Angel Kiss - Laura Jane Cassidy [58]
To the left of the stage there was a mini fairground. Little kids lined up to go on the carousel, the swing boats moved to and fro to the beat of the music and little twinkling red lights illuminated the sign for the funhouse. There was a ghost train too, and as the train came out of the little tunnel I could see Emily and David sitting in it, squashed together and not looking frightened at all. And behind them were Nick and Simon, laughing loudly, hanging out of the side of the train. I still found myself as attracted to Nick as ever, even though I hated him for kissing that girl. I couldn’t help still wanting him.
‘Let’s go back to the stalls,’ I said, before Colin noticed them. I didn’t really want to be near Nick, even if I did still have feelings for him. We headed back down the road, and Colin’s eyes were drawn to the cake stand. We surveyed the éclairs and chocolate cakes and Colin decided to buy a caramel square.
‘So much for my diet,’ said Colin, mid chew.
‘Would you shut up? You’re so skinny,’ I said.
‘I’m two double cheeseburgers away from full-on love handles.’
I breathed in all the different smells – corn on the cob, crêpes, hotdogs, but didn’t eat anything. My stomach was unsettled, just like it had been during those strange incidents in the forest and in the Cupcake Café. This time I wasn’t frightened though. I felt strange, but weirdly calm at the same time. There was an edge to this sickening feeling that was almost addictive. I welcomed it. It meant she was back.
I looked for any signs, any clues that I could add to the collection I already had. Colin wanted to find Jane too, but he wasn’t thinking about her now. He wanted to help her, but he could just as easily have forgotten about her. For me she was a continual concern.
People flocked to the centre of the village – locals and tourists, former residents and relatives of current ones. Sarah walked past us in a stunning pink dress, and didn’t even look in our direction. I thought it was more out of embarrassment than bitchiness though. She had hardly spoken a word to anyone in the group since the break-up. She looked pretty miserable. I still reckoned she would win the Miss Avarna title. Her flawless skin, brown eyes and tiny frame meant she already looked like a celebrity. The judges would adore her.
‘Let’s check this out,’ I said, pointing at the table with a banner that read guessing stall. Rita Clancy was sitting behind the table, on which stood a glass jar full of marbles, a giant ball of wool and a porcelain doll.
‘Are you going to have a go?’ she asked me. ‘You have to guess how many marbles there are –’ she pointed to the jar – ‘how long that is –’ she pointed to the blue ball of wool – ‘and what this little lady’s name is.’ She pointed to the porcelain doll. ‘Write down your name and phone number too so I can phone you if you win.’ She handed me a pencil and a slip of paper. I wrote down:
256
50 metres
I picked up the doll to have a closer look. It had curly black hair and wore a frilly peach-coloured dress and a beige coat with two gold buttons. She was a bit scary, with glassy green eyes that looked straight at me.
I scribbled down the word Jane and gave my guesses to Rita. She popped them in a cardboard box along with the other entries.
The Miss Avarna contestants were huddled round the stage, preparing to learn their fate in less than half an hour. They wore huge smiles, some genuine, some blatantly fake.
‘She cannot get away with that,’ said Colin, pointing to a girl in an unflatteringly clingy dress. ‘And that does nothing for her,’ he added, pointing to an ill-fitting halter dress.
‘Shhh!’ I said. ‘They’ll hear you.’
I followed Colin under the balloon arch into the fairground. We waved to Chris, who was working there for the day. He was helping a little kid out of a bumper car and looked totally bored.
‘Let’s queue for that,’ Colin suggested, pointing to the carousel where there was still a long line of children