chapter 2
At breaktime, Charie found it very difficult not to talk. How did Inez do it? Just staring around, saying nothing. Charlie wasn't sat with Joshua like he was going to. He had had enough of him already. Charlie just sat with Fidelio and Billy while they waited for the others.
"So, Charlie, who was your switching partner? Mine was that Rosie girl. You know the one that fainted when she saw Oli Sparks' toe?", asked Fidelio.
Charlie just nodded.
"Charlie's switching partner was Inez. Mine was Emma", said Billy.
"Inez? Isn't she one of the twins? The ones that never say anything?", asked Fidelio.
Charlie nodded again.
"Ooh. Bad luck Charlie", Fidelio said in a high, girly voice (pretending to be Rosie).
Lysander, Tancred and Gabriel ran up to them. Lysander looked around and then whispered, "Manfred and Zelda split up!"
Olivia came rushing towards them.
"WHAT!", she yelled.
"Ssh! Keep your voice down!", whispered Gabriel.
"Sorry! Manfred's my best friend, I need to know everything about him!", Olivia winked.
Billy was confused.
"I'm Asa, remember?", said Olivia.
"Hey switching buddy!", exclaimed Billy.
"Hi Billy", Emma looked up from her book.
"I don't read books Emma", Billy said.
Emma sighed and put her book in her bag.
"You know Emma, you don't look anything like me"
"STOP COMPLAINING! I NEED TO HEAR ABOUT MANFRED AND ZELDA!", yelled Olivia.
Billy looked at the ground.
"How do you know?", asked Emma.
Lysander explained everything.
"And then he actually told me Zelda dumped him! I couldn't believe Manfred told me that!"
"Well, technically, you are him", said Emma.
"Oh, Tancred, sorry I made you angry this morning. I didn't mean to", said Olivia.
Tancred didn't reply. He just smiled. Lysander rolled his eyes and smiled at Olivia.
"I never thought I'd say this but I think we need to help Manfred", said Lysander.
Charlie's eyes widened.
"Finally! Someone who understands! His hair seriously needs to be cut!", said Olivia.
"I'm not talking about his hair, doofus! I'm talking about Zelda!"
"I guess he needs help with that too", Olivia shrugged.
Emma shook her head and laughed.
The rest of the day went very slowly. Charlie was so glad when it was time to go to their dormitaries. Then he could talk secretly to Fidelio, Billy and Gabriel.
"I have the worst switching partner ever!", Charlie whispered.
"At least you don't have to act all girly! I can't even scream!", laughed Fidelio.
"Lights out!", came the screeching voice of Aunt Lucretia, the school matron.
Charlie got to sleep quickly but just before midnight he was suddenly woken. He had a dream about Asa -as a beast - chasing him. He thought the footsteps were just in his dream but then he heard them again. His mind was drawn away from the footsteps for a few seconds when the cathedral clock stroke midnight. It sent a shiver down his spine. Then the footsteps got closer, closer, a floorboard creaked. Charlie realised that Fidelio and Billy were also awake now. In fact, everyone in the dormitary was. As Charlie slowly sat up, he saw two yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Like two suns shining in a pitch black sky. Then, the beast swept out of the shadows and was getting ready to pounce. Charlie gasped, closed his eyes and... when he opened them it was gone. Was he dreaming? No. He saw everyone was sat up, startled by this perculiar thing. Then the sound of laughing filled the silent air. A girl's laugh. Olivia's laugh!
"Olivia?", whispered Charlie, as it was too dark to see her.
"Yes... it's me!", she whispered between giggles, "You should've seen your faces!"
"So it was just an illusion?", Fidelio said, in a hushed voice as he didn't want anyone else to hear about her newly discovered talent.
"Sorry guys, it was just a joke. I thought it would help me get into Asa character better. It was the best idea ever though"
The next morning at breaktime, the 6 friends met up.
"I have a plan", announced Emma.
"Excuse me, we have a plan", Olivia put her hands on her hips. Her hair was now bright orange and her eyes yellow.
"Yes, anyway, Billy is going to ask Zelda why she broke up with Manfred"
"Why me?", asked Billy, getting nervous.
"Because you're cute and innocent-looking. Plus, Zelda hates you the least", explained Olivia.
Billy folded his arms and frowned. He didn't like being called cute, it made him feel younger and smaller than the others, which he was, "Okay" he said.
So, before breaktime was over, Billy went inside to find Zelda who was in her dormintary studying. He knocked on the door, which there no point in doing as the door was open and Zelda could already he was there.
"What", she said, not looking up. Her eyes looked slightly pink underneath, Billy took note of this.
"I was sorta kinda wondering what happened between you and Manfred", Billy said, fiddling with his fingers.
"Who told you?", she exclaimed.
"I-I-I... overheard someone say about it", Billy said quietly.
"Well go away", she said, not sounding very angry.
"But I..."
"I SAID GO AWAY!", she yelled.
Billy scurried out of the room.
He told his friends what happened.
"Okay, time for plan B", said Olivia.
"We have a plan B?", asked Fidelio.
"I'm prepared", said Olivia, "Anyway, Gabriel, now it's your turn"
"You mean I have to talk to Zelda?", asked Gabriel.
"No, she'd suspect something. You have to steal one of her necklaces or something. Then you can do your thing"
"But I'm a terrible stealer, I look really guilty. Plus, I don't like stealing."
"Well technically, you have a right to take it, you are sort of Zelda. I'll steal it", said Lysander, "She'd never suspect me. But how am I gonna get away with going into the girls dormitary?"
"Just go into the cloakroom, she might have left something in her cape pocket. If not, just take the cape. Tell her I left something in there if she catches you", said Olivia.
"Sounds a bit dodgy, but I'll give it a shot"
So at the end of the day, after supper, Lysander went into Zelda's cloakroom and looked in her pockets. Nothing in the left pocket but in the right pocket there was something. He took it out. It was a gold-coloured ring. Lysander put it on his finger and pulled the sleeve of his cape over his hand. As they walked passed each other in the corridor, Lysander pretended to give Gabriel a high-five and gave him the ring. Gabriel put it in his pocket. When he got back to his dormitary, Charlie and Billy stood next to him in case something went wrong like when Mrs Bloor's glove got stuck on his hand.
"Okay, here we go...", said Gabriel.
He slid the ring onto his finger it was slightly loose but it still worked. Gabriel closed his eyes. Children were leaving a room. It looked like the King's room. He was standing next to a boy with long black hair and coal-black eyes.
"Why was Billy giggling?", Gabriel seemed to be saying (however it wasn't actually him saying it, it was Zelda who the ring belonged to).
"I... er... told him you weren't my girlfriend a while ago", confessed the boy.
"But I have been your girlfriend for ages. Why would you tell him that?", Gabriel was starting to feel as though he had been let down by someone.
"Perhaps we weren't really going out then...", the boy seemed lost for words.
"You mean we never really went out? Are you saying you never loved me?", Gabriel felt like crying now.
"No, Zelda! I just didn't want..."
"Didn't want what? Didn't want me?", Gabriel found himself walking out of a door, in his mind that is.
"Please! Zelda! Wait!", the boy called after him/her.
"This is over Manfred Bloor. OVER!"
The flashback was now finished. Gabriel was feeling an enormous amount of sadness that didn't belong to him. He took the ring off and sighed with relief as he returned to his own feelings.
"What happened?", asked Billy, eagerly.
Gabriel explained to them what happened.
"That happened quickly then!", whispered Charlie.
"LIGHTS OUT!", yelled the matron.
Olivia: I'm awesome!
IDC: You did think of some good plans.
Emma: I helped!
Gabriel: I helped too! I tried on the ring.
Zelda: Which you stole from me!
Lysander: Don't forget me!
IDC: Guys, it's only a story. You all helped.
Manfred: I am still not liking this!
Olivia: Stop critising IDC's story!
IDC: It's okay, please leave honest reviews on my story and if you don't like it please tell me how to improve it otherwise I will never know!
Manfred: Constructive critism: make Charlie Bone die!
IDC: *rolls eyes*
