The Serpents of Arakesh (7 page)

In the end, I didn't ask any more questions. Eating my supper and listening to Hannah chattering happily away about the special magnet on Tiger Lily's collar that opened her cat door, I found my eyelids growing heavier and huge yawns almost dislocating my jaw. When at last I'd licked my finger and polished off the last few flakes of pastry, I was more than ready to let Hannah show me the way back upstairs to my room.

There was still no sign of my roommate, so I gave my teeth a token scrub, and stripped down to the boxers.

Then I fell into bed, and plummeted straight into a dreamless sleep.

I was woken by the sound of a curtain being pulled back and a bright bar of sunlight falling across my face. I pushed myself up on one elbow, squinting and shielding my eyes.

‘Oops — sorry,' said a voice, and the sunlight disappeared. A stocky blond boy about my own age was standing by the window in boxers and a T-shirt, grinning at me. ‘Great that it's a nice day, though,' he said. ‘You're Adam, aren't you? You missed a whole lot of fun last night — we played flashlight in the garden once the rain stopped. It was awesome. This boy called Jamie fell in the lake.' He sat down on the end of his bed and looked at me curiously. ‘Is it true you hitched here? That's what the others are saying. And that you …' he looked embarrassed. ‘Well … that you haven't come with your parents.'

I sat up and stretched. ‘Yeah, that part's true. I came on my own. But I didn't hitch a ride.' His face fell. ‘I stowed away in a horsebox,' I told him with a grin, ‘but only as far as Winterton. Then I walked the rest of the way.'

‘Honest? That's just
so
cool. I came with my dad — Mum's at home with my kid brother. What do you think we should wear today? I mean, will we be doing, like, tests and stuff inside, or will we be outside? What do you think? Shorts or jeans?'

‘Dunno. I only have the stuff you lent me — my other clothes are still wet.' I padded over to the bathroom, planning to give the sodden pile an exploratory poke with my toe — who knew, they might be dry enough to put on. And there they were, clean and ironed and folded in a tidy pile on top of the laundry basket. Like magic.

Once we were dressed, we headed downstairs to the dining room, where Richard said everyone was meeting for breakfast. I felt a twinge of nerves — from Richard's description of last night, the other kids had got to know one another pretty well. I was glad I didn't have to walk in on my own. Richard must have guessed how I felt — he gave me an encouraging grin as we walked down the staircase, and whispered, ‘Wait till the others hear how you
really
got here!'

The dining room was warm and sunny and full of people. A few were standing at a sideboard by the wall, helping themselves from huge silver bowls, but most were sitting at the long table, eating and talking. The moment we walked in, the talking stopped and there was this awful silence. Everyone stared at me — a sea of unfamiliar faces.

Ms Usherwood popped up from the far end, where most of the adults were sitting. ‘I'd like to introduce Adam Equinox, everybody,' she goes. ‘Adam joined us last night. I see you've already met Richard, Adam. Come and help yourself to some breakfast.'

There was enough food to feed an army. At one end there were platters of fresh fruit — orange, melon, strawberries, grapefruit, and something Richard reckoned was mango. There were cereals, too, and big pitchers of cold milk. Over in the middle were great silver bowls of bacon, kidneys, baked beans and scrambled egg. And at the other end were racks of hot, fresh toast, funny rolls the shape of crescent moons, and piles of sticky pastries with icing.

At first I felt too shy to take whatever I wanted, like Richard said we were supposed to do. But he seemed pretty relaxed. ‘Just take it in stages,' he advised. ‘You can always come back for more.'

Once we'd helped ourselves, we sat down in two empty seats next to a short, very fat boy with straight blond hair. He had a big plate piled high with about half a dozen pastries, but that didn't stop his little eyes darting straight to our plates to see if we'd found anything nicer. On the other side of him was a woman who could only be his mum — big and billowy in a pale pink floaty dress. She was nibbling on a tiny piece of toast. ‘Say hello to Adam, dear,' she told the boy. ‘We must remember our manners.'

‘Hello, Adam,' said the fat kid, through a mouthful of pastry.

‘Introduce yourself properly, son,' growls a fat guy in a suit who had to be his dad. ‘Let people know your name — walk tall and stand proud, that's my man.'

The kid swallowed, and held out a sticky hand. ‘I am Jamie Fitzpatrick,' he announced obediently. ‘How do you do?'

I shook his hand, which felt as sticky as it looked — and sweaty. I wanted to wipe it on my shirt, but I didn't think it would be polite.

At that moment Ms Usherwood stood up at the head of the table. ‘Could I have your attention please, while I outline the day's activities.

‘The adults will meet outside the main entrance at nine thirty — that's in fifteen minutes. This morning, Shaw will take you on a conducted tour of the gardens. As you are aware, these are normally closed to the public. Highlights of the garden tour include the wildflower meadow, modelled on the alpine pastures of Switzerland, and the Oriental, South African and traditional English country gardens. You will also be visiting the walled garden, the organic kitchen garden, the water garden, and, of course, Fantasy Glade, which is inspired by landscapes derived from Quentin Quested's Karazan series. The morning will conclude with a gourmet picnic lunch under the oaks on the east lawn.'

There was a subdued murmur of approval from the parents.

‘There is a more exacting schedule for the children. The initiatives course planned for this morning has been postponed to the afternoon, to give the course a chance to dry out.'

What was an initiatives course? I looked over at Richard, and he looked back at me blankly.

Ms Usherwood continued: ‘Instead, we will be conducting the more formal part of the selection process
this morning. I'd like you all to meet in the hall, also at nine thirty, and we will proceed from there.'

Jamie's pudgy hand went up. ‘Yes, James?'

‘Please, Miss Usherwood, will we need anything? Like a pencil case, or a calculator, or anything like that?'

‘No, James, everything you need will be supplied. And now, if there are no further questions, perhaps you will excuse me.'

A babble of excited — and nervous — chatter followed her departure.

A tall, broad-shouldered boy with dreadlocks — Hannah's ants' nest hair, I'd bet — was talking about the initiatives course. ‘I'm not worried about it,' he said, in a loud, confident voice. ‘If it's outside, that means it's physical; if it's physical, I'll crack it, no worries. I'm the sprint and long distance champ at my school and I can jump four metres seventy in long jump.'

A pretty dark-haired girl piped up from the other side of the table. ‘It's all very well for you, Zach.
I
hope it's nothing to do with ball games. I'm so hopeless, I can't even hit a tennis ball.'

‘If there are proper tests, like at school, I hope they're — what do you call it? — mulpital choice,' goes Richard. ‘That way, you can always guess the answers.'

‘I really enjoy creative writing and essays,' said a plain-looking girl with mousy-coloured hair and ears that stuck out. ‘I'm OK with comprehension tests and stuff. Just so long as it's nothing to do with
worms
…'

‘Do you think it might be arm wrestling?' asked Richard hopefully. But everyone ignored him.

‘Are you scared of worms, Genevieve?' said a thin-faced, red-haired boy in the corner. ‘Wish I'd known that last night!'

‘Well, I'm praying it's nothing to do with maths,' muttered Richard. I was liking him more every minute.

‘But maths is so
easy
, Richard,' said Jamie loftily. ‘It's all logic, plain and simple. Personally, I'm an all-rounder, so I'm hoping the tests will cover as wide a range as possible. I'd describe myself as more of an academic than a sportsman, though.'

‘Focus on the positive, James,' chips in his dad. ‘With a positive attitude, the sky's the limit.'

This reminder that the grown-ups were listening put a sudden dampener on the conversation. I pushed my chair back. ‘What about you, Adam?' asked Genevieve. ‘What are you best at?'

There was a ghastly silence while I thought frantically. Everyone was looking at me, but my mind was a complete, total blank. What was I best at? What was I even
slightly
good at? I felt my face burn. The silence stretched longer, like a rubber band about to snap.

Suddenly a shrill voice piped up from the door. ‘Adam is good at
everything!
At mountain climbing and wrestling and leapfrog and stories and sailing and … and
jousting!
' shouted Hannah triumphantly, with a little jump for emphasis.

There was a startled pause. Then everyone laughed, and there was a general pushing back of chairs as people headed off to get ready for the day.

I wished with all my heart it was true.

‘Now,' said Q, peering at us through his cloudy glasses, ‘if you'd please turn on your computers …'

We were sitting in a big, air-conditioned room on the ground floor. The blinds were drawn over the long windows, and the room was bathed in cool fluorescent light. There was a clean whiteboard up at the front, where Q was standing. Over on one side was something round draped in a black cloth, standing on a pedestal.

Something about the room gave me a familiar, sinking feeling, and it didn't take me long to figure it out. It reminded me of a classroom. The desks were bigger, though, with plenty of space between, and on each one was a computer. Up at the front was a desk the same as ours, also with a computer — for Q, I supposed.

Beside each screen was a tall glass of water and a little bowl of wrapped peppermints. I wondered if they were for us — and whether we were allowed to help ourselves. At his desk across the room Jamie unwrapped two in rapid
succession, and popped them both into his mouth.

Keeping an eye on what the others were doing, I felt along the side of my computer for the on-off switch. The screen flickered, and then lots of white words flashed past too quickly to read. Another flicker, and the screen turned blue, with about ten little brightly coloured emblems on it. One of them seemed familiar: it was the logo of
Quest for the Golden Goblet
, just like the one on Cameron's computer. My heart leapt — maybe we were going to play computer games!

‘I'd like you all to click on the icon at the top left, please,' Q was saying. Quickly, I checked to see what everyone else was doing. They were using the mouse. Tentatively, I reached for mine and gave it a wiggle. A little arrow squiggled round on my screen. I put it on the top left icon, and clicked with my finger, like I'd done at Cameron's.

The blue screen disappeared, replaced by a black one with tiny pinpricks of stars. While I watched, words formed in silver on the blackness:

Welcome, Adam Equinox.

Cool!

‘Now,' Q was saying up at the front, ‘it's important that you work completely at your own pace. Don't worry about what your neighbour is doing; don't worry if you feel you're lagging behind. This isn't a race. Trust your instincts. And remember, for many of the questions, there is no right answer. Please begin when you're ready.'

Yeah, but how? I looked at the screen. Ah — there was a little rectangle over on the right, down at the bottom.
Start
, it said. I clicked on it.

What is the next number in this series?

7 3 6 5 12 7 4 9 2

Hopelessly, I stared at the numbers. They didn't make any kind of sense. There was no pattern. Down the bottom,
the little rectangle said,
Next.
I reckoned I'd scout ahead a bit, maybe see if there were some easier questions further on. I clicked.

What is the missing letter in this sequence?

r e t u p m o

I sighed. I was beginning to wish I'd never come.
Next.

Insert the missing letter to form two words.

FRO _ ROW

I felt sick and stupid, and my head was starting to ache. The words sat smugly on the screen, and the cursor blinked, mocking me. All round me, the other kids were clicking their mice and tapping away at their keyboards. I risked a glance over at Richard. He was chewing his thumbnail and frowning, but as I watched, his face broke into a relieved grin, and he typed something in and sat back, arms folded.
Next.

Which is the odd one out?

Tree Mouse Rock Eagle Ant

Quick as a flash, I clicked on
Rock. Next.

A boat will bear the weight of three people without sinking. If Jane weighs twice as much as Simon, and Simon weighs half as much as Rob, and Rob is the tallest, which two can safely travel in the boat at the same time?
I grinned, and tapped in the answer.

Over on the other side of the room, Jamie's hand was flapping in the air. Q went quietly over to him. I heard the murmur of his voice, then Jamie's, loudly: ‘I'm first to finish, aren't I? It was
so
easy!' Another murmur from Q, then: ‘Well, I
want
to check my answers! My dad made me promise …'

More murmurs, then a disgruntled silence.
Next.

In three day's time, it will be Wednesday. What was the day before yesterday?

I looked up at the ceiling, and counted on my fingers.
Next.

Please answer YES or NO to the following questions.

I find it easy to talk about how I am feeling.

I often do things on the spur of the moment.

If things don't work out first time, I have another go.

I enjoy solving problems.

I like working in groups.

I can usually tell how other people are feeling.

In a group of people, I am often the quietest one.

I regard truth as flexible, rather than as an absolute.

Frowning, trying to be honest, I worked my way through them all. It took me a while to work the last one out. Then I typed in
No. Next.

For your birthday, you are allowed to choose between three computer games. Which would you choose?

a) A fantasy adventure game set in an imaginary world.

b) A war game based on strategy.

c) A puzzle game which requires logical reasoning, sequential thinking and pattern finding.

I clicked on
a)
. I was prepared to bet everyone had chosen that answer.
Next.

In a sticky situation, which of the following would you be most likely to rely on?

a) Your intelligence

b) Your strength

c) Your instincts

d) Your companions.

I chose
c). Next.

While playing a computer fantasy adventure game, you find yourself in a position to select only
one
of the following objects. Which would you choose?

a) A rope with grappling hook

b) A cloak

c) An axe

d) A bottle of transparent liquid

e) A book

f) A shield

I thought for a moment, and then clicked on
d).
Immediately, the cursor flashed and letters appeared like magic on my screen:
W - h - y -?
I blinked. I looked up front, where Q had been standing. He was sitting at his desk, looking at his computer screen. As though he felt my eyes on him, he looked up, and smiled, and nodded encouragingly. I wondered if he had somehow typed the question in. It was crazy, I knew, but nonetheless, the thought warmed me. Painstakingly, I typed:

Rope — eksplor

Cloke — hyde/disguys

Ax — fite

Book — reed

Sheeld — defens

I cood do all thos things anyway.

BUT liqid — heeling, mabe majikal?

So the best.

T-h-a-n-k y-o-u A-d-a-m
, typed my computer.

I looked up. Q was smiling at me.
Next
.

In the game, you need to choose a dominant colour for your clothing. What colour would you choose?

I thought. Then,
Brown,
I typed carefully.
Next.

You are required to choose a character for yourself in the same game. Which of the following would you choose to be?

a) A warrior

b) A magic maker

c) A thief

d) Other (please specify)

I sat for a couple of minutes, thinking about that one. Then I tapped in,
d) Myslef.

At once the screen flashed and turned blue again, just like at the beginning. It looked as if I wasn't going to have the chance to go back to the questions I'd left out.

I grinned to myself. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.