Mystery at the Ice Hotel
Page 14
“It’s the most sparkly and magical place on the planet,” Grandma said her eyes closed in sleep. “What could possibly go wrong there?” she murmured and then began to softly snore.
Mackenzie and I smiled. We were thinking the same thing. Danger followed us everywhere we went. But we would survive no matter what the world threw at us as long as we were together.
Sara Grant serves as the Patron of Reading at The Broxbourne School in Hertfordshire. A Patron of Reading (www.patronofreading.co.uk) is an author, poet, illustrator or storyteller with whom a school forms a long-term attachment. Sara works closely with the school and its dedicated, creative and enthusiastic librarians to promote reading for pleasure and create a genuine reading culture in the school.
As part of her role, in the spring of 2016 she launched the school’s first creative writing competition. Nearly one hundred and fifty students participated. The students were asked to write a 500-word mystery inspired by Sara’s Chasing Danger series.
The competition was steep with murder and mayhem from around the globe, but Jessica Webster’s exciting tale, titled “The Saboteur”, won by a nose! She created a satisfying mystery with twists, turns and surprises – and that’s not easy to do in a 500-word short story.
Congratulations, Jessica!
BY JESSICA WEBSTER
“Come on boy,” I whispered, hugging my flea-bitten grey Connemara Neo’s intricately plaited white mane. If we cleared this jump we’d be through to the final round of the Broxbourne County Horses Trials. A surge of excitement and fear sent shivers down my spine.
Cantering towards the jump, I held my breath as we sailed effortlessly over and landed perfectly. Cheers broke out from the stands as we trotted over to join my friends.
“Well done, Piper!” Lilly exclaimed as Eva and Poppy beamed at me. “It’s just us and Alison in the junior’s competition now that Stan’s out.” We glanced at Alison, smirking at us from atop her Arabian horse, Guldennagel. Whatever happened, we couldn’t let her win today.
“Where’s my saddle?!” the shout pierced the peaceful silence of the afternoon as we prepared our horses for the cross-country race one hour later. Eva came running out of her cob, Beryl’s, stall.
“What’s going on?” the competition’s judge asked, appearing from round the corner.
“Someone’s stolen my saddle!” Eva replied. “So I can’t compete!”
Just then, Poppy, usually calm and laid back, came sprinting towards us. “Butterscotch’s girth is missing! Someone must have taken it!”
“Right, you two,” the judge broke in. “Before you go round accusing anyone, we have to be sure this was deliberate. Could they maybe have just gone missing?”
“No!” they declared in unison. “We’re really careful about our equipment! Now we can’t compete in the final round!”
“I’m afraid that’s right,” the judge agreed, checking the time. “We have to begin the final round soon. We’ll look for your equipment and as soon as the competition’s finished we will find the culprit.”
Directing worried looks at each other, Lilly and I went to fetch our horses while Alison stood by looking smug, as usual.
First up, Alison rode to the starting line, and the second the judge called “Go!” Alison dug her heels into Guldennagel’s gleaming sides, and they shot into a gallop down the hill. However, they hadn’t gone long when Alison began to slip. We all watched in horror as she tumbled to the ground and lay there. Letting out a small scream, the judge and the rest of us dashed over to her. As she got up and dusted herself off, Alison noticed her audience and suddenly seemed to be in agony.“My arm!” she cried. “It’s broken!”
The judge examined her and shook her head. “It’s just a bruise, Alison. But what happened?”
“My stirrup leather gave way,” Alison shrieked, “but it was brand new!”
As Stan led a spooked Guldennagel over to us, he affirmed, “This was no accident. The stirrup leather’s been cut.”
We sat in silence in the club office as the judge regarded us sternly, before announcing, “The competition is cancelled until further notice. However I suggest the culprit come forward now before your punishment gets a lot worse.”
Nobody moved for what seemed like a decade. The judge sighed and said, “Very well. Every stall will be searched.”
After searching fruitlessly for half an hour we arrived at my stall, which Alison seemed particularly excited about. We searched every inch, but to no avail. But then...
“YES! It’s a Stanley knife! Piper could have cut my stirrup leathers with this!”
Everyone stared at me in disbelief as the judge spluttered, “Is this true, Piper?”
“No!” I protested. “I was with Lilly all lunchtime!”
“It’s true!” Lilly agreed. “We didn’t go anywhere near the tack room!”
Then Stan muttered, “Alison did though.”
We all froze as he continued. “I saw her sneak off while we were all having lunch, and she didn’t come back for at least twenty minutes.”
The judge glared at Alison. “What? No! It wasn’t me!” Alison blustered.
“Alison, you were the only one with the opportunity, and we have an eyewitness,” the judge stated. “It must have been you. You’re banned from the competition.”
After a hurried preparation, Lilly and I both ran record times, and ended up tying for first place. As I stood on the podium with her, smiling at everyone cheering ecstatically, I felt happier than I ever had before.
My name is Jessica Webster and I’m 14 years old and in Year 9. I love riding horses at my riding stables, Northaw Riding School, and some of the characters in this story are based on real people at Northaw, including some of the horses! I love creative writing and I hope to do lots more in the future!
Special thanks to everyone at Northaw Riding School, who are the inspiration for this story. Also thanks to my English teacher, Mr Lloyd, who has helped me a lot with my writing this year, and to my family who are all really supportive in everything I do.
At The Broxbourne School we aim to provide “Achievement and Opportunity for All”. Teaching and learning is exemplary and our well-qualified and experienced staff work hard to achieve academic excellence and to engage all students in their studies. We believe that reading for pleasure plays an important part in our success and we work hard throughout the school and in partnership with parents to encourage and promote wider reading. The life of the school is enriched by an exceptional programme of opportunities outside the classroom and we are delighted that Sara Grant, as our Patron of Reading, has added a new and exciting dimension to these. In particular, her author talks and creative writing competition have inspired many pupils and we are thrilled that she has arranged for the winner to be honoured in this book.
Paula Humphries, Headteacher
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First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2016
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