Full Speed

by Jacqueline Harvey

  Song congratulated Max and unbuckled the cleats that attached the boy’s ski boots to the ramp. The contraption allowed the rider to move as freely as if they were on a snowy slope. Today, the butler had let loose with the snow flurries to give the children’s experience additional authenticity – he thought that Curtis might especially enjoy it.

  The door opened and Fitz appeared. ‘I wondered where you all were. Mind if I join you?’

  ‘Sure,’ Max said. ‘I think this is my favourite training apparatus yet.’

  Fitz closed the door and climbed up onto the bleachers beside Kensy. He was glad he’d thought to grab a parker and beanie that were hanging on the hooks outside as the room was icy. ‘Be sure to tell your grandmother that. She was worried you might be missing our old life on the slopes so she’s had the developers working on it for the past six months.’

  ‘Wow, that’s really kind of her,’ Max said.

  ‘Come on, Curtis,’ Kensy said. ‘Hop to it. Now given it’s your first time, don’t expect too much and remember that if you fall, somehow it still hurts.’

  Curtis raised his eyebrows then jammed his helmet on his head and pulled down his goggles, shivering as another arctic blast bored through the room. He’d laughed when the twins had said they were going skiing in the basement, but as they kitted up in their race suits he realised they weren’t kidding.

  ‘Are you ready, Master Curtis?’ Song asked as he secured the boy’s boots.

  Curtis gulped. ‘Ready when you are,’ he said, giving the butler a nod.

  The boy wriggled from side to side and rolled his shoulders, watching the screen as he leaned his knees against the gate at the top of the slalom course. There wasn’t really anything in front of him but it felt as if there was – which was pretty strange.

  There were fifty-five red and blue poles on the way down – technically called gates – and the idea was to weave in and out of them. If he missed just one, he’d be disqualified.

  The starting procedure began – three short beeps followed by a higher-pitched long bleeeeep. Curtis used his poles to push forward and onto the slope where he quickly found his rhythm. He felt like he was flying – seriously there was wind rushing against his face and he wondered how that was even possible.

  Kensy leaned forward between her brother and Fitz, watching the boy’s avatar speeding down the course. ‘Whoa, Curtis, you’re killing it.’ This was something of a surprise.

  A grin tugged at Curtis’s lips then for a second he began to wobble. There was a rut in the snow and he only just managed to save himself, though he clipped the gate and had to turn sharply to make the next one.

  ‘Watch out, Master Curtis!’ Song called. The man’s heart was in his mouth, but the boy was a superb skier. His technique was one of the most natural Song had ever seen.

  ‘You’re flying,’ Max cheered.

  The last part of the course was the steepest, but Curtis was undeterred and, if anything, was gaining speed.

  ‘Curtis Pepper, I think you’ve been holding out on us,’ Fitz said.

  The boy sped across the finish line, his breath ragged but his smile broad.

  The twins looked at each other, incredulous when they saw Curtis’s time match Max’s on the leader board.

  The boy tore off his helmet and wiped a trail of perspiration from his brow.

  ‘Phew – that was amazing,’ Curtis panted, his face beaming.

  ‘That was brilliant,’ Fitz said with a grin.

  ‘You never said that you were a freakishly good skier,’ Kensy said, wondering if Song had done something to the machine to give the boy an unfair advantage.

  ‘You never asked,’ Curtis replied. ‘It was summer when you were in Sydney so I wasn’t really thinking about skiing.’

  ‘But you’re . . . incredible,’ Max said, finding it hard to believe himself.

  ‘I was the junior national champion two years ago at the interschools competition,’ Curtis said casually. ‘I was supposed to go again last year, but when your grandmother invited me to Alexandria things kind of changed – forever.’

  ‘Wait. What?’ Kensy said. ‘I remember you asked me where we lived before we moved to Sydney and I told you it was Thredbo and you just said that you’d been there in July and the snow hadn’t been that good. You didn’t think to mention that you were practically an expert skier?’

  ‘I didn’t want to sound like I was showing off. Anyway, we only skied in Thredbo for a day on that trip because we belong to a lodge in Perisher,’ Curtis said, taking off his gloves. ‘We used to go most weekends in the winter and all of the school holidays. I’ve trained with the race team every season since I was six.’

  ‘Well,’ Fitz said. ‘That’s fantastic, Curtis. Another feather in your cap when it comes to the trainee program too.’

  ‘Mum and Dad were thinking of going to the Alps for a week in the February half-term,’ the boy said. ‘They said I could ask the twins to come with us.’

  Kensy looked at her brother who glanced at Fitz. They still didn’t have any further details on their mission, but they were pretty sure it was going to be sooner than the half-term break. Maybe they’d be back by them.

  ‘That would be so amazing,’ Max said. ‘If we’re allowed.’

  ‘You’re up next, Fitz,’ Kensy nudged the man.

  ‘Not today, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘These old knees are not my friends at the moment. I think I’ll have to do a bit more training before I get back out on the slopes.’

  ‘Wuss,’ Kensy teased.

  ‘Have you found out anything more about that fake firefighter, Fitz?’ Curtis asked as Kensy stood up and shivered.

  Earlier, at school, the children who’d been on yesterday’s excursion had met downstairs for a full debriefing. Max had told everyone about the fake firefighter and the fact that he’d seen the fellow and the head of Scotland Yard speaking in the background of the news broadcast. The students had all done as they were asked and logged their recollections online the previous evening, though there was nothing that really helped with the investigation. Scotland Yard continued to maintain that it was a gas leak caused by some building works in the basement. But the children were convinced it was a cover up.

  Fitz shook his head. ‘Cordelia signed off on surveillance in the brigade, but she drew the line at tailing Strawbridge. We’re hoping to send someone into Westminster to see what they can find in that basement, but it’s tricky.’

  ‘Maybe we could help?’ Curtis asked.

  Fitz smiled at the boy. ‘I don’t think there’s anything you can do at the moment. But we’ll let you know if there is.’

  Curtis grinned. ‘I love this spy business.’

  ‘Right, who’s up for a rematch?’ Kensy said, moving to the ski platform.

  ‘Is there anything else you can experience on this machine?’ Curtis asked.

  Song nodded. ‘I believe you can try ski jumping. What about that?’

  ‘Yes!’ Max clenched his fists. ‘I’ve always wanted to give that a go, but it looks terrifying in real life. At least here we won’t get any bruises, will we?’

  Fitz stood up. ‘I’ll leave you to it. And I expect all of you to surpass the achievements of Eddie the Eagle, okay?’

  Kensy and Max frowned at one another.

  Curtis chuckled. ‘He was an English ski jumper – and a pretty terrible one at that.’

  ‘You really are the repository of a great deal of useless information, Curtis,’ Kensy said.

  Fitz looked at the blond-haired boy. ‘No, Curtis has excellent general knowledge. One day that’s going to come in very handy and not just at the school trivia quiz. Anyway, I’d better go and do some work. Don’t stay down here too long. Whatever Song’s got in the oven for dinner smells great and I’m starving.’

  ‘My potatoes!’ Song leapt into the air and threw Max the remote before speeding from the room.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Autumn turned to her friend.

  Kensy was stari
ng into space and seemed a million miles away. ‘What?’ Kensy’s brow wrinkled before she registered what the girl had said. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little distracted.’

  ‘Only a little?’ Autumn looked across at the mostly blank page. They were supposed to have almost finished writing up the experiment they’d just done, but Kensy had barely managed to get down the title and hypothesis.

  ‘I was thinking about something,’ Kensy said. ‘And clearly it had nothing to do with the process of distillation.’

  Autumn pushed her book over. ‘Use my notes. Vanden Boom’s on the warpath and you don’t want to have to stay late. Remember, we’re going to the cinema after school.’

  Kensy had completely forgotten, which was awful because she was the one who’d organised it. Fitz was coming home early from work to take the girls, Max, Carlos and Curtis to see the first movie in a new spy franchise. Song said that he might join them too. The children considered it homework as much as entertainment.

  At the front of the room Romilly Vanden Boom barked instructions about cleaning up and making sure that they had everything recorded.

  Kensy began to copy Autumn’s meticulous summary, though given the speed at which she was working, her notes looked more like chicken scratchings. Somehow by the end of the lesson she’d finished – though reading what she’d written was going to be a challenge.

  ‘So what were you thinking about before?’ Autumn asked as the girls washed their equipment in the sink.

  Kensy wished she could tell her, but she’d made a promise. ‘Why everyone’s lying about what happened at the Houses of Parliament.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Autumn said. ‘I’ve been thinking about that a lot too. I wonder if there’s going to be another breach – but I suspect we wouldn’t find out about it even if there was. Whoever released that gas obviously wanted to create a diversion for some reason. Maybe they were planting seriously untraceable bugs or hacking the computer servers.’

  Kensy nodded. ‘I suppose anything’s possible, really.’

  Max had been eavesdropping behind the girls.

  ‘I agree, Autumn. I’d thought of both of those scenarios,’ the boy said.

  He was with Curtis and Carlos who were both listening intently too.

  ‘What if we go back there?’ Curtis said.

  Max frowned at the boy. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, we could book in on one of the public tours on the weekend and then accidentally get lost,’ the boy said.

  The rest of the group agreed.

  ‘I like your thinking,’ Carlos said as Romilly Vanden Boom dismissed the class and the students headed for the door. Kensy lingered behind.

  ‘You coming?’ Autumn turned when she realised her friend was still standing at the desk.

  ‘Um yeah – I’ll catch up. I want to have another read over my notes and tidy things up a bit,’ the girl replied. ‘Otherwise I’ll probably have to do it again.’

  Max grinned at Autumn. ‘Do you realise that my sister just said the words “tidy up”? I’m not sure that she even knows what that phrase means.’

  ‘Get lost, Max,’ Kensy rolled her eyes. ‘I’ll meet you and your girlfriend upstairs. Don’t leave without me.’

  Kensy noticed the tips of Autumn’s ears turning red and Max’s cheeks flushed too.

  She waited until everyone was gone before approaching Mrs Vanden Boom who was scurrying about, putting things away and working out what she needed for her lessons tomorrow. The teacher hadn’t realised that there was anyone left in the room.

  ‘Mrs Vanden Boom,’ Kensy said, causing the woman to spin around quickly.

  ‘Oh, what are you still doing here?’ Romilly peered over her blue glasses perched on the tip of her nose.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about that thing you showed me at the beginning of the week,’ the girl said. She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not, but she figured there was no harm in asking.

  Romilly raised her eyebrows.

  ‘I was wondering if I could trial it for you?’ the girl said.

  ‘Absolutely not!’ the woman retorted.

  ‘But you said . . .’ Kensy began. ‘And I wasn’t thinking that it would be me exactly doing the testing.’

  ‘I know what I said, but you’re to forget it was ever mentioned,’ the woman replied, pressing her lips together tightly. ‘Nothing will come of it. I have to stop these fanciful notions that perhaps one day I’ll be more than just a science teacher.’

  Kensy stared at the woman. Something had happened. On Monday Mrs Vanden Boom had been so excited to share the invention, but now, clearly, she was regretting that decision.

  ‘Anyway, I’ve destroyed them,’ Romilly said with a sniff. She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and seemed to fiddle with something before taking her hand back out again.

  ‘But, Mrs Vanden Boom, why? It sounded like you were really onto something. I’m sure that Granny would have been so excited –’ Kensy began, but she was cut off mid-sentence.

  ‘Your grandmother and I aren’t always on the same page, Kensy,’ the woman snapped. ‘There are others who curry more favour.’

  ‘Well, that’s true for pretty much everyone, isn’t it?’ Kensy said. ‘You should see the way she treats my mother. Their relationship is truly love-hate and I think right at the moment Mum hates Granny about as much as she ever has.’

  Kensy had probably said too much, but she wanted to make Mrs Vanden Boom feel better.

  ‘I’ve got to get to a staff meeting,’ Romilly said. The woman took off her lab coat and hung it on the hook inside the office door, taking particular care to smooth out the creases, which Kensy thought a bit strange.

  ‘Would you mind washing up those last beakers for me?’ the woman asked.

  ‘Sure,’ Kensy said, nodding. Though she was surprised that she was allowed to stay here on her own. That wasn’t protocol.

  ‘And when you’re finished, pull the door shut and make sure that it’s locked. I wouldn’t want anyone getting in here and finding things they shouldn’t,’ Romilly said, casting her eyes towards her lab coat.

  ‘Okay,’ Kensy said, feeling a little confused. Was the woman trying to tell her something?

  Romilly Vanden Boom trotted out the door and down the hallway, leaving Kensy to her own devices.

  The girl washed the two beakers in the sink then sat them on the draining board. She wondered if she should dry them too, but she was mindful of the time. Max and Autumn would be waiting for her. Kensy turned to leave then a thought drew her back. What if Mrs Vanden Boom hadn’t destroyed the devices at all? What if she was giving Kensy a hint? The only way to be sure was to take a look.

  Kensy walked over and peered on the woman’s desk inside the small glass office. There was nothing there, then she looked at the lab coat. She could see something in the pocket and when she reached inside, bingo!

  Kensy pulled the little silver box out and opened it up. But instead of three tiny pieces of fabric there were only two as well as the matching earpieces. She snapped the lid shut and unzipped her uniform pocket, shoving it inside and making sure the zip was closed tight.

  Vanden Boom had meant for her to find it. But why? And why had she made such a big fuss about saying that Kensy couldn’t help her when clearly that’s exactly what she wanted? Something wasn’t right. Given their upcoming mission, Kensy had thought the devices might come in handy and if they didn’t work, then there was no harm done. The target would probably never even find the thing, as they looked just like tiny pieces of fabric, they were ingeniously undetectable.

  Kensy raced to the lift, which deposited her behind the wall in the last stall in the girls’ bathroom upstairs. It was empty and she quickly flushed the toilet and washed her hands – just in case anyone came inside – then hurried down the hallway to meet her brother and Autumn who were still standing by the lockers.

  ‘We thought you’d abandoned us,’ Autumn said. She was going straight home with the twins
, while Carlos was meeting them at the movies and Curtis had already left to get changed and meet them at number 13.

  ‘Sorry, I had to finish my work then Mrs Vanden Boom asked me to give her a hand with some last-minute washing up,’ Kensy explained. She stuffed her books into her locker and grabbed her bag, trying to remember what she needed for her homework.

  As the three children walked out through the office Mrs Vanden Boom was inside talking to Mrs Potts.

  ‘Did you get everything done, Kensy?’ the woman asked.

  The girl nodded. ‘Yes, I think so.’

  ‘Excellent,’ the woman arched her left eyebrow ever so slightly. ‘I’ll look forward to hearing about your research.’

  And there she had it. Mrs Vanden Boom’s blessing and definitely the strangest exchange she’d ever had with a teacher.

  The rest of the school week went mostly without incident, although the mystery remained about what had really happened at the Houses of Parliament. Max was beginning to doubt his instincts on this one, which he hated. Perhaps he’d feel better after they had another chance to look around the building on Sunday. Curtis had booked the five friends into one of the general public guided tours; all of them eager to do some more research. Though Max had wondered if he and Kensy would still be in London by then. Despite not having heard any more news about the timing of their upcoming mission – just that they should pack suitcases for a holiday in the snow and be ready to go at any time, there was every chance they could be gone by the weekend.

  A chill wind blew across the football field on Friday afternoon as Max, Carlos, Dante and Curtis jogged four abreast around the perimeter. The boys’ noses were dripping from the cold and it was threatening rain or maybe even snow, according to the weather report.