Rawr.