Welcome to Elm Tree House
BANG!
Toby's head shot up from the pool table he was looking at when the loud noise came from above them. He glanced around at Liam, Frank and Johnny. "What was that?" He asked, his voice coming out as a hushed whisper.
Johnny shrugged. He, Johnny and Frank all looked to Liam for answers.
"Don't worry about it. It was probably just the ghost in the attic," he told them casually only to receive a mix of blank and horrified looks.
"Ghost?" Toby exclaimed.
"Haven't you heard?" Liam asked, potting one of the balls. "Apparently some kids got trapped and killed up there a long time ago. Been haunted ever since.
"Who told you that?" Frank asked.
"Heard Mike telling Tracy about it when she first started here," Liam replied, stepping back from the pool table. "Your turn, Johnny."
Meanwhile, in the office, Mike picked up the ringing phone, "Elm Tree House, Mike speaking… Today?... For how long?... Right, well, we have room for him… Alright, I'll see you then… Bye." Mike put the phone back down and looked up to see Gina looking at him expectantly.
"Go on then, what was that about?" She asked.
"We're taking someone in temporarily, Edward Sheppard. His social worker, Amy, is sending details through e-mail," Mike replied, turning to his computer to open up his e-mails.
"When's he arriving?" Gina questioned.
Mike looked at the clock on the office room, "In about two hours."
Johnny took his shot, the red ball missing the pocket and bouncing off the side of the table. "I don't believe," he told Liam as he straightened up and moved back from the table for Toby to have his go.
"You won't mind spending a night up there then?" Liam suggested.
"Mike won't let us," Johnny told him.
"When has that ever stopped me and Frank? Look, we'll go to bed as we normally do tonight then at midnight we'll sneak up to the attic where the sweets and fizzy drinks will already be," Liam told them all the plan. "Me and Frank will go and get the stuff from the shop now. Right Frank?"
"Yeah," Frank nodded.
"I don't think this is a good idea," Toby spoke up, looking up at the ceiling with a look of uncertainty on his face.
"Why? You scared?" Liam quizzed.
"No!" Toby answered immediately.
"What about you, Johnny?" Liam asked, turning to the other boy. "Are you in?"
"Sure," Johnny agreed, knowing there was nothing to be scared of. Right?
"Good. Get some mattresses up to the attic," Liam instructed, backing away from the pool table to the door. "We'll be back with the sweets."
"Don't get caught," Frank added as he followed Liam.
Carmen, Lily, Tee and Harry were still in the kitchen, reading through Tracy's newspaper article. "This is really good," Tee thought aloud as she finished reading it to Harry.
"Yeah," Lily agreed. "I'm glad she stayed though. She can help me get back with Poppy and Rosie."
"We should hold her a party," Carmen decided, slamming her hands onto the table to push herself up from her seat.
"Jeff likes parties!" Harry agreed to the idea from where he was sitting across from them.
"For what?" Lily asked, turning her head to look at Carmen.
"For not leaving!" Carmen replied as if it was obvious.
"Oh, and we can make cake," Tee added in, smiling. She, too got up from where she was sitting and moved across to check the cupboards for the ingredients they would need. "I like making cake."
"And we can put decorations up in the longue! Make it look sparkly," Carmen grinned, growing excited about the idea.
"Yeah! And I can also make a sign for the room once we've done the cake," Tee said, looking towards the art supplies at the one end of the table.
"And I can pick the music," Lily joined in with their enthusiasm. "And help you decorate the cake."
"What can I do?" Harry spoke up. He'd tried to think of something that he could do by himself but when nothing had come to mind, chose to ask them for their help.
The three girls looked at each other. There was a small silence whilst they tried to think of something that the younger boy would be able to manage without their help so that they could get on with making the cake.
"I know!" Carmen grinned when she thought of something, breaking the silence in the room. "You can make sure that Tracy stays away from here and the living room so she doesn't ruin her surprise."
Harry, happy with the job he had been given, jumped up from the table and ran out of the room in search for Tracy.
Mike and Gina huddled around Mike's computer screen, taking in the details that Amy had sent them about Edward.
"We don't have a spare room," Gina pointed out.
"He can share. Nothing from this e-mail suggests that he won't be able to share a room for a couple of days," Mike replied.
Gina pointed to the screen, indicating towards the start of the second paragraph, "He's an only child."
"It's only for a couple of days before they can find a more permanent place for him. I'm sure he'll manage," Mike said after considering the information.
"Who are we going to put him in with then?" Gina, satisfied with Mike's reasoning so far, continued on to the question of the hour.
"I guess the sensible option is Liam. They're the same age, after all," Mike answered, a little reluctantly. Talking Liam into agreeing to share, even if it was just for a couple of days, wasn't going to be fun.
Gina patted Mike on the shoulder, "Have fun breaking that to him."
"Why me?" Mike groaned.
Gina moved back to her own desk, checking her own e-mails and making herself look busy, "Because you're the one who suggested it."
Liam and Frank were stood at the top of the stairs, looking around the corridor, desperately trying to find Tracy, Mike or Gina. Coats, shoes and money in their pockets, they were eager to get going and buy a night's worth of sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks.
Frank nudged Liam with one arm whilst pointing to the recently spotted Tracy with his other arm, "There!" Liam followed Frank's finger to Harry's room where he found Tracy helping Harry to put a new duvet cover on.
"Tracy," Liam called as he walked over to Harry's door. "Is it alright if me and Frank go out to the park?"
Tracy looked at him suspiciously. "I'm sure it was only a few days ago that you were telling me you were too old for the park."
"I changed my mind," Liam replied as quickly as he could think up a reason. He wasn't going to let her catch him out.
"Fine," Tracy agreed as she finished buttoning up Harry's duvet cover. Frank and Liam high-fived. "But be back in an hour." She called to the boys who had already reached the top of the stairs. She turned to Harry to find out what he wanted to do next.
"Tracy," a voice sounded from the door before she had a chance to talk to Harry. She turned to see Gus, looking at what he'd previously written in his notebook. "It's your turn to cook dinner and it is already five o'clock."
"Oh, I forgot about that," Tracy admitted after checking the time on her phone. "Don't worry, Gus. I'll just get us all a takeaway."
"But we only have takeaways on Fridays," Gus argued. "It's Saturday."
"Fine. I'll go and start it now," Tracy told him and left Harry's room, Gus moving out of her way when she reached the door.
"No! Tracy, wait!" Harry ran after her.
"Tee stop!" Carmen called from where she was reading the recipe on the kitchen table. They had finally found the perfect recipe and got to start on making the cake. Of course, they didn't have enough time to clear up the other recipes so the table was covered with paper of all the different recipes. They could sort that out later. "You're meant to separate the yolks from the whites."
"No, just throw it all in together. It's quicker," Lily argued from where she was stood next to Tee who was holding a half-cracked egg, unsure of what to do with it.
"But the recipe specifically states to separate," Carmen replied after checking the recipe to make sure she had read the instruction correctly.
"What is going on in here?" The three girls turned to the doorway to see Mike staring at the kitchen. The counters were covered in spilled sugar and flour and butter had found its way onto the floor alongside some of the egg whites that were dripping from the half-cracked egg in Tee's hand.
"We're making a cake," Tee answered honestly, smiling, still pleased with their idea. "To celebrate Tracy choosing to stay here."
"And we're going to decorate the lounge for a party," Lily added in.
"That's not a bad idea. After the past few days, I think everyone could do with a party. Just make sure you clean the kitchen up when you're done. I'll keep Tracy out of your way and get some of the others to help you with the longue," Mike told them, backing out of the door. Once outside the kitchen, he turned to leave before remembering why he had gone in there in the first place and popped his head back into the kitchen. "None of you have seen Liam, have you?"
All three girls shook their heads in response.
Johnny knocked the blue covers and pillows off his bed, he could come back for them later. Currently, the corridor was empty and it was the perfect opportunity for him and Toby to get his mattress up to the attic without getting caught. The pair dragged the mattress out of the room as quietly as they could manage and successfully got it into the corridor.
"No! Tracy, wait!" Both heads turned towards the origin of the voice just in time to see Tracy hurry round the corner, Harry running after her. She stopped upon seeing Johnny and Toby with the mattress.
"Where are you two going with that?" She questioned the sheepish looking boys who were stood further down the corridor.
"Tracy, you can't stop. You need to be in the kitchen," Gus appeared from around the corner, notebook in hand. Toby, stood with his back to Tracy stared wide eyed at Johnny, hoping he'd think up an excuse whilst Tracy was telling Gus to just wait a few seconds.
"T… there's a new girl arriving today," Johnny stammered when Tracy turned back to them expectantly. "Mike asked us to take this to Tee's room for her."
"Oh, he didn't tell me," Tracy said.
Toby glanced over his shoulder, "Maybe he just hasn't seen you yet."
"Yeah, maybe," The satisfied Tracy disappeared down the stairs, both Harry and Gus following after her.
"As soon as she see Mike, she's going to know something's up," Toby hissed to Johnny as they continued down the corridor to the stairs to the attic.
"I didn't see you thinking about a way out of it," Johnny muttered back as he put his side of the mattress down to open the door to the attic.
Mike walked past the longue, meeting Tracy at the bottom of the stairs, telling Harry that she didn't have time to play at the moment. "Tracy," Mike greeted before asking, "Do you know where Liam is?"
"He and Frank have gone to the park. They'll be back in an hour," Tracy answered. "Is it important? We could always phone him."
"No, I think this conversation would be best done face to face," Mike shook his head. "We've got a boy coming to stay temporarily today. He's the same age as Liam so he's the most sensible choice to share with. There's more details in the office but could you sort out a bed in Liam's room for him first?"
"But Tracy needs to make dinner," Gus protested.
"I can do that, Gus," Mike told him.
"Two new arrivals today? That's a bit of a coincidence," Tracy spoke up.
"Two?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, Johnny and Toby were setting up a bed in Tee's room for a girl you told them was arriving today," Tracy explained, indicating up the stairs.
"There isn't a girl arriving," Mike informed her. They both looked at each other for a moment before Mike sighed, "I'll go and find out what they're up to."
Both care workers turned and headed up the stairs. Harry, satisfied that Tracy would be busy for the time being disappeared to see if Sapphire was in the longue, leaving Gus alone at the bottom of the stairs. "What about dinner?" He called up after the adults.
Tee placed the wooden spoon down on the messy kitchen counter, satisfied that the cake mix had been well mixed. "It's ready to go in the oven," she announced, calling over to Lily and Carmen, as she poured the mixture into the cake tin. "You did pre-heat the oven, right?"
"Yep," Carmen grinned as she and Lily, who had been sat bored at the paper-covered kitchen table jumped up and joined Tee by the oven. Lily opened the oven as Carmen chucked the oven gloves across the kitchen to Tee who put them on and picked up the cake tin.
Putting the cake tin into the oven, Tee suddenly felt her hands burning. She pulled her oven-gloved covered hands out of the oven and screamed when she looked down at her hands and saw a bright burning red flame coming from the oven gloves. Carmen gasped. Thinking quickly, Lily grabbed hold of the middle of the gloves, pulling them off Tee's red hands and swung them across the room. She spun Tee around, directing her to the sink where Carmen already had the cold tap on and Tee's hands were thrust under the running tap.
Caught up in the panic of the moment, Carmen and Lily had both completely forgotten about the burning gloves on the other side of the kitchen. The three girls jumped where the fire alarm suddenly sounded throughout the building. They turned to see the kitchen table alight. Leaving the tap running, the three of them fled, joining the five other kids and three adults filing out of the house.
Ten minutes away, a sleek silver car was making its way down a narrow countryside lane. In the driver's seat was a young, blonde woman about twenty four years of age with bright blue eyes. Beside her, in the passenger seat, sat a young boy with brown hair, his green eyes focused on the smart, and expensive looking, mobile phone in his hands.
"You know, you're wasting your time. Those old people are delusional-" The boy spoke after returning his phone to his pocket, repeating pretty much the same words that he had been for the thirty minute car journey.
The blonde cut in, "That's not the way to talk about your elders, Edward."
"Eddie," The boy corrected for what felt like the one hundredth time as he rolled his eyes, "The point is they took as much care of me over the past two days as-"
Eddie was interrupted again. This time not by his stupid social worker who was taking him away from his friends, his mum and his home but by screaming sirens.
"Oh for goodness sake," the blonde muttered as she looked in the mirror to see multiple flashing blue lights behind her and nowhere to move out of their way on the narrow road ahead of them. She increased her speed a little bit until the lane developed a layby for her to pull into to let the sirens past.
Eddie stared out of the car windscreen in amazement as two fire trucks, an ambulance and a couple of police cars sped past. "Cool!" He exclaimed.
"Not cool, Eddie," the blonde scolded as she set the car going down the country lane again. "People have probably been hurt." She glanced at the young teenager who was wondering how he'd managed to get himself landed with such a boring social worker. "I know I haven't known you for long, Eddie, but for a thirteen year old, you sure are childish."
Eddie smirked, "Are we nearly there yet?"
The silver car parked up near to some opened black gates. Reaching into the back seat, Eddie slung his rucksack onto his left shoulder and stepped out of the car. He stared at his temporary home in amazement. Two fire trucks, an ambulance and a couple of police cars sat on the stony driveway of Elm Tree House. "You know what, Abby-" Eddie began as he followed the blonde through the gates.
"Amy," the blonde attempted to corrected him but Eddie ignored her.
"Maybe I will like this place after all," he grinned as Amy led him to the group of mostly children huddled on the grassy area outside the house.
"Can I help you?" They were greeted by a man.
"Mike Milligan?" Amy asked to which the man nodded confirmation. "I'm Amy Preston. This is Edward Sheppard," she pulled Eddie forwards from where he was ogling the firefighters rushing in and out of the house.
"Oh hello Edward," Mike greeted. "Welcome to er," he glanced in the direction of the building in which Eddie noticed an orange tinge coming from one of the windows. "Welcome to Elm Tree House."