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Authors: Cathy Hopkins

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BOOK: Zodiac Girls: Brat Princess
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“Programme?!
What
programme?”

Mario turned to Mr O. “You haven’t told her yet
then?”

Mr O shook his head.

“No. He hasn’t told me anything. What kind of
hotel is this exactly?’

Mario laughed. “Hotel?
Hotel?
” He held his arms up
to indicate our surroundings. “This isn’t a hotel. Least
not any longer. Oh no. Those days are long over. Now
it’s a boot camp.”

“A
boot
camp?”

Mr O and Mario nodded.

I felt an awful sinking feeling in my stomach. “And
why am I here exactly?” I asked although I was
beginning to get the picture.

And it wasn’t looking good.

 

Chapter Four
Queen of Sheba

“Look, let’s get this sorted, then we can all be on our
way. Let me speak to my mother. Um. Please.”

Mario and Mr O exchanged looks.

“You told her the real news yet?” asked Mario.

Mr O shook his head.


Real
news? What are you on about?”

“Later,” said Mr O. “All in good time.”

“Two calls,” said Mario, and handed me a portable
phone from a hatch in the wall through which I
glimpsed a drab-looking office full of files and
cardboard boxes.

I took the phone and walked over to the corner. I
had a bad feeling about what was happening and was
totally unsure how to play it. These guys might be
über good-looking, but they also looked as if they
meant business. And they might think that calling it
boot camp was some kind of funny joke, but I knew
what was going on. I’d been kidnapped. I needed
Mummy to get me out and fast. I dialled her number
and she picked up straight away as if she’d been
standing by the phone.

“Is that you Leon—?”

“Mummy, thank God. Shut up and listen. You have
to act quickly as I don’t know how long I’ve got but I’ve
been kidnapped. I’m not sure where they’ve brought me
but I’m pretty sure that it’s England somewhere as all
road signs and billboard posters are in English. I’m near
a village called Osbury. Wasn’t that near where we
used to live when I was little? It looked familiar.
Anyway, check it out and trace this call. Get the police
on it and get them on it
fast
. I don’t like it here. It’s
spooky and I don’t know what these men have got
planned. There are two of them so far, but there may
be others.”

There was silence at the other end of the phone.

“Mummy?”

“Yes. Yes, darling, I’m here…” She sounded as if
she’d been crying.
So the dirty rotten scoundrels have been in
touch already
, I thought.
Probably demanding their ransom
.
Still. I didn’t know why she was crying. We could surely
afford it whatever it was.

There was a commotion at the other end and
Daddy came on.

“Leonora?”

‘Yes. Daddy. Did you hear? I’ve been kidnapped.
Two men—”

“No, Leonora.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“No, darling. We… that is... your mother and I have
paid for you to attend a… well… a sort of programme
over there.”

“WHAT?” I cried, causing Mario and Mr O to look
over. “A programme? That’s what they said. What sort
of programme? Noooooooo. I don’t want to do a
programme. I want to go to Paris with…”

“Boot camp,” Daddy interrupted and this time his
voice sounded firm. “We’ve had enough of your
behaviour, Leonora. You left us no other option.”

A quick replay of their emotional goodbye flashed
through my mind. Mum not asking what I wanted for
Christmas dinner. Both of them acting guilty and
clingy. Suddenly it all made sense. They had set me up!

No WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
cried a
voice in my head. “Daddy, I am sooooo
not
staying here.
I
won’t
. Get me out or send someone to come and get
me and make it SNAPPY.”

“It’s only for a month,” said Daddy.

“No. No.
NOOOO
. What part of that don’t you
understand?”

“A month, Leonora,” Daddy repeated.

“A month? A
month
? Are you out of your mind? It’s
CHRISTMAS in three weeks’ time! You can’t leave me
here over Christmas. I… you… they…”

“Goodbye, Leonora. They’ll keep us informed of
how you are. And I think you’re allowed a letter once
a week.”

And then he hung up. My own father. Hung up. On
me. I couldn’t believe it! How DAAAAAAAARE he? I
threw down the phone and kicked the wall.

Mario shot me a look as if to say, “Don’t do that”.
I wouldn’t like to get on the bad side of him
I thought.
He
looks tough and a half
.

Mr O was more sympathetic and held up a finger.
“One more call,” he said.

I scowled at them, picked up the phone from
where it had rolled under an old dusty chair and
dialled the only other number that I knew by heart.
Tigsy’s. She’d get her father to rescue me. He was one
of the richest men in Europe. Even richer than my
dad. He’d sort it. And that would show the two losers
standing behind me.

The phone rang and rang and rang.
Oh please pick up,
Tigs
, I thought.
Please don’t let it go onto voice mail
.

I was about to give up and try phoning Daddy back
when she answered. “Hello. Tigsy Piggott’s phone.”

“Tigs, thank god, listen—”

“Hey Leonora. Where were you? Where
are
you?
Daddy and I went out to get you, but were told the
plane had been diverted. Then there was a message
from your parents saying that plans had changed.
What’s going on?”

I turned away from the reception area from where
my two captors were still watching me. “Don’t talk,
listen,” I whispered into the phone. “I’ve been… I’m in
a…” For a second I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t
want to admit that my
own
parents might have really
sent me to boot camp. “I… I’ve been kidnapped.”

Tigsy burst out laughing. “Oh, Lee-lee! You’re such a
scream. Kidnapped? Come on, where are you really?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. In this place. It might
be a hotel, but I think it might some kind of prison. It’s
cold and spooky, I don’t like—”

“Oh you’re
such
a drama queen when you don’t like
someplace,” said Tigsy. “That’s what you said about our
dorm at school remember? But actually I feel the same
about this place. People may say it’s the best hotel in
Paris and I know Daddy paid a fortune for us to stay
here, but it looks like a prison to me, too. Like, I’ve only
got four pillows and you know I like six. So when are
you getting here? It will be so much more fun when
you’re here, too. We can play prisoners and escape
together.”

“No. Tigs. I’m serious!”

Suddenly the line went crackly.

“What was that? You’re breaking up. Bad line. Can
you hear me?”

“Tigs. I’m serious. Get help!”

“Can’t hear you. I heard, I’m… I’m what?”

“Tigsy, get the call traced. Help!”

“Nope. Can’t hear a thing. You’ve gone. Call me
again in five.”

“Noooooooooooooooooo… I don’t get another
call… Don’t go.”

“Laters.”

And she hung up!

I turned round to face my captors. Mr O smiled and
gave me the thumbs up. Mario looked at me as if I was
a worm who had just crawled in from the garden.
Oh
hell
, I thought.
I just landed in it
.

Best play along until I know exactly what I’m up against,
I
decided as Mr O gave me the guided tour of the lodge
in his best TV presenter’s manner,
then I’ll plan my escape
.

“What is this building exactly?” I asked as we toured
a maze of dingy corridors. They all looked the same –
beige wallpaper on the walls, worn-out green-and-black
tartan carpet on the floor and dim lighting from fittings
on the ceiling that looked like they hadn’t been dusted in
a hundred years. I could see the bodies of dead flies and
moths in the bowls of a couple of them. And the whole
place had the lingering smell of boiled cabbage and
lavender polish that reminded me of one of the boarding
schools I’d been to. “And where are all the guests?”

“Guests? Hah! Oh, you’ll meet them soon enough
although I wouldn’t exactly call them guests.”

“So what is this place, then?”

“Used to be a hotel with a fancy restaurant,” said Mr
O, “but as it’s a bit out of the way, it wasn’t doing any
business.”

“So what is it, then?” I asked again.

“Perfect location for a boot camp. The building was
auctioned off in the summer and a few of us clubbed
together and got it.”

“Why is it the perfect location?” I asked, although I
had pretty well worked out the answer.

“It’s so out of the way,” he replied, then laughed and
said in a spooky voice. “No-one can hear you scream.”

Play it very cool,
I told myself as a shiver went down
my spine,
very cool indeed
.

“Only joking,” said Mr O. “No need to look so
scared. Among other things, I’m an actor, you know.”
He smiled his kilowatt smile.

I scowled back at him. “I wouldn’t give up the day
job if I was you. You don’t scare me with your silly scary
voice.”

“Well! You
are
a rude girl.”

I shrugged. “So? Get over it. Maybe someone will
take pity on you and give you a job as an extra in some
movie that goes straight to video.”

Mr O pursed his lips together. I knew I’d hit a nerve.
Hah. One to me,
I thought as he continued the tour and
showed me a scruffy gym with some prehistoric-looking
sports equipment, a dusty library that looked like it
needed some books as most of the shelves were empty,
a huge dark kitchen at the back of the building that
stank of bleach and onions, and a dining room next to
it with a long wooden table and benches in the middle.
The whole place appeared shabby and uninhabited,
which was what gave it the cold, spooky feel.

“That kitchen looks unused and it smells,” I said as
we made our way down yet another corridor.

“Yep. It’s hardly been used since the place was a
hotel, but that’s all changed now. Hermie goes and
gets what we need.”

“Hermie? Who’s Hermie?”

“He’s in here,” said Mr O as he opened a door at
the end of one of the corridors. “This is the… er, the
staff room.”

It was like walking into a miniature planetarium.
Gentle music tinkled from unseen speakers and it was
warm with a lovely smell of baked apples and
cinnamon in contrast to the rest of the lodge. A large
mobile of the Earth and surrounding planets hung
from a beam that ran along the centre of the ceiling.
There were posters of the constellations and galaxies on
the wall, and a painting of the signs of the zodiac. Four
comfy-looking armchairs were placed around a roaring
fire and sitting in the chairs were four people who were
all staring at me. They seemed an odd-looking bunch.
First was an old man with a tweed suit on and a white
beard who looked like he belonged in a bygone age.

“Dr Cronus,” said Mr O. “He’ll be supervising your
lessons.”


Lessons
?” I asked as the bearded man gave me a curt
nod. He didn’t look friendly at all. “Like school?”

“Not exactly. More like karma,” said Mr O. “You
know – the theory that as you sow, so you shall reap.
That’s one of life’s biggest lessons.”

“Whatever,” I said, and stifled a yawn.

Next to Dr Cronus was an extraordinary-looking
woman who looked about thirty. She had long silver
hair and the appearance of a mermaid without a tail.
She had a dreamy expression in her pale eyes and was
dressed in green and silver clothes that had an Indian
hippie feel about them.
So last decade
, I thought as she
glanced over and smiled at me.

“Selene Luna,” continued Mr O. “She’ll be your
counsellor and nurse.”

I nodded at her.
Yeah, right
, I told myself,
play along,
play along, keep grinning. Don’t let them know they’ve got me
worried
.

The third person was Mario and I’d already met
him. He didn’t even glance up at me.

“You can call him War Bear,” said Mr O. “And, if
you like, you can call Selene Mother Moon.”

“What’s with the wacky names?” I asked.

Mr O beamed his smile. “It’s what people do at boot
camp. I’ve seen it on TV. All the organizers and
directors have special names. Mine will be… er… let
me think… er…”

“How about Dingbat Brain?”

Mr O actually considered it, then shook his head.
“No. No. Not right. Instead you can call me… Sun
Bird.”

“Think I’ll stick with Mr O, if you don’t mind,” I
replied. “You might live in wacko city but I don’t.”

The fourth person was the most interesting-looking
and for a brief second I forgot my fear. He was a boy
babe straight out of a Calvin Klein commercial. Fit
bod, great dark wavy hair to his shoulders and, like
Mario and Mr O, the same handsome, chiselled
features. I immediately felt more cheerful as I like boys,
although this one looked at least nineteen, which is
maybe a bit too old for me. He turned and gave me the
same kilowatt smile as Mr O.
Must be family,
I thought.
There’s something about them all that’s similar – although I can’t
quite put my finger on it. Something in the eyes
.

“Welcome,” he said.

“I shan’t be staying,” I replied.

“This is Hermie,” said Mr O. “He’s in charge of
communications.”

“And your name is? Big Bear? Small Bear? Furry
Bear?”

Hermie chuckled. “Hey, she’s funny,” he said to Mr
O. “No. Although some people call me Mercury, you
can call me Hermie here. I’ll stick with that.”

“No. You
have
to have a name,” said Mr O. “Come
on. Play the game. Pick a name. The rest of us have.”

I glanced over at Mr O. For a moment there, he had
sounded petulant. As if he didn’t like not getting his
way.
A bit like me,
I thought.

BOOK: Zodiac Girls: Brat Princess
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