"Rose!" A gentle hand shakes my shoulder. I open my eyes to a blinding head torch beam. "Rose!" A gentle hand shakes my shoulder. I open my eyes to a blinding head torch beam."Wow," I throw my arm up to shield my eyes. "Fiona, what..?"
"Shhh, listen. I can hear something."
"Stella snoring."
I rub my eyes and sit up. Fiona perches at the end of my bed, the head torch beam now directed at the floor. "Listen," she whispers. So I do.
I rub my eyes and sit up. Fiona perches at the end of my bed, the head torch beam now directed at the floor. "Listen," she whispers. So I do.
The sound of crashing waves drifts in from the window side of the room but Fiona looks towards the open door. Music. Distant but definitely music.
I check my phone – 02.07. It can’t be the East wing still practising.
"Can you hear what it is?" I ask, trying to block out the sound of the waves and tune into the music. I pull back the covers and walk to the door, Fiona follows.
As I step into the cold corridor I realise the sound isn’t coming from the East wing but from the opposite direction.
Alors que je pénètre dans le couloir froid, je comprends que le son ne vient pas de l’aile Est mais de la direction opposée.
"What is it?" Fiona asks.
"What’s going on?" Stella climbs down from her top bunk.
"Shh, it’s music, listen."
Goose pimples rise on my arms and it isn’t from the chill. "It’s bagpipes and they’re playing…"
"Hector the Hero," Stella shouts.
"Shh," I say.
"Why?" She flicks on the room light. "It’s coming from the door at the end of the corridor. Why didn’t you wake me?"
"I wasn’t sure I was hearing right," Fiona says. But I know that Fiona finds Stella a bit scary. So do I, if I’m honest.
The tune, a lament, is very old and familiar to all of us. A famous piping tune but also played by other instruments. Every time I hear it a warm spot of sadness gathers in my stomach. It’s just one of those tunes. But this rendition, even though distant, seems to drip with tears.
La mélodie est une complainte très ancienne et nous est familière. Un morceau de cornemuse célèbre mais aussi joué par d'autres instruments. Chaque fois que je l'entends, une boule chaude de tristesse s'accumule dans mon estomac. C’est juste un de ces morceaux. Mais cette interprétation, bien que distante, semble couler de larmes.
"That playing is amazing. Let’s find out who it is," Stella says.
"Cette interprétation est incroyable. Allons voir de qui il s'agit," dit Stella.
"It’s the middle of the night and we have no idea where that door leads," I say.
"We should wake the boys," says Fiona.
"We don’t need boys to explore," Stella nips at her. Fiona takes a step back.
"We should wake the boys because they wouldn’t want to miss this."
I fire back at Stella with a tone that surprises me. Maybe it’s the tiredness making me grumpy.
I fire back at Stella with a tone that surprises me. Maybe it’s the tiredness making me grumpy.
I knock on the boys’ door before I enter. Ooaf, the smell knocks me back. Someone has severe trainer odour issues.
I move to shake Rory awake, but his eyes are open and he says in a rusty voice. "Something’s going on, isn’t it?"
"There’s music coming from the end of the corridor."
He throws back his covers and pulls a tee-shirt over his head. He nudges Allan.
"Come on buddy. Action happening in the house."
We have no idea where Cat sleeps so we leave the corridor in darkness and use our phone torches to light the way. Allan scratches his head and yawns.
"Sounds like Hector the Hero," he whispers.
I expect Stella to come back with a smart remark but she’s now biting her lip and staring at the door. I step on a squeaky floor board and we all jump.
J'attends de Stella une remarque intelligente, mais à présent elle se mord la lèvre et fixe la porte du regard. Je marche sur une latte de plancher grinçante et nous sursautons tous.
"Ssh," I say even though the only one making a sound is me and the piper.
"What if it’s locked," Rory whispers.
"We go back to bed."
We are almost at the door when Cat steps out of the shadows.
"Ahh."
"Wow."
"Jings."
"Ooaf."
"Ah ya."
I place a hand to my chest, my heart is pounding so hard I’m sure it will land on the floor. There is no furniture and no door to hide her, she just seems to appear out of nowhere.
She stands, still dressed in her green floaty garb, in front of the door, barring our way.
"There is music," I say.
Cat cups her hand around her ear and mimes she is listening. She smiles and shakes her head. She is right. There is nothing, the music has stopped.
"We heard it," Rory says.
Cat shrugs. She stabs at her watch face and shows us the time then points her finger down the corridor ordering us back to bed.
"We’ll tell Nell in the morning," I say. Cat gives me a one shoulder shrug that tells me how little she cares on that score.
As we turn to go I hear Stella whisper. "Come on Cat, why don’t you give us the Wifi code? Nell will never know."
But I know Stella’s plea is pointless. There’s something steely in Cat’s green eyes that tells me she’s not as biddable as she appears. What I can’t work out is whether she is friend or foe.
Mais je sais que la requête de Stella est inutile. Il y a quelque chose d'acier dans les yeux verts de Cat qui me dit qu'elle n'est pas aussi docile qu'elle en a l'air. Je ne parviens pas à savoir si elle est une amie ou une ennemie.
