The Tipple Twins and the Gift Read online

  ‘It has been said that Suzy will stand before the queen on stage and reveal her tan for all of seven minutes to celebrate the seven minutes of sun time when she received the tan. She then said, “I think my next move after the show will be to travel to Spain or Cyprus to see how brown I really go. I’ll put videos up on YouTube to show my skin’s progress. That will be really interesting. I think…”’

  The radio host then announced that if anyone was lucky enough to get burnt from the sun today, to call in and enter a lucky draw as the winner would receive ten thousand pounds.

  It was Monday and Boo had waited patiently every day for the twins to arrive home, and he was most pleased when they arrived intact both physically and mentally. However, this didn’t seem to stop him reeling off random words and acting worried. It wasn’t that Jenna and Jessica didn’t believe him. They just didn’t think there was a lot they could do about it. They had to go to school.

  Late again, they walked through the gates of Chumsworth and found themselves witnessing some very odd activity. It was moments after the gates closed behind them that this odd activity took place, and it consisted of what can only be described as the presence of another person coming from behind them. They couldn’t feel it; they couldn’t touch it. They definitely couldn’t smell it, but yes, it was definitely there. However, when they turned to see who or what it was, they found nothing but the gates behind them. No person… just gates.

  It wasn’t until a little later that morning, at nine fifteen, that they thought they sensed something yet again – another person sitting between them on the carpet. So much so that when Mr Smith asked the twins who they wanted to work with, they both pointed to the unknown presence – at which point, Mr Smith assumed they were pointing at each other and paired them up together.

  Feeling very peculiar about what had just happened and wondering why something had made them lift their hands and point so willingly to something they knew nothing about (if this thing ever actually existed), they moved to their desks with a suspicion that the extra person had now gone and started their work.

  At lunchtime their stomachs were growling with hunger and they spent most of the walk to the canteen gossiping with Tommy about room thirteen. The three of them nearly didn’t notice the drama happening all around them as they sat eating crisps and sandwiches. It was only when a pupil called Thomas Leary from year five mentioned their names that their ears pricked and their noses twitched.

  ‘Well I wouldn’t want to be those Tipple twins if you ask me.’

  ‘Yes, I agree,’ said another boy.

  ‘What do you think is going to happen… you know… when we get there?’

  The conversation quickly came to a halt when the group gossiping noticed prying eyes and ears.

  ‘Come on,’ said Tommy, standing up, ‘we’ve got better things to do, haven’t we…’

  ‘Err… yes,’ muttered Jenna, who was keen to get away quickly. ‘Come on, Jessica,’ she said to her sister, waving at her to stand up with them, before all three left the canteen together.

  ‘If someone has something to say, they should just say it, eh?’ said Tommy, as the three of them turned a corner and bumped into more gossiping groups of children swarming outside the hall.

  Feeling eager to find out what it was that everybody was buzzing about, the twins and Tommy inched further through the crowds. Tommy, using his small height to an advantage, crawled to a group of older years and sat by their feet listening to what was being said.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ said a boy.

  ‘Do you think it’s really going to happen? I mean really?’ said another.

  ‘I don’t know, but I’m glad I’m not Jenny McQueen. She said Miss Snippings scratched on her door the other month because she threw a pen across the room, and it hit her teacher on the head by accident.’

  ‘Same as Johnny Ashwood. He got scratches on his door when he was late for class because he got his foot stuck in the toilet.’

  ‘I don’t know what I’m more worried about… the fact he got scratches on his door or the fact he had his foot in the toilet in the first place.’

  ‘Miss Snippings might not say anything at all to them. Just because she’s taking the assembly, it doesn’t mean she’s going to be talking about her scratching on doors.’

  It was at this point that Tommy scampered from the floor and bolted towards Jenna and Jessica.

  ‘You guys are never gonna guess what!’ Tommy said, beaming.

  ‘What?’ said Jessica.

  ‘It’s Miss Snippings! She’s going to be taking the assembly!’

  *

  Scrambling over their seats in the assembly hall, the twins and Tommy fought to be the one to sit in the middle. Giving up, Jenna moved to the other end of the row, which gave Jessica and Tommy no choice but to let her sit in the middle.

  ‘I’ve gotta be honest, I’m glad I’m not you two right now,’ whispered Tommy bitterly. ‘Whatcha gonna do if Miss Snippings kicks you out when she sees she has twins in her school?’

  ‘Don’t bother me,’ snapped Jenna unconvincingly.

  ‘SILENCE!’ screeched a sharp voice coming from behind them, causing the hairs on Jenna’s and Jessica’s necks to stand up. As everyone turned nervously to see who it was, they each saw an extremely tall woman with long fingers and wiry ginger hair. The woman wore a green scarf and walked down the aisle carrying a rigid yet twisted posture. Her hips stuck out slightly forward and her back was heavily hunched.

  No one in the assembly dared move one tiny bit. In fact, the only movement the twins made was to sink further down into their chairs the moment the woman had passed them and took to the stage.

  That woman was Miss Snippings, the headmistress of Chumsworth.

  Miss Snippings sat down on a chair and took centre stage, but this chair was no ordinary chair… it was a throne. A colourful throne of green and gold. A throne indicating power.

  After taking a moment to scan the room, Miss Snippings licked her soggy-looking lips and began speaking. ‘Children! Pupils of Chumsworth!’ she barked, spitting as far as the second row. ‘Welcome back for another year! As I’m sure you are all aware, today’s assembly will be about the All School Production!’

  There were claps in the audience at the mention of the All School Production. Jenna and Jessica caught on slowly and clapped a little before Miss Snippings broke it up by slowly raising a finger.

  ‘The All School Production! The show that every parent looks forward to at the end of the year. The show that promises entertainment and education rolled into one.’ The pupils and teachers clapped again.

  ‘Quiet!’ Miss Snippings bellowed impatiently. ‘This year’s production shall be… shall be…’

  It appeared to Jenna and Jessica that Miss Snippings had forgotten what it was she wanted to say. It was almost as if something had distracted her. Tommy shot a bewildered look at Jenna and Jessica, which they returned quickly.

  ‘The All School Production shall be a show based on the Salem witch trials,’ said Miss Snippings, finally picking up her pace again. ‘A real-life horror story where normal people were accused of witchcraft, and which resulted in numerous executions.’

  Miss Snippings then paused to lick her lips. But she didn’t lick her lips in a normal sort of way. She licked her lips as if she had tasted something horrid. Her peculiar behaviour didn’t end there. Miss Snippings sat silently on her throne scanning the room intensely with her grey eyes and suddenly straightened her back as if she’d never had a problem with her posture at all.

  Feeling the urge to run and hide, Jenna and Jessica sat up stiffly in their chairs before sinking a little further down than before. Miss Snippings raised a long finger in the air slowly for a second time and opened her soggy-looking lips. ‘Someone in this room has undermined my intelligence!’ she shrieked. ‘Someone in this room thinks
they are a cut above the rest!’

  Everyone looked at one another, confused , and Miss Snippings stood up and walked to the edge of the stage. ‘Who in this school has been a naughty child?’ she said, before making her way down the steps of the stage and moving closer to the rows of children.

  ‘Is it YOU?’ Miss Snippings shouted to a year one boy with yellow curly hair. ‘Or YOU?’ she snapped to a girl who had her hands placed neatly on her lap. Miss Snippings edged closer to the twins and closer still before screaming, ‘IT’S YOU!’ and pointing at Jessica, who was now twiddling her sweaty thumbs. ‘You with the rosy cheeks… stand up!’

  Jessica rose from her chair almost immediately. ‘And why have I not seen you before?’ enquired Miss Snippings.

  ‘I’m… new, Miss,’ shrieked Jessica uncontrollably.

  ‘New? I haven’t heard of any new children joining Chumsworth.’

  ‘Yes, Miss. Just me and my sister, and cousin, Miss,’ Jessica rattled, wishing she was anywhere but here.

  ‘Sister? And where is this sister of yours? I want to see her,’ said Miss Snippings. Jenna slowly rose from her chair, also struggling to make any sort of eye contact.

  ‘And what is this we have here?’ said Miss Snippings with great interest. ‘Why, you’re… T-T-T-T—’

  ‘Twins?’ added Jenna quickly to get it over with.

  ‘Yes, twins!’ screeched Miss Snippings. She tightened her wet lips so much they were nothing more than a wrinkled dot on her face. ‘How dare these things enrol at my school without my permission!’ barked Miss Snippings, and she hunched over again as if there was something about the word ‘twins’ that she couldn’t take any more.

  Jenna and Jessica thought her bony figure looked like a tree in winter: all stick and no leaves.

  ‘How dare these things enrol at Chumsworth! So… you thought you could enrol at Chumsworth without me noticing, did you?’

  ‘No, Miss.’ Jenna said bitterly. A weak attempt to argue back. Jessica could have killed her for this. Jessica knew Jenna didn’t really know what she was doing. Miss Snippings scrunched up a little more.

  ‘Let’s see how clever you really are, shall we?’

  ‘But, Miss—’ said Jenna and Jessica together.

  ‘Let me tell you this. Go unnoticed for the rest of the year and you can stay. If I hear just a peep out of either of you, I will make it extremely hard for you to come back next year. Have I made myself clear?’ But before Jenna and Jessica answered, Miss Snippings snapped her hands together. ‘Children! Back to your classes immediately! Assembly is over!’

  As the children fled from the hall, Tommy found it hard to catch up with Jenna and Jessica, who managed to rush outside into the corridors before he did. ‘Hey wait up!’ he shouted before reaching them. ‘Don’t worry. It’s not just you that people were looking at in there. That boy with the blonde hair who she picked on first… rumour has it he wet himself.’

  CHAPTER SIX

  *

  THE HOLE OF BLACK

  It was no reassurance to the twins that the blonde boy had maybe wet himself. In a way they thought he got off lightly. Chumsworth would forget that incident within a month… the twins however…

  And why did Jenna think it was okay to answer back to the head? Jessica knew that Jenna was just as scared as she was. It was either an act of bravery or stupidity. Jessica couldn’t decide. Either way, because of this, they had spent the last few weeks snapping at each other. Jenna knew Jessica was angry at her. But she was too stubborn to acknowledge it. Jessica decided to let it go. They had bigger issues to think about. One of them consisted of keeping their heads down and their eyes wide open. What with Miss Snippings’ threats, they knew they weren’t safe. They felt exposed to a predator. Victims. Was this what Caitlyn felt like on that night?

  It was now the start of yet another week on a Monday. They had every intention of having a normal school day, but they ended up witnessing something quite bizarre. They had actually turned up to school on time as they had done every day since Miss Snippings had made her threats. They’d even gone through most of the day without feeling the strange presence that lingered about them.

  Mr Smith had seated his class and told them to get out their books about the mysteries of the Salem witches (which the twins did willingly). The only thing that got on Jenna’s nerves was the fact that Jessica’s laces were not done up properly on her shoes. Jenna stared and stared, which made Jessica bend down to do them up. Jenna really needed Jessica to buck her ideas up sometimes. Jessica had always been a little scatty, but Jenna had noticed it worsen since the Caitlyn incident. Jenna sympathised with Jessica, she really did, but if Jenna didn’t let Jessica know her laces weren’t done up properly… who knew what would happen? Jessica might trip and fall. Jessica could end up dead.

  ‘Now, before you open your book to the third page, I’m going to explain about the witches of Salem,’ said Mr Smith, breaking Jenna’s train of thought. ‘As you’ve been told already, the witch trials were in fact a group of hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft in 1692. The Salem witch trials were terrifying times to live through. And we must all be thankful we don’t live in them now.’ Mr Smith then paused to clear his throat before carrying on. ‘I’m going to start by telling you that the Salem witch trials were started by nothing more than a group of girls claiming to have been possessed by the devil, and they accused several women who lived locally of witchcraft. If you open your books to page three, you’ll see something that the accusers were saying had happened to them.’

  Jenna and Jessica opened their books and read…

  Children who were inflicted by witches, sometimes made animal noises. For example, one child was found oinking like a pig. They could also burn up temperatures so high they would be sweating as if they’ve been cooked on a fire. One child was even found stiff, as if he had been stuck to his bed with super glue.

  ‘Now, I’m going to begin by telling you about the four Goodwin children. Although these weren’t part of the Salem witch trials, it actually happened in Boston before the Salem ones even began. But it’s a good example of witchcraft, for they were said to have been inflicted by a witch. It’s said that the witch had cast numerous spells on them.’

  ‘Like what, sir?’ asked a boy in the middle row.

  ‘Well, some people say they were found purring like cats and barking like dogs.’

  ‘That’s insane, sir,’ said the boy.

  ‘That’s not all. Some say that the witches had bent and snapped their bones into funny shapes. So much so they no longer looked like human beings but more like broken puppets.’

  ‘That’s horrid!’ the children cried.

  ‘I haven’t finished. They were so tormented they were found flying in the air like birds. They soared and swooped and looped the loop! They soared so high they could see the whole of Salem underneath them.’

  ‘What else, sir? Tell us more! Tell us more!’ cried the children.

  ‘All right then, but just one more,’ said Mr Smith, taking a seat at his desk. ‘There’s the story of Betty Parris. Betty Parris was a girl who suddenly became ill. She said she felt as if she had caught the flu but seemed perfectly fine when she decided to dive under furniture and dash about like a headless chicken.’

  The class laughed.

  ‘She dived under the beds. She dived under the kitchen table. She dived so much it was as if she was a dolphin in the sea.’

  ‘That’s funny, sir,’ said Ruby.

  ‘In fact, while we’re talking about it, I’d like to inform you it was she and her cousin Abigail Williams that started these stories and lies. They would act as if they were being tortured by a witch and blamed certain women who lived locally of doing it. These women were called Tituba, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Martha Carrier. Martha was later found guilty of being a witch and was sentenced to dea
th.’

  ‘That’s awful,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Now, we all know that these stories are made up and I don’t think we will ever truly know the reason that started it all. I can assure you now that if this happened today, nobody would believe it’

  ‘I might,’ said Tommy from the back.

  ‘No you wouldn’t,’ muttered Ruby from the front.

  ‘Now, now class, this wasn’t just something that happened at playtime. These were stories that got so out of control that these people stood up in front of a judge in court and claimed such lies. If you go to the next page, you will see a script from the court hearing.’

  JUDGE: Abigail Williams, who is causing you pain?

  ABIGAIL WILLIAMS: Martha Carrier. She says she will pull my hair and burn my skin if I do not do what she tells me.

  Mr Smith opened his mouth to speak but their lesson was interrupted when the children heard a deathly scream coming from outside in the corridor. Shocked, Mr Smith and the class ran out to see what was going on only to see a year six girl lying on the floor face down. She was grunting words that didn’t make sense and her body was convulsing. Jenna and Jessica walked over to her to try and help her up, and the minute Jenna’s hand touched the girl, she stopped fitting.

  Mr Smith then tried turning the girl over, and when he was successful the girl came to her senses. She screamed, ‘It was them! It was those two!’ and pointed accusingly at the twins.

  ‘What was them? They’ve been in my class the whole time.’

  ‘It was! It was! It was!’ the girl screamed. ‘They blocked my way,’ she said, sobbing. ‘They made me fall.’

  ‘Oh yeah? And how did they make you fall if they weren’t here, eh?’ Tommy said when he shoved his way to the front of the crowd. ‘You can’t say they pushed you.’