8 February 2023, Week 1: Hiding the extraordinary in the ordinary

The cars zoomed past the neat bushes. Doors slammed shut as the wind pushed us towards the wooden gates. Just another day at Roseinton Avenue. My name is Spring and I’m about to tell you the story of my neighborhood. It all started on a fine spring (get it?) morning. My pet dog ,Pop, bounced all over my body as I rose from my bed. My hair appeared as if a tornado had a dance party inside my brown locks. I changed into my favorite Sunday wear as I gazed upon the horizon. Birds chirping a melodious song, clouds floating in the clear blue sky, flowers blossoming across every garden. My feet tapped on the concrete along the path as I made my way to my best friend's house, Winter. Noticing her roses and sunflowers beautifully planted across her lawn I carefully leaped over each and every one. As soon as I reached her door it flew right open revealing her face. Long black hair hung down her head as she offered me to come inside. Her room was perfectly organised as I sat down on one of her cushions. Just before I could comment on her new flowers a loud BOOM interrupted me. “What was that?!” I questioned. “I’m not sure, Spring. But it sounded like it was coming from your house!” Winter guessed. “Can I borrow your binoculars?” I asked as she handed me sparkly pink binoculars. I examined my home as my mind was whirling with questions. Nothing was wrong with my house. The ordinary had stayed in the town Forestville. Mum ironing the clothes, Dad clicking the keys on his laptop, Pop chewing my slippers (bad dog!). It was then I noticed the new neighbor. Smoke rose from its chimney as I was able to make out sparks sprouting out into the air! I couldn’t believe my eyes! Explaining my discoveries to Winter she responded, “Yes they are the newcomers to Roseinton Avenue. Although I did find that their child always hid his/her face.” This mystery seemed to get stranger and stranger. Deciding to have a closer look I dashed straight back in my house!

Unseen eyes feasted on the sight. Whispers were carried along the wind into waiting ears. A rushing stream gently crashed onto rocks as the current pulled it towards the lake. Trees created a dappled canopy as the last rays shone weakly. Through the dipping branches of the ethereal wood, a huddle of soldiers sat around a fire. They had created refuge in the forest as they fled from the rebellion forming in the city. The kingdom's emblem was printed clearly onto their uniforms and the soldiers had hoped they the trees shadowed their identities. "Find her." Two red eyes glinted hungrily in the moonlight. The hounds were getting impatient as they paced around the bare forest floor. "Find her and bring her back dead." The only sound of the forest now was the breath that caught in her chest. The tall, sloping mountains of her city was now enveloped in flames as the rebellion drew longer into the night. She ran towards the valley but her foot caught a loose rock and down she fell into a world of darkness. It swallowed her like a sinkhole, black was everywhere she looked and she could feel her limbs getting heavy as all her strength was drained into the abyss. As if waking from a dream, Agnes felt light headed like she was detached from her body. Something tugged at her mind; a pinprick of light so quick it disappeared the moment she tried to grab it. Pushing herself out of bed, she surveyed her surroundings. Agnes knew she had walked through these corridors and rooms before but when? She wandered through the spidery halls until she got to the door. It was made of polished oak and blocked out every bit of sun from outside. Pushing it open, she squinted into the busy street as people moved along the pavements. The white suburban houses were lined against each other with neatly trimmed gardens in front of their porches. It was all too natural for Agnes. She had always been an outsider, she felt like she belonged somewhere else. Again, the pinprick of light shone in her mind and she tried to grapple it but it slipped away into the depths of her memories. As Agnes turned away from the door, she could hear gasps and mutters from behind her. A man in a long trench coat shuffled up the street as if having a limp. When he reaches Agnes's front door he suddenly stopped. Slowly he turned around and stared straight at her. That night as stars speckled the night sky, Agnes heard a muffled voice. She treaded softly throught the corridors and pulled open the curtains. The new neighbour was looking at a mirror and muttering as if talking to someone. She cupped her ear against the window and caught the last words. "I found her."

Chapter 1 Part I Hello. My name’s Charlie Harold Veilay. I am 10. I live on 379 Leyle Lane, Camellia Ville. It’s not exactly the best street. For example, kookaburras are always chattering at about 190 decibels. The solution? Earmuffs. But that’s not all. The scorching, boiling sun is always shining, making it physically impossible to go outside without getting skin cancer. And I’ve been lectured by Mum about it 65 septillion times. We also always have to park our turquoise Toyota really, really far away and trudge back home. This is strange, considering that about 80% of the houses are on sale, but after all, we do have a gargantuan store. We only have about 70 houses not for sale on our street, and l know 2 of their inhabitants. First, there’s Aunt Georgia, on 381 Leyle Lane. She’s a black haired, kind, forgiving person in her mid 40’s. The only weird (And not the only good) thing about her is that she gives free muffins to everyone on the street on Saturday afternoons. Then, There’s Paul, a bald, red-nosed, 67-year old couch potato from 380 Leyle Lane. He watches news 24/7 (Seriously, can’t they make more kid shows ?). Here are all of his eccentricities: • Hates melons, but still eats them • Does dancing while watching news • Has his Christmas tree up from August until March • Sometimes wears fins! Part II You’ve heard all about my street, so you’ll probably think that if someone moved in, I would start breakdancing and singing . Well, if you did, you STILL don’t know me very well. Because this is how it all started: I was walking home from the bus stop (Not as long as walking from our car) when I saw 2 humongous grey and yellow trucks with “Marvellous Movers” written on them and a giant, rose red LEASED! stamp on the SALE! Sign. I was surprised for about 0.7 seconds and, after that, just walked away like nothing had happened. I went to bed on the couch (Went to couch sounds weird) at 8: I was awoken by unfamiliar voices. “Is the potion ready, Slimefoot? Are the Defra ashes ready, like I asked you 3 weeks ago? ”“Nnn-n-nno.” Slimefoot quivered in fear. “I a-am s-sorry, nmnM-mmm-mast-tar S-skulldeath.” In curiosity, I looked out of the window through the hole in the wooden fence to see two men. Must have been the new neighbours. “SORRY IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! YOU ARE MY ONLY SERVANT! KILLERT, FIRETAIL, DEVILCLAW, HORNY AND SHARKLEG WERE ARRESTED, IF YOU DO NOT EMEMBER!” furiously shouted back Skulldeath. “MINOTAUR WAS IN HIDING! HE COULD ONLY COME TODAY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IM-Oh. Hello, Minotaur. I apologise for all the noise, just Slimefoot here didn’t prepare the Def-“ I saw Paul walking into the frontyard. What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be watching the midnight news? And, even if, for some weird reason, they suddenly stopped doing it, why would he be here? “No ,I did.” he bellowed in a low-pitched voice.” Is it safe to take our disguises off now?” “Yes.” Replied Skulldeath.”Also, your deed was very noble.” And with that, before I could blink, the three men- Skulldeath, Slimefoot and Paul were long gone. Instead of Paul stood a jacked, bull-headed man. Where Slimefoot stood was now taken by a pile of vomit green goo. And Deathskull was a skeleton in black robes. After that no-one spoke for ten minutes. I was about to go back to sleep when Minotaur said “Remind me what we’re doing again, Skulldeath?” “Well… this street is a complete nightmare, right? “Yes.” muttered Minotaur. “Well, we will destroy it!” yelled Skulldeath. “How?” “The question is not how, Minotaur, it is what will happen next. After we demolish Leyle Lane, everyone will thank us. Everyone will choose us for president. Then we will destroy Australia, and then the whole world!” “Oh no you won’t!” I gained up my courage. Minotaur, Slimefoot and Skulldeath gasped and glared at me. “But you hate this street, do you, Charlie?” said Skulldeath. “SEIZE HIM!” Minotaur charged through the hole in the fence. I quickly shut the window. Minotaur’s fist punched through the glass. He fell on me and fainted. Squashed by the weight, I fainted as well.

The salty air stung my eyes and the sea breeze whipped by hair. People hurried along paveways, their black cloaks like birds desperate to go with the wind. The stagnant air of the museum was stifling and I greeted the fresh air with pleasure. Grey clouds blanketed the sky and a thin fog started to gather. The sea was alive with waves that tossed sea foam onto the sand. I stared at the rickety houses and waved to our neighbours. Iris and Harold were frequent visitors of Addison's Hall of Quirks and Wonders. Iris would often bring us freshly baked goods and Harold would donate us interesting pieces of glass and shells he found at sea. I shook my head trying to get the thought out of my head. Something was happening. I could feel it. I squinted into the thick sea of people and I saw a limping man. A small silver box poked out of his pocket and I knew exactly who he was. Inside the box was a key. A key to the house in front of us. The new tenant had a sharp cane and everyone in the whole of Sardine harbour knew that to have a limp was nothing to be proud of. You wouldn't be able to work and feed the harbour.This man clearly didn't know his Sardinian ways.

The noisy neighbour By Angus J Prologue- No cars drove by on the quiet street. A couple strolled by on the almost deserted pavement. Life in Gumnut Crescent was boring and miserable. For most people. Hi. I’m Carlos and I’m 16 years old. I live here at 22 Gumnut Crescent and I’ve lived here for 9 years, since I was 8. I looooooooove video games, technology and, of course, Harry Potter. I play cricket on Saturday afternoons for the River Glen Rosellas. And even though I love video games, I HATE Super Mario. I know. Weird, right? I live next to my BEST FRIEND EVER! His name is Hamish and we go to River Glen High School together. Hamish was the only person I knew in Gumnut Crescent. Up until the 10th of January, 2023… CHAPTER ONE- BOB The 10th of January, 2023 started out as a normal Tuesday. My alarm went off at 7:00am, I had my normal Weet-Blox and played a little bit of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. At exactly 8:03am, I heard a lot of crashing and banging from number 20. I took the Sonic SD Card out and sprinted across the posh carpet to my Mum and Dad’s bedroom window to see what the commotion was. All I could see was a Dooby’s Removals truck and a heap of boxes. Hmm… I knew that 92-year-old John had moved into River Glen Retirement Village 1½ years ago. This must have been my new neighbour! I dashed to the lavish front door and slipped on my purple thongs. I raced through the door and walked over to number 20. A man of about 52 turned his head to face me. He snarled and turned back to eating his sponge cake. Rude, I thought. I tried again. “Lovely morning, innit?” “I don’t care what the damn weather’s like,” the old man growled. As he did, I stole a glance at one of the 20 000 000 boxes on the front lawn. PROPERTY OF BOB BENNET. DO NOT TOUCH OR ELSE! it said. Best to avoid him, I thought. And with that, I sauntered back to my house.

“What is going on?” Thought Anastasia, peeking through the window. “Are you okay, Anastasia ?” Asked Rose, noticing her friend had suddenly gone quiet. “Bill’s house has become silent” muttered Anastasia absent minded. “So? That doesn’t matter. Does it?” Muttered Rose confused. “Give me your spy night gear” ordered Anastasia. Rose handed it and Anastasia adjusted the night up goggles. As she looked through them, she saw shadows through the curtains, sitting of what looked like table. She knew that those shadows belonged to Bill and Lilly, his little sister. Bill looked like he was talking to Lilly. “Um, Anastasia?” Asked Rose, startling her that she dropped the night goggles. “Yes?” She asked, impatient to continue her secret spying mission. “Never mind” mumbled Rose, frightened that she upset her friend. When Anastasia looked back through the window, the light was off and it was clear that Bill and Rose had gone to bed. Anastasia sighed. She really wanted to hear what they were saying. “Come on, let’s go to bed” said Anastasia, going into her sleeping bag. As Anastasia listened to Rose’s breath in and out while sleeping, Anastasia kept on thinking, why is Bill’s home always loud, and then the next moment quiet? Why hasn’t she seen him ever in school yet. He has been here for more than a month. As she dozed off into a sleep, she thought she saw Bill’s shadow outside the window, walking past, but thought she was probably just sleepy. But she didn’t know what was really happening out there….

The Mystery of the Neighbourhood Chapter 1 A week ago in Australia, Queensland, Oliver Bay, Beach Avenue, with its new and old colourful houses with big gardens and beautiful flowers. Nearby there were cafes, birds chipping, people gardening and chatting, kids playing and going to school. One sunny and quiet day, a family moved in. The family was composed of 4 people with their dog Tug Boat. It was loud, it was annoying, mostly for the people who lived in this street for about 14 to 16 years. It was always so quiet. Their names were Livie Canastra and Andrew Jonsen. Livie Canastra was 46 years old and she was kind and creative. She loved gardening and she was an artist. She did dot painting and wore creative clothing. Andrew Jonsen was 55 years old. He was funny, excited and curious. He worked in the bakery that was in the corner. He never liked green veggies. It got louder than ever until everyone grumbled and complained to say stop. But why were they loud? Andrew was curious so he went to check it out. Then he understood why they were loud. The dog was howling, the children were excited. He saw boxes with weird stuff in them. He couldn’t wait to tell everyone else. And then he saw patterns on a pot moving. “What could it be? What could it be?”, he wondered. Do you know? What is this strange looking pot?

On Sunset Avenue, there lived lots of families and there were two families that were very close. Sunset Avenue is going to be the most peaceful place you have ever been to. Tom is the son of Bill and Amy and Sara is the daughter of Kate and Sam. Sara and Tom are friends and go to the same school. On Sunday, a newcomer moved in between the two close families at 3:00 in the afternoon. The day the family moved in, Sunset Avenue was no longer a peaceful place. Sunset Avenue became a loud and noisy place because the newcomers has pets. You would not believe what pet the newcomer had as a pet. Let me tell you what pet they had, they had pet chickens!!

CHAPTER ONE He was about 50 meters away from the bus stop, but still, somehow, Julian managed to spot me. “HEY, EARPLUGS!!” Yelled Julian from across the road. Oh no. Quickly, quickly. I yanked by backpack haphazardly back onto my back and began running away as fast as I could. Not fast enough. “WHERE YA THINK YA GOIN?!” Julian rammed a hand into my backpack, and before I could pull myself together to fall over properly, Julian and his goons were already rummaging through my stuff. One of them pulled out my earplugs. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrgggghhhhh! The noise, the sound, the yelling! All streaming into my poor ears. I clap my hands over them but it doesn’t work. My earplugs are the only thing that blocks it all out entirely. “OOH! WOT’S DISS??” Squeals one of them. They’ve found Grandpa’s muffin. I bought it at a bakery for him just as I was leaving Art Club. It was the house special and cost me a fortune. I can’t let them have it. I scramble to grab my earplugs and pop them back into my ears. The noise falls away, but my head is still throbbing. I make a lunge for the muffin, but Julian’s too fast. I miss the muffin, but I clip his arm, and the muffin flies down and smashes into the dirty footpath. Julian groans. He sounds like a depressed cow. “I was gunna eat dat fing!” He grumbles. Julian picks up the crumbling muffin off the footpath. It’s covered in dirt. He sniffs it, grimaces, and chucks it at me. I manage to duck, and it hits one of his friends square in the face. “Nyaaaaaaah hahahahahaha!” Laughs Julian in his dolphin-y like way. “Honk honk honk honk!” Snort-laughs all his goons except the one that got hit in the face. But then I notice that Julian’s goon, the muffin faced one, has long hair and glasses and is only a few centimetres taller than me. He wipes all the crumbs and bits of muffin covering his face. He is a she! “Got a bit too much of a mouthful eh, saint sissy sis?” Taunts Julian. More snort-laughing from Julian’s other goons. Wait… This girl is Julian’s sister?! Julian’s sister just stands there looking miserable. But I can tell she’s not just sympathetic to herself. Julian spins on his heel and struts away, his oily, sweaty hair bobbing on top of his head with each step. “I’m sorry.” Julian’s sister whispers to me as she follows her brother. “I’m sorry I ducked.” I muttered. “BOYE EARPLUGS!!” Whooped Julian. CHAPTER TWO Earplugs isn’t my name, by the way. It’s just a stupid nickname Julian made up by rubbing his last few brain cells together. My real name’s Ari. Julian is something like 13 years old and moved here about a week ago. He introduced himself with a number of wedgies and a threat: “If you ever tattle on me to ANYONE, you’ll get it.” I wasn’t sure what “it” was, and I wasn’t eager to find out. After a few minutes on the bus, I finally got home and stepped through the door. “Oranges.” Muttered Grandpa into his long, white beard as I walked in. “Hi Grandpa!” I said sprightly as I plonked down next to him. He seemed to be very engrossed in the game of chess he was playing against himself. “I’m winning… but i’m losing.” He mumbled with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “What’s wrong, Grandpa?” I asked. “My rook. My rook got took.” He says. Grandpa reached 89 years old last year. He is pretty ancient. He spends most of his time in a cloudy, delusional state. Sometimes he gets so involved in his imaginary world that anyone who denies him this world, he sinks like a stone and starts shivering. Most people find him difficult. But not me. I am the only person he knows who knows that to get through to Grandpa in his fantastical world, you have to join him in it. “Who took your rook?” I asked in a declaring voice. Grandpa pouted and jabbed a finger at a knight. “The horse did!” He said, raising his voice and his posture. “Well then.” I said. “Punish the horse for his crimes!” Grandpa’s facial expression swelled as he flicked the horse off the board with his queen. I went to my room, leaving Grandpa cackling like an evil villain at the horse-shaped chess piece lying on the floor. My room, unlike many of my friends, was neat and tidy. Except for the odd t-shirt thrown somewhere, it was immaculate. I checked my iPad for messages. Jimmy had left a whole bunch of them for me to go through. How nice of him. JIMMY: Heyyyyy Ari! How was Scribble Club? JIMMY: I mean Drawing Club. JIMMY: Sorry, I know you don’t like it when I call it that. JIMMY: Hang on, is it called Art Club? JIMMY: Art Club or Drawing Club? JIMMY: Answer me, Ari boy! JIMMY: ANSWER MEEE!! JIMMY: Where are you? JIMMY: Ugh. You’re still on the bus, aren’t you? JIMMY: Fine. I’ll text you later. Compared to most days, Jimmy was really holding back. I texted him. ARI: I ran into his Royal Jugheadness at the bus stop. Total nightmare. They pulled out my earplugs and stole the muffin I bought for Grandpa. By “Royal Jugheadness” I mean Julian. JIMMY: Grrrr! Everything would be better if Julian never moved here! How are your ears, by the way? Is your… um… whatsit sensory disorder getting better? ARI: My Auditory Hypersensitory disorder? Yeah, it hasn’t really changed. Just like the last time you asked, and the time before that… Now would be a good time to tell you about my disorder. It means that my ears are super-dooper sensitive and everything I hear sounds painfully loud, so I have to wear earplugs or ear deadeners. JIMMY: Fine, how was Drawing Club? ARI: For the last time, it’s called ART CLUB. We did a few collages, and a bit of still life. Not the most exciting one we’ve had. Jimmy got bored of this conversation, and brought up Julian again. JIMMY: What happened with Julian Jughead? ARI: He beat me up, stole my muffin, dropped it, and threw it at me. JIMMY: You get hit? ARI: No, I ducked and it hit Julian’s sister. JIMMY: Hahaha! Serves her right! ARI: No! She was really upset about her brother and she even apologised as she walked away. JIMMY: Really? ARI: Yes really!! JIMMY: Mmmm… I don’t think so…I highly doubt the two siblings would be polar opposites… ARI: Think about it! Julian was being a jerk, and his sister felt sorry for the victims! JIMMY: What you’re saying makes no sense. ARI: I’m telling you, it was real! JIMMY: Oops. Got to go, Mum wants me to brush my teeth. I sighed. So much for support for Julian’s sister. She’s obviously feeling trapped by her brother. He probably threatened her as well, something like “Grrr, help us bully these little kids and we won’t bully you”. I stepped outside to get some fresh air. The street I lived on was a pretty average street. Two rows of houses separated by a thin, potholed road, with the odd tree or two. Next to our house was a small, brick house. I shuddered to think what was going on in there. For it was Julian’s house. There were nerf bullets scattered around it, and sometimes, late at night, shouts and arguments erupt from the house. Julian is always shouting at somebody who I now know is his sister. I could hear the sister sobbing even over the shouting of her brother. POP! Something whizzes past my head. POP! POP! POP! A bombardment of nerf bullets rains down on me. Julian and some of his cronies, including his sister, are rushing at me, nerf guns in hand. “WHATCHA DOIN’ LOOKIN’ AT MAH HOUSE?!” Julian bellows. Not willing to stick around for any of it, I rush back into my house and slam the door, the image of the sister’s sorrowful face flickering like a flame in my mind.

The sun started to drift down the yellow-orange sky and the clouds from the earlier rain had faded away. The sound of young children having fun in the Elderberry Gardens was still going on, with the sound of happy screams gusting through the trees and into the streets around it. Geraldine Parkway was one quite similar to any other. It had regular people, regular shops and regular housing. It was an afternoon just like any of the ones before it. The whole area around Elderberry Gardens were all townhouses, quite pretty and aesthetic ones as well. A cool breeze whisked through the air of the street and into Adhalia’s shop, she felt that cool chill she always loved on especially warm days. As the clock striked 5:01 on her watch and customers filed out of her shop for the end of the day - she started to close up. As soon as everyone had left, she walked over to the entrance and picked up the few display flowers that sat outside neatly in their pots. She heaved them up with both hands with all her might and placed them back inside. She did that with all of them. But before she could close and lock the door, her eyes caught a moving van that flew across the road. The van parked in a spare spot on the other side of the road and she saw the logo for Allied moving company pasted on the back of the vehicle. Adhalia saw two men clamber out of the van who then walked across the road to the townhouse next to her. That townhouse that was quite unpopular. Apparently there had been a fire there thirty years ago and it was almost burned to the ground. It was just never rebuilt properly. Of course it’s still usable and safe but it is just very ugly. Adhalia then heard a man's voice coming from next door. His voice sounded old and decrepit. It also wasn’t English. It was some strange language, one that Adhalia definitely hadn’t heard before. The two moving men seemed confused from what Adhalia could make out from just her hearing. But, she didn’t think much of it, she locked the doors just like regular and trod to the kitchen where she heated up some leftover lasagne in the microwave.

They are gone. Taken away by men in navy blue business suits. Probably never to be seen ever again. I have so many questions. But no one has the answers. *********************** Monday, 29th August 2016 Knock. Knock. Knock. “I’ll answer it!” I called out. I got up from my bed where I was texting my friends. They were all having a fun time to together in Hawaii while I was stuck at home with my Dad who only cares about one thing: That I don’t ever leave his sight. Ever. When I opened the door I was surprised that it wasn’t Mr and Mrs Smith from unit 4 delivering dinner. You see, Dad can’t cook. And even if he could he’s on his computer 24/7 trying to earn enough money to pay the rent for this apartment. Anyway, the person who was at door was the landlady, Maria. Who owned this apartment. She’s short, about a foot smaller than me. She looks like a principle, a strict one, with pointy glasses and everything. But she’s really kind. “Hi Maria, is everything alright. We weren’t expecting you to come today.” I said calmly. But that was not how I felt, she might have come to kick us out. I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers. Maria smiled and looked me up and down. “Kara! It’s so good to see you again. You’ve grown so much. Is your father home?” I nodded, “Yes, he is. But he’s busy right now. Does he need to be here?” Maria smiled again and shook her head, “No, love, he doesn’t need to be here. But could you please tell him later. It’s important for everyone to be informed.” I nodded to let her know that she could continue speaking. I am not a patient person, so I really needed to know if we had to pack our bags and leave. And I needed to know soon. “Well, on Friday, some new people will be moving in to unit 5, right above you. They are bringing a pet with them. I thought you should know.” I let out a sigh. We weren’t being kicked out! “Well, anyway. That’s all I came for. So I better be going. Have a good day.” I waved Maria goodbye and watched as she walked down the stairs. ****** Dinner was delivered at 5:00. Mrs Smith apologised multiple times about how she forgot to make dessert. But I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t mind. We got out the plates and put all the delicious food Mrs Smith had made for us on them. Then we ate. “So who came to the door earlier today?” Dad asked. I finished chewing my asparagus then said, “It was Maria. She came to say that new neighbours are moving in on Friday. In unit 5.” Dad nodded. And then we both ate the rest of our food in silence. ****** Friday, 2nd September 2016 It was Friday. The day of the neighbours’ arrival. I was so excited. I had spent the past 4 days making a WELCOME basket. It was full of snacks and fun stuff, like colouring books for adults and Crayola markers to colour it in. I even included Dad’s phone number so they could call us if they needed anything. I was soooo excited. ****** It was 2:00pm and I was waiting at the window for the neighbours. Then I saw that strangest thing. Three children, and a donkey walking down the street. Where were their parents? And where did they get the donkey from. Then something even stranger happened, they walked into the apartment block. I ran to the door and listened to their footsteps walking up the stairs. Then I heard a key turning in a lock. And realisation struck me. They were the new neighbours.

Forest hill street was always the most normal place in the world. There was no nonsense and no peculiarities. The sun glazed the smooth tiles as the blazed high above them. Rows of fine and handsome houses lined the street. It was Saturday and many neighbours were labouring at their green lawns. Today was the best day of the week. One, I did not have school two,I would spend the day with my favourite neighbour Mrs Schwartz. At nine o’clock I hurried next door. Mrs Schwatz seemed oddly strange. Something was out of place. I knew she was elderly but something was DEFINITELY wrong. “How is your Monday going dear?”she wheezed. “But it's Saturday Mrs Schwartz.”I exclaimed. Then things got worse. Mrs Schwartz began shaking, she fell to the floor. The shaking intensified.It looked like she was a alarm on a old-fashion clock. Her chest was heaving up and down up. She was having a seizure. I phoned the ambulance hurriedly. Mrs Schwartz had already passed out. When the ambulance arrived, a paramedic winked at me and said “You have done a good job.” News of the incident spread quickly around Forest Hill street all thanks to the nosiest neighbour of all, Alice Romanov. Then a even bigger news struck Forest Hill street, Mrs Schwartz was selling her house for a nice life in the countryside. When the new neighbour moved in I sensed something wicked and evil that she radiated at everyone who dared to approach her. She boarded up the windows of her house, grew thorns and prickly pears. There was this rumour at school that she had a black cat. At once I grew suspicious.

In Bella Heights there were two lovely families in Cloud Parade. Bill is the son of Kate and goes to Greeners Public School with his friend, Jack. Kate is a single mum because her husband died of excitement when the baby came out! Jack is the son of Izzy and Colin. Jack was friends with Bill. Colin and Izzy like to chat with the neighbours. Once their apple tree fell and they gave some helpful advice on how to put it back up. No matter what type of talking it was they would talk. One day a newcomer came in town. Every day her number of cats gets doubled. On day five she already has 32 cats! Wait a second… she isn’t feeding normal cat food!?!?

Chapter 1 Banktown Avenue was a cosy, rundown sort of place. There was a park filled with trees nearby, and the houses all had circular windows in their attics, but other than that, the houses were all different. This was how the people in Banktown Avenue liked it. the Avenue was dusty and well ridden on, by people in big cars going on business trips, who just happened to ride through, and kids on skateboards who threw rocks through the windows of number 14 Banktown Avenue, which was said to be haunted, and smelled like lemons. The rest of the Avenue smelled like eucalyptus. But aside from all the weirdness, Banktown Avenue was pretty quiet…in most of the houses. Number 12 Banktown Avenue was different to all the rest. Not because it was weird, no, all the houses were weird. Number 3 Banktown Avenue even had a large chicken farm in the front yard with a miniature rocket for the chickens to sleep in instead of a chicken house. No, number 12 was weird because of the girl who lived there. The girl, whose favourite hobby, was playing with daggers and swords. Leena Tavin stared out of the circular attic window, taking careful aim with her dagger. Leena was a tall 12-year-old girl with dark red hair, and sharp dark brown eyes. she wore a belt hung with daggers around her waist, and her hair was in a messy ponytail. It was the holiday, and she had decided to spend the day throwing daggers at the target hung up on their ewe tree. She was a great shot. As she went down to pick up the 4 daggers she had thrown, Leena saw her best friend, Bill Drake, coming out of number 4 Banktown Avenue, holding a large donut covered with black icing. Bill’s house was peculiar, because it had 3 chimneys. Leena had once asked why the house had 3 chimneys, but Bill had just said, ‘it’s for some good reasons,’ and gave no further explanations. Leena suspected it was so that the explosions continually issuing from Bill’s room (which all the chimneys connected to) would let out the smoke. Bill said he was going to invent something useful one day, and Leena believed him. He had a great mind. He just got distracted by food often. Bill had large glasses, with purple frames, and with tape all over the arms. He had curly hair, and was short for his age, which was 13. He was thin and gangly. He usually wore overalls over his black jeans, and bought donuts online with the computer he made out of a kit. When he wasn’t eating, he was thinking, and when he wasn’t thinking, he was making. So far, he had made a robotic toy for cats, which ran around while his pet cat, Fluffles, chased it. ‘Ey Leena,’ Bill said, his mouth full of donut. He quickly swallowed all the donut, and licked his lips. ‘Why are you throwing daggers now? It’s a holiday! You should be, I dunno, relaxing at a beach in Hawaii, not throwing daggers in a dangerous sort of way?’ Bill never got why Leena loved weapons so much. ‘This is all I can do,’ Leena said. ‘I don’t like reading, or inventing, or eating, or sleeping, and we’re not going on a holiday, so this is what I do. You’ll thank me when someone tries to kill us, and I stop them.’ ‘Alright,’ Bill said. He knew there was no point arguing with Leena. ‘Hey, did you notice, there’s a new guy. His van is over there. I think he’s moving into number 8. Leena looked over, and saw a large moving truck with Barry’s Best Dog Food spray-painted on the side. Then, she saw the man. Chapter 2 The man was old. His skin was wrinkled. He was wearing a baseball cap, a plaided shirt, white pants, different coloured shoes, one black, the other pink, and gloves. He yawned, and his teeth glinted in the light, pure white. He brought out a walking stick. ‘Hey kids!’ the man said. ‘Is this Banktown street?’ ‘Yeah,’ Leena said, flipping a dagger. ‘What of it?’ ‘Have a donut.’ The man said, bringing out a giant box of donuts and throwing one at them. Bill caught it, and looked down. ‘Strawberry icing! Awesome!’ he said, biting down on the donut, an expression of ecstasy on his face as he ate it in 2 bites. The man threw the donuts over his head, and they landed on the dusty Avenue, exploding in colours, and colouring everything in icing. The man didn’t seem to care that he had wasted all his donuts. Bill looked on in an expression on horror on his face now, at the way the man had wasted the donuts. The man brought out a pink teddy bear, gave it to Leena, patted her on the head, and said, ‘what a nice young girl.’ He then walked to the house, dragging a suitcase behind him. In that second, Leena came to a conclusion. She hated that man.

A car raced by Maya, splashing her in cold water. It was always busy in Bedford Avenue. She looked at the traffic building up, smoke filling the air in a grey fog. Rain seemed to love Bedford Avenue she thought, bitterly regretting not bringing her umbrella. She checked her phone, mindlessly scrolling through messages and found her friends taking a lot of space in the group chat. She groaned and kept her phone back in her pocket. Harley and Diana, her neighbours, had been best friend ever since she could remember. She always felt like the third wheel whenever she was around them. And they were always talking. Normally just the two of them. It would go on for hours and Maya was sick of it. She secretly wished she was Harley, at least then she'd not feel as left out. As she walking she glanced over at her new neighbours house. All the lights were off and the curtains were drawn but her neighbour was inside. She heard him. Her new neighbour was always a tad bit weird. She saw him wearing a very expensive Rolex that her teacher recently lost and he always shut the curtains and the lights. In the night, much to Maya's annoyance, there would be strange loud noises coming from his house. And when her dad had tried to welcome him to the town, he just said "No thank you." and slammed the door in his face. What a weirdo.

Palm Drive was eerily quiet, which seemed very strange. Usually Palm Drive was bustling with people and noise. Suddenly all the curtains in every house were drawn open and soon Palm Drive was in full swing. People in smart outfits walked across the pedestrian crossing with their eyes glued to their phones. Cars started pouring in like water being poured into a cup, and they rushed across the road, tires squealing. Amary woke up to the sound of car horns and her alarm clock next to her bed. "Beep, beep!" The little clock beeped and vibrated. Amary groaned and pressed the clock to turn off the alarm. She buried her head under the covers. Half an hour later, Amary woke again to the sound of a van reversing into the driveway opposite her house. She forced her body up and glanced at the neat grey brick houses all in row, with matching hedges all neatly trimmed by Megan, the florist and gardener who worked at the flower shop in the collection of corner shops. Amary breathed in the fresh air and sighed. Living in Camellia Gardens was like a living dream. CHARACTER PROFILES Lydia Age: 26 Length of time in the street: 5 years Lifestyle: Works part time at the bakery in the corner shops Personality: Bubbly, confident, reliable Eccentricities: She likes to give cookies to everyone in the street 3 days a week Samuel Age: 72 Length of time in the street: 46 years Lifestyle: Retired, doesn’t go out a lot only for shopping Personality: Loves to talk about the olden days when he was a young boy Eccentricities: Only buys old technology and old furniture only The white van pulled into the driveway with a red Mini closely following it. The red Mini parked on the side of the street and a woman in her 40s clambered out of the driver's seat. "That's it," she yelled at the moving workers. Amary watched closely, noticing the workers hauling out strange pieces of furniture. There was a whole stack of books with strange symbols written on the cover, a box that said in thick black marker, pet spider stuff, and a pet carrier with a black cat with glowing red eyes inside. Amary frowned, but decided not to impose.