The Bigwoof Conspiracy by Dashe Roberts

Author:Dashe Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Published: 2020-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

“What. The. Bunk,” Lucy fumed, repeating the phrase for the umpteenth time.

“Yeah, you said that,” said Milo.

They had finally snaked their way to the front of the line in the shadow of the towering Ferris wheel.

“And who is the banana man?” Lucy hissed. “What does he want?”

“You know as much as I do,” said Milo.

The pimple-faced teenager running the rickety contraption helped them into their car. He shut the flimsy door and pulled a lever, sending them slowly skyward in the teetering trolley.

Lucy slipped her glasses back on. Now that she could see him in detail, Milo looked more worried than he had let on. “How come your dad doesn’t want you at this carnival?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”

The wheel jerked to a stop to let other people on and off the ride. Milo clutched the central pole to right himself.

“You came because you weren’t supposed to?”

“I suppose you’re rubbing off on me.”

Lucy frowned in approval. “You could do worse.”

The wheel started and stopped, their cabin gradually hiccuping past the tree line. They could see most of the carnival now; a sea of games, rides and fluttering colour. But there was something else decorating the landscape: clusters of sinister red lights from security clowns out on patrol.

Are they looking for the banana man, or us?

Milo stuck his fingers through the chain-link panel and peered wistfully over the sunny horizon. “It’s funny,” he said. “I was really starting to like this place.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Lucy.

“I’m leaving.” He slumped in his seat. “Or rather, I’m being sent away.”

“Sent away?” She steadied herself against the incessant rocking of the Ferris wheel car. “Sent where?”

“My dad’s sending me to Kansas.”

“To boarding school?” Lucy braced herself against the mesh. “I thought places like that were just a myth to scare kids into behaving.”

“Boarding school or Kansas?”

“Both.”

Milo laughed ruefully. “Of course you did.”

They stopped at the top of the wheel, their pink cabin swaying in the autumn breeze. Now they could see for miles, the mottled autumn canopy of green, amber and indigo extending to the jagged rim of the Dentalia Mountains.

“I thought your dad took you with him everywhere?” Lucy couldn’t imagine being sent away from her family.

“He always has,” said Milo, exasperated. “This is all my fault. I never should have asked him about that stupid Bigwoof picture.” His head fell into his hands.

The wheel started up again. “You asked him?” said Lucy, incredulous. “What did you say? What did he say?”

“He denied that it was Shooped. I told him I didn’t believe him. We had a fight.” Milo looked like he might cry. “I’ve never seen him so upset. He said I don’t understand how the world works.”

“Nobody understands how the world works,” said Lucy. “Not really.”

Milo stared sullenly at the crowd below.

“When are you leaving?” asked Lucy.

“Monday.”

The Ferris wheel picked up speed as they careened past the ground.

“Monday?” She held on to her ridiculous hat. “As in, two days from now?”

“Correct.”

“What the sludge?”

“What the sludge, indeed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.