It was a quiet day in November. The air was crisp and icy, and frost covered the grass. It was Elsa's favourite kind of day. The thirteen year old sat with her chin resting on the windowsill, looking out. A new family had moved in opposite. Elsa watched the adults moving sofas and boxes into the house. Then she saw a girl emerge from the car. She was about Elsa's age, with red pigtails and a cheeky grin. She wore a rainbow t-shirt with grey joggers and colourful high top trainers. Elsa stared at the girl for a long moment, and then she noticed a smaller boy with blonde hair and a dark grey tracksuit run to catch up with her, a german shepard puppy on a leash. Two new friends, and they have a dog! thought Elsa excitedly.
Suddenly she felt a hand grip her shoulder and pull her back.
"Elsa, get away from the window!" Her mother spoke sharply. "I don't want you to go near that family, do you understand?"
"But why not?" asked Elsa, deeply saddened. "I thought you wanted me to make friends!"
"I do, sweetie, honestly. But not the Summers. They're protestant." She spoke grimly, as if she had said "they're vampires". Elsa wondered how she knew. She took one last look out of the window, and made her way defeatedly to her room.
Is it possible, thought Anna Summers, to be bored and excited at the same time? She had sat on the boot of the car, which had not been emptied yet. The cold air bit the bare skin on her arms, and she didn't know what to do with them. She could see Olaf, her little snowman toy, through the window. It had been a long journey from Londonderry to Belfast, especially without him. She wasn't allowed to open the boot yet. Beside her, her nine year old brother Kris was pulling on Sven's leash. The puppy had seen a cat on the other end of the street and was barking at it. Anna hopped down and helped Kris to restrain him. She looked up and saw the window opposite. There was a girl there with her back to Anna. Her hair was pale blonde, in a braid tied with blue ribbon. She hoped the girl would be friendly, having a friend that lived so close would be wonderful. However, she tried not to pin her hopes too highly as she remembered what her father had told her earlier.
Do you remember the bad people who threw a bottle at your window? They were Catholics. We're moving to a Catholic neighbourhood, so be careful, okay?
His voice played over and over in her head. Soon his voice started to say "Anna!" instead. She realised that this was because he was standing next to her, trying to get her attention. He gestured for her to move out the way of the boot, and she did. Anna looked back at the other house. The girl was gone, but the mother was glaring straight at her.