I felt the strangest experience when he spoke, like he’d seen right inside me and seen behind all my acts and masks to the true me. He was right. It was freakings me right out.
‘Iz OK. Now then … ’
Lilith came charging back up the stairs with PJ’s water. ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘I’ve had the most brilliant idea. You know how I can’t make up my mind between the totally black walls or just the black ceiling? Well, we have two rooms, mine and Eve … I mean Lilith’s, so how about this? We have one room as our bedroom and the other as like a day room for hanging out in and doing our homework and, that way, we can have different goth decors in each.’ She looked from me to PJ and looked very pleased with herself.
‘He knows, Lilith,’ I said.
She gave me a filthy look and kicked my shin. ‘No. No. I’m Eve,’ she whispered.
I shook my head. ‘He knows.’
Lilith looked embarrassed and stared accusingly at me. ‘Did you tell him?’
‘She is no needings to telling me. I know secrets,’ said PJ. ‘I know many secrets zat people have.’ For a few seconds, he stared at her and I swear she went red and looked at the floor. I’d never seen Lilith blush before and wondered, Does she have secrets that I don’t know about? PJ turned to me again. ‘So, Zodiac Girl, vot are you zinking of zis idea of your sisters? Sharing von room, living in the other?’
My mind went into a spin. If we continued sharing, then I wouldn’t be on my own and so scared of the dark – that would be great. And maybe my nightmares would stop. But then I’d have to live with Lilith’s style of room and that meant dark colours and weird posters of crows and dripping blood and I’d had enough of all that. And all that stuff is probably what’s giving me the nightmares. I so wanted to do my room in my own way. In the way I’d been planning in my mind for weeks and weeks.
‘I—’
‘How do you know secrets?’ interrupted Lilith.
PJ tapped the side of his nose. I decided it was time for her to realize that he was mad even if Nonna had sent him along.
‘He says he’s not just the Transformer,’ I said. ‘That’s just his day job. Actually he is the planet Pluto. In fact, all the planets are here in physical form.’ I expected Lilith to laugh her head off when she heard this and then tell PJ to get on his bike or asteroid or whatever planet he rode. But she didn’t. Her face went through a spectrum of expressions: shock, disbelief, delight, then doubt, then puzzlement, then wonder.
‘Awesome,’ she said.
PJ smiled. ‘Thanks.’
‘Lilith, has someone boiled your brain?’ I asked.
‘Nobody boiled her brain. She iz having Aries rising. She more impulsive being zan you. Spontaneous. Taurus rising iz making you stubborn. I zink vot I am doings iz I am going to send over some of ze ozzer planet peoples. Some you liking more maybe. Let me be zinkings vot iz in your chart. Iz encounter viz ze moon coming. Yes, zat be helping. And Venus iz vell aspected. I havings a zink, but more of us coming your vays. Ja, ja.’
I felt my heart beat fast as fear flooded through me. More fears … that was the last thing I wanted.
Chapter Eight
First Night
Lilith popped her head around my door.
‘Night, Eve,’ she said.
‘Night,’ I said.
‘Exciting, isn’t it?’
I nodded. ‘Yeah.’
Lilith shut the door and I lay back and looked up at the ceiling in my new room. This was the moment I’d been dreading for weeks. The house felt quiet. The removal men, Nonna and PJ had gone and all the activity in and out had stopped hours ago. We’d had a takeaway pizza as supper and Mum and Dad unpacked all that they could so that we could settle in for the night. It was weird to be in this unfamiliar room with its smell of new paint and furniture polish. Mum and Dad had already been in to say goodnight before going to their room at the front of the house. Even Adam had been in to examine where I’d decided the bed should go (by the window on the right of the room). It still looked a little bare, but at least Mum had got some curtains up and the bedding out and although most of my stuff was still in boxes, at least everything was in the right rooms, ready to be unpacked over the remainder of the half term.
‘Lights out now, Eve,’ I heard Mum call.
‘In a few minutes,’ I called back, ‘just doing something.’
I heard her footsteps retreat and the sound of a door being closed. I took a deep breath and turned the light off. It was so dark. In our last room, the light from a lamp post on the street shone through the curtains, but as this room was at the back of the house overlooking the garden, it was pitch black. I reached out and groped for the bedside light switch. I couldn’t find it for a few seconds and felt myself tense as my imagination went into full throttle. Someone’s in the room and moved the light. I’m trapped. Any minute now, a hand is going to grab mine in the dark. My mouth went dry, my chest felt tight and my heart began to thud. Confronting my fears? Tell me about it, PJ, I thought.
And then I found the switch, clicked it and the room filled with light.
No one there.
Idiot. Of course there’s no one here, I thought. But I couldn’t bring myself to turn the light off again. Best to check there really is no one here, said a voice at the back of my mind. Check in the wardrobe and behind the curtains.
I had to do it. It was like I was compelled, and no way would I be able to settle if I didn’t.
I got up, went over to the curtains and looked behind them. Then I went over to the wardrobe and looked inside. Next, I knelt down and looked under the bed.
No one there.
Obviously there isn’t, idiot, I told myself. I got back into bed, turned off the light and pulled the duvet cover over my head. If there was anyone there, if I couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see me. As I lay there, I was aware of the sound of my heart still thudding in my chest and my breathing. It sounded so loud. I can’t hear if anyone’s there if I breathe so loud, I thought, and held my breath for a few seconds. I heard a dog bark outside, maybe in the next street. A car drove by. A stair creaked. I had to breathe out. A stair creaked? A floorboard? Everyone’s supposed to be in bed. Who’s there? Who’s on the stairs? I heard the footsteps get louder, coming my way. The sound of the bathroom door opening and shutting next door. Phew. Probably Adam. Moments later, I heard the loo flush. At least there are people in the house. I’d hate to be here on my own, I thought as I turned over.
Now relax, Eve, I told myself. Relax, count sheep. One, two … I watched imaginary sheep jump over a fence. Some time later, I was still counting. One hundred and ninety-nine, two hundred. Oh, it’s no good. I can’t sleep. It was horrible lying there feeling that the whole world was happily sleeping away except for me in my strange room. I felt wide awake, with a knot in my stomach. There was no way I was going to sleep. I may as well read a little, I thought. I turned on the bedside lamp and looked at the boxes in the other corner of the room. I couldn’t remember which ones my books were in.
I got up and found my rucksack. My tin box was in there and the zodiac phone lying by the side of it. I had another look at it. It was very stylish. I switched it on and began to play with some of the buttons. It seemed easy enough to use. Maybe I’d take it in to show Mary at school. In fact, I could put her number in now. I could invite her over for a sleepover tomorrow. Yes, that would be brilliant. If she came to stay, that would be one night at least when I wouldn’t be on my own and scared. I went to the address section and was about to key in her number when I noticed that there were already ten numbers in there. That’s weird, I thought as I scanned the list.
It read:
Joe: Jupiter
PJ: Pluto
Hermie: Mercury
Dr Cronus: Saturn
Sonny (Mr O): the sun
Selene Luna: the moon
Captain John Dory: Neptune
Uri: Uranus
Nessa: Venus
Mario: Mars
T
he other planets that PJ mentioned, I thought. But it’s not possible that they are really planets. That’s mad. It must just be something to do with their names, like Eve means second woman and Lilith first woman. That’s what it is. Hermie must mean Mercury and so on. In the main part of the screen, a tiny envelope showed that I had a text message. I pressed the READ button and the message came up.
This is the month when your hidden fears will rise to the surface. It is time to confront them. If in need, call any of these numbers. We are all here to help. We are all your friends.
Oh, are you? In that case, let’s see if any of you can help me get to sleep, I thought. I scanned the list and decided against calling PJ. Hmm. Dr Cronus. Well, if anyone knows about not being able to sleep, a doctor should. I pressed the button for Dr Cronus.
A second later, a man’s voice answered. ‘Who’s that?’ he asked. He sounded very cross.
‘Er … Eve Palumbo.’
‘Oh, you. Right. Zodiac Girl, if I’m not mistaken, and probably another darned nuisance. You Zodiac Girls all are.’
‘But PJ gave me this phone. He said you were all here to help and it had your number … ’
‘Do you know what time it is, young lady?’
‘Half eleven.’
‘Exactly. I was fast asleep and I advise that you do the same.’
‘I can’t sleep.’
‘No such word as can’t.’
‘Well, I can’t. As in cannot.’
‘Less of your cheek. Have you tried counting sheep?’
‘Yep. So far I got to two hundred.’
‘Ah. A classic case of insomnia. OK, get back into bed and I am going to give you a lecture on the subject.’
‘A lecture?’
‘You heard me.’
‘Dr Cronus. Are you a real doctor?’
‘I am.’
‘Of medicine and illness and stuff?’
‘I am most certainly not! I am a headmaster. Now, have you got back into bed?’
There was something commanding in his tone and I did as I was told. ‘Yes.’
‘Then I’ll begin. Insomnia is the perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep because of A) difficulty falling asleep, B) waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep, C) waking up too early in the morning and/ or unrefreshing sleep.’
Boring, boring, I thought. He was also speaking in a monotonous voice and I felt myself growing drowsy as I listened.
‘Millions are estimated to have occasional sleep problems, and about one in six have chronic insomnia. Insomnia can be described in terms of both duration and severity. Transient insomnia … ’
On and on he droned, but I didn’t like to interrupt him. I closed my eyes and lay back on the pillow.
‘ … can be described as lasting from one night to a few weeks and is usually caused by events that alter your normal sleep pattern, such as travelling. Short-term insomnia lasts about two to three weeks and is usually attributed to emotional factors such as worry, anxiety or stress. Eve, Eve. Are you there? You’ve gone very quiet.’
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Chapter Nine
A Visit
‘I got you this as a special house-warming present,’ said Lilith the next day after we’d finished most of our unpacking and were having a juice-and-biccy break in my room. She handed me a roll of paper tied with a scarlet ribbon. ‘I got it from the poster shop down near the market and I know you’re going to love it. In fact, I almost didn’t give it to you, it’s so cool, but I wanted you to have something really special for when we moved in.’
I untied the ribbon, unrolled the poster and gasped. It was of a skeleton set against a huge red heart dripping blood and behind that a night sky threatening a storm. The skeleton was holding a scythe like the grim reaper. It was really menacing. I hated it.
‘Wow. I-I don’t know what to say,’ I stuttered.
‘I know. It’s so fabulously dramatic, isn’t it?’ asked Lilith.
‘Er … you could say that,’ I said.
Mary glanced over my shoulder and burst out laughing. ‘Ye-uk. You two are so weird,’ she said. ‘Wouldn’t want that on my wall looking at me while I slept.’
She amazed me. Simple. Honest. She just came out with it and didn’t care what anyone thought. She’d come over to help with the unpacking and Lilith had filled her in on most of what had happened yesterday with PJ, but I was longing to get her on her own so that I could give her my version too.
‘I suppose you’d like ickle bickle kittens with bows round their necks, would you?’ teased Lilith.
‘Yeah, I would. Unlike you who would probably like kittens with crow’s heads or something strange,’ Mary returned.
I wished I could think up answers like that. I wish I didn’t care so much that Adam and Lilith would be horrified if they saw what I’d really like on my wall.
Lilith reached into a bag that she’d brought into my room. ‘And look. Surprise! I went to the DIY shop and bought us some paint samples.’ In a flash, she had unscrewed the tops off a couple and began daubing my wall with squares of what looked like black.
‘This one is called Midnight Black,’ she said and then daubed another square. ‘And this one is Perfect Black. What do you think?’
Mary pulled a face. ‘They both look the same. Black,’ she said.
‘Ah no,’ said Lilith. ‘There are subtle differences. You’ll see when it dries. I’ve got some more in my room. I’ll go and get them.’ She put down the samples in her hand and went out of the door.
Mary got up from the bed where she’d been sitting and picked up my zodiac phone from the window sill. ‘So, are you going to go along with her?’ she asked.
‘Dunno,’ I said. ‘I … sort of had some ideas of my own, but I think she’d be shocked.’
‘Lilith, shocked? I don’t think so, not after having seen that skeleton poster. Surely your ideas can’t be worse than that?’
‘Believe me, she will be totally freaked out when she sees what I have in mind.’
Mary shrugged. ‘You’re both mad, but that’s why I like you. And each to his own. I mean, as you know, I love a good scary movie, but personally I think macabre stuff sucks in a bedroom. Anyway, if it’s your thing, then it’s your thing.’ She turned the phone over in her hand. ‘It’s a really dinky mobile. Can you get me one?’
‘No no, and, Mary, sympathy, please. You heard Lilith tell you all about PJ turning up and now she’s taking over my new room. Help me. You’re supposed to be my mate.’
‘Oh, just tell her to butt out and then do your own thing even if it will freak her out. She likes being freaked out. She wouldn’t watch all those horror movies if she didn’t. So, do you think you can get me a phone?’
I sighed. ‘I could try, but it doesn’t work properly. Like I tried to key in your number, but it wouldn’t register and then I got a message from PJ saying it was only for contacting him and his mates.’
‘Awesome. I can’t believe he’s actually going to be here working. You are so lucky.’ Like Lilith, Mary had watched the TV house makeover show and was a big Transformer fan.
‘Mary. Have you even been listening to what’s going on here?’
‘Yeah. That the coolest thing in the world is happening to you because you are this month’s Zodiac Girl. It was me that introduced you to the site, but you get to be the chosen one. I can’t believe you tried to give it away too. Like, where’s your sense of adventure? What is the matter with you?’
I felt my heart sink. ‘I’m just not sure about any of it … ’
‘You need to chill, Eve. Relax and go with the flow,’ she said, like it was all that easy.
‘But the flow would be to go along with Lilith’s plan to have one bedroom and one living room.’
‘Yeah. Might be nice. But has something changed your mind? I thought you were looking forward to having your own room?’
‘I was. I am,’ I replied. If I could just get over m
y fear of the dark and my nightmares, I’d be fine. Even though I’d finally fallen asleep last night, I’d still had bad dreams about faces appearing at the window and figures in hoods lurking in shadows. ‘I … PJ’s coming back tomorrow week with his assistants and I said I’d let him know what I want by then.’ I was torn between wanting Lilith’s company because I was scared and wanting to have my own space for the first time in my life.
‘Hey, Mary,’ Lilith called from her room. ‘Come and listen to this.’
Mary got up. ‘Catch you later,’ she said.
I nodded and five minutes later I could hear loud music coming out of Lilith’s. At least she’s forgotten about showing me more black paint samples for the time being, I thought as I gazed out of the window and up at the sky. The rain had cleared and the sun was struggling to come through. As I stared up at the clouds, I noticed a white bird. It’s a dove, I thought as it flew towards our house. And towards the trees in the front garden. In fact … it was coming right at me! Oh god, I thought. I hope it’s not going to fly into the window. I’ve seen birds do that before when the sun is at a particular angle. But no, the dove stopped just short of the window and hopped on to the window sill. It pecked on the glass with its beak and looked right at me. It had something fastened to its leg. I opened the window and the bird hopped closer, all the while looking at me. Round its leg was a tiny roll of paper. I unfastened it and the bird flew off.
I shut the window and unrolled the paper.
Venus is well aspected in your chart this week bringing harmony and peace to a troubled situation.
In the hallway, I heard the phone ring and then minutes later, Mum appeared at my door. ‘That was PJ, love.’
‘Oh. Did he want to talk to me?’
Mum shook her head. ‘No. He asked that I drop you at the Pentangle beauty salon in Osbury and that someone there is going to show your some ideas for your room. And he said to take your tin box. What tin box? Does that make sense to you? Is that the one you hid before we moved?’
‘Um, yeah. It’s just a box with some … er, stuff in. But someone? Who?’
‘Someone called Nessa. I need to go into the village, so get your things and we’ll be off.’
Double Trouble (Zodiac Girls) Page 6