Chapter One
Taking a bite out of her end of the long cable of strawberry liquorice, Charlie turned the page of her Famous Five book. It was one of her favourites where the five go to a treasure island and find a huge stack of gold ingots. She always wished something like that would happen to her, but it never did. Her life at West Shore wasn’t that interesting.
“I didn’t finish that.”
Charlie sighed and turned the page back. Sticking the strawberry lace in her mouth to suck on, she looked to her right to her best friend, Jake. His end of the same lace hung limply from his mouth as he concentrated on the page. His lips moved as his light blue eyes read the words, his forehead furrowed in concentration. Jake was overdue for a haircut, so his shaggy dark hair hung straight over his eyes. Every now and then, he would unconsciously lift a hand and sweep his hair out of his sight.
“How come it takes you forever to read?” Charlie asked, impatient to read the next page.
Without even looking away from the page, Jake replied, “I read every word. Mrs. Wilson says it’s better if you do. If you rush you might miss something.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. Mrs. Wilson was their year six English teacher. She was forever telling Charlie to slow down when she read out loud. Charlie didn’t think she was going fast at all. Her brain just found it easier to talk and read the way it did. So what if she missed a few words. It still made sense to her.
Charlie handed the book to Jake and snapped their long strawberry cable in half. Jake didn’t even notice his end of the lace fell limply to his chest. His focus was on the book. Getting up off the blue plastic child’s sized chair, Charlie stood up. She had to bend slightly as to not hit the tree house’s low roof. Her father built the tree house when she was much younger and Charlie noted with a sadness at how small it was getting. Not even a couple of day’s ago, her father said they were getting too big for it. Certain bits of wood creaked with old age and constant usage, but Charlie couldn’t imagine not coming here every day. When she first met Jake it took her a while before she bought him to the tree house. This was her place where she’d come alone. One day, they were bored with nothing else to do as they played curb-ball for easily the hundredth time; she decided to bring him here. He loved it instantly and Charlie never regretted the decision. It quickly became their place. A home for themselves.
Looking over to the small shelves that were on one of the tree house walls, Charlie searched through their collection of shared books. They had read every single one, some even twice. When it was a grey day like it was that very morning, they read inside the familiar comfort of their shared home instead of playing out in the cold. The tree house was decorated with drawings they did of worlds they created. There were two small desks that were covered with pencils and felt tips. Charlie was about to pick up another Famous Five book from the shelf, when they heard voices outside.
Charlie looked at Jake, who lowered his book slightly staring at her over the top. The red lace still hung uneaten from his mouth. Neither of them moving, they listened to the multiple footsteps of people coming through the woods towards them.
“Of course they’re in there,” a voice said outside. “They always are.”
Jake and Charlie looked back at each other. The voice belonged to Jimmy Kirby. He was in their year at school and lived on the other side of West Shore.
“Come out, come out wherever you are,” another boy’s squeaky voice said, as the others sniggered.
Jake shook his head slightly, but Charlie not fearing them got up and walked to the window. She saw the three boys standing below the tree house. The house itself wasn’t high, as her father didn’t need Charlie jumping out of it trying to fly or something only to break her leg or an arm. So it was built on a low branching tree and the house itself was on stilts just over two feet in the air. A small stair case lead down onto the leaf covered forest floor.
