Cliffhanger (3 page)

Jake came and talked to us at tea. Jake was our Special Helper. He was tall and sporty and good-looking. All the girls were crazy about him because he looked like some pop star.

I thought he might be a bit bossy and big-headed, but he talked to me just like a friend. I didn't want to be in any stupid team but if I
had
to be in a team then I was very glad it was Jake's team. The Tigers.

G-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r.

That's the Tiger Grand Roar.

There were six of us. Giles and Biscuits and me. And Kelly. And Laura and Lesley. They were the girls in Kelly's bedroom. She said they weren't much fun. They just went whisper whisper, giggle giggle. They left Kelly out of things. But she didn't care. Kelly's the sort of girl
who
doesn't care about anything.

She doesn't even mind if people think her a
baby
. She had this little Troll doll with purple hair. Kelly made the little Troll ‘talk' in a tiny voice.

I often make Walter Bear talk to me. His voice is quite growly. But friendly.

I wished and wished I had Walter with me at the Adventure Centre.

The Tigers had to help clear up after tea. We were on kitchen duties. We all moaned because we got lumbered. The Lions didn't have to clear up. Or the Panthers. Or the Cheetahs.

Kelly said she wanted to be a Cheetah and then she could cheat.

Biscuits said he wanted to be a Lion and then he could lie.

So
I
said I wanted to be a Panther so I could pant. And I made funny panting noises. Biscuits laughed and started panting too. So did Kelly. And even Giles joined in.

Laura and Lesley thought we'd all gone nuts.

I started to wonder if it might be fun to be on an adventure holiday. But
then
we all had to go outside and play these terrible games.

I hate games at school.

I hate games in the garden at home.

I hate games on the beach on holiday.

I knew I would hate hate hate games here.

We were all made up with face-paints to look like tigers (orange with black stripes) . . .

or lions (yellow) . . .

or panthers (black) . . .

or cheetahs (beige with black spots).

Laura and Lesley mucked about with the face-paints, making themselves look like grown-up ladies.

Giles made a fuss at first, saying he didn't want his face painted because it was stupid and cissy.

I didn't mind having my face painted. Though it tickled a bit. But I minded terribly when Jake and Sally
and
the others started setting up posts and handing out balls and bats.

It was a new game. Triangles. A bit like Rounders. We play Rounders at school. I hate it. I'm useless.

‘I can't catch,' I said privately to Biscuits.

‘I can't flipping
run
,' said Biscuits.

‘I can run, I can catch,' said Kelly.

She wanted to be the bowler and so did Giles so there was an argument. Jake said
he
was the bowler. They had to be fielders. And he picked Laura and Lesley and me to man the posts.

Laura and Lesley giggled.

‘
Wo
man the posts,' they said.

I didn't say anything at all at first. I was too worried. Especially when Jake told me to be first post.

I swallowed hard.

‘Excuse me, Jake,' I squeaked.

‘Yes, Tim?'

‘I – I don't want to be first post.'

‘Why's that, eh?' said Jake.

‘I can't catch,' I explained.

‘Well, just do your best,' said Jake.

Giles was sighing and looking impatient.

‘
I'd
better be first post,' he said.

‘No, we'll give Tim a go,' said Jake. ‘We're going to keep changing round anyway. Come on, let's get cracking.'

Jake bowled to the first Lion batter. They gave it a tap and then started running. Laura grabbed the ball and threw it to me.

‘Here, Tim, catch!' she shouted.

I tried.

I really did.

Dad always yells at me to watch the ball.

I watched it go sailing past my cupped hands.

‘He's missed it!' Giles yelled.

‘Tim!' said Laura.

‘Tim!' said Lesley.

‘Tim!' said Kelly.

‘Never mind, Tim,' said Jake. ‘Next time, eh?'

I hoped and hoped and hoped I might do better next time.

I didn't.

Or the next time.

Or the next.

Or the next.

Or the next.

It was so awful. No-one else was as useless as me.

Biscuits couldn't run very fast at all but he was good at catching and he could hit hard too.

I couldn't hit hard when it was our turn to bat.

I couldn't hit the ball at all.

I was the worst at games. They all started shouting at me. Teasing me. Saying stuff.

When the games were over at last I ran into the Centre and had a bit of a cry by myself locked in the toilets. Then I remembered the phone in the hall.

I didn't have any change on me but I reversed the charges. I got through to Mum.

I started telling her how awful it was and I asked her to come right that minute. She said she would but then Dad started talking too. He kept asking me
why
it was so awful. So I said about them all shouting at me. And Dad said I was making a fuss about nothing. I said I still wanted them to come and get me like they promised
. But you can't always trust your parents
.

Especially your dad.

He said I should see how I felt tomorrow. He wasn't going to come and fetch me tonight. No matter what.

‘But you said you'd come and get me if I didn't like it,' I said. ‘I don't want to see how I feel tomorrow. It's not
fair
. I didn't want to come here in the first place.'

I was in the middle of saying all this – and a bit more – when Biscuits came along the hall and sort of hovered. So I sniffed a lot and said I'd phone again tomorrow.

‘You OK?' said Biscuits as I put the phone down.

I nodded and blew my nose.

Biscuits looked bigger than ever, his sweatshirt straining. He saw me staring.

‘Want to see what I've got?' he said, patting his much vaster tummy.

He suddenly gave birth to a big tin of golden syrup.

I laughed, even though I was still a bit snuffly.

Biscuits prized the lid open and stuck in his finger. He licked appreciatively.

‘Yum yum yum. Here.' He held out the tin. ‘You can share it if you like.'

We were very sticky indeed by bedtime. I wished we didn't have to share a room with Giles. It would have been great if it had just been Biscuits and me. But Giles kept going on and on about how hopeless we were at games and how Mega-Great he was at absolutely everything.

He insisted on demonstrating too. Especially his judo. He had me in this armlock that was horribly painful but Biscuits started waddling round the bedroom in his underpants, flexing his muscles.

‘
I
do sumo wrestling, right?' he said, beating his chest. ‘So
you'd
better watch your step, Piles.'

‘You look more like a gorilla than a wrestler,' said Giles, but he let go of me.

Biscuits did a
wondrous
gorilla impersonation, making very loud gorilla noises.

I did a gorilla impersonation too.

Giles joined in.

We were all three strutting about and thumping our chests, bellowing, when Jake came barging into the bedroom.

‘Hey, hey! Calm down, you lot. You're like a lot of monkeys at a zoo,' said Jake.

‘Exactly!' I said.

‘Hum hum. Me want banana,' said Biscuits, still being a gorilla.

‘You're going to explode one day, Biscuits,' said Jake. ‘Come on, into bed, you lot.'

‘What are we doing tomorrow, Jake?' Giles asked.

‘We're going for a bit of a climb – and then it's abseiling,' said Jake.

‘Great!' said Giles, jumping up and down.

‘
Not
so great,' said Biscuits, pretending to pass out on to his bed.

‘Utterly ungreat,' I said.

My heart had started thumping again. Jake saw my face.

‘It
is
great, fellows, really,' said Jake. ‘Come on, lie down now.'

‘Just got to get something,' said Giles, haring over to his bag.

He dug deep . . . and came out with a teddy bear. Giles's bear had a stitched nose stuck right up in the air and a sneery mouth.

‘Old teddy, eh?' said Jake.

‘He's not any old teddy, he's Sir Algernon Honeypot,' said Giles.

‘Well, settle down with his sirship, then,' said Jake.

Biscuits was rootling about in his bag now.

‘Biscuits! No more food, do you hear me?' said Jake.

‘I'm just getting Dog Hog,' said Biscuits.

‘Who?' said Jake.

Biscuits produced a long browny-pink knitted creature with floppy
limbs
and a curly tail. Biscuits made it prance about his bed.

‘We can't work out if he's a dog or a pig. My granny knitted him and she's not very great at knitting actually,' said Biscuits.

Jake looked at me.

‘Have you got your teddy, Tim?'

I just shook my head. I couldn't say a thing.

I got into bed and pulled the sheets over my head. My arms felt so
empty
without Walter. And no-one would have laughed at me or called me a baby for having a cuddly toy.

I wanted my Walter Bear
so
much.

I don't know when I went to sleep.

I kept waking up in the night.

And then it was suddenly day, and Jake was in our bedroom again, telling us to rise and shine. We were going up in the hills straight after breakfast.

Abseiling!