Read Online Edsel Grizzler by James Roy - Free Book Online Page A

answering Ms Finn when she addressed him directly, and on lunchtime detention for being late in from recess. He didn’t actually mind the detention since it gave him a chance to think, even with some Year Three kid sniffing noisily into a damp tissue behind him. It also meant he didn’t have to hear the shouts and cat-calls from the other kids.
    The blue flash; the apparent slight movement of the Egg; the strange white plug, which he still carried in his pocket; Kenny’s terrified weirdness: it all told him that something peculiar had happened the previous night. But what was that peculiar something? He did know one thing for certain – he wasn’t going to be getting under that dome himself. By the end of detention he’d decided that what he really needed was a test subject.
    That test subject presented itself shortly after Edsel got home from school, in the form of Hoagy Wendl. Edsel was in the kitchen drinking a glass of Mars cordial and wondering whether or not he should open the egg-shaped spaceship for business as usual – and wondering if it was even safe to do so – when he heard a knock at the front door.
    â€˜I’ll get it,’ he said to his mum, who was up to her elbows in a bowl of pistachio and pearl barley stuffing.
    â€˜Make sure the security door is locked,’ she said.
    â€˜Yes, Mum. Hoagy! What can I do for you?’ he said as he reached the door.
    Hoagy was glancing over his shoulder at the Egg in the front yard. ‘The spaceship’s got a glass bit on top now,’ he said breathlessly.
    â€˜Yes it does, that’s true.’
    â€˜It looks awesome!’
    â€˜It does, doesn’t it?’
    Hoagy stepped from one foot to the other. ‘I know it’s a bit early and everything, but can I have a go before everyone else gets here?’
    Edsel swallowed. This was proving to be too easy. ‘Yeah, all right. You can have a quick go.’
    â€˜I’ve got some money,’ said Hoagy, digging about in his pocket.
    â€˜You know what? I reckon you might be able to have a go for free,’ Edsel said with the most sincere smile he could muster.
    â€˜Really?’
    â€˜Yeah, why not? After all, you’re my best customer.’
    â€˜I am, aren’t I?’
    â€˜You sure are. Come on.’
    So Hoagy and Edsel went down to the front lawn, Edsel lifted the dome – again he noticed a very faint tingling in the tips of his fingers – slid the milk crate into place, and helped Hoagy climb in. With the dome still in the upright position, Hoagy looked around sheepishly.
    â€˜Can you put the glass bit down now?’ he asked. ‘I’m ready.’
    â€˜Sure,’ Edsel replied, and he lowered the dome.
    He watched Hoagy playing in the Egg, shooting some kind of alien, no doubt, or checking out the rings of Saturn as he slipped silently by. As he watched, Edsel slid his hand into his pocket and felt the plug. Even now, he wasn’t entirely sure whether this was the right thing to do.
    Bending down, he made sure that the feet of the Egg were exactly lined up on the little pressed-down patches of grass. Then he straightened up. ‘Hoagy,’ he said, tapping on the plexiglass. ‘Hoagy, I’ve got something here that you might like to look at.’
    Hoagy blinked a couple of times at the plug in Edsel’s hand. ‘What is it?’ he asked, his voice muffled by the dome.
    â€˜I’m not sure. I think it’s some kind of module.’
    â€˜Cool! A module! I know that spaceships have modules – I saw that in a book.’ Hoagy pushed at the dome, and it rose smoothly. ‘Where does it go?’
    â€˜I think it goes in that slot down there,’ Edsel said, pointing.
    â€˜What’s it do?’
    Edsel shrugged, trying to appear casual, and mostly succeeding. ‘I don’t really know, Hoagy. Here, try it.’
    Hoagy took the plug, and as he moved it towards the