Olwyn's Bike

Chapter 3: First signs

"Bloody hell" blurts Scarlett as she looks at the screen. You can tell that Scarlett is surprised when she starts swearing. Even mildly, like she did, but still. Her mouth curls up in a smile. "Let's go shopping!"

"Tasty shopping, clothes shopping or stuff shopping?" asks Riza.

"All of them at once, I suppose!" she says, giggling maniacally.

***After Scarlett's father has claimed the money and got some cash out for them**

"We're rich!" gloats Scarlett. "We can finally buy that LEGO set we've wanted for ages! And we can buy the expensive sushi, and sandwiches and ginger beer! And dolls, and clothes and DVDs and CDs and anything! We could sell more and buy a mobile phone, even!"

"I love how you always say "we" when you're talking about something you did." says Olwyn, poking Scarlett's arm.

"I couldn't have done that without you! I mean, I never would have found the website, nor put my artwork on, nor sold anything! Our whole wealth is the result of your work!"

"Never mind the credits, let's get to the real thing! We could go to Chester's or Malaika's or Chrissi's. You choose, Princess Scarlett Harper." Riza points to each shop in turn.

"Of course, we must go to Malaika's shop first. Mam's not feeling well today so I thought I'd get her that bracelet she's wanted since forever."

Typical Scarlett, thinks Olwyn. Always thinking about others rather than herself. No wonder her middle name is Angelica.

They walk into Malaika's shop and Scarlett points at the bracelet she wants. Although Malaika looks strangely at her, she doesn't question the sudden change in budget.

"That'll be twenty pounds, please, Letty." says Malaika, raising an eyebrow and staring, doubtfully, at Scarlett's purse. Her expression turns pale and surprised when Scarlett pulls out a £20 and a £10 note.

"I'll also have those as well, please." She points at a pair of red earrings.

While the transaction goes on, Olwyn stares at a poster with tips on how to identify precious metals and stones. A lady wearing a red coat and hat turns to Olwyn and grabs her hand, emphasising her ring.

"Where did you get this?!"

"I - uh - I g-got it from, uh" Olwyn pulls her hand back and looks at the lady's face. It's half covered up by her hat but she can see that she has olive skin and dark brown eyes. "I got it from the market. You should learn some manners - you can't just run up to people and grab them!"

"Sorry. I'm Eliza Bryce." She holds out her hand.

"Wyn Hart." She shakes Eliza's hand and turns back to the poster for a second. When she turns back, Eliza is gone.

"Come on, Scarlett says we're going to Chrissi's next. It's been an hour since we had the hotdogs." says Riza, dragging Olwyn and Scarlett quickly out of the door. "And what was all that about?"

"She was asking where I got the ring from. I just told her the market and then she disappeared." she says, looking at the ring and running her finger over the black mark. "This looks a bit like a-"

"CHRISSI HAS GOT A HALF-PRICE SALE! COME ON!" screams Riza as she pulls them along to a shop with a big sign saying 'Everything half-price". Scarlett runs to the till.

"Hey, girls! What can I get you today?" asks Chrissi. Her hair is white-blonde and her smile practically lights up the room.

"I'll have a gingerbread man, Riza probably wants a bacon sandwich and Olwyn would-"

"A custard cream-cake, please." Olwyn says, looking up from the shining glass screen, behind which were delicious-looking pastries and bread. Her usual order would be a cream slice, but today she's feeling adventurous.

"Coming right up." Chrissi picks up her tongs and puts the pastries in a few bags. "So, what is making you all so bubbly today?"

"You're not going to believe this, but Wyn sold some copies of my artwork and I got a whole six hundred pounds and counting!" squeals Scarlett, passing Chrissi a handful of coins.

"Wow, Letty, that's amazing! You're a professional now!" Chrissi turns round and answers the phone. "Simpson Bakery. How may I- No, sorry, I don't know a Bryce- No, I don't think so. What- Okay."

"What was that about?" asks Riza, taking a large bite of her sandwich.

"Oh, somebody looking for a Bryce or something. Probably a wrong number."

"OK. Never mind! Come on - let's go to Chester's shop. Bye, Chrissi!"

"Bye."

They all run out towards a shop with a big red sign. Inside there were toys and toys, lining the walls and covering islands inside. Scarlett immediately runs for the LEGO section.

"We have to get this. And this. And that one. Oh, and that one. And the giant Lord of the Rings one. Riza and Wyn, you go pick out something. anything up to twenty-five." says Scarlett, gesturing at a random area as she admires the plastic wonders. Riza darts off to some random corner of the shop to look at red stuff while Olwyn turns to the dolls. She would usually look at LEGO with Scarlett but today she feels as though she should try something different. She looks at a few beautifully crafted but ugly goblin dolls, then looks upwards at a big black and pink box which contains a skeleton doll. It has hair which is a bright orange and coloured dots around its eyes. Olwyn stares at it for a few seconds then reaches up to look at it more closely. She stretches as far as she can, but she can barely reach it.

"Could someone tall please help me get this down?" she asks, looking round. She can't see anyone except Riza, who simply shrugs and turns back to the car toys she's looking at. Suddenly, she hears a thump and turns round. There is suddenly a stool which she hadn't noticed. She pulls it up in front of the shelf and takes down to doll, touching the clear plastic box with her index finger. Her eyes sparkle as she looks at it, but she nearly faints as she sees the price. Although she's not surprised that anything this beautiful is expensive, she still wishes she didn't have to get Scarlett to chip in. She takes it and runs towards Scarlett at the till, who is happily chatting with Harry. I smirk at her. "I found my thing."

"Oh, that's gorgeous! Add it to the pile." Scarlett chirps. Riza runs over to them and puts a tiny action  figure of a wizard on the pile. "Can we buy these, please?"

Harry nods and scans the items. A few beeps and plastic bags away and they are sitting in a café with their notepads.

"Winhelda turns towards Lydia and says with a sigh 'My powers are no use for me now. You take them.' and she places a hand on Lydia's forehead and disappears. Lydia feels much more powerful now." says Riza, scribbling furiously in her notepad. "Then the end of the chapter, and then the next one can be about them regrouping."

"Sounds good. We'll work out more working later. But should it be Winhelda? Maybe something like Kardia?" asks Olwyn, turning her pencil around and placing the eraser above the name.

"Isn't that heart in Greek?" Scarlett opens her Greek handbook and flips through some pages. "Yeah. We should use that."

"Hey, can we get some service over here?!" shouts Riza. A waitress runs over to their table. Olwyn has never felt comfortable with having people bring her food. In her eyes, her father is the only person who should be allowed to do that. "Can we please have three cups of tea?"

"Yes. Would you like to also have an extra teapotfull for refills?"

"OK."

The waitress rushes away and soon comes back with a big tray with three cups and a teapot on it. She carefully places Riza's and Scarlett's cups on the table, but Olwyn stands up and takes her cup and the teapot.

"This tea tastes... strange." she says, taking a sip. It's hot but not hot enough to burn her tongue.

All of a sudden, Olwyn starts feeling numb and her head starts aching. Her vision goes blurry and dark, and she slips backwards. Her head hits the concrete but she's too numb to feel it. She hears faint screams and people running. Everything goes black.