Read Online Head Spinners by Thalia Kalkipsakis - Free Book Online

I knew that sensation; I’d felt it before.
    It wasn’t sore or itchy the way a bite might feel.
    It was tingling and weirdly warm . . .

Let me make one thing clear: I didn’t steal anything from the Big Cow Cafe. Why would I? I don’t even like smoked-trout sandwiches, and I’d already had lunch – a steaming sausage roll with zigzag sauce.
    I was only in the cafe because my older brother, Connor, was selling bait worms to the cafe owner. That guy sure used a lot of fish in his cafe.
    The cafe owner paid Connor while I waited beside the sandwich counter, staring up at the ceiling fans and sniffing the air – fresh cakes, warm pies, even the coffee smelled good.
    But as we headed for the door, the owner rushed around the counter yelling, ‘Stop! Stop, thief!’
    I glanced around, looking for the thief.
    The owner raced up to me, his fat cheeks wobbling. He grabbed something poking out of the top of my gym bag. It was a smoked-trout sandwich.
    â€˜Why didn’t you pay for this?’ he asked gruffly. His breath smelled like stale coffee.
    My neck burned and I barely managed to shake my head. I hadn’t taken the sandwich. How did it end up in my bag?
    â€˜Jamie!’ hissed Connor behind me.
    A lady with sunglasses whispered to her granddaughter and pointed at me.
    â€˜How old are you, young man?’ asked the cafe owner and crossed his arms.
    â€˜Eleven,’ I squeaked, looking around at all the faces. ‘But I didn’t take the sandwich. I promise! How could I have reached it?’
    Everyone watched as I walked back to the counter and tried to reach over. There was no way! Somehow, I would have had to extend my arm over the counter and then back under the glass covering, like an elephant’s trunk curling under to reach its mouth. Even on tiptoes my hand barely made it to the other side.
    â€˜See?’ I said, jerking a hand into thin air.
    Everyone turned to the cafe owner. ‘But how did the sandwich get in your bag?’ he asked.
    Everyone turned back to me. ‘I . . .’ My shoulders slumped. ‘I don’t know.’ My face burned mega-atomic-red.
    â€˜I’m not going to call the police,’ said the cafe owner. ‘But I would like to speak to your parents.’
    â€˜Mum’s at the supermarket,’ said Connor helpfully.
    Thanks, Connor.
    It was so embarrassing. The owner made me sit out the back, scowling at the stupid sandwich on the bench beside me, waiting for Connor and Mum.
    After a while, my face stopped burning quite so hot, and something began to nag at my mind.
    Even though I hadn’t taken the sandwich, I had the uneasy feeling that this was a weird kind of punishment I deserved. Maybe it was happening because of what I’d done two weeks earlier – something so bad that I still felt sick just thinking about it.
    When Mum turned up with Connor, her face was bright red too. She glanced at me, then started babbling to the owner and pushing a ten-dollar note into his hands.
    My heart sank. Thanks a lot, Mum. Thanks for sticking up for me . She just assumed I’d done it, without even asking me.
    Then I realised what was happening. Mum knew what I’d done two weeks earlier. So why should she be on my side now? I wasn’t her ‘good little Jamie’ anymore. Since that day two weeks ago, everything had been different.
    In fact, stealing a sandwich was nothing compared to what I had done.
    At one point, Mum leaned in to the owner and whispered, ‘We have some issues going on at home.’
    I closed my eyes and wished I could disappear. Please don’t tell him what I did. Please don’t tell him . . .
    When I opened my eyes, they were both looking at me. The owner had his head tilted to the side, as if he felt sorry for me.
    I gulped and tried to stop looking guilty.
    â€˜Never again, okay?’ said the cafe owner, and wiggled a fat finger from