Blood in the Bath (2/5) By Leah Scarpati

(1/5), (2/5), (3/5), (4/5), (5/5).

Sarah, a small, relatively quiet girl with a mass of jaw length frizzy red hair, chewed on one of her finger nails. Evie always thought she was a bit of a baby. She still sucked her thumb, yet somehow managed to be one of the 'favourites' at school, with both teachers and fellow pupils. Sitting next to her was Katie; a firm favourite with the boys and she loved the attention. She laughed in a cackle that wasn't put on for the holiday spirit; it set Evie's teeth on edge. She sat away from Chang, complaining to Evie as she was now allergic to cat hair; as well as grass, nickel and certain perfumes. Evie didn't really like Katie, she was clever and cocky, but better to have on side than not.

Evie caught sight of her self in the mirror as she re-entered the living room and stood to announce the beginning of the night's spooky festivities. Under her witch's hat, her blonde hair had recently been cut short to just above her shoulders. In hindsight it had been a mistake to cut her hair so short, it emphasised her chubby face and there seemed so much more of her body to notice now. Without the obvious physical changes her age afforded her, she carried an extra layer of insulation she would rather do without. The names the kids at school threw around the playground occasionally reverberated around her head all the time.

Her Mother said it was puppy fat and that everyone got it at some point. Looking around the room tonight, she seemed to be the only one here with it. So she had deliberately put on her baggiest star and moon patterned pyjamas to hide under; her blue eyes twinkled under her fair eyelashes as she made her announcement. "As we approach the Witching Hour, let us ask the other side to show us proof of their existence!" There were more giggles and a round of applause as Evie took her place before her awestruck audience at the table and the six girls knelt around it wondering what was going to happen next. Next to Evie, Gemma whispered, "Do they realise we'll be pretending?"

Evie shrugged her shoulders, "Nope! But when you push the glass, make it realistic, don't just be silly will you?" The two friends giggled conspiratorially and Evie directed all the girls to place one finger lightly on top of the glass that sat upside down in the centre of the table. Around the edge of the table were cards with each letter of the alphabet on them, the numbers zero to nine and the words 'yes' and 'no'. Katie nudged Sarah to make her jump and the other girls giggled.

"This is a load of crap!" declared Lori in a matter of fact tone, she took her finger off the glass and crossed her arms over her budding chest. The other girls looked at her, not knowing whether to agree or not, fingers poised. Evie raised her eyes to Lori's freckled face and grinned. "Well then there's no reason not to take part then, eh?!"

Lori looked around at the other five girls and forced a smile that showed the gap in between her front teeth. She was quite an androgynous looking girl and had jumped ship from being one of the most picked on, to the one doing most of the name calling herself. Slowly, she placed her finger back on the glass and exhaled deeply. Gemma was Evie's partner in crime. They had decided to give their school friends a fright, 'wipe the smiles off their faces Evie!' she'd said. Evie looked at her friend and saw just how appearances could be deceiving.

Gemma was tiny, only just five feet tall; she had wavy brown hair that fell down her back like a waterfall. Despite Evie thinking Gemma had a cute little face; she called her a dangerous dwarf because under the cute exterior, lay a devilish sense of humour and a black belt in karate who could kill you with a single touch.

Continued .... Next Page (3/5)

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