Melinda’s front door flung open. ‘Save me, Bryony,’ shouted Melinda in mock horror, rushing outside and hiding behind Bryony’s back. In the hall, Freddie waved a large plastic dinosaur and roared.
Bryony laughed and held up her hands in front of Freddie. ‘You can’t come outside,’ she said. ‘I’m Dinowoman and I’ll transform your dinosaur into a teeny, weeny one if you chase my friend any more. Then, the cat next door will chase and eat teeny weeny T-Rex.’
Freddie looked at her in disbelief. ‘You’re not Dinowoman. You’re Briny.’
‘I’m definitely Dinowoman. Look.’ She grimaced, bared her teeth and roared. Freddie squealed with laughter and ran off into the lounge, slamming the door shut.
‘Phew! Come in, Dinowoman,’ said Melinda, leading the way to the kitchen. ‘We’ve been constructing a skeleton.’
‘A real one?’
‘Tempting as it was to head to the local cemetery and dig up a few bodies in search of a skeleton, I settled for a toy one.’ Melinda sat down on a kitchen stool, motioning for Bryony to join her. ‘So, come on. What’s happened? You only left here a few hours ago and you look very perky. Got a new date?’
‘No. Better than that. I have news!’ replied Bryony. ‘I had to share it with you. I couldn’t sit at home any longer.’
‘What’s happened? Was there a local earth tremor I missed?’ asked Melinda.
Bryony took a breath and prepared to tell her best friend about the email. Since childhood, Bryony had relied on and shared every part of her life with Melinda. She was the only person who knew all the details surrounding Hannah’s disappearance and who understood why it was so important she find her sister. She’d offered support and a shoulder to cry on numerous times and Bryony couldn’t imagine how her life would have turned out if she’d never met her friend…
Bryony is eight years old and shaking with nerves. From this day she’ll be anonymous in her new school filled with teenagers – teenagers who don’t know about her horrible twitching episodes or her accident. Kids who won’t know about Hannah running away or about her father who’s been in hospital for months following a nervous breakdown. He’s back home now and looks better. He isn’t a headmaster any more. Bryony heard him talking to Mum about going back into teaching at a local school.
They now live in a small village where news of what goes on in Derby does not reach them. Everyone in Cobblestone seems more interested in protesting about the lorries that drive too quickly through the village and concerns over who will open the village hall so the senior citizens can do their art classes and the mothers and toddlers group can have their Tuesday coffee morning. The village gossips know only a little about her family. Her mother and father have remained tight-lipped about their past and gradually the gossips have lost interest in the quiet family residing at the end of the village who never go to church or the local pub and appear to be recluses.
She has to catch the bus to come to school. It stops at the edge of the village where she lives. She waits outside the house with her mother, who’s being cheerful and keeps telling her it’s going to be huge fun at the new school. Bryony is not convinced. She’s fairly certain there’ll be some problems and sure enough as soon as she clambers on board the bus they begin. There are quite a few children of all ages on board and she has to walk halfway down the bus to find a space, passing unfriendly faces that regard her with a vague interest as if she were a strange specimen in a jar.
A large boy sitting on the back seat starts whistling the theme tune to the film The Addams Family when he spots her and his mates begin to giggle and nudge each other. He is about two years older than her. His school tie is undone even though school has not yet started, his head is shaven like a convict’s and a confident sneer rests across his acne-riddled face. She attempts to bluff her way out of the situation as she has done in the past by grinning amiably but it doesn’t stop him. He continues whistling before commenting loudly that a mutant has boarded the bus. The other boys beside him snort loudly at his comment. She stares out of the window and fights back angry tears as the bus rounds the bend, leaving the sanctuary of the village.
A voice calls out from the seat opposite her. ‘Take no notice. He’s a retard!’
Bryony looks over. A short, plump girl with an open, friendly face, short dark hair and a sparkle in her brown eyes grins at her.
‘I’m Melinda,’ she says.
‘Bryony.’
The girl nods before continuing an animated conversation with her friend.
The trouble really begins when they get off the bus. The boy who had been whistling pushes Melinda hard in the back, making her stumble to her knees.
‘I’m not a retard, you fat cow.’
Melinda struggles to her feet, eyes blazing. She has grazed a knee and it is bleeding. Bryony summons up courage from within, steps behind the boy and prods him in the arm.
‘You must be a retard. Only a retard would push a girl over like that.’
‘You watch it, mutant!’ he yells.
Before she can react, he grabs Bryony’s schoolbag from her shoulder and holds it high so she can’t reach it. The other boys join him and toss it from one to the other while Bryony hobbles from one boy to the other to try and get her bag back. Melinda yells at them to hand it over and kicks one of the boys in the ankle. Before long the commotion attracts the attention of a teacher.
They end up outside the headmistress’s office, standing in a silent line against the wall waiting for her to call them in. The spotty-faced boy does not look as cocky and has done up his tie. The teacher who broke up the ruckus emerges and sends the boys in first.
‘Don’t worry,’ whispers Melinda. ‘She’ll sort it out and they won’t trouble you again.’
Sure enough, the boys emerge in silence. The spotty boy stands in front of the girls and apologizes for his behaviour.
The girls are called in next. Miss Turnbull is small, elegant and not at all fierce. She wears owl-shaped glasses, and her hair worn short to her shoulders is nut-brown. She is neatly attired in a smart blouse done up at the neck, blue skirt and matching jacket, attached to which is a brooch in the shape of a dog – a setter. Bryony immediately takes a liking to her.
‘Melinda Clayton and Bryony Masters. Not a good start to the school year, is it, brawling like fishwives outside the school?’
Bryony isn’t too sure what a fishwife is but daren’t interrupt.
‘Melinda, I understand from Mr Glover you were sticking up for Bryony. While it is commendable to stand up against bullies and to look after those who are more defenceless than us, it is also better to let the staff here deal with these situations. Please be mindful that you should not take matters into your own hands. You could end up injured.’
Melinda opens her mouth, thinks better of it and shuts it again. Miss Turnbull gives her a warm look. ‘I would congratulate you on managing to kick Tyron – heaven knows he could do with a kick sometimes – but that would not be appropriate,’ she adds, a twinkle in her eyes. Melinda smiles.
‘Bryony, I talked to the head of your last school. He and the other teachers spoke highly of you. I understand life hasn’t been easy, my dear, but it is advisable to ignore those who choose to be cruel. If it becomes unbearable then you must come and speak to one of the staff. Don’t allow yourself to become one of the crowd. Think of how much you’ll upset your parents if you don’t fulfil the potential you have – and you have such potential.’
She leans back in her chair and it creaks. She steeples her fingers together and looks at Bryony over her owl glasses.
‘Do you know what I see, Bryony?’
Bryony shakes her head. ‘No, Miss.’
‘I see someone who will make a difference in the world. Be yourself. Be proud to be yourself.’
She dismisses them and they leave together. The incident has cemented their relationship – a relationship that will last many years.
Melinda was ecstatic. ‘You made it through! That’s fantastic! They’ve come back to you so quickly. I thought it’d be ages before you heard from them. I suspected they’d choose you but for one of the later emissions, not the very first show. See, just proves what a great job I did on that application form.’
‘Couldn’t have done it without you. Oh, and I discovered it’s probably going to be hosted by Anneka Rice.’
‘Anneka who wore those amazing jumpsuits and raced about the country in a helicopter hunting for clues to help people win treasure?’
‘That’s her.’
‘I wanted to be her when I was little. Pity I was short, fat and had dark hair.’
‘Almost every young girl wanted to be like her. Hannah most definitely did.’
Melinda studied her friend’s face. ‘I think Hannah, like me, will probably have forgotten about Anneka Rice. It was in the eighties. We all had heroes and heroines then. I was in love with Billy Warlock from Baywatch but I wouldn’t necessarily watch a show now because he was in it. You’re not pinning your hopes on Hannah watching it because it’s hosted by her, are you?’
Bryony shrugged ‘She might.’
Melinda spoke gently. ‘You have a good plan. You won’t need Anneka Rice as a host. You’ll get your chance to appeal for Hannah. Hang on, the show starts soon, doesn’t it? You’re going to be able to do this much quicker than we anticipated.’
‘Next week. I’m leaving a week Sunday. I think the first day of live broadcast is Monday twenty-third of July.’
‘Come on, tell me everything.’ Melinda pulled out a stool and dropped down onto it. Bryony joined her at the table.
‘It’s going to be filmed in France and shown over a period of seven days. There’ll be all sorts of challenges that will test us not just mentally. Every day the losing contestants will be thrown off the show, but the winners will remain in the spotlight. I’m going to win, Melinda. I’m going to win every challenge thrown at me and answer every quiz question correctly and make a name for myself, and I’m going to talk about Hannah at every opportunity and ask the nation to look for her.’
‘I get it but as your best friend, it’s my duty to caution you. This is a bit of a wild shot. What if you get booted off on the first day?’
‘I won’t.’
‘Look, I know you’re exceptionally smart and I’m one of your biggest supporters, but please don’t pin all your hopes on this. I couldn’t bear to see you disappointed. I know how important it is for you to find her and if this doesn’t work out you get eliminated in the first round... well, I just don’t want you to raise your hopes too high.’
‘It’ll work. Knowing Anneka Rice might be hosting the show, is even better news. I know Hannah will watch it.’ She stared intently at Melinda, willing her to approve. Her friend chewed thoughtfully at her bottom lip and cocking her head to one side, spoke evenly.
‘I agree there’s a slim chance Hannah might watch the new show if she liked Anneka Rice as much as you say she did but I wouldn’t bank on it. However, I think your best shot is to get the public supporting you and looking for and talking about Hannah. Remember the University Challenge contestant, Erik Monkman, who became a nation-wide favourite due to his eccentricities? You’ll be like that only more so. What have you got to lose? You have great intellect and you’re beautifully batty at times, so I think you could do this. People will love you. It’s worth a go.’
Bryony released the breath she had unwittingly held. ‘That’s what I hoped you say… although maybe not the “beautifully batty” bit. You know what these shows are like for firing up public attention. If I can just capture the nation’s heart, there are endless possibilities. There’s one slight snag. I’ve got to team up with a partner.’
‘Do you get to choose who?’
Bryony pulled a face. ‘No. The production team will decide.’
‘Hope they chose somebody good.’
‘Me too.’ She glanced at her mobile and checked the time. She spoke absentmindedly. ‘I hope Lewis made it through.’
‘Lewis? Whoa! Wind back a bit. Where does Lewis come into all this?’
‘I bumped into him at the audition. Oh gosh, I shouldn’t have said anything.’
Melinda barked a laugh. ‘That’s brilliant! You both went to the same audition for What Happens in… Neither of you mentioned it to us, your best mates.’
‘We had no way of knowing if we’d be picked. Please don’t say anything to him if he hasn’t been chosen. I don’t want to embarrass him.’
Melinda’s mouth opened as a thought struck her. ‘If he has been selected, you reckon he could be your teammate?’
‘I suppose he could be.’
‘It’d be pretty awesome if he is.’
‘I wish I could get hold of him. I’ve rung him three times but I keep getting the message service.’
Melinda, lost in her own thoughts, honked with laughter. ‘You two would be hilarious together. I wonder if one of the challenges would be for Lewis to wheel you about France in an old barrow with a flat tyre.’
‘Unlikely. It’s a quiz show.’
‘There are challenges. You said so yourself,’ Melinda said, her eyes twinkling.
‘Even if there are crazy challenges, we’ll face them sober not hammered out of our brains thanks to too much red Bulgarian wine.’
Melinda grinned at the memory.
‘I’ll try phoning him again later.’
‘I think Sean mentioned something about him going to a technology exhibition or event in London. He’s probably turned off his phone.’
‘Oh! That’s right! I’d better leave it until later then.’
Melinda clapped her hands together. ‘I can’t wait to find out. You have to be teammates. You’d be brilliant together. Can’t you wangle it so he is your partner in this?’
‘I don’t see how. Laura, the producer wants to talk to me on Skype. I could mention Lewis, I suppose.’
‘No. I’ve got a better idea. You convince Lewis to be your teammate first, then both of you persuade Laura.’
‘He might not want to partner up with me.’
‘Get out of here! Of course he will. You two are like Ant and Dec or French and Saunders or Phil and Lil.’
‘Who are Phil and Lil?’
‘Twins from Rugrats… never mind, you get the idea. You bounce off each other so well and you’d smash every challenge.’ Melinda was becoming more enthusiastic with each word.
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘I just am. You’d be wonderful together. Bryony, you need Lewis for this. He’ll win over every woman watching the show and between you, you’ll get that opportunity you need to talk about Hannah on national television.’ She squirmed in her seat. ‘Find out and if he got through, ask him. Go on.’
‘I’m not convinced…’ Bryony began.
‘If you don’t, I’m going to.’
‘No! Don’t do that. I’ll ask him.’
‘Excellent.’ Melinda rubbed her hands together. ‘I have a good feeling about this.’
Bryony rubbed the back of her neck thoughtfully and decided Melinda might be right. With Lewis on her team, she’d be even more sure of getting through to each round. She just had to hope the producer thought he was an ideal contestant too.