A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch!

by Pamela Butchart

  And Ranger Tam looked a bit surprised so I had to explain that we’d overheard him talking.

  And then Ranger Tam got a bit of a

  on his face and he stopped walking and said, “Oh? And what else did you hear, lass?”

  But I said that we hadn’t heard anything else and then Jodi asked about the sightings again and what people had told him.

  Ranger Tam smiled and started walking again and said, “We’ve heard

  of things recently. There’s been over twenty sightings in the past two weeks alone! Some guests have even spotted the monster having a midnight swim right outside their lodge windows. Can you believe it?”

  And that’s when I heard myself GULP because I knew that he probably meant OUR window!

  That’s when Jodi said, “What does the monster look like? What do people say who’ve seen it?”

  Ranger Tam stopped again and said, “Look, lass. Are you sure you want to know all this? I mean, it’s pretty frightening stuff!”

  Jodi nodded. And then Ranger Tam looked at me and I nodded too, even though I wasn’t really sure if I DID want to hear but I knew Jodi would be annoyed at me if I didn’t nod.

  Then Ranger Tam said, “Well, most people who have seen the monster say it’s got a massive long green tail. Some even say it looks a bit like a dinosaur. But there’s one thing they ALL say –

  And then Tam lowered his voice and looked at us with a

  and said, “I don’t know if I should tell you this or not, but there’s actually been a couple of LAND SIGHTINGS. Couldn’t believe it when I heard. Never heard of it on land before in all my days. Everyone’s always thought the monster could only survive in water.”

  And that’s when Jodi’s eyes went WIDE and she looked at me and I looked at her because we were both worried that the monster had come on to land and taken MAISIE.

  We asked why he thought it would come ashore now.

  And that’s when Ranger Tam’s eyes went WIDE this time and he said, “Well, if you want my opinion, there’s only one explanation.” And his eyes went even WIDER and he said, “I think she’s

  When we got back to the lake, I could hardly BREATHE because we’d run so fast.

  As soon as Ranger Tam had said about the monster being HUNGRY, I’d grabbed Jodi’s hand and we’d RUN all the way back.

  I could feel my heart POUNDING in my ears and it wasn’t just because of the RUNNING, it was because I was TERRIFIED that the LAKE MONSTER had EATEN MAISIE.

  I was just about to say that we needed to wake Miss Jones and tell her that Maisie might have been EATEN when Jodi said, “LOOK!”

  And I looked and saw WEIRD MARKS in the mud at our feet. Jodi took her TORCH out of her pocket and shone it on the ground, and I GASPED because the weird marks went all the way from where we were standing and into the lake.

  That’s when Jodi said, “They’re tracks. And whatever made them is

  And then Jodi looked up at me and her eyes were HUGE and she said, “I think they might be TAIL TRACKS.”

  And that’s when we both heard a SPLASH a few metres away and I gasped and grabbed Jodi’s arm and made her drop the torch. Jodi quickly picked it up and pointed it at the water but there was nothing there except a few ripples.

  That’s when Jodi whispered, “That was it! It’s in there!”

  And I nodded. And I kept nodding for ages because I sort of couldn’t STOP because I was

  because the monster had obviously just been RIGHT outside our cabin!

  Jodi turned to me and said, “We must have missed it by SECONDS!”

  And that’s when we heard a voice say, “Missed what?”

  And we spun round and saw MAISIE!

  I grabbed Maisie and hugged her for AGES.

  And then Zach said that he and Gary Petrie had found her in our lodge.

  And then Zach looked at Jodi and said, “Didn’t you check there?”

  But Jodi didn’t say anything because we HADN’T checked there and I knew that Jodi felt a bit silly because I did too.

  That’s when Maisie said that she’d woken up and, when she couldn’t see us, she’d run back to our lodge and locked the door and used the phone in the lodge to call Zach on his mobile. I was

  to see Maisie that I kept hugging and hugging her and she kept giggling and saying, “Not so tight!”

  Then Gary Petrie said that he was going back to bed before Mr Beattie woke up and found out that they’d left the lodge because he didn’t want to get into trouble and not be allowed to do the

  in the morning.

  And Zach said that he was going too but Jodi said, “Hold on a second, Zach. We need to have meeting. A pretty serious one.”

  And that’s when Maisie squeezed me back and she squeezed so hard I actually SCREAMED a bit and that made HER scream and suddenly the lights in all the lodges went on and Gary Petrie hissed, “Run back to your lodge.

  So we all ran.

  REALLY EARLY the next morning there was a knock at our cabin door.

  I sat up RIGHT AWAY and that’s when I saw that Jodi and Maisie were still fast asleep and that Jodi had her mouth WIDE open and that she was DROOLING.

  So I looked at the clock and it said 5.55am so I lay back down because I thought I must have DREAMED the knock because it didn’t make any sense that someone would be knocking at the lodge door at that time.

  But then there was a knock at the WINDOW next to our bed and a voice said, “It’s me. Let me in!”

  And I jumped up and opened the bedroom curtains a bit and saw that it was Zach.

  So I got up and unlocked the door and let him in and explained that Jodi and Maisie were still sleeping because of the

  That’s when Zach said, “I can’t sleep. I need to know what’s going on. You found out more, didn’t you? About the lake monster? That’s why Jodi wanted to have a meeting late last night, isn’t it?”

  I was just about to say yes when a voice behind me said, “Please tell me it’s good news!”

  And I turned and saw Maisie in her pyjamas and she was squeezing her HUMPBACK WHALE so much it looked like his EYE was going to POP OUT.

  So I said that it was time to wake up Jodi so we could have an

  And I said it because I knew we couldn’t have a meeting that was THIS serious without all FOUR of us being there and also because I didn’t want to be the one to tell Maisie that the lake monster had been sighted ON LAND, looking for FOOD, and that it had been RIGHT outside our cabin last night!

  So I went and got Jodi and told her that we were waiting for her to do the meeting and she

  out of bed and ran into the living room.

  And Zach actually GASPED when he saw her because her hair was ALL OVER THE PLACE and she was still wearing her giant BEDTIME BRACES.

  Then Jodi said, “We found out more about the monster last night.”

  And that’s when I looked at Zach and nodded and he nodded back and moved a bit closer to Maisie and held his arms out a bit in case she fainted.

  And that’s when I explained about Ranger Tam and the Midnight Tour and all the SIGHTINGS there had been in the past couple of weeks. And how Ranger Tam had almost touched the monster’s tail with his boat!

  And then I looked at Jodi because I didn’t want to be the one to say the next bit in case it made Maisie scream and also because I was starting to feel a bit DIZZY myself because I couldn’t believe we were having a conversation about an

  Jodi took a deep breath and said, “The lake monster doesn’t stay in the lake. It can come on land too.”

  Zach looked at Jodi and then at me and then back at Jodi and then he said, “Does it have legs? Does it slide like a crocodile?”

  I looked at Maisie because I thought she was going to start

  but she was just sitting there with her mouth wide open, staring at Zach. And I knew that it was because she was in SHOCK.

  We explained that no one had known it could come on land and that it was a new thing.

  And then Zach sai
d, “Why is it coming on land all of a sudden then? Is there something wrong with the water?”

  And Jodi looked at me and I looked at Jodi and then we both looked back at Zach.

  Jodi said, “Ranger Tam said he thinks it’s because the monster is HUNGRY. He thinks it’s coming on land to look for food.”

  And Zach’s eyes went WIDE.

  And that’s when Maisie jumped up and screamed,

  Once we eventually got Maisie to stop SHAKING, Jodi said that we all needed to be CALM and that this was a

  opportunity and that we were LUCKY.

  And that’s when Zach’s voice went all high and he said, “LUCKY?!”

  Jodi NODDED. And she even SMILED a bit too!

  And that’s when she said that she had an EXCITING PROPOSAL for us. And she was smiling SO MUCH that it was really starting to

  That’s when I started to worry that she was maybe still ASLEEP and that she was doing some sort of weird

  Or that maybe she was so tired that she was DELIRIOUS, which is when you go a bit WEIRD and HYPER and start to SEE THINGS that aren’t there because you’re not well and you’ve got a TEMPERATURE.

  So I put my hand on Jodi’s head but it didn’t feel hot or sweaty. But I made her sit down anyway and drink a glass of water.

  When she was finished, she seemed a little bit calmer so I asked her what she meant about the

  and the EXCITING PROPOSAL. And that’s when she started smiling again but it wasn’t as creepy this time.

  And then she said, “I want us to be the FIRST PEOPLE EVER to prove that there’s a MONSTER in the lake!”

  And she made her EYES go really WIDE.

  Then she said, “We’d be FAMOUS.”

  And that’s when Zach started smiling a bit, too. And I knew that it was because becoming FAMOUS is something he really wants to do. And I know that for a FACT because I saw it on his BUCKET LIST when we had a supply teacher once and she made us write one ALL DAY and we didn’t do any maths OR literacy and by the end of the day everyone’s BUCKET LISTS were HUGE.

  So anyway, Jodi said that because we were staying in the lodge RIGHT next to the lake that we had more chance than ANYONE of spotting the LAKE MONSTER and taking a CLEAR PHOTOGRAPH of it. And we might even be able to take a VIDEO of it on Zach’s phone.

  And that’s when Zach said, “I accept your proposal. Let’s catch the monster on CAMERA!”

  And Jodi smiled LOADS.

  And then she looked at me but I said that I wasn’t sure because it sounded

  But then Jodi said that we were already at the centre of the

  and also that if we were the first ones EVER to prove that the lake monster legend was TRUE, then we’d probably get a million pounds or a book deal or a trip to Disneyland or something from the Queen.

  So I took a deep breath and said, “OK. I’m in.”

  And Jodi grabbed me and gave me a hug and she hardly EVER does that so I knew she was really happy.

  And then we all looked at Maisie.

  But Maisie was face down on the rug.

  It was CHAOS when we got to the raftbuilding station.

  Ranger Tam wasn’t there yet and Miss Jones and Mr Beattie were trying to find RAFT-BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS on their phones and EVERYONE was pushing these barrels around and trying to knock each other over with them.

  Jodi was getting

  because she said she wanted to be the first one on the water in case the MONSTER was around so we could take a photograph but she couldn’t figure out how to get the barrels to stay together.

  That’s when Gary Petrie appeared and asked if we’d like some help but Jodi said no because Jodi doesn’t like help and she’s not very good at working with others when we do TEAM ACTIVITIES because she always wants to do everything herself because she thinks she can do it better.

  And that’s when Gary did a bit of a weird

  And then he kept doing the weird headtilt thing and I thought that maybe he had a BLOCKED EAR from being in his hot tub or something.

  But then he cleared his throat and said, “AHEM. I’m just saying. It’s fine if you don’t want my help but you MIGHT want to take a look over THERE.”

  And then we realised that Gary was tilting his head because he wanted us to see something, so we all looked and that’s FINISHED building his raft.

  Jodi took one look at it and said, “Good luck. That’ll sink in under FIVE SECONDS.”

  And that’s when Gary Petrie GASPED and said that it WOULD NOT and that he had used even MORE barrels than he was meant to.

  And Jodi rolled her eyes and said, “Exactly!”

  And that’s when Gary Petrie

  us to a RAFT-OFF, and I was just about to say NO because we had a MONSTER to think about when Jodi yelled, “FINE. Let’s DO THIS.”

  I looked at Zach and he was shaking his head because we both KNEW that Jodi was about to get

  We watched as Jodi started running around, pulling at ropes and telling us what to do and then telling us to do it FASTER and BETTER and that there was NO WAY Gary Petrie was going to build a better raft than US.

  So that’s when I pointed out that we should be focusing on OTHER THINGS and then I gave Jodi a LOOK.

  And that’s when Ranger Tam appeared and he said, “What do you call this?! Right. Let’s get these rafts fixed and get you lot on that lake!”

  And then he clapped his hands so loudly that Maisie YELPED.

  Jodi almost LEAPED on Ranger Tam, saying she needed to ask him

  He laughed out loud and that made Maisie yelp AGAIN. And then he said, “More questions?! Well, I need to get these rafts sorted first and then I’ll see if I can help you, lass, OK?”

  But I could tell by the look on Jodi’s face that she was definitely NOT OK with it. And so could Ranger Tam.

  So that’s when he said, “Right, well. Looks like you lot have finished your raft so why don’t you come with me to help the others? You can ask me your questions while we work.”

  And then Ranger Tam pointed at Maisie and said, “What’s the wee lass doing?”

  And we saw that Maisie was standing on a box looking through Jodi’s BINOCULARS.

  So that’s when Zach said, “She’s looking out for the monster.”

  And Ranger Tam nodded and said, “Good lass. Keep watch! Let us know if you see anything!”

  So me, Jodi and Zach followed Ranger Tam over to the TEACHERS’ RAFT because that one was the WORST and Mr Beattie looked a bit like he was going to cry and Miss Jones had given up and was just lying down on the ground taking big gulps from her water bottle.

  So we helped Ranger Tam fix the teachers’ raft and Zach asked him if the monster had LEGS or if it SLID AROUND on the ground. And Ranger Tam said that he was sure the monster could WALK ON TWO LEGS because he’d spotted GIANT FOOTPRINTS next to the lake.

  And then he pointed just a few metres from where we were standing and said, “Right there. I spotted them this morning actually, when I was setting up the raft building. Great big feet, it’s got.”

  I GASPED and Zach’s mouth fell WIDE OPEN because Ranger Tam was pointing to a spot RIGHT outside our lodge!

  Then Jodi asked if there had been any SIGHTINGS of the MONSTER on the MIDNIGHT TOUR the night before. And I knew that she wanted to know because she wanted US to be the first ones to get PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE.

  And Tam shook his head and said, “No sightings last night, no. Not sure where she got to! I had a lot of disappointed folk on board. But I’ll take them out again tonight. I’ve got a funny feeling we might get a good view of her later.”

  Then he grabbed loads of LIFE JACKETS for us and made us all sit quietly for AGES while he explained the LAKE SAFETY RULES. And that’s when I realised what we were ACTUALLY DOING. We were ACTUALLY going to float on a RAFT on a LAKE that had a one-hundred-year-old giant MONSTER living in it!

  And I knew that I had to sit down. But before I could actually sit down I was LYING down and everyone was standing around me.


  I had

  what was going on and that’s when Jodi said, “Are you OK? You fainted!”

  And then Maisie handed me a carton of Ribena and I didn’t really want it but I took it anyway because I think I was in

  because I have only fainted three times in my life including then.

  That’s when Miss Jones said I should go back to the lodge but I said that I was fine and that the juice was helping because it was.

  Miss Jones made me sit down at the side and Maisie sat with me and we watched while everyone else got ready to go out on the rafts. And Maisie held my hand and she kept patting it like I do to hers when she faints.

  Then when everyone was ready to go out on the lake, Jodi and Zach came over to us and Jodi gave me another hug!

  And then she said, “If anything happens to us, you can have my survival outfit. You might need it.”

  And then she took a deep breath and walked towards the lake.

  As SOON as Jodi and Zach started to climb on to the raft, Maisie said, “I’m going, too. Will you be OK without me, Izzy?”