Lola had never been in a real scrape before. In fact, she’d never done anything dangerous at all.
Fighting with Nick didn’t count.
‘I have an idea,’ she said. Then Lola quickly explained what it was.
From time to time Buddy cried, ‘Impossible!’ or, ‘You can’t be serious!’ But when she was finished, there was silence.
Then Felix said, ‘I knew it would be handy having a real girl around!’
‘It’s decided then?’ she asked.
‘Hang on,’ said Buddy. ‘There’s a problem.’
‘What?’
‘For your plan to work, I’ll need a disguise. The Almost Toys know who I am. They will arrest me!’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Felix. ‘Not with your new look.’
‘Bless my buttons, of course!’ said Buddy. He pretended to smooth his moustache. ‘The new-look Buddy. Let me at them!’
Lola carefully sorted all the plans into two folders. She gave one folder to Felix and the other to Buddy.
‘Just be confident,’ she told Buddy. ‘Then they’ll believe you.’
The sound of marching was getting closer. The Almost Toys would be at the door at any moment.
‘Ready?’ she asked.
Buddy and Felix nodded.
Lola was glad that they were ready. Because she wasn’t at all sure she was!
Felix opened the plastic door – and then he and Lola hid behind it.
Almost Toys filled the corridor as far as you could see. They were almost identical soldiers, but not quite.
They were almost marching in time, but not quite.
They were almost scary, but not quite.
Looking through the crack in the door, Lola was sure that she recognised some of them. Didn’t Nick have a set of toys just like these?
Buddy stepped out of the room and into the corridor. The entire army stopped at once.
Well, they almost stopped at once.
Buddy cleared his throat. He stood up straight, took a deep breath and tried to say, ‘Well done!’
But his voice was as wonky as his long legs.
A strange muttering came from the Almost Toys.
Lola had planned to stay hidden.
She didn’t think the Almost Toys would be pleased to see a real girl. But she knew she had to help her friend.
Lola stepped out from her hiding spot with a flourish. ‘The Plastic Prince will be proud,’ she said. ‘You got here very quickly! Very quickly indeed.’
Buddy smiled gratefully at Lola. But she wasn’t sure her plan was going to work.
The Almost Toys were probably going to grab her and throw her in prison. Or whatever it was that Almost Toys did to real girls who were caught stealing top-secret plans.
With Lola by his side, Buddy found his voice again. ‘The Plastic Prince asked us to break into the safe, to see if the alarm worked,’ he boomed. ‘And to see how quickly you could get here!’
Some of the Almost Toys started to look around at one another.
‘This was a test,’ said Lola. ‘And you’ve passed!’
Buddy was nodding in an important kind of way. ‘You will be rewarded.’
‘But the final part of the test,’ said Lola in her best adult voice, ‘is to return the secret plans to the Plastic Prince.’
The Almost Toys all looked at one another.
‘Which of you brave guards will take these plans back to your leader?’ Lola added.
There was a pause. By now, Lola’s heartbeat was racing. She was sure the Almost Toys could hear it.
Suddenly there was a rush as every plastic hand shot into the air.
Almost Toys were hopping up and down on the spot, chanting, ‘Me, me! Oh, choose me!’
Buddy offered the folder to the nearest Almost Toy. It grabbed the folder and began marching back along the corridor.
Not wanting to be left out, all the other Almost Toys marched off after it.
Lola and Buddy watched as the entire army moved back down the corridor. They weren’t even trying to march in time now.
Felix’s furry head appeared from his hiding place behind the door. ‘Well, that seemed to go well,’ he said, beaming. He was still clutching the second folder.
Lola smiled. ‘They aren’t very bright, are they?’
‘No,’ said Felix. ‘But when they find out they’ve been tricked, they’ll be back!’
Lola, Felix and Buddy crept back along the corridor to the plastic bedroom. They watched for Almost Toys all the way.
‘What was in the folder you gave the Almost Toys?’ asked Felix.
‘Oh, not much. Lists, some letters, and the recipe for the Plastic Prince’s favourite ice-cream.’
Buddy and Felix laughed.
‘Will you come home with us, Felix?’ asked Buddy, opening the door of the tall plastic wardrobe.
‘I can’t,’ said Felix. ‘I must return these plans to my father. The Plastic Prince has not been stopped. We’ve slowed him down, but we haven’t defeated him yet.’
Lola felt the floor vibrate again. She looked up at Felix.
‘They’re coming back,’ Felix said. ‘You need to hurry.’
‘Will you be OK?’ asked Lola.
Felix nodded. ‘I’ll stick to the shadows,’ he said. ‘Go now. And thank you both for your help. I’ll see you again.’
Buddy and Lola climbed into the tall plastic wardrobe.
They climbed into the plastic wardrobe, but Lola climbed out of …
Lola climbed out of her toy box. They were safe and sound, back in her bedroom.
Lola pulled Buddy out of the toy box and popped him on the pillow on her bed.
‘Bless your buttons, Buddy,’ she said. ‘I think your new glasses and moustache suit you. What do you think? Shall we keep them?’
Lola decided she wouldn’t get Nick back for it after all. It wasn’t worth starting a war over.
But her favourite toy was silent. He could only talk to her in the Kingdom. Lola sighed. She missed having proper chats with Buddy.
She always had mixed feelings when she came back from the Kingdom. She liked being home. But she was sad to be away from all the adventures.
Lola smiled. Then she started to giggle. She just couldn’t resist it. She grabbed Buddy and jumped back into the toy box.
‘Come on, Buddy boy!’ she cried. ‘Let’s go again!’ And she closed the lid above her.
The Plastic Palace
published in 2015 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
This ebook is also available as a print edition in all good bookstores.
A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia.
eISBN 9781743583555
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders.
Text copyright © 2015 Danny Parker
Illustrations copyright © 2015 Guy Shield
Series design copyright © 2015 Hardie Grant Egmont
Design by Stephanie Spartels
We welcome feedback from our readers. All our ebooks are edited and proofread vigorously, but we know that mistakes sometimes get through. If you spot any errors, please email [email protected] so that we can fix them for your fellow ebook readers.
grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Plastic Palace (9781743583555) Page 2
