PROLOGUE
JUNE 2004
Having checked that no one had followed her there, Morgan stood at the back end of Dailsworth High, by the hazel tree that grew next to the hidden basement door. To her mother’s horror, no-frills Morgan had insisted on wearing a tux to the prom. She adjusted the bow tie her dad had fastened and glanced down at the smart, black jacket. Morgan was more used to seeing the vertical rows of metallic school achievement badges down her bottle-green blazer’s lapels when she stood on the school grounds.
Untended plants sprawled across the ground and climbed the cracked windows of the disused science lab. Glad to never have to suffer the stuffiness of classrooms again, she breathed in the smell of woody soil. A sprig of her spiky, short hair stuck defiantly in the air as she consulted the clock on her mum’s old flip phone.
With her confident stride, Paige was the first friend to arrive, her rusty-red salon hair stylishly covering the top of her slinky, white, halter-neck dress. The silky material almost reached the ground and was cut to show off her bare upper back. The two girls gave each other a side hug.
Next, Emily appeared like a rabbit from the undergrowth, paused, moved forwards and then stopped again. Morgan and her friends had gone shopping to Debenhams in Manchester to buy their outfits for the prom. Their mums had joined them, apart from Emily’s who’d been ill for over a year and wasn’t up to it. Emily loved knitting and the girls had teased that she’d make her own woolly outfit. However, she fell in love with a baby-blue dress, it had polka dots and was retro fifties style, going down to her knees. She’d ignored her outgoing mother’s advice to get something that showed off her legs and cleavage. Morgan drew Emily in for an embrace whilst Paige playfully pulled on her high ponytail. The four of them had been looking forward to the prom for weeks, getting dressed up, seeing how their teachers danced, and the sleepover at Paige’s afterwards. Yesterday, Morgan, Emily and Tiff had dropped off their overnight bags at her house.
Tiff turned up last, running as her cheeks billowed in and out with puffs of humid air. Her pace slowed and she sashayed up the last steps, almost tripping as she bowed to imaginary fans at her sides. Tiff’s mum insisted her daughter went full-blown Hollywood, convinced that her one and only child was going to be a world-renowned actress. She almost passed out with delight when Tiff’s curves fitted into the silver, long fishtail covered in sequins. It was purple and matched her glasses. Tiff blew the other three girls kisses, sparkly pink lip gloss marks left on her fingers.
Together, they brushed aside strategically placed branches on the ground to reveal the hidden door. Due to a mini heatwave over the last week, the ground and fallen leaves were bone dry so the girls ran no risk of dirtying their fancy clothes. Paige and Tiff heaved it up. Emily checked around before following the others in.
Climbing down, the four of them chatted about the evening ahead and whether anyone would sneak in alcohol. Emily closed the door behind herself as Morgan switched on the torch they always left by the bottom of the steps. The school’s old basement, run down and forgotten, smelt of mould and crawled with spiders that didn’t scare these teenagers.
‘The last meeting ever of The Secret Gift Society,’ said Morgan, her voice sounding full and unexpectedly trembling.
‘It’s been a lifesaver,’ said Emily. ‘I don’t know how I’d have got through this last year without you four.’ Her face was tinged pink. ‘You’re the best. More like sisters.’
‘I wish we were all going to the same sixth form,’ mumbled Tiff. ‘It’s scary, the thought of having to make new friends, right? It’s hard to imagine another group of girls understanding me like you lot do.’
‘But we’ll still see each other out of lessons,’ said Morgan, back to her usual steady self. She did breaststroke in the air and the others smiled and followed the gesture. It was inspired byFinding Nemo, one of their favourite movies even though the target audience was much younger. In it, Dory the fish said to keep on swimming however tough life became.
‘Something tells me we’ll never lose our friendship, it’ll always be there, like a favourite book, even if we lose touch on and off,’ said Paige and she laid her head on Morgan’s shoulder.
‘Love you guys,’ said Tiff. ‘Here’s to a great night – until I get home, that is. I spotted a plastic tiara Mum’s bought. I overheard her saying to Dad that when I get home, she’s going to crown me prom queen. It’s so cringey. You know, she bumped into—’ Tiff stopped abruptly.
‘What?’ asked Emily.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Tiff!’ the other girls chorused.
Red blotches appeared on Tiff’s neck. ‘It’s nothing, just that Mum bumped into Hugo’s dad. He was boasting about how his son is bound to be voted prom king…’
Silence fell. Morgan’s friends all looked uncomfortable, but then Hugo was the boy the four of them hated with a passion.
Paige consulted her watch. ‘Come on, let’s do this, for the very last time, for old time’s sake.’
With a shy look, Emily was the first to stretch out her arms, dark rings under her eyes. The girls stood in a circle and linked hands, fingers intertwined, Morgan clenching the torch under one arm. As the words came out, loud and proud, their voices synched and sent echoes along the dingy walls of the basement.
‘The Secret Gift Society swears through its blood,
To only act for the good,
Its four powers to serve those in need of defence.
All hail…’
As the last line of their oath listed each of their gifts, it also reached the smirk of the smartly dressed boy hiding behind the hazel tree.
‘These losers have no idea I’m going to tear apart their so-called friendship at the prom tonight,’ he muttered. ‘They’re gonna get everything they deserve.’
1
MORGAN
