a while. It’s going to be a busy afternoon.’
Chapter Seventeen
J ust after half past three, Joey arrived with a trail of four little boys behind him. I could have hugged him, but resisted. Kate couldn’t resist though, and Joey pulled away whining, ‘If you’re going to do that soppy kind of stuff, me and the lads are off.’
I giggled. Kate always seemed so distant, and non-huggable, and I was happy to see a different side to her.
‘Don’t worry, Joey,’ I said. ‘Kate just got carried away. It won’t happen again.’
Joey looked around. ‘So where are the mad men with chainsaws?’
‘They’re not here yet,’ I said. ‘But we knowthey’re coming back, so don’t go away.’
‘OK,’ said Joey. ‘Will we climb up the tree to wait for them?’
‘And when the men come back we could throw water bombs down on top of them,’ said another boy.
‘Or rocks,’ said a red-haired boy.
I had a horrible feeling he wasn’t joking.
‘Great idea,’ I said. ‘That way we’ll save the tree, but we’ll never get to see it because we’ll all be in jail.’
The poor boy was so embarrassed that his hair and face became almost the same colour.
I felt sorry for him. ‘I appreciate your enthusiasm,’ I said. ‘But hopefully we can solve this without any violence.’
Joey stepped forward. ‘Me and the lads will play soccer over here,’ he said. ‘Just call us when you need us.’
As Joey and his friends walked away, Miley appeared. He was carrying a large, dangerous-looking stick.
‘Where do you want me?’ he asked, waving the stick in the air.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘Just stand over there,’ I said in the end. ‘And when we tell you to….well when we think of something to tell you to do, do it, OK?’
Miley nodded and went and sat on the grass near the hedge.
A few minutes later, Mum and Dad arrived. With them were two tall, thin men in hiking gear.
‘This is Hans and Friedrich,’ said Mum. ‘They’re tourists from Germany.’
‘From Essen,’ said one.
‘An industrial city in north part of Germany,’ said the other.
I looked at Mum trying to ask a question with my eyes.
Where on earth did you find these two?
Mum seemed to understand.
‘Your dad and I met Hans and Friedrich on the road up here,’ she said. ‘We told them what’s going on, and they said they’d come with us.’
‘We are loving the environment,’ said one of them. ‘We are wanting that the trees they are not being cutted down.’
‘We are wanting that too,’ I said giggling, but I stopped when I saw that Kate was glaring at me. She was probably right – this was no laughing matter.
Just then there was the sound of a jeep coming along the road. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at me.
It seemed like I was in charge.
But what on earth was I supposed to do next?
Long seconds passed, and still everyone was staring at me.
‘Er……everyone to their places,’ I said desperately, trying to sound like I had a plan.
Most people ignored me. Hans stepped forward and spoke politely.
‘Where are our places, please?’ he asked.
How on earth was I supposed to know?
Suddenly I remembered a TV programme where a group of people were trying to stop developers from knocking down a community centre.
‘Er….how about we make a big circle holding hands around the tree?’ I suggested.
People seemed glad to be doing something, and all the adults shuffled into place, with their backs to the tree. I noticed Mum moving quickly so that she wouldn’t have to hold Miley’s filthy hand. (I didn’t really blame her, but how did she expect to save the world if she only wanted to hold clean hands?)
Joey and his friends were still playing soccer and ignored my calls. Kate put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly right next to my ear. The boys came running but I wondered if the damage to my hearing was worth it.
By the time the jeep had stopped at the edgeof the field,
Chapter Seventeen
J ust after half past three, Joey arrived with a trail of four little boys behind him. I could have hugged him, but resisted. Kate couldn’t resist though, and Joey pulled away whining, ‘If you’re going to do that soppy kind of stuff, me and the lads are off.’
I giggled. Kate always seemed so distant, and non-huggable, and I was happy to see a different side to her.
‘Don’t worry, Joey,’ I said. ‘Kate just got carried away. It won’t happen again.’
Joey looked around. ‘So where are the mad men with chainsaws?’
‘They’re not here yet,’ I said. ‘But we knowthey’re coming back, so don’t go away.’
‘OK,’ said Joey. ‘Will we climb up the tree to wait for them?’
‘And when the men come back we could throw water bombs down on top of them,’ said another boy.
‘Or rocks,’ said a red-haired boy.
I had a horrible feeling he wasn’t joking.
‘Great idea,’ I said. ‘That way we’ll save the tree, but we’ll never get to see it because we’ll all be in jail.’
The poor boy was so embarrassed that his hair and face became almost the same colour.
I felt sorry for him. ‘I appreciate your enthusiasm,’ I said. ‘But hopefully we can solve this without any violence.’
Joey stepped forward. ‘Me and the lads will play soccer over here,’ he said. ‘Just call us when you need us.’
As Joey and his friends walked away, Miley appeared. He was carrying a large, dangerous-looking stick.
‘Where do you want me?’ he asked, waving the stick in the air.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘Just stand over there,’ I said in the end. ‘And when we tell you to….well when we think of something to tell you to do, do it, OK?’
Miley nodded and went and sat on the grass near the hedge.
A few minutes later, Mum and Dad arrived. With them were two tall, thin men in hiking gear.
‘This is Hans and Friedrich,’ said Mum. ‘They’re tourists from Germany.’
‘From Essen,’ said one.
‘An industrial city in north part of Germany,’ said the other.
I looked at Mum trying to ask a question with my eyes.
Where on earth did you find these two?
Mum seemed to understand.
‘Your dad and I met Hans and Friedrich on the road up here,’ she said. ‘We told them what’s going on, and they said they’d come with us.’
‘We are loving the environment,’ said one of them. ‘We are wanting that the trees they are not being cutted down.’
‘We are wanting that too,’ I said giggling, but I stopped when I saw that Kate was glaring at me. She was probably right – this was no laughing matter.
Just then there was the sound of a jeep coming along the road. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at me.
It seemed like I was in charge.
But what on earth was I supposed to do next?
Long seconds passed, and still everyone was staring at me.
‘Er……everyone to their places,’ I said desperately, trying to sound like I had a plan.
Most people ignored me. Hans stepped forward and spoke politely.
‘Where are our places, please?’ he asked.
How on earth was I supposed to know?
Suddenly I remembered a TV programme where a group of people were trying to stop developers from knocking down a community centre.
‘Er….how about we make a big circle holding hands around the tree?’ I suggested.
People seemed glad to be doing something, and all the adults shuffled into place, with their backs to the tree. I noticed Mum moving quickly so that she wouldn’t have to hold Miley’s filthy hand. (I didn’t really blame her, but how did she expect to save the world if she only wanted to hold clean hands?)
Joey and his friends were still playing soccer and ignored my calls. Kate put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly right next to my ear. The boys came running but I wondered if the damage to my hearing was worth it.
By the time the jeep had stopped at the edgeof the field,
Similar Books
