It was late afternoon when the coach arrived at Black Dog Farm, dusk already settling, and fourteen-year-old Olivia Blake was looking on in awe as they rode up the long driveway towards the large building that was covered in twinkling lights.
She had been unsure about coming on the trip. Things had been a little fraught with her best friend, Fern, in recent weeks and they had been fighting a lot. Fern had always taken the upper hand in their friendship, with Olivia meekly following her along, but gradually she was finding her own voice, her confidence growing, and she was starting to question some of the things Fern did. Of course, Fern hadn’t liked that and by way of punishment she had started to hang out more with Janice Hardesty, keen to show Olivia that she was expendable.
With both Fern and Janice on the trip, and Janice desperate to take Olivia’s place, Olivia was worried the week would be a complete nightmare. So far though, the three of them had been getting along okay. Fern had sat next to Olivia on the coach, relegating Janice to the seat behind, and banter between the three of them had been easy-going and fun, reminding Olivia of the good old days. She had been considering cooling her friendship with Fern, maybe finding some new friends, but for now, while things were good, she wouldn’t rock the boat.
On arrival they had been welcomed by Mrs Simon who ran the place with her husband, enjoying home-made lemonade and biscuits, while the Simons shared with them the legend behind the farm, which had been named after Black Shuck, or Old Shuck, as Mr Simon called him, regaling them with tales of how travellers had seen the giant saucer-eyed dog standing in the roads that ran close to the farm.
He had a twinkle in his eye, but Olivia wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not.
After the welcome, they had been shown to their dorm rooms in the converted barn at the back of the house. The place was huge, set over several acres, Olivia heard her teacher, Miss Patterson, say, and although it was no longer a working farm, there were plenty of activities lined up to keep the students amused over the coming days.
There were two schools occupying the farm, with forty students from each. The coach that arrived with the pupils from St Nicholas High School in Essex didn’t arrive until just before dinner.
The first time Olivia spotted Margaret Grimes was in the dining room that first night. She had wandered into the room behind a male student, eyes darting about warily then keeping her head down as she joined the dinner queue, looking like she didn’t want to draw attention to herself, her shoulders slumped.
‘Oh my God, look what that loser is wearing.’ Fern was pointing and giggling, not particularly discreetly at the girl. ‘I think my mum used to have a pair of jeans like that.’
The jeans were old-fashioned, Olivia had to admit that. High waisted and made of a stiff looking dark blue denim. They were worn with a shapeless T-shirt tucked into them, making them look even more dated.
‘I bet your mum wore them much better than that too,’ Janice simpered up to Fern.
She was such a creep.
‘Hey, you.’ Fern whistled loudly, half the room looking in her direction. The girl she was taunting wasn’t one of them, which seemed to irritate her. Fern did not like to be ignored. ‘Frumpy girl in the dinner queue. I’m talking to you.’
Hesitantly the girl glanced up, meeting Fern’s eyes. She didn’t speak.
Fern’s lips twisted cruelly. ‘What the hell are you wearing? Did Stevie Wonder help pick your outfit?’
A couple of girls in the queue behind the girl started to snigger, while the boy who was before her turned and scowled at Fern through bottle-rimmed glasses.
The girl didn’t respond, simply turning away. Olivia didn’t miss the look on her face though, resigned, already defeated.
‘Hey, don’t ignore me. I was talking to you.’
‘Leave her alone, Fern.’
‘Butt out, Olivia.’
Miss Patterson picked that moment to stop by the table. She gave Fern a warning look. ‘Is everything all right here, ladies?’
‘Everything is fine, Miss Patterson.’ Fern smiled snidely at her.
‘Good, good. This is a wonderful opportunity to form new friendships, not create enemies, Miss St Clair. Remember that. We are not too far from home. If you cause any trouble, I won’t hesitate to get the coach to take you back early. Understood?’
‘Yes, Miss Patterson.’
Fern saluted her back as she walked away. ‘Great, now look what that frumpy bitch has done.’
‘She hasn’t done anything,’ Olivia pointed out mildly. ‘You started it.’
‘It was just a stupid joke. Jesus, lighten up, Livvy. You’re no fun these days.’
Olivia wanted to say more, but decided it was best to hold her tongue. She caught Janice’s gloating smile, knew she would be pleased that there was some friction between her and Fern.
Annoyed and a little embarrassed by Fern’s behaviour, she picked at her dinner, wondering if this was going to be a difficult week after all.
She watched the girl in the queue get her food and cutlery, before going to sit down at the end of one of the quieter tables. The two other students who were already there didn’t speak to her and they didn’t look overly impressed that she had picked their table. She sat far enough away though and made no attempt to join in on their conversation.
The boy with the glasses, the one who had been standing behind her, picked up his tray and started walking straight towards the three of them, a blank expression on his face.
‘You can’t sit here,’ Fern told him, the second he set his tray down opposite her.
He didn’t attempt to sit, didn’t speak. He leant forward and picked up the bowl of spaghetti Fern had in front of her.
‘Hey, what the hell are you–’
She didn’t get to finish the sentence, instead gasped in shock as he tipped the hot food into her lap.
Calmly, he stood back up, picked up his tray and walked away, as if the incident hadn’t happened, leaving Fern, Olivia and Janice staring after him, open-mouthed.
And that was their first encounter with Malcolm Grimes.
Margaret and Malcolm were twins, Olivia soon found out, though they looked nothing alike. Margaret soft and fair with a pretty heart-shaped face, while Malcolm was bulkier, darker and sharper around the edges. He wore a constant frown and although he had stuck up for Margaret in the dining room (at least that is what Olivia had assumed he was doing), the pair didn’t seem that close.
To be honest, Malcolm Grimes scared Olivia a little bit. There was something cold and shifty about him and he had a cruel mouth. Luckily, he seemed to have just one goal for the week and that was to avoid everyone. Meanwhile, Margaret joined in the activities, though tried her best to keep a low profile.
Olivia felt sorry for the girl, knew she was an easy target for people like Fern because she offered little resistance, so when she saw her in the Tuesday afternoon craft group, she headed for the table where Margaret sat alone.
‘Is it okay if I sit here?’ She waited and when Margaret gave a shy nod, slung her bag down.
There were a choice of activities and Olivia had favoured crafting Christmas decorations and cards over ice skating with Fern and Janice. To be honest, after what had happened at dinner the previous night, she was grateful for the time away from them.
‘You’re Margaret, right?’
Another nod.
‘I’m Olivia. It’s nice to meet you.’
This time she got a hesitant smile, though still no words. Olivia guessed she couldn’t blame Margaret for being wary of her. She had been sitting with Fern at dinner, after all.
‘I’m really sorry about what my friend said last night at dinner. Sometimes she can be really mean. I don’t like it when she’s like that. It’s embarrassing.’
‘So why are you friends with her then?’
The fact that Margaret had a voice, plus the directness of her question, threw Olivia for a moment. ‘I guess we– we’ve known each other for a long time.’
It wasn’t really a proper answer to the question, but it did get Olivia thinking as the pair of them worked together, mostly in silence at first, but Margaret gradually lowered her defences as the afternoon progressed. Initially the conversation was a little awkward, Olivia asking all the questions, Margaret seeming reluctant to talk about herself, almost embarrassed that Olivia was interested and doubting at first if she was being genuine, but slowly she thawed, and by the end of the activity they were even having a laugh together.
Olivia liked her. Margaret was painfully shy and had been conditioned to believe she was irrelevant. She was kind and seemed smart, and she was quite funny, making Olivia laugh a couple of times. It had been a pleasant afternoon and Olivia was feeling much better after what had happened in the dining hall the previous evening.
As they headed along the hallway together discussing the Christmas cards they had made, Olivia heard a sharp taunt. ‘Have you been doing some charity work, Livvy?’
She glanced up in dismay, recognising Fern’s voice. She was heading towards them, hips swaying in her low-waisted jeans, flanked by Janice and two girls from Margaret’s school. All of them laughed in delight at the poor attempt at a joke.
Olivia felt her temper rise a notch. Glancing disdainfully at Janice, who was still openly sniggering, she shot Fern a cool look. ‘I could ask the same of you.’
Temper flashed in Fern’s eyes, while Janice’s mouth flapped open and shut like a goldfish at Olivia’s insult. ‘I’m hardly charity work!’ she snapped indignantly.
Beside Olivia, Margaret seemed to shrink in stature. ‘I should go,’ she whispered.
‘What?’ As Margaret attempted to slope off, Olivia caught hold of her clammy hand. ‘No, stay.’
‘Yes, stay,’ Fern agreed. ‘We need to have a little chat about what your freak of a brother did to me. Kelly and Rachel here have been telling me all about you and your weirdo family.’
Another snigger from Janice. ‘Weirdo is right. You tell her, Fern. I think she owes you a new top.’
When Fern took a menacing step towards Margaret, Olivia stepped in between them.
‘Oh for God’s sake, you two are pathetic,’ she snapped, having had enough. ‘Margaret’s done nothing to either of you, so stop being so bloody nasty.’
‘Really, Livvy? You are taking this loser’s side over mine? What happened to best friends forever?’
‘That was before my best friend turned into a bully and a bitch.’
There was a moment of silence as Fern and Olivia sized each other up, neither prepared to back down. Eventually Fern’s lips twisted. ‘You really want to do this?’
‘Do what, Fern? Act like the bigger person?’
‘You’re making a mistake, Livvy.’
Margaret muttered something. It was barely audible.
Fern looked at her with disgust. ‘What did you say, freak? Speak up.’
Margaret cleared her throat. ‘I said you don’t have to fight because of me. I can just go.’ She tried to pull her hand free and Olivia gripped tighter.
‘You’re not going anywhere. If Fern can’t be nice then we are done here.’
Fern’s face reddened. Her shocked expression a clear indication that she didn’t expect Olivia to call her bluff. ‘You’re right, Livvy,’ she spat. ‘We are done.’
She scowled at Janice and the other two girls, Kelly and Rachel, Olivia was sure she remembered her saying their names were. ‘Come on, let’s go. We don’t want to spend any more time with these losers.’
Kelly and Rachel at least had the good grace to look mildly embarrassed as they passed Olivia, both averting their eyes, but Janice was loving it, a smug expression on her face as she sidled close to Olivia. ‘You’re pathetic,’ she smirked, knocking her hefty shoulder into Olivia’s before chasing after Fern.
‘You didn’t have to do that,’ Margaret said, when the four of them had disappeared from earshot. ‘I never wanted you to fall out with your friends.’
‘They’re not exactly good friends though, are they?’ Olivia replied tightly.
At the moment she was being carried by temper, but she knew eventually it would simmer down and it bothered her that she would regret the fight with Fern. Had she just made herself a social pariah?
No, she had stuck up for someone who needed sticking up for, someone who she doubted had ever had a real friend. She had done the right thing. Her mother had always taught her to stick up for the underdog. Fern St Clair was a bully and Olivia couldn’t continue to stand by and watch her hurt people.
Word spread quickly about their fight and, while several of her classmates were giving her the cold shoulder, Olivia was relieved to learn that Fern’s influence was not as powerful as she liked to think, with a handful of students congratulating her on standing up against her former best friend.
Dinner was bearable and she ignored the snide comments from Fern’s table, going to sit with Margaret and a few other classmates. Night-time was the worst though. She shared a bunk bed with Fern, was in a dorm with both her and Janice. Of the twelve girls in the room, only a couple of them were talking to her. Olivia kept her head down and ignored the bitchy comments.
As the week passed, she spent more time with Margaret, understanding her better and realising that her home life wasn’t exactly a picnic either. Olivia’s heart went out to her as she learnt about her domineering father, distant mother and her difficult relationships with her brother and sister. Margaret was gradually coming out of her shell and the time spent with her was far more rewarding and interesting than hanging out with Fern.
She was kind-hearted, interesting to talk to, and wise beyond her years, and Olivia hated that she was tormented for something as shallow as wearing the wrong clothes.
The old farm was big, which was a godsend, as it meant it was easy to avoid Fern. The Simon family had invested a lot of money into converting the place for visitors, with plenty of activities, both indoor and outdoor, from go-karting and archery to trampolining and a bowling alley. In the woods surrounding the property there were tyre swings and tree houses, and although these were designed more for summer use, Olivia and Margaret explored every inch of the farm. That was how they first discovered the creepy old cottage.
