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dodgy detectives, or worse, criminals called the Drowner, might easily find me.
    9:27 pm
    â€˜Who wants hot chocolate?’ Ryan asked, stretching as he stood up.
    â€˜Count me in,’ Boges said.
    â€˜Me too!’ I sat there curled up in the old armchair, feeling completely at home in Perdita’s big room with the fireplace crackling and the company of my friends. Just one thing was missing.
    â€˜It would be really good if Cal was here,’ I said.
    â€˜Only a few weeks,’ Boges reminded me, ‘and he’ll be back.’ I sighed.
    A horrible groaning from the hall shocked me. I sat bolt upright in my chair.
    â€˜What was
that
?’ I jumped as Boges’s voice whispered in my ear.
    â€˜Oh my God! What was that awful noise? Where is Ryan?’ I cried. ‘Is he hurt?’ I was halfway out of the chair when I stopped dead in my tracks. A terrifying, shrouded form loomed at the doorway, ghostly arms grasping at the air ahead of it. I screamed and Boges’ face drained. The two of us stood like frozen statues.
    The shrouded form suddenly threw back the mouldy sheet, and Ryan jumped out, laughing his head off.
    I pounced on him. ‘You ratbag, Ryan! You scared the living daylights out of me!’ Boges joined in and together we tackled Ryan down to the floor. ‘Apologise! Or you’ll suffer,’ I threatened him, sitting on his legs while Boges pinned him down. ‘You’ll be tickled to death!’
    â€˜Apologise … or you’ll die laughing!’ said Boges, tickling viciously.
    â€˜OK, OK,’ Ryan gasped, between bursts of laughter, ‘I apologise. But, man, it was so worth it! You should have seen your faces!’ That set him off again.
    â€˜Total garbage,’ said Boges. ‘I knew it wasn’t a real ghost.’
    Ryan roared with laughter and I joined in.‘Boges,’ I reminded him, ‘your face was white as Ryan’s sheet!’
    I got up and dragged the old sheet that Ryan used out from under him, releasing a cloud of dust that made all of us cough and sneeze. Finally we calmed down.
    That night, I snuggled down into my sleeping bag in the large front bedroom, excited at spending my first night in my ‘new’ old house. I could hear Boges snoring away in the next room, and was surprised Ryan hadn’t thrown anything at him yet.
    I fumbled for my phone as I started to feel sleepy—I had just enough of a phone signal to send a message to Cal.
    Perdita is awesome. Rundown but v cool. Staying to check it out. Wish you were here. You’ll love this place. Have fun with the fly boys! W x

DAY 10
21 days to go …
    Perdita
    7:15 pm
    We spent most of the next two days cleaning up Perdita. It was a huge job but with the three of us working at it and having fun, joking and teasing each other at the same time, the hours flew by each day.
    We explored the long beach, having found a path down between Perdita and Abercrombie House. We brought back shells and driftwood for kindling and by Monday evening the old place was looking pretty good—at least downstairs.
    â€˜Don’t get too comfortable,’ said Boges, clearing away some of the mess after dinner. ‘I want to leave in about half an hour. I’ve got a couple of big days coming up. I gotta cram in some assignments and help out my uncle, too. But then I’d like to come back again. What about you Ryan, Winter?’
    â€˜I didn’t get to do any climbing and I want to try that cliff at the edge of the property,’ said Ryan. ‘It’d be good to get a chance.’
    â€˜We should ring Cal before we go,’ I said. And I did so, passing my phone round so that everybody had a chance to talk to him.
    â€˜It’s great,’ Cal said, ‘but man, they work us hard. I miss having your help, Boges, with the navigation stuff.’
    â€˜The great brain is at your disposal, dude. I’m only a phone call