Carter and the Curious Maze by Philippa Dowding Page A

She was wearing a ridiculous red hat with googly eyes and long, red tentacles.
    â€œWhat the heck is that thing?” Carter asked as he joined her. It was the weirdest hat he’d ever seen.
    â€œIt’s a squid hat,” Sydney answered, pleased. “I won it. Over there.” She pointed at a tent with stripes on it under an old tree. “While you were in the haunted house,” she added.
    â€œTake it off, you look strange,” Carter said. Everything about the fair suddenly seemed strange. His once-favourite haunted house. And now the weirdest hat in the world.
    And there were more things that suddenly didn’t seem so fun. For one thing, it was too hot. And for another, it was too loud. He’d never noticed how loud and hot the fair was before. Plus the place smelled. The air was full of the reek of fried food and garbage.
    Yep … that’s garbage, all right.
    Carter and Sydney walked out of the noisy, hot midway and bought ice cream cones. They sat on a picnic bench near the lake beside an enormous grey rock.
    The water lay perfectly still against the pebbles on the shore. It looked pretty, but the water smelled like goose poop, which Carter had never noticed before. A few sailboats bobbed in the lake, but there was no wind. It was too hot and still, even for the sailboats.
    Carter looked up at the huge grey rock beside them. It stood above his head, above his arms, stretched out. It looked very old and was covered with moss and deep scratches near the top. He finished his ice cream and studied the huge rock.
    I’m so bored, I’m studying rocks! I have to get out of here!
    â€œCome on, Sydney, let’s go find Mom,” he begged. “I’m dying of boredom! This place is dull. Nothing interesting has ever happened here in the history of the world. Let’s go!”
    â€œIt’s not boring, and Mom’s not meeting us at the parking lot for a little while, Carter. What’s wrong with you? There’s still so much to see.” Sydney marched away. Carter sighed and followed her past the tents and midway rides.
    Then he stopped.
    Someone was watching him. Across the grass beside a tall tree, a stranger waved and beckoned. Carter was too far away to tell if the man — because it looked like a very small man in a long green smock — was waving at him or someone else. Carter slowly raised his hand and cautiously waved back.
    The man waved again, more urgently this time.
    Carter looked around to see if the person was waving at someone behind him, but no, he was alone. How odd. Who could that be? He didn’t know anyone else at the fair. Carter realized that Sydney was getting farther away; her red hat bounced in the distance.
    He ran to catch up with his sister, looking over his shoulder once more … but the stranger in the green smock was gone.

Chapter 2
    Dull, Dull, Dull

    C arter walked to catch up with Sydney as quickly as he could.
    How weird! Who was that man, and why was he waving at me?
    Other people had fun at the fair, just not him. The Double Helix Death-Defying roller coaster rattled overhead, filled with shrieking people. The Skull-N-Bonz Pirate Ship swung from side-to-side, filled with more loud fairgoers. Riders screamed on the Monster Loop-the-Loop or from inside the Zippedy Spinner boxes as they spun in circles. Everyone was having fun. Everyone but him.
    Instead, he got stuck with dull, not-haunted rides and weird, waving strangers. He caught up to Sydney, who was reading a signpost.
    â€œLook, Carter! The Curious Maze: The Most Interesting Ride You’ll Ever Take. I’ve never seen this here before,” Sydney said, pointing at the sign.
    â€œWhat’s a … curious maze?” Carter asked. Not that I care!
    â€œIt’s a hedge of bushes, on a winding path,” she answered.
    Carter moaned. “I know what a maze is, but why is it curious?”
    Sydney ignored him and read the rest of the sign out