Secret Friends by Summer Waters

Author:Summer Waters [Waters, Summer]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-00-734072-9
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2009-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Cai and Antonia were on their way to Sea Watch. Cai was telling Antonia about his surfing lesson the weekend before.

“Then I fell off the surfboard, washed up on the beach and landed next to a lady who screamed and dropped her ice cream on her husband,” Cai chuckled.

“That is so funny,” Antonia giggled. “Are you going to try surfing again? It’s brilliant fun once you get the hang of it.”

“Course I’m going to try again,” said Cai. “I don’t give up that easily. You’d better watch out. It won’t be long before I’m as good as you.”

“Then we can surf together,” said Antonia enthusiastically. Surfing with Cai would be brilliant. He was great fun to be with. “Only we can’t surf now the beaches are closed.”

“That won’t be for long,” said Cai. “There can’t be much more stuff to come ashore. Who’s that on Aunty Claudia’s drive? He doesn’t look very happy.”

A middle-aged man with balding hair and a paunch was climbing into a green car. His face was like a thundercloud. He slammed the door and snapped on his seat belt. As Antonia stared at the man a feeling of unease came over her. It made her skin prickle with goose bumps. The car engine roared to life and the man took off, his wheels spinning gravel into the flowerbed. Cai broke into a run and Antonia followed him into the back garden. Side by side they raced down the sloping lawn towards the large wooden building at the bottom. Suddenly, the door opened and Claudia came out, her lips pressed together in a firm line. Antonia had never seen her look so angry before and she felt a little scared.

“What’s the matter?” panted Cai. “Who was that man? What did he want?”

Claudia’s nostrils flared as she struggled to control her anger.

“He came from the city,” she said at last. “He’s bought a motorboat and he wanted to launch it from my beach.”

“I thought all the beaches were closed,” said Antonia.

“Not the beach at the end of my garden. The police can’t close that as it belongs to me,” said Claudia. “As you know it’s only a small area. That man wanted to use my beach as a base to scavenge from. He offered me a percentage of anything he found and got very nasty when I turned his offer down.”

“Are you all right?” Antonia touched Claudia on the arm. “Shall I make you a cup of tea?” There was a kettle in the Sea Watch building. Antonia’s mum always made a cup of tea when there was a crisis. Antonia wasn’t sure why, but Mum seemed to think it helped.

Claudia smiled. “No, thank you. One of you could go and close the gates for me, though. I leave them open for my adult volunteers who drive here, but I think I’d better keep them shut to deter any more strangers from coming in.”

“Let’s chain them together with a huge padlock. That’ll keep people out,” said Cai.

“I don’t think we need to go that far.

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