Chapter 3

We continued through the museum, working our way up through time. I scribbled down notes in my notebook, not only in case we were tested at the end, but also in case I found a good story for Eden Press. I desperately hoped we’d foil a museum robbery, because that would have made a great story for the online newspaper. But everything seemed to be going disappointingly smoothly.

Towards the end of the visit, we found ourselves in the wartime exhibit. There was information about both World War I and II, which was interesting because we had been studying World War II in history class.

We walked around the room in a sombre silence. Sombre means deeply serious, or even a bit sad. I think it was because when you walk around the ancient rooms, like ancient Egypt or ancient Greece, it seems like such a faraway time—like you are stepping into a fairy story of talking cats and snake-headed monsters. But the war rooms didn’t seem all that distant. There were photographs of children—not that different to us—sitting in classrooms during wartime. I couldn’t imagine what that would have been like.

I quietly walked up to a display and read the information board. It was all about a woman in the country of Germany who helped children to escape from the enemy through secret underground tunnels. I shivered slightly.

Next to it was information about a secret diary that a young girl wrote during World War II. It told how she kept herself safe by hiding from the enemy in an attic. I frowned as I read it. I used to keep a diary, just like she did.

‘What are you thinking, Ella?’ a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see Ms Montgomery looking gently at the display in front of us. She didn’t have her characteristic frown on her face. The creases on her forehead had smoothed and her mouth was relaxed instead of pursed. Her voice was softer.

‘I’m not sure,’ I said slowly. ‘I think I’m just imagining what it must have been like to be alive at that time.’

Ms Montgomery nodded. ‘It’s really not all that long ago, you know. My grandparents were both children during the war.’

‘I think sometimes you forget that these were real people. Kids, just like us,’ I said.

Ms Montgomery patted me on the shoulder and smiled ever so slightly. ‘That’s an interesting thing to think about, wouldn’t you say? Perhaps something interesting to write about, too.’

I looked up into her eyes, perplexed. She shook her head lightly and frowned. ‘I’d better gather everyone together,’ she said, as she turned to walk away.

To write about, I thought. Could this be the article I needed for Eden Press?

I leaned in closer to a real photograph of a classroom. The children in the grainy black and white picture were practicing evacuating their classroom in a drill. They looked different to us, with their old-fashioned uniforms and haircuts. But when I looked at their faces, I saw ordinary kids. Just like me.

‘Come on, Ella,’ Violet called, as she walked out of the war room. ‘Time for lunch!’

I took one last lingering look at the faded black and white photos of the classrooms and tunnels and the child’s diary.

Maybe, I mused.

We gathered outside in the museum courtyard and the bus driver unloaded a cooler box, which was filled with food from the Eden kitchen. We all selected a sandwich of our choice and a piece of fruit and took them with us as we found a shady spot to eat.

Grace, Zoe, Violet and I sat on the ground, as the warmth from the pavers seeped through our light summer dresses.

‘Can we join?’

I looked up and saw Saskia standing with Portia and Mercedes—they were never too far from her side.

Grace nodded and opened up our circle a little more.

‘So, did I complete your dare satisfactorily?’ Saskia asked.

‘That was hilarious!’ Grace laughed. ‘When Monty looked up at the Viking ship, I thought you were a goner. But you were so still!’

We all laughed at the memory of Saskia in the scene on the Viking ship.

‘So, what’s my dare?’ Grace asked.

‘I’ve thought of something,’ Saskia said, narrowing her eyes.

Mercedes and Portia let out little giggles. They clearly already knew Saskia’s plans.

‘Meet me at the back of the main building at school, tomorrow morning at sunrise,’ Saskia said. ‘And then I will give you your challenge.’

‘But we aren’t allowed out of the dorms until breakfast,’ Violet said.

‘You don’t have to come!’ Saskia sneered.

Violet’s cheeks reddened.

‘I’ll be there,’ Grace said.

‘Looking forward to it,’ Saskia smiled.

I had no idea what Saskia was going to challenge Grace to do, but I had a bad feeling about it.