New Girl

by Laura Sieveking

  Ms Montgomery sat down at the teachers’ table by herself, away from the other teachers who were chatting over their breakfasts. She took a long, deep sip of her coffee and closed her eyes momentarily as she swallowed. Then she looked back down at the newspaper that was open in front of her and resumed reading.

  ‘Ready for Friday’s testing?’ Saskia asked.

  I looked away from Ms Montgomery.

  ‘Ugh,’ Grace huffed. ‘I hate tests.’

  ‘Well, I don’t!’ Saskia laughed. ‘I can’t wait to do them. I’m going to top the year, I can just feel it!’

  Zoe rolled her eyes.

  ‘Come on,’ I urged Zoe and Grace. ‘We’ve got to get back to the dorm.’

  ‘What’s the rush?’ Portia asked.

  ‘Yeah, what are you three up to?’ Saskia said, narrowing her eyes.

  ‘Oh, nothing. Just need to get ready for school,’ I said hurriedly, pointing to my messy bun, which was bundled on top of my head.

  Grace and Zoe jumped up with their trays and shuffled after me. I looked back over my shoulder and saw Saskia purse her lips.

  We needed to be very careful. She was definitely suspicious.

  Chapter 14

  Grace closed our bedroom door and ran back over to my bed. She jumped on, rocking me and Zoe as we crowded around the laptop.

  ‘Quick, let’s see before Violet gets back from breakfast,’ said Grace.

  Zoe held the computer in her lap and began navigating around the screen. She opened the file with the overnight footage.

  The image on the screen was dark and grainy.

  ‘Will we be able to see anything?’ I asked, worried.

  ‘Yes, just let me pump the resolution up a bit,’ she said, her fingers clacking the keys.

  We watched as she switched the video on. Nothing appeared to happen, the video just showed the quiet stairwell in the darkness.

  ‘If you look along here,’ Zoe said, pointing to a bar running along the bottom of the screen, ‘it will show us at what points in the night movement or sound occurred. See here, at 10.07 p.m., we get something.’

  I leaned in, holding my breath.

  Zoe flicked the cursor along the bar to 10.07 p.m. and turned up the sound. Nothing came onto the screen but we did hear the unmistakable sound of the bathroom door opening and squeaking closed.

  ‘Just someone going for a wee,’ Grace said, disappointed.

  I giggled.

  ‘What about there?’ I asked, pointing to a marker further along. It was at 10.35 p.m.

  Zoe pulled up the footage and we saw movement on the staircase. Ms Montgomery glided up the stairs and turned down the hallway. She was doing her final checks on everyone before going to bed herself, we figured. We saw her walk back down the hall again about two minutes later, and on down the stairs.

  ‘Ugh!’ I huffed, frustrated.

  Zoe looked along the bar and pointed to another portion of sound activity. She pumped up the volume again.

  Clink.

  Clink.

  Clink.

  We all looked at each other, confused.

  The sounds got louder. But there was nothing on screen.

  Clink.

  Clink.

  The sound of the gentle clinking grew so loud, whatever was making it was clearly right next to the laptop. But there was still nothing on the screen!

  Zoe scrunched up her nose. Grace’s eyes were wide.

  BANG!

  We all jumped as a loud bang echoed out of the computer. We leaned in and saw the blue vase gently rolling on its side.

  ‘The vase was knocked over this morning!’ Grace said.

  ‘What knocked it over?’ I asked in a shaky voice.

  ‘You don’t think Saskia was right, do you?’ Zoe asked. ‘I mean, about the ghost of Ms Montgomery’s fiancé?’

  Grace let out a nervous laugh. ‘As if,’ she said. But she didn’t sound so sure.

  ‘Look, there’s some more activity at 2.02 a.m.,’ I said, keen to get away from the ghost question.

  Zoe pulled the cursor along and brought up the footage. We could hear light footsteps padding up the hallway. Suddenly, there was a figure standing right in front of the screen. It was hard to tell who it was, because her back was turned to the screen and it was grainy and dark. But she had a light coat on. Like she was going outside.

  ‘Who is it?’ Grace hissed, leaning in closer and squinting at the screen.

  ‘She’s not tall,’ Zoe remarked, turning her head to one side.

  The figure looked left and right, then started tiptoeing down the stairs.

  ‘Look, she has shoes on!’ I exclaimed. ‘She’s clearly going out.’

  We still couldn’t tell who it was.

  ‘Well, whatever goes out, must come back in,’ Grace shrugged. ‘Scan ahead for when she comes back.’

  We looked at the computer screen and saw that the next flurry of activity was around ten minutes later.

  The figure padded back up the stairs, looking left to right again as she went. When she got to the top of the stairs, she looked right square in the direction of the computer camera.

  She was small.

  Her skin was pale in the moonlight.

  She had a little face.

  And big round glasses.

  We all gasped.

  It was Violet.

  Chapter 15

  × −

  From: Ella

  Sent: Wednesday, 12:15 PM

  To: Olivia

  Subject: What do I do??!!!

  Hi Olivia,

  You’ll never believe what’s going on here. I think we caught the Eden Thief. It’s Violet. You know, the girl in my room who is really quiet and weird? Yeah, well, we saw her sneaking out at 2.00 a.m.

  I don’t know what to do. I’ve got the evidence on video—do I show Mrs Sinclair? But she specifically told me not to accuse people. Do I confront Violet? What will she do? I’m so confused.

  I also think we caught a ghost on camera, but that’s another story.

  Thanks for your email. That story about you and your friends—LOL! I can’t believe you used Max and Bob to create a diversion while you snuck into the kitchen to take the cookies …

  Wait a second! Oh my gosh, I’ve just had an epiphany! Just like in Millie Mysteries! Gotta go—will explain everything later!!!

  Love, Ella

  xx

  I pushed the ‘send’ button and slapped my laptop shut. Grabbing it, I ran out of the dorm study room and out onto Centenary Lawn, where Grace and Zoe were having lunch in the sun. Grace’s long, tanned legs were stretched out in front of her and Zoe’s were tucked up underneath her. Zoe had chosen a sandwich from the dining hall and Grace had a wrap. I bolted over to them and sat down, nearly knocking over their drinks.

  ‘Woah, slow down, Ella!’ Grace laughed.

  ‘No time! I’ve worked it out!’ I blurted.

  ‘Worked what out?’ asked Zoe.

  I put my laptop down and pulled my notebook and pen out of my bag, hurriedly flicking through the pages of notes I’d written on the dorm thefts. I found the section of notes from when I’d met with Mrs Sinclair.

  ‘Here,’ I said, circling something I’d written.

  Zoe and Grace leaned in to look. I’d circled the words ‘Filing cabinet key lost’.

  ‘So what?’ said Grace.

  ‘Mrs Sinclair lost her filing cabinet key right after her office was burgled,’ I explained. ‘Bit of a coincidence, isn’t it?’

  Zoe frowned.

  ‘Olivia emailed me and told me this funny story about how she and her friends got Bob and Max to create a diversion so that they could sneak into the kitchen and steal cookies from the pantry,’ I said breathlessly.

  ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ Grace said.

  ‘That’s when it hit me! It’s a diversion!’ I said, wide-eyed.

  ‘Like, a distraction?’ Zoe asked.

  ‘Exactly!’

  ‘The thi
ef is stealing cookies?’ Grace asked.

  ‘No!’ I laughed. ‘The thefts are a diversion. What have we all been concentrating on since the items have gone missing?’

  ‘Well … the missing stuff, I guess?’ Grace shrugged.

  ‘Yes. The missing necklace, the watch, the scarf and then the trophy. Those all seemed like valuable things,’ I said. ‘But what if they were stolen to cover up the thing that the thief really wanted?’

  ‘Which is …’ Zoe asked.

  ‘Mrs Sinclair’s key! She didn’t lose it—it was taken! But when she saw the window was open and the trophy gone, she thought it was because the thief wanted the trophy. But the thief didn’t want the trophy. She wanted something in the filing cabinet!’

  ‘Like what?’ Grace asked.

  ‘I have no idea,’ I said. ‘But I do know that the thief will be back tonight.’

  ‘Why tonight?’ Zoe asked.

  ‘Because of the announcements this morning! Remember what’s happening tomorrow?’ I prompted.

  ‘Tacos?’ Grace asked.

  ‘No! The handyman is coming to fix Mrs Sinclair’s filing cabinet. Whatever was taken will need to be returned by tonight, otherwise Mrs Sinclair will know what the thief was really interested in!’

  Zoe looked doubtful. ‘Are you sure, Ella? That seems like a pretty elaborate plan.’

  ‘But it makes sense,’ I insisted. ‘And now we know who the thief is, all we have to do is catch her in the act tonight.’

  ‘You still think it’s Violet?’ Zoe asked.

  ‘I know it’s Violet. But I don’t know why. We need to catch her in Mrs Sinclair’s office and then we can confront her.’

  Zoe and Grace looked at me silently.

  ‘You know,’ Grace said, ‘if you’re wrong and we’re caught, we could get in a whole heap of trouble. We’re not even allowed out of our dorm rooms at night, let alone out of the house.’

  ‘I’m not wrong,’ I insisted. ‘I can feel it in my bones. This is right. Are you with me or not?’

  Grace sucked in a sharp breath. Zoe bit her lower

  lip.

  ‘OK, I’m in.’ Grace put her hand out into the middle of the circle.

  ‘Me, too. But only because you’ve been my best friend since we were, like, five,’ Zoe said, putting her hand on top of Grace’s.

  I put my hand on top of their hands and smiled. ‘Let’s do this.’

  Chapter 16

  When my Nanna Kate was younger, she travelled with her best friend all around the world. She told me that when they were in France, they went to a very famous museum to look at a display of rare gems and minerals. They were extremely valuable and heavily guarded. She liked them because they shone so brightly in the afternoon sun. She said it was like looking into the eyes of the moon. All types of people came to see the display—there were older people whose tired eyes were reignited by the dazzling display, there were students and parents and even a very young girl, maybe four years of age, who kept pointing at the shiny rocks with her eyebrows raised. Nanna Kate said the little girl dropped her doll and she picked it up for her and told her the doll’s eyes were as sparkly as the gems on display, which the little girl laughed about. But her mother scolded the girl for talking to strangers.

  Nanna Kate said they were just about to leave when an alarm sounded and panic ensued. Two of the most valuable gems were gone from the display—despite the security guards, someone had stolen them. The security doors were closed and everyone was asked to show their bags. As the police and guards checked Nanna Kate’s bag, she saw the little girl and her mother leaving, the mother’s bag having already been checked. That’s when Nanna Kate realised. She told the guard, and, sure enough, they found the missing gems hidden in the head of the little girl’s doll, stuck behind the glass eyes so they didn’t rattle. That’s why the doll’s eyes had sparkled so much. The mother had planned the whole thing—nobody would ever have suspected the thief was a four-year-old child, you see.

  And so, Nanna Kate always says, appearances can be deceiving.

  I thought about this story as Grace, Zoe and I got ready to crack open this mystery. It was lights-out in the dorm and Violet was in her bed, fast asleep. We quietly crawled out of our beds and pushed our pillows and some jumpers under our blankets, to make it look like we were still sleeping. Violet couldn’t know we weren’t there, otherwise she might be suspicious and not try to sneak out herself.

  Zoe, Grace and I only spoke in hand movements.

  We slipped on our jumpers—even though it was a summer night, we wanted our hoods up to obscure our faces. And we made sure we were wearing dark colours all over our bodies, so we could sneak around in the night without being seen.

  I quietly pulled on my sneakers, which are good for sneaking. Grace slipped her backpack over her shoulder—it had her digital camera in it, so we could take a photo as evidence. And we’d also packed a torch and some rope. I don’t know why we packed rope, really, but the spies in movies always seem to have rope, so we thought we’d better bring some just in case.

  I slid my hood up over my head and gestured to Grace and Zoe to move towards the door.

  Zoe opened the door, which creaked loudly.

  We whipped around to check Violet was still asleep.

  She was. Phew!

  We snuck out into the hallway and tiptoed up the carpet. Every time we heard even the faintest noise, we’d plaster our bodies against the cool wall, trying to remain hidden.

  Grace led the way down the stairs and towards the big front doors of the dormitory. This was going to be tricky. The doors were heavy and made a loud clunking sound when they closed, so we had to be extra careful.

  Grace held the door while Zoe and I bundled out, then slipped out after us. She kept the door open and looked down at her watch.

  ‘Three, two, one,’ she mouthed.

  Right on ‘one’, the clock in the hallway chimed 10.00 p.m. and she closed the door, using the chimes of the clock to muffle the clunk the door made.

  We nodded at each other. Our plan was going flawlessly.

  We padded up the path, winding our way back into the main part of the school. Everything looked so different at night. The tall, old fashioned buildings looked creepy under the moonlight and I half expected bats to come swooping down from the steeple.

  But they didn’t. Of course.

  We walked all the way up to the administration block, and only stopped once we were outside the foyer of the office, right under a window. Zoe gave me a boost up and I pushed the window open. I knew the window would be unlocked, because we had set it up earlier that afternoon.

  Grace and I had gone up to the office and, while Grace distracted the secretary by asking for some forms she said she needed, I had quietly unlatched the window from the inside.

  So it was ready and waiting for us now.

  I slid my body through the open window and then helped Zoe and Grace lift themselves up and over. We were in.

  We crept behind the secretary’s counter and along the short corridor to Mrs Sinclair’s office. Her door was shut. I wondered for a panicked moment if it was locked—that would spoil our entire plan!

  I jiggled the doorknob and was relieved when the door creaked open.

  Inside, Mrs Sinclair’s office was dark and cold.

  I had a sudden sense of guilt. It felt like we were betraying Mrs Sinclair’s trust and invading her privacy. My cheeks flushed red with uncertainty. But I wanted to get her trophy back. And Zoe’s necklace. And find out exactly what Violet was up to.

  ‘OK, what now?’ Zoe whispered.

  ‘Now, we wait,’ I said solemnly.

  We ducked down beside Mrs Sinclair’s desk. Grace turned her torch on, but I told her to switch it off—if Violet saw the light through the window of the office, she wasn’t going to come in.

  Grace unzipped her backpack and pulled out her digital camera, ready to snap a photo when the culprit arrived. She also pulled out a pack of marshmal
lows.

  ‘Grace! That’s so unprofessional!’ I complained.

  ‘What? We need energy for a stake out. This could be a long night!’

  I shook my head and, even though I disapproved, I took a marshmallow and ate it.

  ‘What’s going to happen to Violet when we expose her?’ Zoe asked softly.

  I hadn’t really thought about that. I had a sudden feeling of remorse. That means deep regret.

  ‘What if she gets expelled?’ Grace asked.

  I shrugged awkwardly. ‘But she can’t just get away with it either,’ I reminded them, pushing away my guilty feelings.

  We sat in silence, thinking about the whole situation.

  I leaned against the wall and a wave of tiredness suddenly took over my whole body.

  ‘Maybe we should take turns staying awake,’ Zoe suggested.

  ‘I’ll go first,’ Grace offered.

  Zoe and I leaned on each other and closed our eyes. I wanted to stay awake, but the pull of sleep was just too strong. I felt myself drifting … swaying … falling.

  Suddenly, a noise outside startled us all.

  ‘Grace, did you fall asleep?’ I hissed accusingly.

  Grace shrugged guiltily.

  ‘There’s someone outside!’ I whispered.

  There was another clang—someone was fiddling with the window! Grace, Zoe and I ducked down behind Mrs Sinclair’s desk, completely out of sight.

  Then Violet appeared in the window—it was definitely the shape of a young girl, all in black, with a small backpack hugging her body. She wore a black jumper with the hood pulled tightly over her face. I couldn’t see her glasses, but I knew it was her.

  She slithered in, like a snake slithers into its burrow, and landed on the floor with a thud.

  I looked at Grace and Zoe and made a hand movement that meant ‘ready for our plan?’. They both gave a thumbs up. When Zoe gave the signal, I was to jump up and hit the lights so Grace could snap a photo of Violet, frozen in the act.

  Violet stalked across the office like a cat. She was light on her feet and her sleek legs made soundless movements. She slinked over to the filing cabinet. When she was standing in front of it, she reached into her jumper pocket and pulled out a silver key. The moonlight bounced off the metal.