frozen within time

chapter 19

There was no question that they was in for it after school. Roy O'Neal and the pincer twins made menacing noises and gestures at Karl and Alex all morning. In the dining hall at lunchtime, Kristen and holly came close to having their heads ducked into the warm grey-tinged water where the dirty cutlery was dropped. Kerry simply grabbed them both from behind and bragged then along to it by their hair, intending to acquaint them with the bits of old baked bean and fish finger which drifted around beneath the soaking knives and forks. she would have managed it to, for both holly and Kristen were too shocked to even squeak----and the dirty cutlery bowl was behind a screen and out of view of any teachers or dinner ladies. Happily for them, a year ten boy stepped around the screen and brought his hand down in a karate-style crack on Kerry's wrists.

She let them both go and spun around hissing, but then stopped and simpered, 'Oh----hi, chris . . . .' Before just shrugging and walking away.

Kristen and holly stared in amazement. Chris grinned widely and winked one of his dark brown eyes.

'Thanks. Chris,' whispered Kristen while holly just stared and stared and stared. She had never seen anyone from Pennsylvania before. Kristen nudged her. 'Say thanks!'

But she continued to stare, her mouth open.

'Watch out, super girl,' chuckled Chris. 'Something'll fly in, in a minute.' He reached over a hand and helped holly's jaw shut with a little clunk, and then shrugged and went on his way.

'He----he----he,' gasped holly, in a kind of slow motion titter. 'Hes really, really----'

'Cute?' Said Kristen, pulling her across to the lunch queue and keeping a careful eye out for the return of kerry 'cool?'

Hollys eyes widened

'Chris is the coolest guy in the school' replied Kristen 'that's why Kerry went all sloppy. Lucky for us!'

'I've never seen anyone like him!' Holly looked quite pink. 'He's . . . . He's wonderful.' She instinctively went to tidy her hair as she watched the year ten boy walk away.

'Oi! Where did that come from?' Kristen narrowed her eyes at her great-aunt.

Holly had just slid a neat pink clip, with a tiny rose on it, into the side of her hair. She poured 'Its nice. I like to look . . . . Tidy. Like a girl!'

'Hand it over,' sighed Kristen and holly pulled the clip out and handed it over. she looked a little sulky.

'Now just remember----you're twelve! Not three!' Kristen shoved the clip into her trouser pocket. 'If anyone sees you with that in, they'll all be queuing up to dunk tour head in the washing-up bowl!'

Alex and Karl managed to keep a corridor or two between themselves and Roy and the pincer twins and skidded into the dining hall in time to see Kristen and holly eating spaghetti Bolognese at the teachers' table, talking a little to brightly to miss jeffreys, with the occasional nervous glance across the tables to the far corner where Kerry kingsley now sat staring at them, gnawing in a chicken leg in a threatening way.

'Keeping your head down then, are you?' Alex muttered in kristens ear, as he and Karl sauntered by to get their own lunch.

'What else could we do?' Winced Kristen, stepping away from her food to talk to Ald and Karl in a low voice, as holly chatted on to miss jeffreys.

She would never have dreamed of sitting at one of the teachers' tables before today, but anywhere else was just too dangerous. She told them about the cutlery bowl and their lucky rescue by Chris. 'But it can't last! She's going to get us sooner or later. We've offered to help out after school----clear out the stationary cupboard. It should take at least an hour, so with any luck Kerry and Roy and everyone will have pushed off and we'll get out alive. you need to do the same.'

'Nah----we've sorted it out already----we're getting off early!'

'How'd you manage that?!'

'Sports session. we get to go out in year nine, so we're going to do bowls. at the crown green.'

'Bowls? What----like those d people in white clothes?'

'Yep. it was the only one we could he sure Roy and the pincers wouldn't sign up for. We're leaving our bikes here and going in the minibus, so they won't have a chance to get us. And they let you go straight home from bowls club afterwards if you want to, so we can just nip into town and find out where old Frank lives. you two had better get back for Jessie.'

Kristen nodded. She didn't like being led out of looking for Frank, but she felt bad about poor Jessie being left home all day. She say back down with holly just in time to hear her telling a bemused miss jeffreys that actually, max bygraves was really quite a dish . . . . In his youth.

'Max bygraves?' Echoed the astonished teacher. 'Holly . . . . I think it's a good think you've been let out of the commune . . . . Now, have you seen any posters of Johnny depp yet?'

The plan seemed to have worked when Kristen and holly left school an hour late that day. There was nobody left at the gate. Kristen wasn't that suprised. Kerry kingsley knew there would be another chance tomorrow. And another chance the day after that. Just how much injury she was planning for them was difficult to guess at. After all, actually killing or seriously maiming one of them would get her excluded . . . . But a compass point through the hand or a swift nose-break could both seem like accidents . . . . There would be Nicky in Friday. Kristen sighed. She rather liked her nose the shape it was.

They stopped at a convenience shop and got more food with some of the old record money, keeping am eye out all the time for Kerry, but she'd obviously gone home for tea.

Poor Jessie was whining when they got back home and the hallway smelt awful. Kristen insisted she would clear up this time, and sent holly out into the garden with Jessie, but not before surreptitiously checking the puppy's paws. she'd had a nasty, uneasy feeling inside her all night and throughout the day every time she thought of Karl's fingernails. As promised, she hadn't said a word to holly about it, but had decided she would speak to Alex as soon as she got him alone. She just couldn't deal with Karls illness on her own any more.

Jessies paws looked fine but, alone in the hallway, Kristen felt sure she could see little splatters of blood on the newspaper around the dog basket. She leant her forehead against the cold radiator in the hallway and closed her eyes.

'Oh, uncle John . . . . Please come back soon. Please.'