Stolen

(11) The Girl in the Secrets

"Ready?" grandma asked. She was wearing a wonderful patterned red halter dress that reached the floor; it was as if the dress was especially made for Camilla instead of her grandma.

They exited the house and walked down their driveway to grandma's old banger car and hopped into the car. The seats were freezing cold which made everyone – uncontrollably - chatter their teeth and make their bodies shiver. Grandma started up the car, hoping that it would heat up the car, but all it did was clear the thin sheet of ice on the front car's window.

Everyone sighed in sadness and then grandma reversed out from the driveway and then ended up in the road, so she set off. Camilla wasn't sure where the hall was located, so she hoped that it wouldn't be too loud.

The car ride was silent, but that was fine because no one needed to talk; everyone was focused on keeping warm. Camilla looked out of the window at men wearing black suits and holding shiny-looking suitcases, probably walking back home from a long day of work. There were also a few number of children on the sidewalks - some riding their bicycles, some running - squealing as their friends would kick the behind wheel of their bikes.

Camilla wondered how the celebration would go: would Hamila avoid her, or would the food that grandma made not be cooked properly and then everyone suffered from food-poisoning? She inwardly chuckled at that second thought. Of course that wouldn't happen, grandma was good at cooking.

"What is that sound?" someone asked. She sat up straight from her slouching position and looked at grandma. "What sound?" she asked. Grandma shook her head and continued to drive. Camilla looked at Rachel to see that she was asleep. Her mouth was slightly open, drool at the corner at her mouth. She looked peaceful, and she was snoring. Loudly. Rachel's head slumped to one side while she stayed asleep.

Grandma looked in the front mirror and then sighed. "You might as well get some sleep as well Camilla, this is going to be a long ride" she said. She shrugged and took off her cardigan and wrapped it around her as a duvet. "Okay" she murmured, closing her eyes.

***

Lights were blaring from the small windows, people in party wear were standing in every place visible, and the music was on its loudest volume. Camilla groaned and tried to adjust her eyes to the blaring lights.

Grandma drove to the back of the building to where the car park was. Nearly all of the spaces were taken up with cars. "Look out for spaces" she said. She nodded and also woke Rachel up. At first she protested and snuggled more into the warmth of Camilla's lap, but she shook her shoulder. "Wake up and look for car spaces" she hissed. Rachel immediately sat up and looked out her car window for spaces.

"There's one over there" Rachel said, pointing it out for grandma. The woman thanked her and quickly parked the car into the space. Camilla put her cardigan on and made sure her hair wasn't too messy. She also did the same for Rachel.

They all scrambled out of the car and stretched their arms. Camilla quietly yawned, and then Rachel let out a huge yawn. They both laughed but then they changed it into an odd cough when grandma approached them. She passed both of them and went to the boot. Inside there was a striped patterned A3 envelope with a card inside, a tall shiny bag with something inside of it and a white cardboard box.

"What is this?" Rachel asked as grandma handed her the card and the bag to Camilla. She rested the cardboard box on the top of the car and locked the boot. Then she went to the passenger door of the car and turned the key in the lock to make sure that the car would lock.

Grandma put the car key into her diamond purse - which she only used for special occasions - and took a hold of the cardboard box. She struggled at first to keep a steady grip on it but eventually she did. Rachel and Camilla looked at each other for a second, wondering what could be in the box.