The Tipple Twins and the Gift

by Michelle Cordara

  ‘Oh my word,’ Tommy said, as he read one of the papers, which appeared to be an article about twins that had gone missing.

  As Jenna picked up the rest, she too was holding a handful of articles about missing twins. ‘What’s all this?’ Jenna asked, sifting through them one by one.

  Jessica looked round to see what all the fuss was about and nearly choked on her own spit when she saw what Jenna and Tommy were holding. When she turned back to spy through the keyhole, she gasped and ran towards Jenna and Tommy, helping them with the mess on the floor. ‘Quick!’ she said, ‘Miss Snippings is coming!’

  All at once, the three of them shoved the rest of the papers back in the drawers. Jenna, who was still holding some, was turning back and forth. She couldn’t make up her mind as to whether she should make a run for it or put the papers away.

  Tommy intervened and snatched them from Jenna to put them away before the three of them grabbed their bags and jumped into the wardrobe.

  Patiently sitting in the dark, they heard the door handle creaking. A small glimpse of daylight crept in through the gap of the wardrobe door, which was useful to Tommy as he could carefully spy through it.

  Miss Snippings walked in, closing the door behind her. She sat down stiffly at her desk and got out some paperwork. Typing away at her computer, Miss Snippings seemed to be turning her head every now and then in the direction of the cabinet. Something wasn’t quite right and that something was a bit of paper sticking out of one of the drawers.

  Miss Snippings stood up, moved over to the cabinet, put the bit of paper back in its place and pushed the drawer shut. Tommy moved away from the gap in the wardrobe door and Jenna and Jessica held their breaths.

  Eventually feeling brave again, Tommy put his eye against the gap one last time, only to see something he didn’t expect. He could no longer see the office, but there was an eye looking right back at him. One of Miss Snippings’ grey eyes.

  Tommy edged back quickly, careful not to make any noise. Taking it upon herself to have a look, Jenna couldn’t see the eye but instead she could see the figure of Miss Snippings standing by the bookshelf with her back facing them.

  ‘If you three would like to leave now,’ said Miss Snippings.

  Shocked, the twins froze and didn’t reply.

  ‘I said… if you could all leave now,’ said Miss Snippings again.

  Beside themselves with horror, Jenna and Jessica faced Tommy. ‘We have to go,’ whispered Jessica.

  ‘What? Not with her there,’ whispered Tommy back.

  ‘We have to. She’s told us to. She knows we’re in here,’ said Jenna frantically.

  ‘Are you mad? I’ve not heard her say anything,’ whispered Tommy again.

  ‘She’s told us to leave twice. How are you not hearing her?’ asked Jessica quietly.

  ‘I think we should go then,’ said Tommy.

  ‘What about squatters’ rights?’ said Jenna sarcastically, but before Tommy could answer, Jenna and Jessica were already stumbling out of the wardrobe.

  ‘My God, this is crazy,’ said Tommy, following them out.

  They crawled across the floor slowly with Tommy taking the lead.

  With Miss Snippings still standing by the bookshelf, they managed to get to the door before Jessica screamed and stood up stiffly with an arched back.

  ‘It hurts! I can feel needles and pins!’ she cried, as Jenna and Tommy rushed to her rescue. They pulled at her arms as Jessica cried and cried. ‘Needles and pins! Needles and pins!’ she wailed. ‘It’s Miss Snippings. She’s torturing me! She’s torturing me!’

  When Jenna and Tommy looked at Miss Snippings, she was still standing in the same position as when they’d last looked: by the bookshelf, with her back turned to them. Tommy and Jenna dragged Jessica out of Miss Snippings’ office and closed the door behind them.

  They reached the corridor in a panic, and it was now buzzing with other pupils rushing to their lessons. They turned towards their classroom, heads down, and hid behind a group of children who were going in the same direction as them and rushed to safety.

  ‘Quick, in room one,’ said Tommy, holding onto a distraught Jessica. Jenna and Tommy fell through the door of room one and dumped Jessica to the floor. ‘We can sort ourselves out in here before we go to class. Mr Smith can’t know what’s happened. He won’t believe us,’ gasped Tommy.

  ‘Are you all right?’ said Jenna, bending down to Jessica.

  ‘I feel okay now,’ she said in a sweaty state. ‘But look… it’s the scratches on the door you were talking about, Tommy. The three scratches on the locked door inside room one.’

  ‘Yeah, I know, but we can’t worry about that now. We have to get to class,’ said Tommy, before the three of them eventually made their way to their lesson.

  ‘And where have you three been?’ Mr Smith asked abruptly when they walked in. The three of them paused on the spot until Tommy had an answer of his own.

  ‘Well where were you, sir? We were waiting in the corridor for ages and you didn’t show up.’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  *

  ROOM THIRTEEN, PART ONE

  Tommy hung around the classroom door at break time while Jenna and Jessica asked Mr Smith for a copy of the list of parts for the school production, careful to not look too suspicious following their actions earlier that morning. Pretending to study the parts with interest, Jenna and Jessica moved towards the door slowly, not noticing that Tommy had worked himself up over something.

  ‘You’ll never guess what,’ Tommy squealed, barely containing his excitement. But Jenna and Jessica had noticed something of their own.

  ‘Tommy, shhh… listen, me and Jessica have just seen our parts for the All School Production, and we’re all “runners”. Do you know what that means? We have no part in the play. No part at all. Just skivvies doing whatever anyone wants us to.’

  ‘And Ruby’s got the part of a witch. She gets to stand centre stage and even gets to say some lines,’ said Jessica as they made their way outside to the playground.

  ‘You two, you’re not listening,’ said Tommy urgently.

  ‘And did you hear the way Miss Snippings spoke to us when we were stuck in that office… in her cave,’ added Jenna.

  ‘I didn’t hear Miss Snippings talking, but we’ll work that one out later. What I’m trying to tell you now is I think I know where room thirteen is!’ Tommy barked impatiently.

  ‘What? Where? How?’ said Jessica, leaning in towards him.

  ‘Well, when we were in room one earlier… when Jessica pointed out the three scratches on the door inside. Come on, work it out… Room one… that’s the number one and there are three scratches on the inside of the door… that’s the number three… I think that’s room thirteen. So really, there’s not actually a room thirteen, which is why nobody knows where it is. Are you getting this?’ Tommy said, and he was looking at Jessica, who seemed to have come over all funny, like she was trying to stay awake, like she wanted to go to sleep.

  ‘Jessica… Jessica… JESSICA!’ Both Tommy and Jenna screamed to wake her up.

  ‘Yes, I heard you… room thirteen… inside room one. Is that why you were throwing rubbers at us in maths?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘Tommy, are you sure?’ Jenna said, now supporting Jessica with her arm.

  ‘Not completely, but it’s the only answer that makes sense. Jessica, are you sure you’re okay? You look a bit… well a bit off.’

  *

  The next morning at Chumsworth, Jenna, Jessica and Tommy all met outside the hall with the rest of the school. It was the first day of rehearsals and they had just picked up their ‘Runners’ T-shirts, which were big black baggy things that drowned them.

  Soon enough, the hall was packed, leaving only enough room for Miss Snippings to enter, and when she did she gave Jenna, Jessica
and Tommy some nasty looks.

  ‘Ignore her,’ Tommy whispered. ‘She’s just playing mind games with us.’ But Jenna and Jessica found that hard to believe, especially when they saw the ghostlike blackbirds that had originally been sitting on the roof of Chumsworth slowly building in number outside the windows of the hall.

  ‘She knows we were in there, Tommy, in her office. She spoke to us and told us to get out. But she must have done it in a way so that you didn’t hear anything. She must have done it telepathically!’

  ‘See, you know why that is, don’t you? It’s because she’s a ghost. Well, I’m not putting up with it. If she carries on playing games I’m not gonna do what anyone tells me to do.’

  ‘I don’t think I feel too good,’ said Jessica faintly.

  ‘Don’t act weak now, Jessica. That’s just what she wants us to do! And now we know where room thirteen is… well, we need to get back in there, don’t we.’

  ‘I can’t help it. Whenever I think of her I go all funny.’

  ‘I’m getting sick of this. That’s it!’ said Tommy, slamming down his bag. ‘I’m not doing any work today,’ he said aggressively before Miss Snippings took the stage. ‘And I don’t see why you two should either.’

  ‘Good morning, children!’ Miss Snippings said, and everyone went silent. She paused for a moment of glory before speaking again. ‘And now…’

  ‘Oh, shut up,’ muttered Tommy under his breath, causing the rest of the school to instantly turn their attention to him.

  ‘Did somebody say something?’ Miss Snippings barked. ‘I take it somebody’s feeling brave this morning… very brave. Can that person please come forward!’

  ‘It was me,’ said Tommy, inching forward. Jenna and Jessica could see he was flustered, but it wasn’t an embarrassed flustered. It was an angry flustered.

  ‘Ah, Tommy Grinch. I should have known. And what is it, Tommy? What was it you wanted to say?’ sneered Miss Snippings, who was now so tense she was almost quivering.

  ‘I said… SHUT UP!’

  Gasps spread across the hall and a stunned Miss Snippings stood motionless. Feeling sick to the pits of their stomachs, Jenna and Jessica couldn’t think of a way out of this one.

  Miss Snippings stood still for a few moments more before letting out a rancid laugh. It was the sort of laugh that felt like it was travelling through every corner of your brain and back out of your nose.

  ‘If everyone could kindly leave right now,’ said Miss Snippings through gritted teeth, faking a smile.

  It wasn’t every day the pupils of Chumsworth didn’t immediately do as they were told when directed to by Miss Snippings, but today was one of those days. Everybody in the hall stood in anticipation before Miss Snippings really lost her patience.

  ‘Everyone get out! GET OUT! Except for you, Grinch. And your twinny little friends!’

  As the children and teachers rushed out, they were ordered to not look at Jenna, Jessica or Tommy. ‘Keep your heads down. Eyes shut!’

  And they did just that.

  It took what felt like a whole age before the hall was cleared, but when it was, Jenna and Jessica didn’t look forward to what was ahead of them. Tommy was signalling to them, glancing towards Miss Snippings’ waist. They didn’t realise what was going on at first but finally they saw a set of keys dangling from a belt. They didn’t know for sure which keys they were, but they could take a good guess.

  ‘So you think you can tell me to shut up, do you?’ Miss Snippings said as she moved her deformed figure down the steps and off the stage until she was face-to-face with Jenna, Jessica and Tommy. ‘Well, let’s see how clever you think you are when you haven’t got an audience, Mr Grinch.’

  ‘I don’t need no audience, Miss,’ Tommy said, taking at least two steps forward. ‘And I’m not the one pretending to be something I’m not.’

  ‘Maybe not you, Tommy, but what about your friends? Are you sure they’re everything you think they are?’

  ‘I know exactly who they are.’

  ‘Is that so? Jenna, Jessica, why don’t you point at something… just once.’

  Tommy looked baffled as he turned to look at them. Jenna and Jessica could see more ghostlike birds arriving outside the windows of the hall. Some were flapping their wings, others were perched as if made from stone.

  ‘No, it’s okay, Miss,’ Jessica said weakly, not knowing what to look at, bird or Snippings, bird or Snippings…

  ‘It wasn’t a question. It was an order!’

  ‘And they said NO!’ Tommy said, before charging straight for her. Tommy barged straight into Miss Snippings, grabbing the set of keys from her waist.

  ‘Catch!’ Tommy yelled, throwing the keys into the air, and the twins caught them unsteadily. ‘Run! To room thirteen! Come on!’

  ‘B-b-but, Tommy!’

  ‘COME ON!’

  The twins and Tommy ran as fast their legs could carry them towards the doors of the hall, on the way to room thirteen.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  *

  ROOM THIRTEEN, PART TWO

  Jenna and Jessica didn’t mean to shatter the glass windows surrounding the hall (causing the blackbirds to enter the school and chase them) as they made their escape to room thirteen, nor did they mean to knock every pupil up into the air when they bellowed to them to get out of the way. The situation had got out of control, as had their magic moods. Miss Snippings had tried shutting the hall doors with power of her own, but the twins magic overruled it and swung the doors back to release them.

  Running down the corridors with a flock of birds behind them, they eventually reached room thirteen, shutting the doors behind them with their minds. And when they did, they heard the bird’s beaks slamming into the wood of the door. Jenna and Jessica then fumbled with the keys and had the horrid task of choosing which key was the right one.

  ‘Just think, if you were Miss Snippings, which one would you choose?’ enquired Tommy.

  ‘Black!’ the twins said at once. ‘The black one!’ And they put it in, but before they could turn it, Tommy stopped them.

  ‘Wait! Before we go in, are you two ready? I mean really ready? We don’t know what we’re going to find in there. What if she’s the black figure? What if she’s the twin snatcher?’

  ‘Then we’ll save them,’ Jessica said. ‘But wait, what if Caitlyn’s in there?’

  ‘Then let’s go in!’ Jenna shouted

  ‘But what if she’s… what if she’s not moving,’ Jessica said uncomfortably.

  Jenna and Jessica stared at each other in deep thought before Tommy encouraged them. ‘Then you two are going to get her out and bring her home, no matter what condition she’s in, because she’s your sister! Now TURN… THAT… KEY!’

  Jenna and Jessica turned the key, and as the door opened there was a blast of wind and then a stampede of twins came rushing out into the corridors of Chumsworth, letting in the flock of ghostlike birds. The twins and Tommy dashed inside, frantically weaving in and out of the twins who were heading in the opposite direction to them.

  Jessica grabbed a girl who was slightly taller than her and had the same honey-coloured hair as their sister Caitlyn. ‘Caitlyn, I’ve got you!’ screamed Jessica, only to be confronted by someone who wasn’t Caitlyn at all, just another twin running for their life. Jessica let go at once and carried on through the crowd and down a long corridor made of stone with Jenna and Tommy until they found themselves deep underground, surrounded by more dark walls made of stone. The ghostlike blackbirds had failed to get that far, and considering the twins and Tommy had done nothing to stop them themselves, they wondered if they were under some sort of order from Miss Snippings.

  They eventually came to a halt as they reached a dead end. It didn’t take long for them to realise they were in a room full of blankets, which they guessed were for the beds for all the twins.


  ‘Has anyone seen her? Has anyone seen Caitlyn?’ asked Jenna.

  ‘Well I haven’t,’ said Tommy, bending over, trying to catch his breath.

  ‘No, neither have I,’ admitted Jessica glumly.

  ‘Caitlyn!’ screamed Jenna at the top of her lungs.

  ‘Caitlyn! Come out! It’s us! Jenna and Jessica!’ Jessica shouted desperately.

  But Caitlyn didn’t show.

  To Jenna’s and Jessica’s disgust, Miss Snippings did.

  ‘Well, well, well, haven’t we got ourselves into a mess,’ Miss Snippings said, appearing from the dark at the far end of the room.

  ‘This is a mess, yes… but it’s your mess!’ Jessica shouted, but she quickly wished she hadn’t, because who knew what Miss Snippings was capable of doing to them now.

  ‘Actually, it’s our mess,’ Miss Snippings corrected.

  ‘And how do you work that one out, eh?’ said Tommy bravely.

  ‘Well, let’s look at the facts, shall we?’ said Miss Snippings, focusing on the twins. ‘Did PC Dilks turn up to your house? Did he accuse you of being the number one suspects in Caitlyn’s case? Are you down as harassing children from this school?’

  ‘That means nothing! We’ve just found all the missing twins! You’re the black figure! We’ve solved the case!’ screamed Jenna a little enthusiastically. Not only was she answering back with confidence, but the twins seemed to be in with a chance of winning. Had Jenna turned a page?

  ‘You’ve solved nothing! All you’ve done is release a load of twins! For all the police know, you were in on it and decided for whatever reason to let them go.’

  Jenna looked down at her feet and began working out what to say next, and Jessica looked just as puzzled and worried as her sister. Finally, Jenna plucked up the courage to answer back.

  ‘That’s not going to work. How are young children like us going to be able to get all those twins in here?’

  ‘Well, because of your gift.’

  ‘Gift?’ Tommy said.