The Team and the Move (Team books Book 3)

by S G Read

  By the same author.

  Canadian Winters

  Canadian Winters 2

  Canadian Winters 3

  Canadian Winters 4

  Run Cally Run

  Nice to Meet You Cally

  The Team’s Journey

  The Team’s Return

  The Team and the Move

  The Team and the Ghost

  The Reluctant Bounty Hunter

  The Vampire wars

  She Was a Pretty Girl

  The Lamerton Workhouse Orphanage

  Me and Them

  The History Channel

  The Fight for Life

  T.H.O.A.G.

  The Team and the Move

  S G Read

  First, meet the team.

  Stuart (Stu) Sellars, the team's spokesperson, so voted while they were in the Columbian jungle.

  Stu a boy of average height for his age, not tall and nicely placed between fat and thin, brown eyed and with medium length brown hair.

  Stephen (Stevey) Brown Stuart's best friend, taller than Stuart but not thin, with blond hair and blue eyes that made him look like an angel.

  Ben Davis, the bad boy of the team but now reformed, with blond hair and pale blue eyes were a warning of the menace behind them, if angered.

  Colin (CJ) Jenkins, taller than Stuart by two inches and well built, with black hair and brown eyes.

  Denis Barlow, smaller than CJ in height, although not in build but still taller than Stuart though, with blond hair and hazel brown eyes.

  Antony (Ant) Sadler, a tall slender boy with black hair and steely grey eyes; as he was a fast runner he played as centre forward and his eyes came to life when he scored.

  Simon (Si) Higgs, a dumpy looking boy, who in the jungle climbed trees that the others ruled out, they thought he was part monkey. His light brown hair and piercing brown eyes made you look twice at him before dismissing him as not useful.

  Stephen (Sherman) Sherrington, the biggest in the team, his nickname coming from the way he tackled during the games they played, he stood four inches taller than Stuart and was big with it. He wore his brown hair short and his brown eyes always made him look friendly.

  James (JC) Chickford, the smallest in the team; small and wiry with fiery red hair and green eyes, the team's speedy left-winger.

  Tobias (Toby) Carter built like Ant with black hair and dark brown almost black eyes.

  Colin Stone, a Stuart look alike but with brown mousy hair and bright blue eyes.

  John Taylor, another Stuart look alike and could pass as Colin's brother as they dressed the same and looked almost identical.

  James Marriot had been the final member of the original team before the crash in the jungle, he wore his fair hair short and boasted blues eyes.

  Soon to be the first girl in the team, Jenny Robbins, a girl the team met when Stuart was in hospital, unfriendly at first and very prickly but she soon worked out that she wanted in. She was a very pretty athletic looking girl with long blond hair and Blue eyes. That meant she had every chance of being accepted.

  Chapter 1

  Stuart Sellars slipped out of his room quietly, not the normal clomp clomp clomp but a more dignified exit. He was remembering the days he and the rest of his team were stranded in the Columbian jungle and he was now in quiet mode. He started downstairs, making sure not to tread on step twelve and step four near the bottom. He was negotiating step four, being as quiet as he could when he heard his mother Wendy say.

  'So when do you plan to tell him? The day we move?'

  Stuart was frozen to the spot with the word 'move'.

  'I’m waiting for the right time.' His father, David replied. 'After what he’s gone through in the last few months I don’t want to fall out with him again but I’m between a rock and a hard place!'

  Before his unplanned stay in the jungle, Stuart and his father had hardly spoken, since his return they had become good friends.

  'What if he throws a wobbly and refuses to go?' David continued. 'We need the money from this junior partnership. We are still negotiating with the airline over compensation and we have to stick together or the poorer one’s like the Browns and the Higgs, now that Hubert isn’t with them any more, they will get the run around for years!'

  Stuart turned quietly and crept back upstairs, to the safety of his room. He sat on his bed thinking. If they have to move, then he would try to make sure he could still go to the same school. He just hoped they were not off to Scotland, or somewhere just as far away. It was nice to know something they thought he had no idea about. As he sat there he remembered that there had been a few callers at the house and his mum had shown them around. He should have picked up on that, still at least he could say he did notice but he had to find out where they were going!

  He crept back down to eavesdrop some more and heard Brighton mentioned several times. So they were off to Brighton, well his dad was going to be working there, maybe they could get close enough for him to commute and him still be close enough to go to Minton school! He crept back up the stairs and clicked on to the internet. First he pulled out a road map book, found Brighton and sought out a village in the right area which was on the main line railway. With the village chosen, he tried to find suitable houses for sale, there were always houses for sale in these villages. But not this time! He chose again and tried to find suitable houses for sale and came up with a new road with eight houses in it, three were sold and had people living in them and the rest were nearing completion. He pulled up a picture and one had a large field next to it, big enough for them to play football in. That was the one! He printed it off, complaining bitterly at the slowness of the printer. It final stopped and he slipped all his details into an empty folder he found in his dad’s room. With the folder in his hand, he ran down the stairs, in his usual noisy way and landed on his chair by the breakfast table, dumping the folder on the table as he did so.

  'Morning mum and dad.' He greeted cheerily.

  'Good morning my little treasure.' Wendy replied. 'Cereal?'

  'Yes please mum.'

  'I’ll get it for you; your father has something to tell you.' She declared, starting the ball rolling for him.

  'Is that about the move? Or him getting the junior partnership?' Stuart asked innocently.

  'You know about it?' His father asked.

  'Well when you start showing people round your house and don’t charge them, it’s a sure sign we’re moving and we would only move if you getting the junior partnership made you!' Stuart explained.

  Wendy had stopped in the doorway but now she returned to the table. 'And I thought you were the same boy who never noticed anything, even when the house was falling down round his ears!'

  'No mum, I left him in the jungle.' Stuart replied. 'The question is how can we move and keep me near enough to go to my school and be able to play with my friends?'

  'Let’s have a look Stuart.' David replied and took the southern map out of the bureau. He moved things over and spread it out on the table. 'I will be working here and it is too far to commute, realistically.'

  'Brighton? You’re working at Brighton!' Stuart said as though it was the end of the world then added. 'At least it’s not Scotland.' He put his finger on Minton then traced the train route to Brighton. From Brighton he moved back a little over halfway. 'If we moved there could you commute from there?' He asked.

  David looked at the station. 'Eastleigh I suppose I could if there was a train going the right way when I would need to go! I’ll find out but just how will you get to school from there?'

  'The same as you dad, on the train.'

  'But all that way on the train and by yourself!'
Wendy exclaimed.

  'I had two months in the jungle mum!' Stuart pointed out.

  'But you had friends there to help you!' She declared.

  'Anyway I could always stay with Stevey during the week, then he could come home with me for weekends!'

  Stevey was Stuart’s best friend who lived in virtual poverty in a run down block of flats.

  'There are some houses for sale in Eastleigh.' Stuart added and opened his file.

  'We have been busy.' David said sounding impressed. 'I’ll look into it today and let you know tonight. Okay?'

  'Okay dad, I marked the one I liked.'

  Wendy was against the idea but Stuart was satisfied and headed for a rendezvous with Stevey and school. Stevey was sitting on a park bench when Stuart saw him.

  'We’re moving!' He said as he crossed the road.

  'Where to?' Stevey asked.

  'Don’t know yet, might be Eastleigh but I will still come to this school and come up to play with you.' Stuart replied.

  'How?'

  'On the train!'

  'Isn’t that dangerous?'

  'You sound like my mum Stevey. I was in the jungle for two months, some of it while you were sleeping like a baby!'

  'I was bitten by a snake.' Stevey retorted.

  'I know, besides, anyone who has a go at me will be sorry!'

  As they walked to school they passed the school Simon Higgs attended. As soon as the airline paid out the compensation, Simon was going to go to a private school but for now he was stuck there.

  'Does that nutter still run Si’s school?' Stuart asked.

  Simon had seen his father Hubert, sucked out through the hole in the cockpit, the exploding grenade had made.

  'What Peter Candler? Yeah, the teachers are all afraid of him and now I hear he’s got this big kid with him and when I say big I mean big!' Stevey answered.

  'What bigger than Sherman?'

  'Makes Sherman look puny!' Stevey replied.

  'I don’t want to meet him then!' Stuart exclaimed, ‘especially if he is controlled by that nutter.

  'That will only happen if you suddenly become poor and stupid!' Stevey replied.

  'Thank God for that! You had me worried.'

  They walked on and were soon deep in their lessons. There were more of the team there and at first break Stuart told them about the move.

  'Where are you going?' C.J asked.

  'Eastleigh if I get my way. Dad’s got to move for his promotion but I want to stay near enough to go to school here and to be able to get here to play with you lot.' Stuart replied.

  'You’re getting on with your dad better since we got stranded in the jungle Stu!' C.J declared. 'Before, he would have dragged you screaming and moved next door to where he was working!'

  'You’re right there!' Stuart admitted. 'I might have even done a runner!'

  'Where would you go?' Stevey asked.

  'Probably only round to your place!' Stuart replied. 'That was before I was a great jungle adventurer! I was scared of my own shadow then!'

  'And I was scared of snakes.' Stevey added. 'I let a grass snake slither over my foot on the allotment the other day. We got lots of things growing there now but we’re still skint.'

  'The airline is really dragging its feet isn’t it?' Denis Barlow complained. 'I got plans for the money when we finally get it!'

  'What about your mum and dad?' Stu asked. 'I bet they have plans for it as well!'

  'They said it was mine but they won’t let me waste it! A lot of it is going into trust to pay for my education but I will have a good allowance!' Denis answered.

  'I’m not even going to think about it until we have it in our hands!' Stevey declared.

  'It won’t be in pound notes!' Denis pointed out. 'It will be a cheque, and a big one I hope!'

  The bell went to signal the end of break and the boys had to return to their classes.

  After his usual walk home with Stevey, Stu hurried home to find out if his idea was a goer. He crashed through the front door, louder than normally and sought out his father but he was still at work. Nowadays he did a lot of work from home but today he had to go in and formally accept the junior partnership. David was taking on an old branch with a low turnover, with the idea that he could breathe new life into it, to show his worth. Stuart settled for a snack and television until his father came home but while he sat there, Wendy put some papers on his lap. He read them and realised they were off the internet.

  'Did you go on the internet mum?' He asked incredulously.

  'If you can survive in a jungle I was sure I could handle the internet, although I almost filled the swear box!' She replied.

  There were train details of the station in Eastleigh and several more houses there, including those which were being built.

  'Which would you prefer mum? A new one or an old one?' Stuart asked, noting the extra houses.

  'At least with a new one the chain stops with you and you have a snagging list for any defects. That means you don’t have to spend a lot more money when you get in.' Wendy replied but it will be nice to have a wide choice.'

  Chain and snagging lists went over Stuart’s head but he did not ask for an explanation, instead he read the paperwork.

  'This one mum!' He suddenly cried and Wendy was forced to come and look. 'See it has a bit of land next to it we could play football on. Dad might even be able to buy it!' It was the one in his file, had she seen it already?

  'We’ll see.' Wendy replied and returned to her cooking.

  'Can Stevey come, when we go to look at the houses?'

  'I am sure that will be alright as long as Pat agrees.' Wendy replied patiently.

  Stuart himself waited patiently at first for his father to come home. Then impatiently but in the end he had to go to bed without seeing his father. Wendy waited up until midnight, then went to bed herself. David crawled in at one in the morning. There had been an office party to celebrate his promotion and he felt obliged to stay. He slipped into bed with the sleeping Wendy and was soon asleep himself, a sleep which was interrupted in the morning by an impatient twelve year old before he had to go to school.

  'Some things don’t change then.' David said tiredly, then saw the printouts in Stuart’s hand. 'Did you get them from my briefcase?'

  'No! Mum printed them off the internet!' Stuart declared.

  Normally David would have scolded Stuart but now was different.

  'She did? Good for her!' David declared. 'I have some just like it. Did you see the new house by that bit of land?'

  'Yes!'

  'We are going to look at a few houses on Saturday, and yes Stevey can come but we haven’t got room for the whole team!'

  Stuart laughed. 'Only Stevey this time, if the others come out there, they can make their own way. Any chance of buying the land next to the house, if we buy that one dad?'

  'I asked about it but didn’t get anywhere. I’ll try again after we’ve seen it on Saturday.'

  'Okay. Now I have to run to meet Stevey for school. Bye dad.' He gave his father a hug, and meant it, then he was out the door.

  Willie Short walked into the car breakers looking for his brother Charlie. Willie was thick set with dark almost black hair and a large mean streak. He saw Charlie talking to a customer and tarried out of sight until the man had gone, then he moved to where Charlie could see him.

  'And what do you want!' Charlie snapped. 'I went to prison for you. Now I am out I don’t want nothing to do with you!'

  The two were twins. If Charlie was not wearing his bobble hat you could not tell them apart.

  'I assumed as much, I even told my boss that and you know what he said?' Willie said moving closer.

  'No what did he say?'

  While Charlie was off his guard, Willie punched him in the face.

  'He said we want to use your car breakers for a while and you have no say in it.' He hit him again for good measure and dragged him into the old house nearby.

  To call it a h
ouse was an exaggeration, the fire had destroyed most of the roof which of course meant the rain came in and everything in the house was ruined on the first floor. The ground floor kitchen was still useable as was one of the front rooms but only the kitchen was used as Charlie slept in the cellar. The cellar had a door and Willie’s next task, after he had locked his brother up, was to, not only conceal the door but to make it secure with a secret method of opening it. It would take him a while and as a disguise he pulled on Charlie’s bobble hat and smiled with satisfaction.

  Saturday was a long time coming for Stuart. He had very little sleep Friday night as Stevey was on a sleep over, which meant Stevey had exactly the same amount of sleep. By the time they reached the outskirts of London they were both asleep in the back of the car. David woke them when they reached the first house but Stuart gave it less than a cursory glance, no room for football. The next one fared better, as it had a big lawn and rated a five on Stuart’s house scale. Stevey liked them all, as they were all better than their flat!

  Then it was the house with the land next to it. The owner had implied he might sell the land at a later date but for now it was out of the question, and remained out of bounds. Stuart looked at Stevey with that 'who are they kidding' look and Stevey smiled back. That was going to be the first place they explored, now that Stevey was no longer afraid of snakes. This house rated a ten on Stuart’s scale and he made sure his parents knew! They liked the house as well. They could choose the colours and it would be painted before they moved in. Carpets came with the house, and again they could choose. David looked at the last two houses, screwed the descriptions up and threw them on the floor.

  'Is this the one then?' He asked.

  There were a chorus of yesses, including Stevey.

  'Good, let’s go home via a restaurant but first I will phone them.' He picked up his new car phone and they heard him make an offer full the full asking price. With that done he drove of to find a restaurant.

  Stuart found himself wanting to move rather than hating it, he thought of it as another adventure but to buy the new house they needed a buyer for their house. At the moment they did not have a one, who was willing to give them what they were asking for their house. They had had offers but now Stuart started to get impatient!