Spoiler! :
Kathren switched off the TV and laid down the remote. She slumped back on the sofa and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Just two more days, just two, until her birthday! She closed her eyes and decided she would sleep here tonight: she couldn't be bothered going upstairs to her own bedroom.
It was only moments before she fell asleep.
In what seemed like hardly a minute, Kathren was shaken into wakefulness.
"Kath! Kathren! Hell-o-oo!"
"What is it?" muttered Kathren drowsily.
"Open your eyes, turn to face me, and I'll tell you."
Kathren turned reluctantly onto her side.
"What is it?" she repeated, sitting up.
"You've got the memory of a goldfish, haven't you?"
"Speak for yourself."
Her brother ignored her. "As you obviously need reminding, Mum asked us - "
" - you mean commanded us - "
" - to drop off her pattern art at Art Haven, or whatever it's called," continued her brother, ignoring her once again.
"Fine," grumbled Kathren.
Her brother left the room, calling back over his shoulder as he went, "You've got ten minutes to get changed before we leave!"
Kathren walked upstairs into her room and looked into the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her. She was a short girl for twelve, and quite skinny. She had short, straight brown hair with a side fringe and wore rectangular glasses, which were red. Looking away, she pulled on a fluorescent yellow T-shirt and some faded, dark-green shorts.
"Hurry up!" shouted her brother's voice up the stairs.
Kathren grabbed a sweatshirt from an open drawer, shouted to her brother, "Coming, Jordan!" and rushed downstairs.
She found Jordan by the front door, clutching a large, square package, which, thought Kathren, had to be Mum's painting. Jordan looked like her, except for the fact that he was tall, had no freckles, and no glasses. Today, he wore a red hoodie and jeans cut off at the knees.
"You took your time," he said when she reached him.
"Sorry," she panted.
"Come on, we'd better get going," he said, checking his watch.
They walked along the path and passed a couple of shops. There was a fascinating old antiques shop on the corner: Kathren stopped and stared through the glass. An old pattern painting immediately caught her eye. It was beautiful. If she looked closely, it seemed as though the patterns were moving, swirling together. Against her will, she found her eyes drawn to the painting; she could not look away. Nothing mattered but this beautiful, hypnotising piece of art ... but was it just a painting? It looked alive ...
As if in a trance, Kathren started to move towards it, entranced by its intricacy, its swirling colours ...
"Kath. Kath!" Jordan slapped her on the face. "What are you doing? We're supposed to be dropping this off for Mum!"
He shook the package in her face.
"Wha - ? Oh, sorry," said Kathren, tearing her eyes away from the painting.
They continued to walk down the street. Almost involuntarily, Kathren kept glancing back over her shoulder - until finally they reached their destination: a large, colourful building with big gold lettering spelling out the words 'Pattern Palace'.
"Oh, so it's not Art Haven after all," said Jordan.
They strode up to the double doors and Jordan pushed them open and stepped inside, Kathren on his heels.
They had entered a vast hall. Doors branched off in every direction. The ceiling was sky blue, with paintings of clouds and stars. The ground was carpeted with red satin; the walls were similar to the outside but with framed patterns arranged artistically side by side. Dotted here and there were desks with people behind them, signing notes, talking on the phone, or absorbed in serious conversation with various clients. They wore blue suits just like the ceiling, with red logos in the corners stating their names and 'of Pattern Palace'.
Jordan walked over to a man behind a desk who was scribbling on some notes and said confidently, "Hey Josh - you know where Mum is?"
The man looked up, and seeing who it was, beamed and stretched out his arm.
"Jordan, m' man! What you doin' here?"
"You know where Mum is?" repeated Jordan, as he shook his hand.
"You come to drop off that painting, eh?" said Josh.
"Yes, Josh - here it is," said Kathren, snatching the parcel from Jordan and handing it to Josh.
"Thanks, Kath. Now, you said you lookin' fer y'mam?"
Kathren nodded.
"She's over in her office, finishin' off some work."
Jordan and Kathren thanked him, crossed the hall and walked through one of its many side doors. They passed many different coloured doors carrying brass plaques that each held a gold number and a name. Finally, they reached a door painted in rich purple that held the number five and the name 'Animaria Penniworth'. Kathren pushed open the door and she and Jordan stepped inside.
Inside, there were many shelves full of models and paintings of patterns: painting shirts and art tools were scattered on the ground. The walls were lined with cabinets with open drawers that overflowed with yet more painting and modelling tools and shirts. On top were many thick books, one on top of the other. Perched on top of one of these piles was a photo of Mum, Jordan, Kathren and Dad. In the very middle of the room sat Mum, on a rickety stool, busying herself in front of an eisel.
She looked up when they entered and walked over to them, smiling, hugging each of them in turn. She was tall and had long, dirty-blonde hair, pulled up into a high bun. Her glasses were like Kathren's, and magnified her twinkling, hazel eyes. She wore the same uniform as the workers outside, except she had a stained apron over it.
"Jordan! Kath!" she said. "I'm so sorry you had to come up all this way, it's just that I couldn't take time off work to wait for it, and Pattern Palace isn't that far from home, you've walked here before - "
"It's fine, Mum," said Kathren firmly, who was not keen to endure another one of her mother's long-winded rants.
"Well, thank you for bringing it anyway," said Animaria. "And by the way, where is it?"
"Oh, I gave it to Josh," said Jordan.
"Oh, that's all right, then. He can put it up for me."
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," said Animaria, and the knocker obliged.
"Oh, Michelle," said Animaria, smiling.
"Can I have a moment, please?" said the woman who had just entered, looking bothered.
"Sure."
The two left the room. After a while, Animaria came back in again, calling over her shoulder, "Yes, I'll be there in a minute!"
"You'd better go now," she added to her children. "Buy yourself some lunch while you're at it. I might come and join you later - go to the Flying Turnip."
"The Flying Turnip?" asked Jordan incredulously.
"Kathren knows the way."
Animaria drew out her purse and cointed out some coins, handing them to Jordan, who was the eldest.
"I don't have any notes, you'll have to make do," she said, pulling off her apron and throwing it on to the stool. As her children watched in bemusement, she hastened from the room.
"What was all that about?" asked Kathren, staring at the doorway.
"Dunno," said Jordan unconcernedly, holding open the door for her. "Let's get some lunch."
In the Flying Turnip, Kathren munched at a cream bun thoughtfully. Her thoughts kept straying back to the mysterious pattern in the window of the anituques shop. She had already brought it up with Jordan, who did not seem to find it quite as interesting as she had hoped.
"But why do you think it happened, Jordan?"
"I've told you about a million times: I - don't - know!" said Jordan, slicing open his cheese scone and spreading butter inside it.
The Flying Turnip was a small cafe at the back of the beach. It was deliberately angled so that the sun was always flooding it with light. Kathren stared out the window.
"I'm going outside," she said.
"Me too," said Jordan.
They finished their lunch and walked out onto the sunny beach.
"Yowch, the sand is hot!" yelped Jordan, running down towards the water. He splashed around, cooling his feet.
Kathren sat down on a log of driftwood. The sand was indeed hot. She watched him for a moment, then stood up.
"I'm going home now," she said. "Are you coming or not?"
"Wha -? We've only just arrived!" exclaimed her brother, running back up the beach.
"It's too hot out here."
Kathren was just about to turn around when something strange caught her eye. She stared hard at the place under an overhanging tree where she had seen it. Suddenly she went stiff. Staring back at her was a pair of big, yellow eyes.
A cry of alarm was at her lips, but she blinked, and the eyes were gone.
"Kathren, come on!" shouted Jordan. Casting one last glance under the tree, Kathren hurried after him.
I think you could become a great author once your older, you're already very good. 
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