by Alesha Dixon
“That’s not true,” Georgie corrected. “You covered everything in her locker with tin foil two days ago.”
A smile spread across his face as he remembered. “Oh, yeah. Classic.”
“It was not classic,” Suzie huffed. “And it was NOT funny. It took me for ever to get all that stupid tin foil off my stuff. You wrapped it round every individual pen in my pencil case.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to do it half-heartedly, was I?” He smirked, reaching for his water and then remembering he’d tipped it all out.
“And you put those horrible toy snakes in my gymnastics bag,” Suzie sniffed, folding her arms.
“True, true.” Fred nodded, looking pleased with himself. “I guess for one week back at school, that’s not too bad. Room for improvement, though.”
Suzie narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you dare. I’ve got to be focused on gymnastics at the moment. There’s a big competition at the end of term and I’m planning on winning it.”
“Who else would win it?” Georgie said proudly, causing Suzie to blush slightly. “You’re the best in the school.”
“Thanks, Georgie. I’ve still got a lot of practice to do, though. It’s going to be a busy term.”
“I can’t believe this time last week we were in Cornwall.” Georgie sighed. “I want to go back in time and be sun-gazing on Nanny Beam’s roof.”
“And I want to go back to practising my karate moves on Fred under Nanny Beam’s instruction,” Suzie said, shooting him a glare as he stuck his tongue out at her.
“I didn’t get even halfway through my summer reading list,” Kizzy said. “If we could only have a couple more weeks of holiday.”
We all nodded collectively, although I felt as though I was on a different wavelength. The rest of the Bright Sparks might be longing for a holiday, so they could read more books or squeeze in more sunshine, but I wished for more time to be able to track down Mr Mercury and the Light of the World.
“Um, Lightning Girl?” a high-pitched voice behind me said.
I turned around to see a group of boys and girls from the year below, huddled together nervously, holding their phones.
“We were wondering whether we could get a photo with you?” a girl at the front of the group asked hopefully.
“Sure,” I said, standing up from the table.
“I’ll take it,” Georgie offered, although she may have regretted that decision when eight phones were thrust in her face. I stood in the middle and they all gathered around me excitedly.
“All right,” Georgie said, once she’d got the first phone ready. “Everybody, smile!”
My jaw was aching when the last photo had been taken and the phone passed back to its owner. I thanked them when they said they were my biggest fans and slid back into my seat as they rushed out of the canteen giggling.
“The fame thing hasn’t died down yet, then?” Kizzy grinned. “Are you in control of your superpowers today or do we all need to duck underneath the table?”
At the beginning of the summer, I’d become a bit overwhelmed by all the attention I was receiving because my superpowers were no longer a secret and I was known to the whole world as Lightning Girl. I got too caught up in it and ended up on the sofa of Good Morning, Britain, where I lost control of my powers on live TV because I was so exhausted. I sent Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid flying backwards over their sofa and broke several cameras with the force of my light beams.
Needless to say, I haven’t been invited back on morning television.
“Very funny.” I smiled. “And no, the fame thing hasn’t died down all that much. Although at least there are no reporters outside my door these days.”
“You gained a whole new fan base after using your powers outside the Houses of Parliament when we were trying to stop Mr Mercury, though,” Georgie pointed out, shaking the ketchup bottle. “I’ve never seen your powers that … dazzling before. It was like seeing lightning super close up.”
“Imagine if your fans knew about your stint in prison,” Fred snickered. “Now, THAT would be a good headline. I can see it now: Lightning Girl Locked Up!”
“Shush!” Suzie hissed, jabbing him in the ribs with her pointy manicured fingernail. “You know no one’s allowed to know about that.”
“I know, I know,” he said. “I still think it’s the coolest thing EVER. Aurora, you are officially my favourite superhero.”
“I told you, Fred, I was only held there for an hour,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And you know it was just a big misunderstanding.”
“I’ve never known anyone with a criminal past,” he enthused.
“I do not have a criminal past,” I insisted, but he ignored me.
“I can’t believe I have a friend who’s a felon,” he said excitedly, picking up his fork and digging into his pasta. “What was prison really like?”
I shook my head. “I’m not telling you anything more than I’ve already told you. I’d rather forget about it, thank you very much.”
“It’s hilarious that you thought a birdwatcher was Mr Mercury,” Fred sniggered. “What would he be doing in some woodland in Hertfordshire?”
“He may have been burying the Light of the World there,” I said defensively. “You never know. And, anyway, speaking of Mr Mercury – Kizzy, have you managed to do any more research into his background as the Blackout Burglar? Any new clues?”
Kizzy looked at me guiltily. “Sorry, Aurora, I’ve been so busy this week with the extra classes I’m taking after school. They’ve let me study a few more subjects than normal. With that and homework, I just haven’t had the time.”
“Don’t worry, you can lend me the books if you like and I’ll see if anything new jumps out at me,” I offered. “Maybe he had an old hangout that he’s still using today.”
The others shared a look but didn’t say anything.
“What?” I frowned. “What is it?”
Kizzy shifted in her seat as the rest of the Bright Sparks all looked to her to answer. “It’s just, you’ve already got in quite a bit of trouble trying to track down Mr Mercury and your parents made you promise that you would leave it to the experts now.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t being serious. Wait a minute” – I glanced across their faces – “you think we should give up?”
“No! Of course not,” Kizzy said hurriedly. “And we’re first and foremost the Bright Sparks, always here for you when you need us. But just remember that Nanny Beam and the whole of the British Secret Service is looking for Mr Mercury, alongside Darek Vermore. If anyone is going to find him and track down the Light of the World, it will be them.”
“They’ll find them,” Georgie said confidently. “There’s nothing Nanny Beam can’t do.”
“Right.” I nodded, even though I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.
I didn’t want to just sit around and wait. I wanted to do something. Anything. They didn’t get it. I guess I felt connected to the Light of the World in a way that they couldn’t.
And the truth was, I felt largely responsible for what had happened at the Superhero Conference. How had I not recognized Mr Mercury in disguise? I should have seen through his pretend assistant, David Donnelly, straight away. And how did I let him get away when I’m the one with superpowers and he’s not? If Mum had been there, he never would have been able to slip through her fingers. She’s a truly amazing superhero.
But I couldn’t stop him. Lightning Girl, a famous superhero, the one who everyone at school wanted pictures with, couldn’t stop a jewel thief operating right under her nose.
Now, my family was in danger because I’d let him get away.
I couldn’t sit around, do nothing and let them fix my mistakes. I had to help.
“Can we please talk about Paris?” Suzie said, swiftly changing the topic. “I can’t believe we have to wait until after half term to go! I want to go now!”
“It is going to be the best school trip ever,” Fred declared. “I’m going to eat so
much I won’t be able to move.”
“How inspiring,” Suzie muttered.
“The food will be amazing, but I’m more excited about the sights,” Kizzy chipped in, her eyes widening at the thought. “There is so much culture in Paris, I don’t know how the teachers are possibly going to cram it all into our itinerary.”
“I just want to go to the fashion houses.” Georgie sighed dreamily. “Paris is the true home of Chanel.”
“Are you excited about the school trip, Aurora?” Kizzy asked.
“Yeah, course,” I said, as enthusiastically as I could muster. I had completely forgotten that it was even happening. “Paris. I can’t wait.”
When Dad picked Alexis, Clara and me up from school later that day, I was still thinking about our conversation at lunch. I knew that the Bright Sparks cared a lot about finding the Light of the World and discovering the identity of the mastermind behind its disappearance, but I couldn’t get my head round how they were getting so involved in normal, everyday stuff, when all this was going on.
“And what about you, Aurora?” Dad said suddenly, catching my eye in the rear-view mirror.
“Um, sorry, what was the question?”
“How are you finding the first week back at school?”
“Fine.”
“Whoa,” Alexis snorted. “Don’t ramble on too much, Aurora. We don’t need to hear every detail.”
“Thank you for that, Alexis,” Dad said, shooting him a look as we pulled up to the house.
“Hey,” Clara said, looking out the window, her eyebrows knitted together, “whose car is that?”
Sitting in our drive was the biggest, shiniest limo I’d ever seen. Alexis immediately turned in the front seat to look at me.
“Are you going on a TV breakfast show again or something?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t know anything about this.”
We scrambled out of the car as soon as Dad parked on the road, curious to know who was in our house. I spotted our nosy neighbours, Mr and Mrs Crow, looking at our driveway through a telescope from their bedroom window. Dad pretended not to notice them as he found his keys in his pocket and opened the front door, ushering us inside.
“We’re home!”
“In the kitchen!” Mum called back. “And we have a guest.”
Darek Vermore stood up when we came in from the hallway and extended a hand out to shake Dad’s. Four security men with earpieces were standing in the kitchen, all wearing dark sunglasses and suits. They looked very serious.
“Hello, everyone,” Darek said cheerily. “How was school?”
Before anyone could answer, I stepped forward excitedly. “Are you here with some news? Did Nanny Beam send you? Have you found the Light of the World?”
“No,” he said, glancing at Mum. His gaze shifted from me to my brother. “I’m actually here about Alexis.”
4
Dad turned to Alexis and sighed.
“What have you done now?”
“Nothing!” Alexis hesitated. “Unless this is something to do with that tiny hitch with the CIA?”
Darek chuckled and shook his head. “No, nothing to do with that. And, actually, Alexis hasn’t done anything wrong; quite the opposite. I’m here with a proposition.”
“What do you mean tiny hitch with the CIA?” Dad asked, rounding on Alexis.
“Dad, can’t you see Mr Vermore is in the middle of telling us something important?” Alexis replied hurriedly. “This is hardly the time to discuss a very minor incident that almost certainly did not happen.”
Clara caught my eye and we both smirked. A technological genius with no respect for rules, Alexis was always getting in trouble. He had hacked into the school system loads of times to change his grades or cause chaos with the teachers, like that time he accessed all their email accounts and sent messages to other teachers, pretending to be them.
That weirdly turned out quite well because two of the teachers received love notes from one another and, although the messages turned out to be part of Alexis’s prank, those particular teachers did in fact have a crush on one another. They admitted it due to the fake emails and now they’re engaged.
Alexis claimed he had seen the spark between them and did it on purpose, but that didn’t save him from getting a week’s detention.
Anyway, when Nanny Beam let him explore the underground lair below her Cornwall cottage, which contained the most advanced MI5 tech equipment in the country, he waited until she wasn’t supervising him and then he sent a notification to all members of Parliament saying not to ask questions but that it was absolutely mandatory to national security that they all arrive at work the next day wearing pyjamas.
It was all over the news when all these serious MPs turned up to the Houses of Parliament in their nighties and flannel pyjama bottoms and slippers. Alexis didn’t stop laughing for days.
So, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise to Dad that Alexis has had a run-in with the CIA.
“I wanted to talk to Alexis about an opportunity at Vermore Enterprises,” Darek said, taking the mug of tea that Mum handed him.
“Vermore Enterprises?” Alexis gasped, stepping forward eagerly.
“Yes, that’s right. You know the tagline, of course?” Darek smiled, raising his eyebrows.
“Vermore: for people who want more,” we all chorused.
Darek burst out laughing, offering Clara a high-five. “Very good! I’m pleased you’ve all been paying attention to those commercials. Personally, I find them deeply irritating, but my publicity department tell me they work wonders for brand recognition.”
Mum opened the biscuit tin to offer one to Darek with his tea, which he graciously accepted. The sound of the biscuit tin being opened had been picked up by Kimmy, who had been busy outside protecting the garden from any squirrels. She came bounding in, immediately jumping up at Darek and giving him a slobbery lick across the cheek in the hope he’d repay her by giving up his biscuit.
“Sorry, Mr Vermore!” Alexis gasped, pulling Kimmy down. “No, Kimmy!”
“That’s all right,” he said, and laughed, breaking off a chunk of his biscuit to give Kimmy, who swallowed it whole. “I like dogs. And please, there’s no need to call me Mr Vermore, Alexis. I’m family, remember?”
Alexis nodded vigorously. I’ve never seen him so engrossed in a conversation with anyone before.
“Although,” Darek continued, “I would like to add that as well as being your family, how about the next few months you call me your boss?”
Alexis looked completely stunned and glanced at Mum to see if he’d heard correctly. She was beaming at him.
“I would like to invite you to be my intern for the duration of this autumn school term. It won’t affect your school hours, but I’d like you to join us in the Vermore London Headquarters at weekends and a few evenings a week. What do you think?”
Alexis just stared at him with his mouth gaping open.
“I know I mentioned to your parents that I’d like to consider you for an internship over Christmas, but it just so happens that I could really do with an extra pair of hands right now,” Darek continued, not sure what to do with Alexis’s silence so deciding to fill it with more information. “I think it would be mutually beneficial for you to join the team as an intern. We would have the advantage of making use of a terrific brain like yours and you could get some experience of working in a real tech business. Something you might want to consider as a career path someday.”
Alexis still didn’t say anything. Darek shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
“Of course, if you don’t like the idea, please just say. I won’t be offended. I know how busy a school term gets and it would be taking on extra work in your free time, so I understand if you want to decline the offer.”
“You … you want … me … to be an … intern?” Alexis eventually managed to whisper.
“Yes,” Darek said, furrowing his eyebrows as though he was missing something.
&
nbsp; Alexis didn’t reply; he stood frozen to the spot. Clara reached over and touched his arm with the back of her hand, before pressing two fingers on his wrist and then examining his face. She took a step back and nodded satisfactorily.
“It’s just as I thought,” Clara announced to the room. “Cool, clammy skin, rapid pulse and enlarged pupils. Alexis is in shock.”
“I see,” Mr Vermore replied, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile at my little sister’s matter-of-fact tone. “And would you diagnose it as good shock or bad shock?”
“Considering all the factors in the situation, including Alexis’s hero-worship of you, I would conclude it was roughly ninety-two per cent of what you term ‘good shock’,” she replied thoughtfully, taking a biscuit from the tin. “The only negative element contributing to my calculation of eight per cent bad shock would be the considerable increase in work outside of school hours.”
“Wow,” Darek said, his eyes moving from Clara to my dad, who looked so proud he might burst. “This one’s a chip off the old block, eh, Professor Beam?”
“Oh, Clara’s in a whole different league to me. Only eight years old and her first paper is going to be published very soon, I’m sure of it. She’s going to be the most famous scientist in the world,” Dad stated, putting an arm round her. She frowned, embarrassed.
“It is definitely good shock,” Alexis blurted, finding his voice again. “I would love to be your intern! Sorry, I just… I’m just taking it all in. I’ve always dreamed of working at Vermore Enterprises one day.”
“Well, it’s about time that dream came true.” Darek held out his hand to shake Alexis’s. “Welcome to the team. Have this weekend and next week to settle back into school, and then let’s begin.”
Darek paused, turning to Mum. “That is, if you’re both happy with my offer?”
“I think it’s brilliant.” Mum grinned, putting a hand on Alexis’s shoulder. “You have to work hard, Alexis, and not get into any trouble.”
“Mum,” Alexis hissed through his teeth, looking mortified.
