by R. A. Spratt
Melanie drew Friday aside. ‘I don’t want you to think less of me for what I am about to reveal to you.’
‘Why?’ asked Friday with growing dread. ‘You’re not going to tell me you are ethically opposed to harming cut-outs, are you?’
‘Goodness, no,’ said Melanie. ‘I’ve never liked cut-outs, not since the time I spent five minutes talking to Harrison Ford at a shopping centre before I realised it was a two-dimensional cardboard representation of Han Solo.’
‘So?’ said Friday.
‘So what?’ asked Melanie.
‘What is the shocking thing you’re going to reveal about yourself?’ asked Friday.
Melanie leaned in and whispered, ‘We’re going to win this challenge.’
‘What?’ asked Friday.
Melanie nodded.
‘How?’ asked Friday.
Melanie leaned in and whispered very quietly, ‘I’m extremely good at archery.’
‘No way,’ said Friday.
Melanie shrugged. ‘It’s true.’
‘How did that happen?’ asked Friday.
‘As you know,’ said Melanie, ‘Mummy and Daddy are very rich. And when we were little, they were forever having us coached at things. You know, the boys were coached in rugby and tennis and swimming and cricket …’
‘I get the picture,’ said Friday.
‘So one year, Jub took an interest in archery and the coach was teaching him on the back lawn,’ explained Melanie. ‘He was a very nice coach, extremely patient. And short. I like short people. They’re less confusing, I find …’
‘And he encouraged you to try archery?’ prompted Friday, trying to get her friend back on topic.
‘Yes,’ said Melanie. ‘And the thing was, right away I was very good.’
‘Really?’ said Friday.
‘And when I practised I got seriously very good,’ said Melanie.
‘But you have no aptitude for any other physical endeavour,’ said Friday.
‘Apparently it’s because I’m so calm,’ said Melanie. ‘Most people naturally have tremors in their hands or their bodies, which makes it hard to hold the bow still, but I am so very good at being relaxed I can stay completely still.’
‘I believe you,’ said Friday. ‘I’ve seen you do it.’
‘If I’m really super-duper still, I can sense my own heartbeat and time my shot so that it falls between beats,’ said Melanie.
‘No way,’ said Friday.
‘That’s what all the best archers do,’ explained Melanie.
‘Just how good were you?’ asked Friday.
‘There was no chance I could compete at the Olympics –’ said Melanie.
‘Of course not,’ said Friday.
‘– but only because I was too young,’ said Melanie. ‘You have to be sixteen to be included in the archery team now.’
‘Wow,’ said Friday.
‘Yes, now you know my dark secret,’ said Melanie.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t mention it before,’ said Friday.
‘Archery is not a subject that often comes up,’ said Melanie, ‘so I can go months at a time without remembering myself.’
And so Melanie made short work of the archery. The chosen archers for each of the other teams had only fired off a couple of misjudged practice shots in the time it took Melanie to skewer the brown frog five times between the eyes.
‘How did you do that?’ asked Ian, coming over to shake her hand.
‘It’s easy, really,’ said Melanie. ‘You just point the pointy thing at the target and let it go.’
‘Come on, it’s not that simple,’ said Friday.
‘Well, you do have to allow for wind speed and the parabolic angle of ascent over this sort of distance,’ admitted Melanie. ‘But parabolas are easy, the maths teachers drone on about them all the time. I’m surprised the rest of you haven’t picked it up.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed being beaten at anything so much,’ said Ian, shaking his head in wonder.
While the Houseboaters congratulated Melanie, Friday couldn’t help overhearing a very quiet argument taking place behind her. She turned to see who it was, expecting it to be the sulky Treehouse team again. But it wasn’t. It was two of the counsellors, having an argument but trying to keep their voices down at the same time.
‘You check on them!’ whispered Sebastian.
‘She’ll notice if I leave,’ whispered Nadia.
‘They need water,’ said Sebastian. ‘We can’t lose our investment. Not when we’re so close.’
‘All right,’ said Nadia.
‘Don’t forget the ghost,’ said Sebastian.
Nadia nodded.
As the students were shepherded on to the next challenge, Nadia slipped away in the other direction, towards the river.
‘What was that all about?’ wondered Friday.
‘What?’ said Melanie. ‘Were Nadia and Sebastian fighting again?’
‘You’ve seen them doing it before?’ asked Friday.
‘My mattress is by the window,’ said Melanie. ‘I woke up one night last week, and heard them having a conversation on the riverbank.’
‘What were they talking about?’ asked Friday.
‘Cheese,’ said Melanie.
‘What?’ said Friday. ‘You must have misheard. Why would they be talking about cheese in the middle of the night?’
‘Because it’s delicious,’ suggested Melanie.
The rest of the Colour War progressed in much the same way. The Houseboat team did abysmally at anything involving physical exertion. So they came last in rowing, rock skipping and tree climbing. But they did slightly better at anything where thinking helped. So they did okay at knot tying, compass reading and fungus identifying (Larissa Hatton had to be rushed to hospital after she had misidentified a mushroom and eaten it as a snack). Surprisingly, the Houseboat team did well at woodchopping because they’d had so much practice.
And so it all came down to the last event. The Treehouse team had 23 points; the Tent, 22; the Hole, 22; and the Houseboat, 21.
‘Theoretically we could win,’ said Friday.
‘But only if the other teams lose in the exact right order,’ added Patel.
‘Yes, but it is mathematically possible, even if highly improbable,’ said Friday.
‘The last event is a simple one,’ announced Geraldine. ‘It is a footrace.’
The Houseboat team groaned. They all knew they were terrible at running.
‘But there’s a twist,’ added Geraldine.
‘Are you going to release a bear?’ asked Melanie.
‘What?’ asked Geraldine.
‘I just thought people would probably run faster if you released a bear behind them,’ explained Melanie.
‘Be quiet if you haven’t got anything sensible to say!’ said Geraldine, shaking her head. ‘It will be a normal race with just humans, except that it will be a piggyback race.’
‘But pigs aren’t humans,’ said Melanie. ‘They aren’t, are they?’ she asked Friday.
Friday shook her head.
‘One person from each team will carry another person around the course,’ said Geraldine.
Ian put up his hand. ‘Do we have to carry someone from our own team?’
Geraldine thought about it for a moment. ‘I don’t see why. You can carry whoever you like.’
‘Then I’m carrying Friday,’ declared Ian.
‘No, you’re not!’ said Friday.
‘You have to. Geraldine said so,’ said Ian.
‘No, she didn’t,’ said Friday.
‘I’m making it a rule right now. If you’re picked, then you have to be carried,’ said Geraldine.
‘I want to carry Wai-Yi!’ yelled Harrison from the Hole team.
‘Hey!’ protested Wai-Yi.
‘Hang about,’ argued Patel, ‘you can’t pick all the people from our team. There will be no one left for me to carry!’
‘You’ve got all the small, w
eedy people in your team,’ said Drake. ‘I’ll carry Susan.’
‘What?!’ exclaimed Susan.
‘I’m thinner than her,’ argued Trea Babcock.
‘Yeah, but you look emotionally harder to carry,’ said Drake. (This was a polite way of saying that Trea was not very nice.)
‘I don’t want to be carried by Drake!’ exclaimed Susan. ‘It would be awful.’
‘Shush,’ said Melanie, giving Susan a nudge. ‘He just paid you a lovely compliment.’
‘He did?’ asked Susan.
‘Oh yes, when a boy thinks about carrying you around, that shows his mind is working in the right direction,’ said Melanie.
‘Who’s going to do the carrying for our team?’ asked Patel. ‘Please don’t say it will be me.’
‘I’ll do it,’ said Harvey.
‘But you can barely see,’ said Melanie. ‘And I mean that in the nicest possible way.’
‘That’s okay,’ said Harvey. ‘Whoever I’m carrying can steer me in the right direction.’
‘So who do you want to carry?’ asked Friday.
‘No offence, Melanie,’ said Harvey, ‘but I think Patel may weigh a little less than you.’
‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ said Melanie. ‘I’d carry Patel too if I had the choice, but in my case that would mainly be because it’s impossible to carry yourself.’
At last, Ian, Harvey, Drake and Harrison lined up with Friday, Patel, Susan and Wai-Yi.
‘This is so embarrassing,’ said Patel.
‘We embarrass ourselves dozens of times each day,’ said Harvey. ‘This is just going to be one blip on the list of embarrassing things people remember you for.’
‘Thanks for the motivational pep talk,’ said Patel.
‘Why do you need a pep talk? You’re not doing anything,’ said Harvey.
‘I could steer you into the river if you’re going to keep being depressing,’ said Patel.
‘All right,’ said Harvey. ‘Go, team! Does that make you feel better?’
‘Marginally,’ said Patel.
‘Get up, then,’ said Ian, turning around and crouching in front of Friday.
‘Why didn’t you pick somebody else?’ asked Friday.
‘Because you’re short and skinny,’ said Ian. ‘Besides I’m used to carrying you, the number of times I’ve had to rescue you from things.’
‘Get up there, Barnes!’ yelled Geraldine. ‘We haven’t got time to dilly-dally around while you fuss about.’
Friday stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Ian’s neck and jumped up onto his back. Melanie burst into a round of applause. Everyone stared at her.
‘Sorry, I’ve just been waiting for something like this for so long now,’ said Melanie, dabbing a tear away from the corner of her eye.
‘Racers ready,’ said Geraldine, holding what looked alarmingly like a real gun above her head. ‘On your marks, get set …’
BANG!
The pistol fired and the four boys set off running. It was a lot jigglier than Friday would have cared for. Ian was a smooth runner, but not when he was carrying an awkward weight and across uneven ground.
They were halfway down the course. Ian had just started to build up speed when something ran into the back of him. Friday felt him fall out from underneath her, but she had so much forward momentum she flew straight over his head, flipping over and landing hard on her back. The wind was totally knocked out of her. Friday closed her eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. She could hear yelling and screaming. Were people screaming because they’d been knocked over too?
Friday opened her eyes. People were running. And away from her. They were running towards the finish line. Friday looked about. Ian was picking himself up from the ground just a few metres away. Drake and Susan were sprawled across the ground as well.
‘What’s happening?’ asked Friday.
‘We just lost the race,’ said Ian.
‘Then who won?’ asked Friday.
In the distance suddenly Patel was hoisted up on the shoulders of the crowd, and then more awkwardly, Harvey was hoisted up too.
‘We won!’ exclaimed Friday. ‘I can’t believe it. Our team won!’
Chapter 17
The Triumphant Return
The Houseboaters were in a jubilant mood as they made their way up the riverbank towards their home.
‘It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything athletic,’ marvelled Harvey.
‘All you needed was a seeing-eye Patel,’ said Melanie.
‘My dad is going to be so proud,’ said Harvey. ‘He wanted me to become a rugby player, just like him. He was so disappointed when I inherited his thighs but my mother’s eyesight.’
It was beginning to get dark. The team were going back to wash up before dinner. Winning the Colour War had been a messy business. Apart from getting covered in dust and dirt and sweat, they had a lot of scratches and scrapes that needed first aid. They wanted to get inside where it was light so they could have a proper look at what they had done to themselves.
‘Hey Wai-Yi, look over there in the river,’ said Susan. ‘Isn’t that your pillow?’
Wai-Yi had brought a hypoallergenic pillow from home. It was distinctive because it had a pillowcase with pink unicorns.
The group squinted and peered out across the river. There was definitely something pink and unicorny floating down the middle.
‘Not my pillow!’ cried Wai-Yi. ‘How did that get there?’
‘And is that Susan’s humidifier?’ asked Melanie.
There was a white and blue electrical appliance bobbing about in the water. Now they looked closely there were lots of things floating in the river.
‘Hurry up,’ urged Friday. ‘We’ve got to get back to find out what happened.’
They started running up the bank. It was only a few hundred metres, so they soon stumbled into the clearing where the Houseboat was moored. Except the Houseboat wasn’t there.
‘Are we in the right spot?’ asked Harvey.
‘Yes,’ said Friday. ‘Look, there’s the jetty it’s usually moored to.’
‘And there’s the tree I threw up on after too many tacos on Taco Tuesday,’ said Patel. ‘I’d recognise it anywhere.’
Friday walked out onto the jetty. There was something lying on the decking. ‘It’s an axe,’ she said, bending over to pick it up.
‘Someone was chopping firewood on the jetty?’ asked Melanie.
Friday leaned over to the mooring rope. It had been cut. It was already starting to fray where a mess had been made of severing it.
‘This axe was used to cut the mooring ropes,’ said Friday. ‘But the ropes are thick and it took them a few swings to get through.’
‘Who would do something like that?’ asked Susan.
‘Someone who doesn’t like us,’ said Wai-Yi.
‘That could be anybody,’ said Patel.
‘But where has the Houseboat gone?’ asked Melanie.
‘There’s only one way it could go,’ said Friday. ‘Downstream.’
They looked in the direction the water was flowing. It was getting hard to see in the twilight. Even so, there was definitely no sign of a house on the river.
‘Come on,’ said Friday. ‘We need to look for it, or we’re not going to have anywhere to sleep tonight.’
‘But what about the ghost?’ said Susan. ‘We’re not meant to wander about at night.’
‘It’s not dark yet,’ said Friday.
The team took off jogging down the river.
‘Surely we can’t catch up with the Houseboat on foot,’ said Patel.
‘It could be floating in the ocean by now,’ said Harvey.
‘I doubt it,’ said Friday. ‘We can’t be far behind, because we saw all those things that must have fallen off. And it won’t get far. It’s too big. It will get snagged on something.’
‘Didn’t Sebastian say there was a waterfall downstream?’ said Melanie.
Everyone turned and looked at Mel
anie.
‘Run faster,’ urged Friday.
They started sprinting down the bank.
‘What’s that noise?’ asked Susan.
There was a rumbling sound up ahead.
‘It sounds like a big engine,’ said Wai-Yi.
‘No,’ said Friday. ‘That’s the sound of a waterfall.’
They came around a bend in the river and saw the Houseboat up ahead. It had snagged on something. A huge rock. And the force of the water had tipped the Houseboat up on a 45-degree angle. The girls’ bedrooms were half under water and the boys’ bedroom was high up in the air. Beyond the Houseboat there was another fifty metres of river before it suddenly dropped away over the side of the waterfall.
‘Someone will have to go back to camp and tell the counsellors what’s happened,’ said Patel.
‘They won’t be any help,’ said Friday. ‘They’re never around when you need them.’
‘So what are we going to do?’ asked Melanie.
‘There’s a winch in the storeroom,’ said Friday. ‘I should know, it’s what I sit on every time I’m peeling potatoes. We’ll use that and a rope to pull the Houseboat off the rock. Then we can start the engine and sail her back up the river.’
‘That doesn’t sound easy,’ said Melanie.
‘Especially in the dark,’ said Harvey.
‘Then let’s get moving before it’s pitch-black,’ said Friday.
It took ten minutes to gather the equipment. Friday grabbed a life vest as well, just to be on the safe side. One end of the rope was to be fixed to the winch, and the other end was tied around Friday, or rather, around the life vest.
‘I’ll just jump in upstream and let the current pull me towards the boat,’ said Friday.
‘If I didn’t know you weren’t an idiot,’ said Melanie, ‘I would say that sounds like a pretty idiotic thing to do.’
‘Smart people do idiotic things all the time,’ said Friday. ‘It’s because they think they’re too smart to be an idiot that is their downfall. I’ll be fine, so long as you don’t let go of the rope. You can pull me back if I miss the boat.’ She waded out into the water.
‘I can’t believe she’s actually doing it,’ whispered Susan.
Friday bobbed down in the water as the current caught her and swept her off her feet.
