said, ‘Yes, David?’
‘122, 44 and 95.’
The judges nodded.
‘That is correct!’ Glitzy Ritzy smiled at the crowd and started reading question two.
‘Dave got it right,’ muttered Angus. ‘How did he do that?’
‘He’s cheating,’ said E.D.
Angus shook his head. ‘He couldn’t be. Look at this place.’
As well as camera crews, a large crowd of spectators and the judges, a series of security guards walked around looking like they’d throttle anyone who even thought of cheating.
‘You’re right. This place is like a prison.’ E.D. slunk down in his seat.
‘Shhh,’ said Hannah. ‘He just got another one right.’
The competition sped onwards. Dave scored 250 points in the first section, 300 in the next and 200 in the last section. The closest contestant to him was a girl sitting on the end of the row who finished the third section 150 points behind.
‘General knowledge now,’ said Glitzy Ritzy, still smiling. ‘Let’s see how fast you can answer these. We have sixty seconds.’ He cleared his throat and began.
‘Which flora is the state emblem of Western Australia?
‘How many zeros follow 1 in a quadrillion?
‘What word is used for R in the NATO phonetic alphabet?
‘Who wrote The Lord of the Rings ?’
Buzzers went and answers flew around, some right, some wrong. The scoreboard below each contestant flashed red, going up and down with the answer. Gabby found it hard to keep up. At the end of sixty seconds, a loud siren went. ‘Who won?’ she said to Hannah.
Hannah didn’t answer for a moment. She had her fists clenched in her lap and her elbows were digging into Gabby.
‘Hannah?’
Hannah’s face was mottled red and white. She looked like she was going to cry. ‘Dave won,’ said Hannah finally. ‘He’s the smartest one there.’
Chapter 12
Teasdale Technology Centre: Thursday evening
E.D. had fixed the muffler especially for the reconnaissance job he’d been given on Dave Kelly. So far his shadowing had been restricted to Teasdale Secondary, and after ten minutes of skulking around the library—not E.D.’s all-time favourite place in the school—he’d decided to mend the motocross for some serious spy work.
The poultry farm, where Dave’s family lived, had its benefits. E.D. could work the dusty back roads of Teasdale that he knew like the back of his hand. There was plenty of cover too.
Nothing much happened during the first afternoon of surveillance, and E.D. left for home just before seven o’clock, cold and hungry. But the following night was very different.
At a quarter to seven, Dave and his mum climbed into their truck and sped out of the driveway. E.D. ducked his head as they drove past, pretending to be totally engrossed in the state of his back wheel. He was sure he hadn’t been spotted, concealed as he was behind a large gum tree.
E.D. sprang into action. In a flash he was on his bike and speeding away after the truck. Dave’s mum made a left turn and immediately turned right. E.D. watched from a safe distance, then crossed the intersection. They weren’t heading into town. When Dave’s mum took another right, E.D. suddenly knew where they were heading.
‘Explore!’ He sighed. ‘I might have guessed.’
Instead of risking being caught on a main road, E.D. took a right-hand turn into Coves Lane—an old dirt road that swung wide of the showgrounds, coming in behind Explore! If his hunch was wrong, then he’d lost them. But Hannah, Angus and Gabby had decided that Explore! was the common element in all the weird things going on.
E.D. smiled as he slowly made his way up Raymond Terrace. The Kellys’ truck was in the car park, Dave and his mum walking briskly towards the door marked KHS.
Now what? E.D. wondered, switching the engine off and walking the motocross. A dog barked. E.D. grinned, patting his pocket. He hid the bike behind a wall near the back of the building and crept towards the German shepherd.
‘Cabana!’ he called.
‘122, 44 and 95.’
The judges nodded.
‘That is correct!’ Glitzy Ritzy smiled at the crowd and started reading question two.
‘Dave got it right,’ muttered Angus. ‘How did he do that?’
‘He’s cheating,’ said E.D.
Angus shook his head. ‘He couldn’t be. Look at this place.’
As well as camera crews, a large crowd of spectators and the judges, a series of security guards walked around looking like they’d throttle anyone who even thought of cheating.
‘You’re right. This place is like a prison.’ E.D. slunk down in his seat.
‘Shhh,’ said Hannah. ‘He just got another one right.’
The competition sped onwards. Dave scored 250 points in the first section, 300 in the next and 200 in the last section. The closest contestant to him was a girl sitting on the end of the row who finished the third section 150 points behind.
‘General knowledge now,’ said Glitzy Ritzy, still smiling. ‘Let’s see how fast you can answer these. We have sixty seconds.’ He cleared his throat and began.
‘Which flora is the state emblem of Western Australia?
‘How many zeros follow 1 in a quadrillion?
‘What word is used for R in the NATO phonetic alphabet?
‘Who wrote The Lord of the Rings ?’
Buzzers went and answers flew around, some right, some wrong. The scoreboard below each contestant flashed red, going up and down with the answer. Gabby found it hard to keep up. At the end of sixty seconds, a loud siren went. ‘Who won?’ she said to Hannah.
Hannah didn’t answer for a moment. She had her fists clenched in her lap and her elbows were digging into Gabby.
‘Hannah?’
Hannah’s face was mottled red and white. She looked like she was going to cry. ‘Dave won,’ said Hannah finally. ‘He’s the smartest one there.’
Chapter 12
Teasdale Technology Centre: Thursday evening
E.D. had fixed the muffler especially for the reconnaissance job he’d been given on Dave Kelly. So far his shadowing had been restricted to Teasdale Secondary, and after ten minutes of skulking around the library—not E.D.’s all-time favourite place in the school—he’d decided to mend the motocross for some serious spy work.
The poultry farm, where Dave’s family lived, had its benefits. E.D. could work the dusty back roads of Teasdale that he knew like the back of his hand. There was plenty of cover too.
Nothing much happened during the first afternoon of surveillance, and E.D. left for home just before seven o’clock, cold and hungry. But the following night was very different.
At a quarter to seven, Dave and his mum climbed into their truck and sped out of the driveway. E.D. ducked his head as they drove past, pretending to be totally engrossed in the state of his back wheel. He was sure he hadn’t been spotted, concealed as he was behind a large gum tree.
E.D. sprang into action. In a flash he was on his bike and speeding away after the truck. Dave’s mum made a left turn and immediately turned right. E.D. watched from a safe distance, then crossed the intersection. They weren’t heading into town. When Dave’s mum took another right, E.D. suddenly knew where they were heading.
‘Explore!’ He sighed. ‘I might have guessed.’
Instead of risking being caught on a main road, E.D. took a right-hand turn into Coves Lane—an old dirt road that swung wide of the showgrounds, coming in behind Explore! If his hunch was wrong, then he’d lost them. But Hannah, Angus and Gabby had decided that Explore! was the common element in all the weird things going on.
E.D. smiled as he slowly made his way up Raymond Terrace. The Kellys’ truck was in the car park, Dave and his mum walking briskly towards the door marked KHS.
Now what? E.D. wondered, switching the engine off and walking the motocross. A dog barked. E.D. grinned, patting his pocket. He hid the bike behind a wall near the back of the building and crept towards the German shepherd.
‘Cabana!’ he called.
Similar Books
