Free The Ancient Starship by Cerberus Jones Page B

holding a knife, a sword, a full glass of wine, or an egg. Around him, the other Control agents, K’Torl, Q’Proll and the rest of Amelia and Charlie’s families were standing in a wide circle. Ms Rosby started a slow clap and the rest joined in. Some started to stamp the floor in time until the whole ballroom throbbed with the beat. And then Arxish started to juggle …
    Lady Naomi’s face broke into a huge smile as she watched those flailing legs weave through the air faster and faster, Arxish’s balance and timing impossibly good, not a single drop of wine spilt, and still he went faster. Every now and then, one of the Control agents would give a shout of warning, and throw another object into the mix. There would be a little hitch and everyone would hold their breath, but then Arxish would get his rhythm back and keep juggling, now faster again.

    It was just like the Gateway Hotel itself, Amelia realised. Every new piece of information they discovered brought another three questions up behind it. Each new part of the puzzle they solved just turned out to prove that the big picture was so much bigger than they had thought. She wondered if they would ever get to the end of it – if it would ever be possible to understand the gateway itself.
    Lady Naomi gave a great whoop of delight and threw in a bunch of grapes. Arxish, driven on by the clapping and stamping around him, juggled faster again. And Amelia forgot all her wondering, and just enjoyed the crazy, impossible show.



 

    Amelia finished washing her hands at the sink and went back to put up her chair, wiping her hands on her uniform. Around her, it was the usual Friday afternoon chaos. Shani and Sophie F were still trying to do just a bit more on their self-portraits, whereas Charlie had packed up ages ago and already had his bag by his desk, ready to go as soon as the bell rang. The rest of the class were somewhere in between, washing paintbrushes, hanging art smocks and pegging up wet paintings on the line.
    Sophie T wove between the tables, narrowly avoiding being hit as Erik flipped his chair upside down and put it on his desk. She was so focused on not spilling the filthy paint-water she was carrying that she didn’t notice Charlie’s bag until she tripped over it.
    She let out a little shriek of dismay and went sprawling to the floor, landing flat on the paint palette she had in her other hand. The jar of water slopped all over Dean and sent paintbrushes scattering to the carpet.
    Amelia cringed as Sophie T picked herself up. The whole front of her uniform was now blotched with bright patches of colour. Her face was blotchy, too, but that was the red flush of fury. Sophie T turned to Charlie, her eyes flashing, and opened her mouth to yell.
    â€˜Charlie, you –’
    The bell rang loudly. ‘All right, you lot!’ called Ms Slaviero. ‘Don’t forget your notes for next week’s excursion.’
    Charlie grabbed his bag, ignoring Sophie T completely, and headed for the door. Amelia gave her a quick, sympathetic smile, then followed Charlie out as Ms Slaviero grumbled cheerfully to Sophie T and Dean, ‘Come on, then. Let’s get you two cleaned up.’
    Outside, it was a perfect Forgotten Bay summer afternoon – the kind you wished would last forever. Amelia and Charlie began the familiar walk back up to the hotel.
    â€˜The thing about Sophie T,’ Charlie said, ‘is that she’s always blaming someone else. She never admits it’s her fault. Like, how is it my problem that she’s stupid and clumsy? Oh wait, that’s right – because she makes it my problem. And another thing –’
    â€˜Charlie …’ Amelia groaned. ‘Who cares? You don’t have to see her again until Monday. Can’t we talk about something else?’
    â€˜Okay,’ said Charlie, easily. ‘I’ll tell you what I was thinking about when I was painting: the