by Adam Frost
The summer flew by, with lots more weekends at the zoo and lots more trips to see Daisy at the reptile house. Daisy would always give Tom and Sophie updates about the snakes in quarantine.
Tom would ask about the baby long-nosed vipers and Daisy would tell him how long they were now and how many mice she had fed them that week.
Sophie would ask about the Antiguan racer and Daisy would talk about the Antiguan rescue project and how the zoo wanted to reintroduce their racer back into the wild.
Then one day Daisy turned to the children. ‘The snakes will be out of quarantine in a fortnight, you know,’ she said. ‘We’re going to throw a big party and introduce them to the world. Want to come as guests of honour?’
Tom and Sophie couldn’t believe their ears. ‘Yes!’ they said.
‘So,’ Daisy said, ‘it’ll be an early-evening thing. We’ll invite the press and lots of VIPs. We’re making new enclosures for the snakes now. The reptile house is about to get a lot bigger!’
That evening, Tom and Sophie talked to their parents about the snake celebrations.
‘Daisy says we’re going to be guests of honour!’ Sophie said.
‘That’s great news,’ said Mrs Nightingale. ‘Me and your dad are on duty that evening, so we can all go together.’
‘Can we stay late?’ Tom asked. ‘You know, really late. Like midnight!’
‘It finishes at nine, Tom,’ Sophie said. ‘What are we going to do for three more hours?’
The following Saturday, Tom and Sophie were watching the penguins being fed when Daisy tapped Sophie on the shoulder.
‘Hey, you two,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a TV reporter coming to talk to me at lunchtime. He wants to meet the people who found the snakes. That means you!’
‘TV?’ Sophie said, looking suddenly nervous. ‘We’re going to be on TV?’
‘What show’s it for?’ Tom said. ‘What channel’s it on?’
‘I don’t know – it’ll be for some news programme,’ Daisy said. ‘BBC or ITV, I suppose.’
‘Wow,’ said Tom. ‘I’ll be a national hero. Maybe even a national treasure.’
‘I need to put on a different top,’ Sophie said, ‘and sort my hair out.’
‘Whatever makes you happy,’ said Daisy. ‘See you at the reptile house at one.’
They raced back to The Ark, got ready in record time and arrived at the reptile house at exactly 12.45, looking very smart and very excited.
‘Right, I’ll do the first bit,’ Sophie said, ‘about the man in the boat.’
‘And I’ll do the next bit,’ said Tom, ‘about finding the cobra.’
‘OK, then I’ll do the bit about the vets and the fire engine arriving.’
‘But hang on, that means you get two bits and I get one.’
‘But you’re doing the finding the cobra bit,’ said Sophie. ‘That’s the best bit.’
‘So doing the best bit is the same as doing two boring bits?’ Tom asked.
‘Yes,’ Sophie said.
‘I suppose that does make sense,’ Tom admitted.
‘Hello, you two,’ Daisy said, appearing in front of them. ‘Worked out your story?’
‘Yes,’ they both said.
‘This is Martin,’ Daisy said, gesturing at a man in a suit. Behind him there was a cameraman, and a woman holding a fluffy microphone on a long stick.
‘So these are the children that saved the day,’ Martin, the reporter, said. ‘Lovely. Let’s do the interview over there. With that big snake behind you.’
‘That’s a Burmese python,’ Tom said. ‘It’s one of the six biggest snakes in the world.’
They went and stood in front of the python’s vivarium.
The reporter began by talking directly to camera.
‘In just a week’s time, the reptile house at London Zoo will be transformed. A dozen new snakes will join the permanent collection. But what’s interesting is how these snakes arrived here. They were found by two young children, Tom and Sophie Nightingale, after they were abandoned on the Regent’s Canal by a notorious animal smuggler. The smuggler is now safely behind bars. Tom and Sophie, however, are with me here now. Tom, Sophie, hello.’
‘Hello,’ said Sophie.
‘So we were coming home from school and we saw this scary-looking bloke with a snake round his neck,’ Tom began.
‘Whoa right there, Tom,’ the reporter said. ‘Let me get a question out first.’
The woman with the fluffy microphone lowered it to the ground.
‘Oh, OK,’ Tom said. ‘Do I have to say that bit again then?’
‘In a minute, yes,’ said the reporter, gesturing to the woman with the microphone.
‘OK. So, Tom, Sophie, tell me how you came across this sack of slimy snakes.’
‘Snakes aren’t slimy,’ said Sophie quickly. ‘Their skin is dry and smooth.’
‘OK, OK,’ said the reporter. The woman put down the microphone again. ‘Don’t worry if I make mistakes. Just answer the questions as best you can.’
‘You can’t call snakes slimy though,’ Tom said. ‘Mum will never forgive us. By the way, can we say hello to Mum and Dad on the telly?’
‘Maybe, yes, at some point,’ the reporter said, looking slightly impatient, ‘OK, how about slithery snakes? Is that OK?’
Tom and Sophie looked at each other.
‘I suppose they DO slither,’ said Sophie.
‘Unless they’re sidewinders,’ Tom said.
‘That’s true,’ said Sophie, ‘but even they slither sometimes.’ She turned to the reporter. ‘Slithery is acceptable.’
So the reporter started again. Sophie went first, talking about the man on the boat. Tom talked about his face-to-face encounter with a king cobra.
‘And now they’ve got a new home here in the zoo,’ the reporter concluded. ‘Those snakes are very lucky to have met you two.’
‘We’re lucky we met them!’ Tom said.
‘Snakes are mind-blowing, seriously!’ Sophie exclaimed.
Tom and Sophie both talked for another five minutes, raving about all the amazing things they’d discovered about snakes, while the reporter and the cameraman and the boom mike operator watched and smiled.
Chapter 12
The following Saturday was the big day. Tom and Sophie visited the reptile house at lunchtime to see how preparations were going. Tom had his best friend, Freddy, with him. Sophie had her best friend, Jemima, with her.
Freddy and Jemima were still dubious about snakes.
‘Can we see the hippos after?’ Jemima asked.
‘Yeah, and the gorillas,’ said Freddy.
‘Just give snakes a chance,’ said Sophie. ‘You’ll see how friendly they are.’
‘Look,’ said Jemima, ‘one of my rules is not to make friends with anything that wants to eat me. Call me crazy, but that’s just how it is.’
When they got to the reptile house, Daisy was standing by the entrance, talking anxiously to a woman with a long flowery dress and glasses.
‘We can still go ahead,’ said Daisy. ‘Who cares about a few posters?’
‘It’s not just posters,’ said the woman with the flowery dress. ‘It’s all of our publicity material. Oh, this is awful. We’ve told everyone that we’re having a grand opening. And now it will look like we’ve made no effort at all. I’m sorry, but we have to call it off.’
Tom and Sophie overheard what the woman with short hair had said. ‘What’s going on?’ Sophie asked.
‘Hi, kids,’ Daisy said. ‘This is Lucy, the zoo’s Head of Publicity. She was expecting all the materials for the event to arrive yesterday. But apparently they’re stuck in the post office in Camden.’
‘Why can’t you just go and pick them up?’ Tom asked.
‘It’s the Spirit of Camden parade today,’ Daisy said. ‘They’re not letting any cars through. The roads are blocked off.’
‘Can’t someone walk?’ Sophie asked.
‘I don’t think there’s time. And eve
n if there was, I don’t think I could carry it all,’ Lucy said. She looked at her watch. ‘It needs to get here in an hour, or we won’t have time to put everything up.’
‘What is everything?’ Freddy asked.
‘A banner for the outside of the reptile house,’ said Lucy, ‘posters for inside. We’ve got snake badges and pencils to give out. And snake masks to sell in the shop. Plus leaflets full of snake facts.’
‘Sounds cool,’ Freddy said.
‘It would be, if they were here,’ said Lucy. ‘I’m sorry, everyone, but I’ve decided. It’s off. Cancelled. The snakes will have to meet the public another day.’
‘But – hang on,’ Tom stammered. ‘You can’t –’
‘Hundreds of people are coming,’ Sophie said.
‘It’s been in all the papers,’ Tom said, ‘and on telly. We told that reporter all about it.’
Sophie thought for a second and said quickly, ‘What if we fetched the materials? And got them here in an hour? Would you still cancel?’
Lucy looked surprised. ‘Of course not, but how are you going to do it? I’ve told you, the roads are closed. And there’s loads to carry.’
‘Just let us worry about that,’ said Sophie. ‘If you give us whatever papers we need, we’ll get everything for you. Trust us . . . we can do it.’
Lucy hesitated, then she seemed to make a decision. ‘All right then,’ she said, handing Sophie an official-looking card with delivery information on. ‘See you in back here in an hour.’
‘So you won’t tell anyone it’s cancelled, will you?’ said Tom, grabbing Freddy and following his sister out of the zoo.
‘Not if you’re sure you can do it,’ said Lucy.
‘We are!’ said Sophie. ‘See you soon!’
As they walked along the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park, Tom turned to his sister. ‘So what’s your plan then, Soph?’
‘Er, I haven’t massively got one,’ said Sophie.
‘What?!’ cried Tom. ‘But you just promised we’d get everything here in an hour!’
‘Yes, and if you keep quiet and let me think, we might just do it,’ Sophie said. She started walking more quickly. ‘OK, first we’ve got to get to the post office and pick everything up. But the streets are closed and full of people. So what’s the quickest way through?’
‘Military vehicle?’ suggested Jemima.
‘Being shot from a cannon?’ said Freddy.
‘No,’ replied Sophie. ‘Skateboards.’
‘Yes!’ exclaimed Tom. ‘Me and Freddy are world class.’
‘You’re going to have to be,’ said Sophie. ‘Plus you’ll need rucksacks to carry everything.’
‘But hang on,’ Freddy said, ‘Camden’s over that way. What about when we get to Gloucester Gate? You’re not allowed to skateboard in that part of the park. We’ll have to walk.’
‘That’s where me and Jemima come in,’ said Sophie. ‘We’re both really good at running. I usually win the hundred metres and Jemima wins the two hundred and four hundred.’
‘Which are way harder, I might add,’ said Jemima.
‘So we’ll be waiting by Gloucester Gate,’ said Sophie. ‘You hand the rucksacks over to us, and we’ll run through the park and get everything to the reptile house.’
‘OK,’ Tom said.
‘All right,’ said Freddy.
‘So what are you waiting for? Go and get your skateboards and the biggest rucksacks you can find,’ said Sophie, ‘then head for the post office and show them this.’
Tom took the document that Sophie was holding and then ran down the towpath towards The Ark, with Freddy following close behind.
‘Right,’ Sophie said, turning to Jemima, ‘we’ll need to get into our running gear. And start warming up.’
‘You seriously think those two chumps can do this?’ said Jemima. ‘They’re about five years old.’
‘They’re nine,’ said Sophie. ‘And if anyone can cut through a thousand people marching, it’s two small boys on skateboards . . .’
Within five minutes, Tom and Freddy were on their skateboards, whizzing down Parkway and into Camden. They were both wearing red rucksacks that were almost as big as they were.
The road was closed off and the parade hadn’t started yet, so the street was empty, the pavements were clear, and the boys were able to go at top speed.
As they turned left into Camden High Street, people were starting to gather, carrying banners and dressed in brightly coloured outfits. Tom and Freddy had to slow down.
‘Remember that time when we were in the park, skateboarding like snakes?’ Tom said. ‘Well, that’s what we have to do here. Move in an S-shape. Weave around people. It’s called a serpentine movement.’
‘OK, cool,’ said Freddy.
Tom started to move his skateboard in an S-shape, winding past groups of people and zigzagging between boxes of costumes. Freddy copied him. Soon they were going at a good speed again.
Tom looked at his watch. ‘It’s taken us five minutes so far. Record time.’
A minute later, and they had arrived at the post office. They went up to the counter and showed the woman there the document from the zoo. The woman looked at the document and looked at Tom and Freddy and looked at the document again. Then she sniffed and started piling up boxes and bags on her side of the counter before sliding up a pane of glass next to her. She pushed everything through it to Tom and Freddy’s side.
Tom and Freddy looked at the boxes and bags and then looked at each other.
‘We’ll never be able to carry all that,’ said Freddy.
Then the woman behind the counter started piling up more boxes and bags on her side of the counter. She slid up the glass again and said, ‘Make some space over there, lads.’
Tom and Freddy lifted a couple of the boxes on to the floor. One had snake key rings in; one had snake badges.
‘OK, we’ll have to do this in two lots,’ said Tom.
‘But we haven’t got time,’ said Freddy. ‘That Lucy said an hour.’
‘So we’ll have to go twice as fast,’ Tom said, ‘Let’s start by putting these two boxes of posters into my rucksack. You put that banner in yours. It should fit.’
Tom explained to the woman behind the counter that they’d be collecting the rest in fifteen minutes.
‘Haven’t you got a grown-up to help you, lads?’ she asked.
Tom decided it was easiest to lie. ‘Yes, my dad’s outside. And my mum. And my Uncle Sylvester.’
‘And my Auntie Mavis,’ added Freddy.
‘Good job too,’ the woman said.
Outside, the parade had started. People were banging drums and singing.
Tom and Freddy got back on their skateboards, but at first they found it hard to adjust to the weight on their backs. They had to move their feet further apart and lean further forward. Each of them fell off the first time they tried to change direction.
‘This is useless, Tom,’ said Freddy, ‘and dangerous.’
‘We’ll be fine,’ said Tom. ‘Imagine we’re snakes that have just eaten a massive meal!’
‘But they just crawl under a hedge and sleep it off,’ said Freddy.
‘OK, so imagine a tiger’s coming,’ said Tom, ‘and we have to move. Come on, serpentine motion. The S-shape.’
‘I can’t do it,’ protested Freddy. He crouched lower and moved his feet even further apart. He jolted down from the pavement on to the street without falling off.
‘I can do it,’ he said with a smile.
As the crowds moved further down the street, Tom and Freddy had to move in even tighter loops, turning more often, twisting more sharply. This, plus the weight on their back, meant that they were moving constantly on their boards, squatting down, standing up, leaning left, diving right.
Sweat was pouring off their brows.
‘Keep going,’ Tom said, looking at his watch.
Up ahead, Tom and Freddy saw that the road had been completely cordoned off, with a police off
icer blocking the way.
‘Down here,’ Tom said, pointing at an alley with a set of steps that led down to the Outer Circle of the park.
‘I’ve only ever done a couple of steps before,’ said Freddy.
‘We’re going to be sidewinders,’ said Tom. ‘Have you ever seen the way they move? They leap down sand dunes, chucking themselves in the air, landing on their sides for a split second, then jumping again.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Come on, imagine you’re a sidewinder,’ said Tom.
Tom pictured a long, sandy-coloured sidewinder in his head, then swivelled his skateboard sideways and started to leap down the steps.
Freddy looked at Tom and then closed his eyes. ‘Sidewinder. Sidewinder . . .’ he whispered.
He followed Tom down the steps, lifting his feet and his board with them, jumping again and again.
Down at the bottom, they grinned at each other.
‘Now, we have to move recti— er . . . rectilinear, I think,’ said Tom.
‘Rectangular?’
‘Rectilinear. It means a straight line,’ said Tom. ‘Snakes can move straight forward like caterpillars too, but fast. Come on – last one to Gloucester Gate is a mongoose.’
They powered forward with their skateboards, straight along the pavement, thrusting themselves onward with their right feet, then using both feet on the skateboard to push and tilt and pivot, depending on the shape and smoothness and angle of the paving stones.
In their heads, both of them were snakes now. They might have looked like boys, but they were actually anacondas whipping through the water, boas sliding through the jungle ferns, banded flying snakes gliding through the air.
They reached Gloucester Gate in two minutes. Sophie and Jemima were waiting in their running gear.
‘Wow, that was seriously fast,’ said Sophie. ‘We’re going to make it!’
‘I know, but . . . but . . . this is only half . . . of it. We’ve got to go back for ev— everything else,’ Tom said, trying to get his breath.
‘Blimey, Tom,’ said Sophie, ‘we’ll never do it. We’ve only got half an hour left or Lucy will cancel.’