Stuck in the moment

Chapter eight

The next morning I was woken up by the sound of my phone. I tapped the screen so that it would shut up. I laid there for a few moments before mister Portman entered, already fully dressed. "Who's ready to hit the beach?" he asked us. I groaned and hid underneath the covers, not wanting to get out of my cosy, little world yet. "Amelia! Get dressed." mister Portman ordered me. I pretended to be asleep, but that didn't work. I felt a weight on my right side and before I knew it, someone was tickling the living daylight out of me. "JAKE! Stop that right now!" I choked. "Only if you get up." he replied, continuing to tickle me. "Fine! Fine! I'm up." I stated. Jake stopped tickling me and I went to the bathroom to change into some comfortable clothes.

After a quick breakfast, the three of us were walking alongside one of Wales's coastlines. It was beautiful, really, just a bit boring. We rounded a corner and saw an entire camp. "Oh my...unbelievable!" mister Portman exclaimed. "Right in the middle of a nesting area? What kind of idiot does that?" Then, a man in his mid-forties came out of the tent. "Actually, the main nesting area is over there." he said in a thick, British accent, pointing towards the western side of the beach. "I can show you if you'd like. It's marvellous to meet a fellow bird spotter. John Lamont." he introduced himself, shaking mister Portman's hand. "Franklin Portman. This is my son, Jake and his friend, Amelia." he replied. Lamont shook Jake's hand and repeated his name. He then turned to me and grabbed my hand to kiss it. "John Lamont." he stated once more. I pulled my hand away from the man. There was something off about this 'John Lamont', I just couldn't seem to figure out what it was.

"That's a hell of a camera you got there." mister Portman told Lamont, staring at the huge tripod. "Oh, thanks, it's absolutely fantastic. I'm here to do a few snaps for a book I'm writing. So, are you folks here on holiday?" Lamont questioned. Mister Portman stared at his camera uncomfortably. "Yeah." he eventually said. "Well, then I wish you a jolly good time for the remainder of it." Lamont told us. We walked back to the pub, not speaking about what just happened.

We were sitting in the pub. Mister Portman was watching darts and some fellas were chatting at the bar about women. "So, you're not going to the beach today?" Jake asked his dad. "What's the point? If that guy is going to cover Cairnholm in some big, glossy book, no one's going to even want to look at mine." he said, not taking his eyes of the telly. "Might just have a nice afternoon nap." he added, taking a sip from his beer. "I don't suppose you saw uncle Oggie on your travels this morning, did you? He's usually here by now." Kevin asked us, putting down another beer. "I could go look for him?" I suggested. "You're not going anywhere." mister Portman told me, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Kevin, but perhaps one of the other guys have seen him." he told Kevin. Kevin nodded and walked back to the bar.

"Come on, guys, let's take a nap." Jake's dad told us. We followed him upstairs and I fell on my bed. I didn't sleep, I just stared at the ceiling, waiting for mister Portman to fall asleep, so Jake and I could go back to the loop. After a while, I saw Jake getting up. He walked downstairs, but I knew Kevin must be there. I looked outside, seeing that there was a container that we could use to get down. Jake came back to the hotel room and I gestured towards the window. I climbed out, careful to land of the container. I jumped down on the pavement, Jake not far behind. "Next stop, miss Peregrine's loop." I whispered. Jake smirked as we ran towards the moor where the cavern was.

"Jake! Amelia! You're back! Come and play!" Bronwyn giggled, lifting both of us. "I need to see miss Peregrine first. Do you know where she is?" Jake asked the little girl. She nodded and grabbed my hand. That girl adores me for some reason. We arrived at the kitchen, where miss Peregrine was taking care of the wounded Ymbryne. "Go and play with Claire for a bit. I'll be with you in a minute or two." I told Bronwyn. She smiled and ran off to find Claire as Jake and I entered the kitchen.

"Amelia, Jake. You're back, how wonderful." miss Peregrine breathed out. "How is it doing? Emma said it was an Ymbryne." Jake questioned. "She. Not it. Ymbrynes are always female." miss Peregrine corrected him. "And Emma was quite correct. This is miss Avocet." "Her loop's in Blackpool, England." Jake blurted out. He took the letter from his pocket. "That was a private letter, Jake." miss Peregrine scolded. "Who is mister Barron?" Jake asked her. She simply looked back to miss Avocet. "Miss Peregrine, if my grandpa was involved with dangerous people, I need to tell the police." he told the headmistress. "Police? Are you implying Abe died an unnatural death?" miss Peregrine asked him surprised. "We found him in the woods with his eyes missing. I'd say that was pretty unnatural." Jake insisted. Miss Peregrine stood up and grasped the letter from Jake's hand. "Unless essential, I don't discuss unpleasant matters. An Ymbryne's duty is to protect children, Jake." With that, she left the kitchen with miss Avocet in her arms. "I'm not a child!" he shouted. But miss Peregrine was already gone. "He wanted you to tell me everything!" he tried. She simply smacked the door shut.

I walked out of the kitchen, only to be met with Enoch and Olive. I walked past them and climbed the stairs to the top floor. "Amelia! Come and play with us!" Hugh shouted from Claire and Bronwyn's room. I smiled and entered their room. "What are we playing?" I asked, sitting down on the floor, next to Hugh. "We're playing pretend." Millard informed me. "My favourite game!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together.

Just then, Olive, Enoch and Jake came up the stairs. The three of them walked towards Victor's room. Bronwyn shuffled uncomfortably. She hated it whenever anyone came close to Victor. We saw Olive walking past the room and Fiona walked out. We could hear her confront Enoch, but without success. After a short while, she returned to us, shaking her head. Climbed over the bed to reach Bronwyn. The young girl was forcing back her tears. "Shh...it's alright." I whispered hugging her. She cried into my shirt, her sobs muffled by the fabric. "Do you want me to tell you a story?" I asked the girl. Bronwyn nodded and I began to tell a story. "Once upon a time, there was a lovely little girl called Wendy. She never wanted to grow up. So one day, she and her brothers flew to Neverland together with Peter Pan. He was a mischievous young boy and loved to play pranks on the pirates that lived in Neverland." I began.

"Children! Are you coming? It's time for our daily walk!" miss Peregrine shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "I'll finish the story later, alright?" I proposed to the kids. They nodded and ran downstairs. I shook my head and smiled, following them. After a short while, Jake appeared at the top of the stairs. "Ah! There you are. Is Enoch with you? It's time for our daily walk." miss Peregrine informed him.

A short while later, we were walking on a small road over a cliff. I was walking besides Emma and Jake. "Emma, Amelia, who killed Victor?" Jake asked us after a while. "Was it the people with the white eyes?" "We asked you not to ask questions." Emma stated, avoiding eye contact. "We saw one, the night my grandpa died." he tried again, looking at me. "A man." Emma looked at me in shock. "If it really was one you have to tell miss Peregrine!" she exclaimed. "Could you recognize him from a photograph?" "Do you have one?" Jake asked. "Emma, are you talking about our hideout?" I whispered to her. She nodded softly. "Alright then, Jake, follow me." I told him as Emma and I sneaked towards the beach.