by Wendy Orr
‘I’ve already got clothes!’ said Nim.
‘Your shorts are great,’ Erin said, ‘but if you’re going to hide on the ship, you need to look like the other kids.’
Erin was right, Nim thought. A disguise was more important than wearing her own clothes.
In the bathroom, Erin gave Nim a bag with a toothbrush, a tiny tube of toothpaste and a comb. ‘We got these on the plane. Meet us at the Kids’ Klub after you’ve visited Selkie – we’ll bring you breakfast.’
Erin raced out to meet up with her family, and Nim had a shower. This time she closed the shower door so Fred couldn’t run in and out, and not much water got on the floor. She hung her towel up where Erin had shown her, changed into her new clothes, and slipped out of the cabin, her rubber sandals flip-flopping a strange music on her feet.
The Animal Room was still locked. Nim sat outside the door, calling to Selkie through the crack, but she couldn’t hear any sea lion whuffles on the other side. Finally, the Professor came to unlock it, yawning and grumbling.
Selkie was sitting up in her cage, looking cross and bored. Nim rushed to her.
‘Never hug the animals!’ the Professor snarled.
‘But it helps them learn tricks,’ said Nim.
The Professor grunted. ‘So what do you think you could teach them?’
‘I’ll bet the sea lion could catch fish,’ said Nim.
Selkie barked yes.
Nim threw two fish high and twirling, and Selkie caught them both.
‘That’s enough,’ snapped the Professor. ‘She needs to be hungry enough to learn something more interesting.’
‘She could do much better tricks if she was in the water,’ said Nim.
The Professor pointed to the bathtub.
‘That’s not big enough!’ But Selkie slid into it, because if she rolled and splashed at least she could get wet.
‘She’s just too fat!’ the Professor sneered.
Selkie glared and slid out of the tub – and Fred scrabbled from Nim’s shoulder into the bit of water left behind, checking for seaweed.
Nim threw a fish into the tub. Fred didn’t eat fish, so he flicked it over the edge to Selkie. Selkie opened her mouth, and the fish disappeared.
‘If they had a pool to practise in,’ said Nim, ‘I could teach them fantastic tricks.’
‘Hmph,’ said the Professor. Nim wished she knew what that ‘hmph’ meant, but at least he let her give Selkie the rest of her breakfast fish. She put out seeds for the birds, too, and fruit for the monkeys and lizards, but most of the animals cowered at the back of their cages, too frightened to eat.
Fred clung tight to Nim’s shoulder. He was too afraid of being locked up to even steal food from the caged lizards.
Selkie stuck close to Nim’s side, whuffling worriedly. She was afraid of being locked up again, too, but she was more worried about what the bad man might do to Nim.
And so when the Professor ordered Selkie to her cage and Nim out of the room, Selkie didn’t complain so that Nim wouldn’t worry, and Nim didn’t cry so that Selkie wouldn’t worry.
Fred just waited till the Professor had gone the other way down the hall, with the key in his pocket – then he sneezed, hard.
AFTER THE GREY misery of the Animal Room, the Kids’ Klub seemed like a strange kind of dream, with too many lights and too many colours, too much noise, and too many kids.
‘Come on,’ said Erin, ‘let’s go outside.’
They ran up the stairs to the Sea Lion Deck. ‘The perfect spot for planning a sea lion rescue!’ Ben exclaimed.
It was hard not to feel a little happier as they lounged in the deck chairs beside the great blue pool, looking out over the deeper blue sea. Erin gave Nim a peanut butter sandwich on fresh white bread. The peanut butter was sticky, but Nim liked it after the first few bites. Ben had a banana in his pocket that was only a little bit squashed, and a piece of watermelon in a napkin that was completely smashed.
Fred loved smashed watermelon.
And as they ate and talked, their plan grew – and grew and grew.
ALEX HAD NO plans at all. Not one.
A young woman with Virginia on her nametag knocked on the cabin door with a glass of good morning juice. ‘I’m your steward for the trip, Miss Dozer – is there anything I can do to help you settle in?’
‘Could you have all my meals sent to my cabin, please?’
‘Sure!’ said Virginia. ‘But I hope you’re feeling well enough to get out and do things soon. The Professor’s lecturing on Spider Monkeys this afternoon. Poor little things … anyway, the Professor says they don’t mind being away from their mothers, and he’s the expert! Maybe you’ll feel well enough to go to that.’
‘Maybe,’ said Alex. Then she remembered she’d been wearing her same blue T-shirt and red pants for two days and a night. ‘Is there anywhere on the ship to buy clothes?’ Virginia smiled. ‘Clothes, jewellery, sports gear … we’ve got absolutely everything!’ She handed Alex a phone directory from the desk. ‘Do you know there’s one old lady who lives on the ship full time? She says she never intends to go ashore again, because the ship has everything a city does – so I’m sure you’ll find something you want.’
Alex flipped through the directory, and phoned the Troppo Ladies’ Leisurewear Shoppe to order a few new pairs of shorts and tops.
But when she opened her mouth, she heard herself ask for pyjamas, because deep down, all she really wanted to do was stay in her bed from now until she had to get off the ship. Or maybe she’d be like the old lady and just stay on the ship for the rest of her life.
JACK HAD SEARCHED for Nim all night, from one end of the island to the other and across the other side. When the sun came up he was on top of Fire Mountain.
Far below him was the top of Frigate Bird Cliffs, then Turtle Beach’s pale gold sand, the grasslands and Shell Beach at the hut, Sea Lion Point and Keyhole Cove, and finally the grim black lava-rock, where the Emergency Cave was hidden.
But no matter which way or how far his binoculars searched, there was no sign of Nim.
‘She’s not on the island,’ Jack finally admitted. ‘And Selkie would never let her fall into the sea and drown. She must be with Alex.’
The picture of the seaplane leaving was burned into his mind, but when he tried to decide if he could have seen the top of Nim’s wild hair in the back, behind Alex’s gold head, sometimes he could and sometimes he just couldn’t.
Jack was angry because they’d left without telling him, and he was frightened for Nim because she’d never been in a city, even though she’d be safe with Alex. But most of all he was sad because he was on the island without them and they were somewhere else without him, and they should all be together.
‘I’ll simply have to go and find them,’ said Jack.
The problem was, he had absolutely no idea where they could be.
TWELVE WEEKS AGO, a storm had taken Jack’s boat. The same storm that had brought Alex to the island. The boat never came back – and Jack hadn’t yet built a new one.
He’d have to take the seaplane, just like Alex and Nim. With a bit of luck, by the time it got here he’d know where he was going.
Jack ran, slid and skidded, all the way down Fire Mountain back to the hut. He turned on the computer and checked his emails just in case there was one from Alex, and when there wasn’t, he wrote one to her.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday 2 July, 7:03am
Subject: WHERE ARE YOU?
Dear Alex
Why did you go? Where have you gone?
Why did you take Nim without telling me?
Please give her this message:
Dear Nim
Stay with Alex; I’m coming.
Love, Jack
Then, to make sure Nim knew he meant it, he added,
(as much as Selkie loves the ocean)
Next he wrote:
From: jack.rusoe@explo
rer.net
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday 2 July, 7:05am
Subject: Alex Rover
Dear Delia
Alex has disappeared. She’s taken Nim. Do you know where she’s gone?
Yours truly,
Jack Rusoe
Finally he wrote:
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday 2 July, 7:08am
Subject: EMERGENCY!
Please return to the island where you brought supplies this morning. I need to leave immediately.
Urgently
Jack Rusoe
The computer dinged before he’d even had time to stand up.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday 2 July, 7:09am
Subject: Re: Alex Rover
Thank you for your email. I’m presently out of the office due to the preparations for the launch of Alex Rover’s exciting new book on July 7. I can assure you, it will be worth the wait!
As you can appreciate, there is a large backlog of emails at this time; however, I will endeavour to reply within ten to fifteen working days.
Regards,
Delia Defoe
‘Ten to fifteen working days!’ Jack shouted. ‘I can’t wait that long!’
The computer dinged again.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday 2 July, 7:10am
Subject: I’m on vacation!
I am going on holidays, so Sunshine Island Seaplane will be closed from Thursday evening, 1st July to Monday 30th August. I hope this doesn’t cause any inconvenience.
This is an automated reply. This mailbox will not be checked until Monday 30th August.
Happy travelling!
Sam
Sunshine Island Seaplane
‘How am I going to travel?’ Jack shouted.
‘And,’ he added, as he typed ‘Troppo Tourists’ into the search box, ‘I’M NOT HAPPY!’
Jack thought their island was the most beautiful island in the whole world, with birds and animals who were free and happy. He had tried to hide it from the Troppo Tourists because he knew that if they came they’d drive away the birds and animals, and pick the plants, and then it wouldn’t be the most beautiful island in the world any more.
But here’s the thing – Jack loved Nim more than he hated the Troppos. And since they’d once brought Alex nearly all the way from Sunshine Island, maybe they could take him back.
‘GOODBYE ADVENTURE CHARTERS! HELLO LUXURY CRUISES! BIGGER AND BETTER IN EVERY WAY!
The Troppo Tourists have said farewell to the charter ship that took you on so many adventurous tours. Why plan a trip yourself when we can do it all for you? Remember: if it’s worth seeing, The Troppo Tourist can take you there!
So come and join us on our glorious new luxury cruise ship! Click here for schedules.’
JACK DIDN’T BOTHER reading any more. He switched off the computer.
‘Luxury cruises!’ he muttered, as he pulled the sleeping mats away from a wall.
The wall was built of strong bamboo poles, firmly laced together. It was the only one without a door or window. Jack grabbed the axe from behind the hut.
‘Here’s to happy travelling!’ he shouted, as he chopped a raft-sized square out of the wall. He nailed a blanket across the hole, to keep out the dust and birds, and dropped an empty bag over the computer and science stuff. ‘That’ll have to do!’ declared Jack.
With a thick rope, he hauled his raft across the sand to Shell Beach. He was hot, tired and thirsty when he finished, but he only stopped long enough to split a coconut and drink its milk. It was strange not to have Fred begging for the coconut meat …
Fred might be on a plane! Jack thought, and he almost smiled as he raced up the hill to Tabletop Garden.
Jack found two strong, slim lengths of bamboo just the right size for a mast and a cross bar, chopped them down and raced back to the beach. He lashed the cross bar to the mast, cut a neat hole out of the centre of his raft and then. with wires and rope and bits of bamboo, fixed the mast in place.
‘At least the sail will be easy,’ said Jack. He pulled out a bag he’d unloaded from the seaplane just the day before. In it was a sail for the boat he’d planned to build. It was a perfect, clean white sail, light and strong enough to catch any wind – but it was too tall and too wide for his little make-shift raft.
Jack had never had a brand-new sail before.
He took out his fat red pocketknife, cut a big square from the sail, and rigged it to the mast.
Jack looked out at the wide empty sea and his small-sailed raft. It didn’t look very big or very strong.
He stuffed six coconuts, a change of pants and shirt, and his toothbrush into the sail bag, dropped his compass into one pocket and his notebook and pen in another, and grabbed two fishing lines, two big containers of water and some bananas.
Finally, he opened a metal box. It hadn’t been opened for a long, long time, but his wallet and passport were still there, clean and dry. Jack dropped them into his extra-safe pocket – the one with a loop and a string to tie it shut – and walked out of the hut.
‘DO YOU KNOW Alex Rover?’ Nim asked Erin, when Ben had gone to buy an ice-cream, because some things are easier to say to one person than two.
‘Alex Rover the famous writer?’
‘She’s my friend,’ said Nim. ‘And my dad’s friend. But I was mean to her, and mean to my dad, and now she’s gone.’
‘Everybody’s mean sometimes,’ said Erin, though Nim knew Erin could never be as mean as she had been.
‘My dad will be worrying that she’ll never come back,’ said Nim, ‘and he might be worried about me, too. Or … he might be glad I’m gone.’
‘He won’t be glad you’re gone,’ said Erin.
‘I wish I could tell him where I am,’ said Nim.
‘You could email him from the computer room.’
‘Parents have to log their kids in,’ said Ben, handing them each an ice-cream cone.
‘Write down the message and the address,’ said Erin, ‘and I’ll send it.’
‘Thanks,’ said Nim. ‘Whew! I never knew ice-cream was so cold!
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday 2 July, 11:05am
Subject: Don’t worry!
Dear Jack
My friend Erin is sending this because I can’t go to the Computer Room unless you sign me in.
I hope you got my message in a bottle. I’m on the Troppo Tourist ship heading towards New York.
We have a plan but I don’t want to write it down in case someone sees the note when Erin is writing it.
I cleaned out the birdcages this morning and four flaming orange doves had our island’s bands on their legs. I didn’t know people were allowed to catch animals just because they’re intelligent, unique or interesting. The Professor says that’s the best way to keep them safe. I don’t understand but he doesn’t like people asking questions.
Also I don’t think he really like animals.
I’m very very sorry I was mean to Alex and I know I was mean to you sometimes when you were talking to Alex. I wish I hadn’t been.
Love (as much as Fred loves Selkie)
Nim
She wrote one to Alex too, but in the end she couldn’t bear Erin to read it, so she crumpled it up and put it back in her pocket.
‘IT’S PIZZA NIGHT in the Kids’ Klub,’ Ben said, while Erin was emailing, ‘so we can all have dinner there.’
‘What’s pizza like?’ asked Nim.
Ben explained. ‘But you can’t ask anyone but us stuff like that! They’ll guess … ’
‘They’ll guess I’m a stowaway?’
‘They’ll probably just think you’re weird,’ said Ben, ‘and that’ll make them notice y
ou. Even more than Fred.’
So when Erin came back they found a spot behind a big white chest labelled LIFE JACKETS, up near the bow where it was too windy for most people to sit, and Nim got lessons on how to look as if she belonged to parents on a cruise ship.
It was sort of like schoolwork with Jack, except that instead of learning about what turtles ate and how plankton grew, she was learning about what kids ate and what they said; what they did and what they had.
‘There’s so much stuff!’ Nim groaned. ‘And so much to learn! How am I going to remember it all?’
‘Stick with us,’ said Erin. ‘Just do what we do.’
As Ben looked at his watch, Nim looked up at the sun. ‘But first,’ she said, ‘it’s time for Fred and me to visit Selkie.’
SELKIE AND FRED both knew lots of tricks, but they only did them when they wanted to. It was hard for Nim to make them understand that the only way they were going to outsmart the Professor was to do the tricks Nim wanted, when she asked.
And the Professor was watching. He was in a very bad mood because one of the baby spider monkeys had bitten him while he was giving his lecture.
Nim didn’t want him to be angry at Selkie, too, so first she fed the birds, chirping quietly to them in their own languages.
‘If you make bird noises, they’ll never learn to talk!’ the Professor snapped. ‘Teach them “Pretty Polly!” That’s what people pay … are interested in.’
Without waiting for an answer, he stomped out the door. Nim was alone with the animals.
She clucked to the doves once more and rushed to open Selkie’s cage. Selkie whuffled and sniffed her all over, as if Nim was the one who’d been seal-napped and locked up.
‘We’ll get home somehow,’ Nim told her. ‘Because even if Alex doesn’t like me any more, I know she’ll help us get back.’
‘Anyway,’ she added, ‘the important thing is to escape. We’ve got five days to get ready.’
She looked at Selkie’s little cage and the cloudy tub of water, and five days seemed for ever.
‘If I could just get you into a pool,’ she said, ‘it wouldn’t be so bad.’
