2: Chocolate Box Girls: Marshmallow Skye

2: Chocolate Box Girls: Marshmallow Skye

Cathy Cassidy

Penguin Books Limited (2011)

Rating: ★★★★☆

SKYE and SUMMER TANBERRY are identical twins, and SKYE loves her sister Summer more than anyone else in the world. They do everything together, but lately Skye's been feeling like second-best - it's the story of her life. And when her friend Alfie confesses he's fallen not for her, but for Summer, it hurts. Skye wants to be her own person, but with an effortlessly cool twin, how can she? Will Skye ever step out of Summer's shadow and find her own chance to shine?

Cathy Cassidy

PUFFIN

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

Hiya …

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a twin … to have an identical sister, a second ‘self’. Pretty cool, I used to think. But would it really feel that way? What if your twin was talented, popular, perfect … and you were always in her shadow? That might not feel quite so cool.

Skye Tanberry is used to feeling second-best, but when she is given a trunk of 1920s dresses that once belonged to a long-lost relative, she finally has something that is hers alone. Soon she finds herself haunted by sad, sweet dreams of the past, and starts crushing on a boy she can never have. Skye really doesn’t believe in ghosts … so how come she is falling for one?

Skye knows she is in trouble when hiding in the past seems safer than living in the present … but can she find the strength and courage to let go of the dreams?

Marshmallow Skye is the second in my Chocolate Box Girls series. It’s a story of friendship and sisters and learning to trust … and chocolate, of course! Curl up with your favourite sweet treat and lose yourself in Skye’s story … follow the dream!

Books by Cathy Cassidy

DIZZY

DRIFTWOOD

INDIGO BLUE

SCARLETT

SUNDAE GIRL

LUCKY STAR

GINGERSNAPS

ANGEL CAKE

The Chocolate Box Girls Series

CHERRY CRUSH

MARSHMALLOW SKYE

DREAMS & DOODLES DAYBOOK

LETTERS TO CATHY

For Younger Readers

SHINE ON, DAIZY STAR

DAIZY STAR AND THE PINK GUITAR

STRIKE A POSE, DAIZY STAR

Thanks …

To Liam, Cal and Caitlin for being there for me, always … and to Mum, Joan, Andy, Lori and all my fab family. Thanks to Sheena, Helen, Fiona, Mary-Jane, Maggi, Lal and Jessie for the ongoing support, cake, party nights and hugs.

Thanks to my fab PA, Catriona, to Martyn for all the maths, and Darley and the team for being all-round fab. Huge thanks to Amanda for being the best editor ever, and to Sara and Julie for the gorgeous artwork. Thanks also to Adele, Emily, Tania, Sarah, Kirsten, Jennie, Jayde, Julia, Hannah, Rachel and all the lovely Puffins. Thanks to Rosie Fiore for being a lifesaver.

Lastly, a big thank you to Shannon for the flying rucksack story, and to all my brilliant readers … you really are the best!

1

I don’t believe in ghosts.

I do believe in creaky floorboards and sudden cool draughts and eerie howling sounds when the wind whistles through the eaves, because when you live in a big, old house like Tanglewood, those things are part of the deal.

I have always lived at Tanglewood. Mum and Dad came to live here back when my big sister, Honey, was just a baby, because Grandad died very young and Grandma Kate got married again, to a Frenchman called Jules. They wanted to live in France, but Grandma Kate didn’t want to sell the family house, so she gave it to us. Tanglewood is a big Victorian house just a stone’s throw from the beach, and to me it is a little slice of heaven.

Some people think it’s a bit spooky – and I guess I can
see why. The house actually looks like it could be haunted. Ivy clings to the soft red brick and the windows are tall and arched and criss-crossed with lead, the kind of windows where you might expect to see a face watching you: a pale, sad-eyed shadow from the past. The sort of thing you read about in books – stories where the clock strikes twelve and you wake up to mystery and intrigue and people in rustling dresses who walk right through you as if you’re not there at all.

I used to wish for something like that to happen to me. I wanted to step into the past, see it for myself. I’ve grown up listening to ghost stories, spent summers with my sisters hunting for spooky visions and ghostly apparitions … but I have never seen a single one.

The only ghosts I believe in now are the Halloween variety, small and sticky-faced and dressed in white sheeting, clutching a plastic bag full of toffee apples and penny chews.

‘Skye! Summer!’ my sister Coco yells, sticking her head round the door. ‘Aren’t you two ready yet? Cherry’s downstairs waiting and I’ve been ready for ages too, and if we don’t get a move on we’ll miss the party! Hurry
up
!’

‘Relax,’ Summer says, scooshing her perfect hair with a blast of lacquer. ‘We’ve got tons of time, Coco. It doesn’t start until seven! Go duck for apples or something!’

‘Skye, tell her!’ my little sister wails. ‘Make her hurry up!’

It is hard to take Coco seriously, though, because she has painted her face green, blacked out some of her teeth and spiked up her hair with neon gel. She is wearing a tweedy old jacket that belongs to Mum’s boyfriend, Paddy, and I think she is supposed to be Frankenstein’s Monster.

‘Ten minutes,’ I promise. ‘We’ll be down soon!’

Coco rolls her eyes and stomps off down the stairs.

Summer laughs. ‘She is sooo impatient!’