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Charlotte was furious. How dare they make such a fool of
her. At least she had the satisfaction that it had been Ashley’s clothes that
she had ruined. That obnoxious friend of his,
Scarlett; how dare
he mock her so? His constant proclamation of his love for her and that she in
turn loves him was sickening. Charlotte somehow always seemed to end up being on
the end of Scarlett’s club’s pranks, and she was sure it was Ashley who
encouraged them to target her, but Charlotte McKay was not someone to be messed
about with. She had a plan. She would get her revenge.
Ashley, Scarlett and the rest of
the gang were up in the tree house trying to decide what they were going to do
next.
“Well if your both leaving we have
got to have a party.” Said Lightfoot.
“Yeah! We can get some apples from
Mr Gedrige’s orchard and we can make decorations.” Said Fingers.
“And you can ‘borrow’ some ale from
your dads tavern. He’ll never know-,”
“Wait. Wait. Slow down. We never
even agreed to a party and your already arranging it.”
“Don’t you want a party?” said
Fingers rather disappointedly.
“Of course I want a party. It’s
just that there’s no need to get overenthusiastic about it.” Said Scarlett.
Charlotte took a net and bucket
down to the pond that was down the end of the field adjacent to her home. She
lay down at the edge and proceeded to try to ensnare as many frogs as she could
capture. Every time she caught one she would put it in the bucket, which she’d,
brought with her. Charlotte had also brought a piece of old cloth that she used
as a lid to stop the frogs escaping. She spent about an hour collecting the
frogs. They were to be a key aspect of her plan.
Once Charlotte had collected enough
frogs she picked herself up and walked towards the woods carrying the bucket
with her. She felt rather pleased that she had been so successful in her ‘frog
hunting’.
“So it’s decided. I will get the
drinks. Peeper will get the decorations.” Said Scarlett.
“Me and Fingers will get the
apples.” Said Lightfoot.
“And I will get the cake.” Added
Ashley.
Ashley thought he could hear
someone climbing up the tree but he dismissed it as a product of his
imagination. They were safe up here as the place was surrounded with traps.
Charlotte was rather more cautious
this time. She wasn’t taking any chances. She had broken off a tree branch and
brushed it across the ground in front of her. This way the traps would be set
off by the branch not her. She got
right up to the tree that held the tree house. Charlotte then threw the branch
down onto the ground and proceeded to climb up the tree as quietly as she could
while balancing the bucket. When she reached the top she crawled over to the
window making sure the inhabitants couldn’t see her. Charlotte lifted the cloth
off the top of the bucket and poured the frogs into the hut through the window.
She laughed when she heard the shouts coming from inside.
One minute they were sitting around
discussing plans for the party. The next minute there were frogs everywhere;
slimy green frogs croaking and hopping around the hut. Ashley jumped up to get
away nearly banging his head on the roof. All the gang were trying to get out of
the hut door at once. This caused a bit of a blockage, which slowed down their
escape. When the finally escaped Ashley saw Charlotte standing there with an
empty bucket and a large grin on her face.
“That will teach you to try and
make a fool of me!” declared Charlotte triumphantly.
“You are so dead!” replied Ashley
angrily.
“I bet you think your so clever.”
Said Scarlett. He picked up one of the frogs and cupped it in his hand.
“Of course I’m clever. I could
outwit you any day.” Replied Charlotte.
“Really!” shouted Scarlett letting
go of the frog. It leapt out of his hand onto Charlotte’s shoulder. She screamed
a scream so loud you could hear it miles away.
Charlotte hastily knocked the
creature off her shoulder and launched herself at Scarlett.
“That’s not fair!” She shouted and
shoved Scarlett over. Unfortunately he was precariously near the edge of the
platform. So that when she pushed him he fell over the edge.
Suddenly it all went rather silent.
The all peered over the edge. Ashley was worried that Scarlett might have been
badly hurt. He had to force himself to look over the side this action made
Ashley feel really dizzy but he was able to focus when he concentrated hard.
Charlotte looked past the boy’s
heads trying to see if Scarlett was all right. She may have been angry with him
but she didn’t want him to be crippled for life or even die. Scarlett was lying
there unnervingly still. Charlotte quickly climbed down the tree and knelt down
beside him. She held her hand a little way away from his mouth. When she felt
his breath she was relived at least she hadn’t killed him. Charlotte looked at
Scarlett he had a cut on his forehead and his foot was turned at a rather
curious angle.
Ashley could see Charlotte had
climbed down and was by Scarlett. He shouted to her,
“Is he badly hurt?”
“He’s breathing but he won’t wake
up!” replied Charlotte in a concerned tone.
“You killed him!” shouted Fingers
angrily.
“He’s not dead you idiot!”
“I think someone aught to go and
get help.” Suggested Ashley. He was worried that they wouldn’t be able to get
Scarlett to help on their own. This accident only served to compound Ashley’s
fear of heights.
“We can’t let people know about our
secret hideout!” exclaimed Fingers.
“Don’t be stupid. Do you want him
to die?” asked Ashley
“No.”
“Then stop being so childish.”
“Ashley! You’re the fastest runner.
Go and run back to the house and get help.” Suggested Charlotte.
“I would go but I'm kind of stuck.”
“Stuck! Your friends hurt and
you’re worried about a little vertigo!”
“Well I-I-I-,”
“Get down here!”
“Alright.” Replied Ashley
reluctantly.
He walked over to the rope-which
was knotted to provide a kind of ladder-was hanging down from the platform.
Ashley caught hold of the rope and tried to climb down. He tried not to look at
the ground below.
Charlotte observed how Ashley was
trying to climb down although he was clearly petrified. His progress was rather
slow but at least he was moving. At last he reached the ground.
“Hurry up!” she shouted.
Ashley rushed towards her and said,
“I’ll go home it’s the nearest place.”
All the trees merged into a blur as
he sprinted through the woods. Ashley ran as fast as he could. His lungs felt
like they would burst. Finally he reached the edge of the woods where it
bordered the field, which belonged to his home. He could see the cottage in the
distance. He paused for a moment to catch his breath then resumed his run.
When Ashley finally got to the
house he felt like he was going to collapse but he persevered. He knocked on the
door pulled on the chain that rang the bell repeatedly. Mrs Archer the
housekeeper opened the door.
“What is it master Ashley?”
“It-it’s Scarlett. We were jus-,
and then Charlotte was there, and-,”
“Master Ashley slow down. What’s
the matter? Has something happened to miss Charlotte?”
“Charlottes alright. It’s Scarlett
he fell from the tree and now he wont wake up.”
“Now calm down I will go and tell
your father. Go and get Mr Archer.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Replied Ashley. He
ran off to get Mr Archer their manservant.
Charlotte waited by Scarlett she
had rolled up her jacket and placed it under his head as a kind of pillow. She
was getting rather worried. Ashley had been quite a while.
Charlotte was relived when Ashley
turned up accompanied by her stepfather and Mr Archer.
They carried Scarlett back to the
house. The Doctor was sent for and arrived fairly quickly. Ashley and Charlotte
were told that Scarlett would be all right. He only had mild concussion and a
couple of cuts and bruises. His worst injury was a sprained ankle. They were
both reprimanded on their childish behavior and how dangerous it was to be
fighting.
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