Lake Of Down Wonder

• Laila Mello, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2022

I’m so nervous! What if we miss the plane??? What if the flight gets cancelled??? What if I get so nervous I BLOW UP???!! “Calm down.” chuckles mum. “We’re just moving to Australia. No biggie.”
I’m Clara Hoptchin. I’m here because I’ve been expelled by all the schools in England and forced to move to Australia, which by the way, my parents were NOT happy about. I promised to be better. Honestly, I’m excited for a fresh start.
Today was splendid! I actually made some friends, Daisy, Lilly, and Bethy. However, there's an extremely odd girl in my class. Helena. You might be wondering. What makes Helena odd? Well, if I was to tell you EXACTLY what makes her so unusual, you would be reading this for AGES. But the weirdest reason is, Helena is NEVER here at break-time.
We decided to follow Helena out of school to see where she goes. I might not be an outstanding student, but honestly, I’m a bit worried. ANYTHING could happen.
NOW. Now is the time. 3, 2, 1. DING! DING! The bell! Gotta go meet up with My friends at the school gate. “Hey there, Clara!” scolded Bethy. “Hello, Bethy. Where’s Helena?” I curiously asked. That was when Lilly told me. “We have a little complication…” “HELENA DIDN’T COME HERE!” Daisy burst, bursting my eardrums as well.
As if on cue, Helena swiftly scuttled past. She dug a hole under the wall and squeezed through it as if she was rubber. When the coast was clear, we followed quietly. She kept on turning, curving and jogging non stop, it was like Helena knew we were here.
After a few minutes, an adorable lost kitten meowed its way towards us. “Awwwww”, we all exclaimed. She hissed and ran away as I was petting her cotton fur. Should’ve guessed. That’s when we realised. Helena was gone. “Now what???” Daisy asked.
“THERE SHE IS!” I cried, pointing over to the other side of the road. Oops! SILENCE. Helena was starring at us, pale white. Then she broke the stillness. “Hello there.”
We all replied, not daring to move. “Hi.” It was our turn to be pale. “Where did you come from?“ Helena questioned. Bethy tried to change the subject. “How have you been?” she quickly replied. “Great, thanks. Can I show you something?” She led us to a lake and hopped in.
“Get in!” Helena said. There was definitely something fishy about this, but I dived in anyway. The moment we got in, it happened. No air. Drowning. Sinking. Helena weighed me down. Deeper. Deeper. Deeper. “You really thought I would just leave you about.” She started to become a horrifying sea creature. Then, Helena lost grip of me as my friends were pulling me out.
We rushed to school. My heart could be heard from miles away. THUMP. THUMP. We’re here. “You four young ladies are in big trouble”, our teacher said. I looked at my watch. School was over.