by Sue Bentley
‘No! That’s the club’s balloon. It’s made of a special light material but it’s collapsed right now so you can’t see the shape properly. Hey! Don’t go running about on it or you’ll get a big surprise!’ she called to him in a whisper as Storm looked like he was about to bound on to the balloon. ‘Once they’ve got the burner ready, they’ll light the jets and start filling the balloon with hot air.’
Storm’s tiny forehead wrinkled in a furry frown. ‘What happens then?’
‘The balloon inflates and gets really big. It’s tied down now, but if it wasn’t it would float right up in the air. As high as the clouds.’
Storm glanced upwards, his big bright eyes sparkling in amazement. ‘Up there?’ he woofed.
Jessica nodded. She pointed to the basket that was lying next to the balloon. ‘See that? That’s where Dad and the passengers stand when they go up in the balloon. You have to be a qualified pilot to be in charge. Dad’s taken exams on flying and navigation and stuff. He’s very experienced – he’s won lots of races!’
‘But why do humans do this?’ Storm wanted to know.
‘It’s a hobby. That’s something you do for fun,’ Jessica explained.
Storm’s midnight-blue eyes were as round as saucers as if he couldn’t believe that anyone would want to do such a strange thing. ‘Do you go up into the sky, Jessica?’ he barked, looking very nervous.
‘I used to, but I’m not very good with heights. My head goes all weird and I feel sick and wobbly,’ Jessica said. ‘I usually just watch from the ground or go with mum or one of the others in the support car to where the balloon lands. Sometimes I stay in the camper. But now that you’re here we can have lots of fun together.’
Storm nodded, looking relieved, and seemed to lose interest in the balloons. ‘Does that mean lots of walks?’ he yapped, with a cheeky doggy grin.
‘Definitely!’ Jessica said, laughing. ‘We can go for one now if you –’
There was a sudden loud hissing roar, as the burner ignited. A huge spurt of bright-yellow flame shot out and heated air began flowing into the collapsed balloon.
‘Yipe!’ Storm yelped, almost jumping out of his fur. He skittered sideways and his hackles rose in a ridge along his little back. ‘Fire!’
Jessica felt a strange warm tingling feeling flowing down her spine as big gold sparks ignited in the tiny puppy’s brown-and-white fur and his ears and tail crackled with electricity. Storm raised a front paw and a fountain of gold glitter whooshed towards the burner.
There was a soft phut! and the gas jets went out.
Mr Tennant looked puzzled. ‘That’s odd. Maybe the jets need cleaning,’ he said, trying to light them again but with no success.
‘It’s OK, Storm!’ Jessica whispered hastily. ‘That’s what’s supposed to happen. Can you make the burner work again, please?’
Looking rather shamefaced, Storm sent more sparks shooting out of his paw. The jets caught immediately and a fresh burst of flame gushed out of them.
‘That’s got it!’ Mr Tennant said.
Every last gold spark disappeared from Storm’s fur, but Jessica could see that he was still frightened and wary and his little white tail was drooping.
Jessica quickly checked that everyone was busy before pretending to bend down and fiddle with her trainer. ‘Don’t worry. There’s no danger. Dad’s dead keen on health and safety,’ she soothed, stroking Storm’s soft little ears. ‘I’m sorry. I should have explained that the burners make a scary loud noise when you’re not used to them.’
Storm looked up at her trustingly and began wagging his tail.
Jessica felt a surge of affection for the brave little pup who had stood his ground and tried to help her, despite his natural fear of fire.
‘That’s a rubbish balloon! And the basket’s a bit small, isn’t it?’ said a familiar voice behind Jessica.
Gayle! Jessica shot quickly to her feet, her heart racing in case the older girl had seen her talking to Storm. But Gayle was watching the blue-purple-and-white balloon rippling as it swelled to its full size.
‘It’s big enough for us. Dad’s won plenty of trophies in it anyway,’ Jessica replied.
Gayle curled her lip. ‘Sure he has,’ she scoffed, making it obvious that she didn’t believe Jessica for one moment. Unexpectedly, she smiled and her voice softened. ‘Why don’t you come and see our new balloon? It’s so cool.’
Jessica thought about reminding Gayle that she’d said she didn’t want to hang out with younger kids, but her curiosity got the better of her. ‘OK then. We might as well… um… I mean – I might as well,’ Jessica corrected quickly. She would have to be a lot more careful about keeping Storm a secret.
Gayle gave her an odd look, but then she smirked and turned on her heel.
As Jessica followed Gayle, Storm trotted beside her. They wove through the other balloons and trailers and emerged on to a big open space.
A vast black balloon in the shape of a snarling wolf’s head was just drifting upright. It hung there, connected to an enormous basket and tethered to the ground. Jessica stared at it in astonishment. She reckoned the basket could hold about ten people. The noise from the twin burners was really loud.
A gust of wind blew the huge black balloon and it seemed to turn in Jessica’s direction and grin down at her like a fierce monster.
Storm laid his ears back, shot behind Jessica’s legs and stood there trembling.
‘What did I tell you? Isn’t it amazing?’ Gayle said triumphantly.
‘It’s not bad,’ Jessica said, determined not to sound too impressed. The Cloud Racers seemed to be a much bigger club than The High Flyers. She could see about twenty people around the enormous balloon.
Jessica noticed a small boy standing with them. He looked about six years old and wore a bright-red Spider-man T-shirt.
Gayle saw where she was looking. ‘That’s my brother, Mikey. He’s not allowed to go up in the balloon because the rules say he’s too short. That’s why he trails around after me when Mum and Dad are flying. He’s a real pain,’ Gayle grumbled.
Mikey looked over at Jessica and gave a sunny smile. He seemed really sweet. I don’t suppose it’s much fun for him either, having to put up with a sister like Gayle, Jessica thought.
A blonde woman stood next to Mikey. She looked over and waved at Gayle and Jessica. She was wearing lots of bright make-up, a floaty pink top and high-heeled sandals.
Gayle waved back. ‘That’s my mum. Isn’t she mega-gorgeous? Just like a Hollywood film star.’
‘She’s very pretty,’ Jessica commented, although she thought Mrs Young looked a bit too dressed up for ballooning. The other mums were wearing shorts and T-shirts and trainers.
‘If you’ve seen enough, you can go back to your pathetic old balloon,’ Gayle said cheerfully. She strolled across the grass towards her mum and little brother without a backward glance.
Jessica’s jaw dropped. She’d just given Gayle another chance to be friends and had ended up being snubbed – again!
‘Is there anybody as annoying as Gayle Young?’ she fumed to Storm. ‘Come on. I’ll just go and tell my parents that I’m going for a wander around.’
‘I would like that,’ Storm woofed. He threw a final wary glance at the monstrous black wolf balloon before scampering after Jessica.
Chapter
FOUR
‘It’s a no-fly evening,’ Mr Tennant said with a sigh a couple of hours later as he came into the camper.
Jessica was sitting reading a magazine on the sofa bed with Storm curled up beside her. They’d been to watch a monster trucks’ display and then a circus workshop. Now the tiny puppy’s ears were twitching as he dozed and his tiny paws jerked as if he was running in his dreams.
As her dad came towards her, Jessica quickly shielded Storm with her magazine and scooped him into her lap.
‘Wroof!’ the tiny puppy yapped in shock, instantly awake and alert.
‘Sorry to disturb you, but Dad�
��s about to squash you,’ Jessica whispered as her dad sat down heavily next to her, exactly where Storm had just been lying.
‘Look at this sunny weather. You’d never think the wind conditions were all wrong for flying, would you?’ Mr Tennant complained.
Jessica hadn’t got the heart to remind him that this often happened on ballooning weekends, which was another reason why she was sometimes so bored. But things were different for her now that she had such a special friend. Storm!
She smiled to herself as she imagined the look on her dad’s face if he knew that there was an invisible magic puppy a few centimetres away from him.
‘Never mind, Dad. There’s still the nightglow,’ she said to him, patting his arm. ‘People always love seeing the balloons lit up by the burners in the dark while they’re still roped to the ground.’
He smiled. ‘Well, you’ve cheered up, I must say. I thought at one point that you were going to be Miss Glum all weekend!’
‘Da-ad! I wasn’t that bad!’ Jessica said indignantly. She gave him a friendly shove.
He grinned. ‘Says who? If your face had got any longer, you would have tripped right over it and trodden your nose into a button!’
Jessica couldn’t help laughing. Her dad joined in.
After a few seconds, he wiped his eyes. ‘Well, since there’s not going to be a race this evening, I’m going to get the barbecue going. But first I’m going to have a cold drink and relax.’ He took a copy of Aerostat magazine out of a nearby cupboard.
With her dad nearby, Jessica couldn’t talk to Storm. She decided to take him for a short walk. ‘I think I might have another look around,’ she said to her dad.
Storm’s ears pricked up immediately at the prospect of a walk. He jumped down with a soft thud and stood bright-eyed, wagging his tail hopefully.
Jessica smiled at him, feeling all light and happy. With a twinge of guilt she realized that she wasn’t missing Sheena half as much any more. She hoped her best friend wasn’t feeling too poorly.
Jessica and Storm set off in a roundabout way to avoid the tethered balloons and the noise of the gas burners, which Jessica knew still upset the little puppy.
They came to the biggest bouncy castle she had ever seen. It had dozens of towers and archways and things to climb on. There was even a giant slide. Kids were laughing and screaming as they bounced around having fun.
‘Go on, you wimp. Just jump straight on to it. It’s not going to bite you!’ cried an impatient voice.
It was Gayle and she was with her little brother, still wearing his Spider-man T-shirt.
‘Gayle’s with Mikey. Let’s go and see what’s going on,’ Jessica said to Storm.
Storm woofed softly in agreement.
‘I don’t want to get on it. There’re too many big kids!’ Gayle’s little brother wailed, backing away.
Jessica could see that Mikey was close to tears but trying to hide it.
‘You should have thought of that before I paid for a ticket!’ Gayle complained. ‘It was out of my pocket money too and I bet I won’t get that back. You’re such a pest! Go on, Mikey. Get up there!’
‘No-oooo! Leave me alone,’ Mikey sniffled.
Jessica felt her temper rising. ‘Don’t be mean, Gayle. He doesn’t have to go on if he doesn’t want to!’ she said.
Gayle rounded on her furiously. ‘Who asked you to stick your nose in? Mikey’s just chicken. Cluck! Cluck!’ she mocked, flapping her arms.
‘I’m not chicken! I’m not!’ Mikey burst into tears.
Jessica’s temper snapped. She glared at Gayle. ‘You’re just a rotten bully!’ she burst out.
Gayle narrowed her eyes. ‘Who are you calling names?’
Jessica gulped as the older girl took a step towards her. Gayle suddenly seemed very tall and tough.
Storm softly growled a warning and showed his sharp little teeth. Jessica felt another warm tingling sensation flowing down her spine.
Something very strange was about to happen.
Chapter
FIVE
As Jessica watched, big gold sparks bloomed in Storm’s brown-and-white fur, and his ears and tail fizzed with tiny lightning flashes of power. He raised a tiny front paw and a spray of shimmering glitter shot out and whizzed round Gayle like a mini-tornado.
Gayle stopped dead as the magical sparkles whirled faster and faster. A strange blank expression came over her face. Suddenly, she whipped round, ran forward and jumped straight up on to the bouncy castle.
Gayle did two small bounces and then on the third one she was launched high into the air before turning a triple somersault. As soon as she landed she went straight up again, somersaulted and twisted into two backflips.
The other kids stopped and watched her. They started clapping and cheering.
Mikey was no longer crying. His jaw dropped as he watched Gayle bouncing higher and higher, doing even more complicated jumps and twists.
‘Aargh! What’s happening?’ Gayle cried, turning over and over, her arms windmilling madly and her legs working as if she was riding a bike.
‘Hey! You! That’s not allowed! Stop that at once!’ the man in charge ordered, storming over.
‘I can’t! Help!’ Gayle burbled, doing a handstand and another backflip. Suddenly, she did an extra-big bounce. She shot off the bouncy castle like a cork out of a bottle and landed on her feet a few metres away from Jessica. She stood there swaying.
‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ she groaned, her face greenish.
‘Wow! That was ace!’ Mikey cried. ‘Watch me, Gayle!’ He seemed to have lost all his nervousness as he jumped straight on to the castle.
Gayle ignored him as she sank to the grass and sat there in a daze.
Jessica was trying hard not to laugh. ‘Storm!’ she scolded gently.
Storm tucked his tail between his legs. ‘I am sorry. I think I used too much magic.’
Jessica smiled at him. ‘Never mind. Maybe it’ll teach old bossyboots Gayle a lesson. And look at Mikey. He’s really enjoying himself on the castle now! Come on, let’s go for a walk.’
Storm’s midnight-blue eyes widened. ‘My favourite thing!’
The delicious smell of barbecued sausages wafted towards Jessica as she and Storm walked back to the camper about an hour later.
Her dad waved hello to her with a pair of tongs. He was wearing a new apron with a bright-green frog with big googly eyes on the front.
The other High Flyers were relaxing nearby in camping chairs and talking about hot-air ballooning as usual. They greeted Jessica and smiled at her as she and Storm went across to her mum, who was sitting at the table making a salad.
‘Hello, love. Did you have a good time?’ Mrs Tennant asked.
‘Yeah, we saw some people dressed as moving statues and there was a magician, but it’s starting to get really busy now and Storm was almost getting trodden on –’ Jessica broke off. She couldn’t believe that she’d been so careless! But luckily her mum was busy cutting up tomatoes and didn’t seem to have heard. ‘I… um… got a bit fed up with pushing through the crowds,’ she finished hastily.
Her mum nodded. ‘I suppose people are here for the nightglows and the fireworks. Do you want one hot dog or two?’
‘Two please,’ Jessica said at once. One for me and one for Storm, she thought, hoping her mum wouldn’t think her greedy!
She took her plate and went to sit on the grass while she ate. ‘Phew! That was close. I’m rubbish at keeping secrets. I promise I’ll get better!’ she said to Storm.
Storm nodded, his head on one side as he chewed up his hot dog.
After they all finished eating, Jessica helped her mum clear up. The sky turned to violet with pink streaks as the sun set and lights began coming on in the other campers and motorhomes. Her dad and the other High Flyers went to get the balloon ready for the nightglow. ‘Shall we go and watch?’ Jessica’s mum said, drying her hands.
‘OK. I’ll follow you in a minute. I just want t
o get my shoulder bag. I think you’ll be safer if you get inside it,’ she whispered to Storm.
Storm jumped straight in with an eager little woof. As Jessica wandered across to the balloon display area, he settled down and poked out his head to look around.
The tethered balloons seemed a bit dull and unimpressive against the evening sky, but at a given signal all the burners were turned on. The balloons lit up, their brilliant colours shining green, gold, red and blue, like glowing Chinese lanterns.
Storm yapped excitedly, forgetting to be nervous for a minute. ‘They are brighter than the Northern Lights that ripple across the sky in the long dark winter.’
Jessica smiled wistfully, trying to imagine this wonderful sight. The other world where Storm lived as a young wolf must be very strange and wonderful.
Jessica caught sight of Gayle walking towards them. ‘Uh-oh, here comes trouble,’ she whispered.
As Gayle reached Jessica’s mum and dad, she gave them a brilliant smile. ‘Hi. Isn’t it a lovely evening,’ she called sweetly.
Jessica frowned. ‘Gayle seems in a good mood. I wonder why.’
‘Hi! I came to find you. I thought you’d be watching the nightglow,’ Gayle said, smiling. She was twirling a necklace with a heart-shaped blue stone between her fingers. ‘Look what my dad just bought me. Do you like it?’
‘It’s really pretty,’ Jessica said.
Gayle smirked. ‘I know. Mum and Dad are really cool. They’re always buying me presents. I bet you’d love a necklace like this.’
Jessica shrugged. ‘Yeah, I suppose. But I’m not that bothered. I usually only get presents on my birthday or for special occasions.’
‘Poor you. What a shame that your mum and dad don’t have pots of money. Anyone can tell that by looking at your scruffy old camper,’ Gayle commented.
‘I like our camper and it’s not scruffy! It’s only got a few scratches,’ Jessica exclaimed, starting to get annoyed again. She made a huge effort to calm down. It just wasn’t worth getting all steamed up over Gayle’s pathetic comments.