Midnight's Choice Read Online Free PDF Page B

strange behaviour, joined her husband at the window.
    â€˜What have you done to yourself?’
    For a moment Tess had no idea what they were talking about. She couldn’t recall having done anything to her face. Just in time she remembered the bites and scratches she had received from the other rats when she was following Algernon a few hours ago. There were probably a lot more scrapes and bruises hidden by her uniform. She thought quickly.
    â€˜I was feeling around in the bushes there,’ she said, pointing to a shady corner where several well-established shrubs were growing. ‘Have I cut myself?’
    â€˜You certainly have,’ said her mother. ‘Come in, now, and let me have a look.’
    â€˜But what about Algernon?’
    â€˜You’ll have to worry about him later. He can’t be far away.’
    Tess felt in her pocket. ‘You’ll have to let me in,’ she said. ‘I left my key in my coat.’
    As her mother fussed over her face, Tess slipped back into the warm, euphoric memory of the phoenix nature that she had abandoned just a few minutes before. She scarcely felt the antiseptic on the wounds, barely heard her mother saying, ‘They’re not as bad as they look. Just scratches.’ She was floating again, high above it all, filled with brightness and peace.
    â€˜Wakey, wakey.’
    â€˜Hmm?’
    Her father put a plate of scrambled eggs on toast in front of her on the table. Tess’s stomach rose in protest, and she wondered why it was that the nightly sessions as a phoenix made her lose her appetite. She played with the scrambled egg but ate no more than a couple of mouthfuls.
    â€˜Are you worried about something?’ her mother asked.
    â€˜Just Algernon. I think I’ll have another look around outside.’
    â€˜No. You get yourself ready for school. I’ll have a good look for him after you’ve gone. He can’t be far away’
    That day was even worse than the one before. Tess had not slept at all during the night, and although the phoenix mood was invigorating and relaxing, she could only sustain its memory for short periods of time. When it was gone she was exhausted and depressed, and felt weak from lack of food. She was worried about what was happening with the rats as well, and between her various preoccupations found no energy or attention for her school work. On two occasions she narrowly avoided detention, and she promised herself that she would take a nap when she got home before she made any decisions about what she was going to do next.
    But as the bus passed through Phibsboro that evening, she suddenly recognised the area of streets where she and the other rats had ended up the previous night. Before she had time to think, she had made her way to the front of the bus, and at the next stop she got off.
    It would make her late home. Were other girls of her age never late home? Did they never make independent decisions to call on some friend or go into town for a coffee? Would her mother believe her if she used an excuse like that? ‘I went to listen to Catriona’s new R.E.M. tape, Mum.’ Or, ‘I felt like walking a bit of the way home.’ Why shouldn’t she? She was fourteen, after all.
    As she was mulling these things over in her head she reached the corner where she had hidden in order to Switch the night before. The big blue van was still there, and she considered using another animal form for her first investigation but, looking around, decided against it. She had nothing to hide after all. She was just a schoolgirl walking along the street. Who would be likely to question her?
    Without changing pace she swung round the corner into the street where, she was sure, the Switcher lived. She was slightly disappointed to find that it was completely empty, although if she had been asked what she was expecting to find she wouldn’t have been able to say. She strolled slowly along, and was