Copper Fingers

Chapter 4. Staring into her eye

"Come back here Tommy you forgot your bottle! Natalia Gladys Hindge get off that darn phone! Oh no! Benji, go get Camilla, she's getting into the bin again!" This was the sound of a mother trying to get four kids and a baby out the door. "Freya! Put that down, come to mummy!"

Benji carried a squirming Camilla to the big, brown, ute as Tommy nagged him about how much money he was going to make at the bake sale. Benji fastened the baby in her booster seat, then become the second participant in a one item production line; passing four year old Freya from mum to Tommy who clipped her into her booster.

Nat (ignoring her mother's orders) dawdled into the front seat, laughing at something on her phone screen. Benji clambered into the boot and buckled up as Nat and mum fought over the phone; mum won, looking very satisfied with herself as she slid the phone into her jeans' pocket. "Now is everybody finally ready. Tommy do you have your water?"

"Yes!"

"Benji did you bring money?"

"Yep!"

"Nat did you eat brekkie?"

"Grunt!"

"Ok then! Let's go!"

They all drove off. The bake sale was held at Fresta Oval, so they would be driving past Nursery Hill...

"Oh my gosh!" Mrs. Quelind, pulled over. "I forgot the muffins!"

"We can just turn aroun... "

"No Tommy, I forgot to bake them. We're going to have to pick something up at Crumble Rumble."

Crumble Rumble was the local bakery slash cake store. "Wait if we go to Crumble Rumble, does that mean we're not driving past Nursery Hill?"

"No Benji, why do you ask?" Mrs. Quelind said keeping her eyes on the road.

"Poor little Benji's afraid of the Clocksouls." Natalia mocked. "What a great time for her to be off her phone." Benji said under his breathe. "Don't worry Benji we're not going any where near that place."

"Can it Natalia!"

"Vwat's not vewy nice. Your wa big boy now, don't forget your big boy manners!"

"Shut up!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU." They went quiet. Then Nat turned around and did a crybaby face at Benji. "Mum!"

"What is it Tommy?" A frustrated Mrs. Quelind said. 

"Benji said the S word."

"I did not!"

"You did too. I heard you, you whispered it, I have super sens-tive hearing remember?"

"Well I didn't swear okay?"

"EVERYBODY! Out of the car! I've had it up to here! Now Tommy come and choose what you would like."

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Tommy finally decided on five boxes of mixed doughnuts, and when the family piled back into the car, Mrs. Quelind turned around and zipped her mouth firmly at Tommy, Benji and Nat. "No talking 'till we get there." So everyone had to put up with Freya's babbling. Even Mother knew she had made a mistake.

They had survived! Everyone clambered out of the ute and speed walked to Tommy's team's table. "Nat, Benji, you go off and buy something."

"Can I have my phone back?"

"Fine!"

Benji wondered off, he knew were he was going to go one of the women's soccer team's stations. They would have the best cooking! He absentmindedly headed towards the Leopard Claw's team, forgetting that Mrs. Andrew's, Dylan's mother was on that team. "Hi Benji! Long time no see, would you like to buy anything?"

"Oh, hi Mrs. Andrews! Yeah, I'll have a chocolate cupcake, did you bake them?"

"Why? is there something wrong with my cooking?" Dylan's mum said, wrapping the cake in a napkin.

"Oh no I didn't mean..." He received the cupcake.

"I know what you mean, you polish off my meals every time you come over!"

Benji went a little red in the face. He handed over the money. "Dylan's out buying things, but he'll be back here in a few, if you want to come back."

"Alright thanks." Benji licked his cupcake thoughtfully, should he tell Dylan that the pocket watch might of really appeared at the moment the dark figure swished by? That the pocket watch belonged to the figure? That the dark figure could of been... Tombi?

But he couldn't. It would freak him out. No if Benji could handle it (sort of) Dylan could handle it even better, especially since it would be after the event. But in someways that might make it worse realising it after it happened.

Like the story of the man who looked through the key whole and saw a ghostly, white girl, the next time he just saw red. Then someone told him that there was a legend about that room of a girl ghost who was completely white. Except. For. Her. Eyes! They were bright red...

Harry, Benji's stepdad had told him that one. So maybe he shouldn't tell Dylan. No he would. He had to. He had to know, so did the other's. Just so they could be careful about Nursery Hill...

I'll tell them on Monday, that's when. Very calmly I'll tell them that, its possible that we had a near encounter with a ClockSoul.