While Fly retold the story of Griffin and Isabella’s battle with the rescue eagles, the others were glued to her every word. Even Xavier, who admitted that it did sound impressive.
‘Impressive!’ Fly cried. ‘It was magnificent! Griffin is the bravest person I know!’
‘Principal Galloway thinks so too,’ Jeremiah said to Griffin. ‘She says you’re in line for the Academy’s highest bravery award. And I have a message from Mr Mallet.’
Griffin spluttered, almost choking on his tea. ‘For me?’
‘He said you’ve proven yourself magnificently, as he knew you would, and he’s looking forward to seeing you at Aeroball.’
‘He is?’ Griffin let out a nervous laugh.
Isabella raised her cup. ‘To Griffin, rescuer, friend and future Aeroball champion.’
The others joined in. ‘To Griffin!’
‘I still think I should have been there,’ Xavier sulked.
‘Isabella and Griffin were fine without you,’ Fly said.
‘Yeah,’ Bea added. ‘But imagine how much more incredible the story would be if Xavier had been there too.’
The others giggled.
Isabella pointed at Xavier’s broken arm. ‘Been doing your own rescuing?’
‘Wonder Boy and I had a slight mishap.’
‘Where is Aleksander?’
‘Making himself scarce.’ Xavier sipped his tea. ‘He’s smart enough at least to know when he’s not wanted.’
‘He’s not that bad,’ Raffy said. ‘Without him, we couldn’t have accessed Ariella’s databank or organised the interview with Madeline Pinkerton. Plus, he’s sad about his dad.’
Xavier took a noisy sip. ‘I still don’t have to like him.’
‘What was Grimsdon like?’ Raffy asked Isabella. ‘Before the storm hit?’
‘It was in bad shape, Raff,’ she said. ‘And the Palace was a mess without us to take care of it.’
‘Okay,’ he said, as if he finally accepted that Grimsdon was gone forever. It was somewhere they once lived, with wonderful, terrible, exciting memories, nothing more.
Isabella was still confused. ‘How did I get to Grimsdon?’
‘Sneddon programmed Maxwell to kidnap you,’ Raffy said. ‘He even had him leave a note, faking your handwriting. The hot chocolate he gave you the night you disappeared knocked you out so he could drive you to Future World Solutions, where they flew you to Grimsdon in an Armaflyer. We found it all on Ariella and Maxwell’s databanks. Both robots have been sent back to the factory to be erased and reprogrammed.’
‘Where is Sneddon now?’
‘In an orange jumpsuit, I think,’ Xavier said with a smirk.
‘Jumpsuit?’
‘He’s in jail,’ Jeremiah explained. ‘Premier Albright issued a warrant for his arrest and Professor Singh programmed Sneddon’s own robots to capture him.’
‘Which was only right,’ Bea declared.
‘Especially after what he did to you, Isabella,’ Raffy said, with his old spark well and truly back.
Jeremiah’s phone rang. It was Premier Albright. He held it out for everyone to see. ‘Good evening, sir.’
‘Sorry to interrupt.’ Albright looked uncomfortable. ‘I wanted to see how the patient is doing.’
‘Fine,’ Isabella said. ‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Good to hear,’ he said. ‘I also wanted to thank Xavier and Griffin for letting us know about Snowden.’ He shook his head. ‘I mean Sneddon.’
‘That’s okay, sir.’ Xavier tapped his brow. ‘I was simply doing my duty to protect this city in every way I could.’
Fly and the others stared at him.
‘Oh, and Griffin helped too.’
‘I’m sorry for not believing you when you first told me about him.’
‘He fooled a lot of people,’ Griffin said.
‘Yes.’ Albright winced. ‘His work was so exciting, we never believed he’d use it against us. We’ll use some of his methods, but the work of the Academy is still very important.’ He paused. ‘As is the work of the Bureau. My deepest apologies to you, Jeremiah. You’re a fine scientist and if you’ll accept, we’re reopening the Bureau and we’d like you to have your old job back.’
Griffin smiled as Jeremiah did his best not to cry. ‘I’d be honoured.’
‘Phew!’ Albright sighed in relief. ‘I was so hoping you’d say that. I’d better go and give everyone the good news. Thank you all again.’
‘Jeremiah Pain,’ Bea announced.
‘Chief Climatologist at the Bureau,’ Raffy said with a flourish.
‘As it should be.’ Fly led the applause.
There was a knock at the door. ‘Can I come in?’ Aleksander asked sheepishly.
Griffin looked at Isabella. ‘Is it okay with you?’
She nodded.
Jeremiah kissed Isabella on the head. ‘Welcome home. You leave quite a big hole when you’re not around.’
Xavier was about to leave when he asked, ‘The foul during Aeroball and the snowmobile crash, they were deliberate, weren’t they?’
Aleksander gave a resigned sigh. ‘I was angry with you. My dad said you and Raven attacked him and that you were the reason he was bitten by a poisonous snake and nearly died.’
‘All true.’
‘Plus, you can be annoying.’
‘Why do people keep saying that?’
Bea grabbed Xavier’s good arm and led him outside. ‘Because even though we love you, sometimes it’s true.’
Griffin glared at Aleksander. ‘I’ll be just outside.’
Aleksander plunged his hands in his pockets. ‘I’m glad you’re okay.’
‘Me too.’ She eyed him carefully. ‘Although if it wasn’t for Griffin and the others, I wouldn’t be.’
‘I’m sorry for –’ he struggled to know what to apologise for first ‘– for … everything.’
‘When we were teamed up in robotics,’ Isabella said. ‘It wasn’t the Academy’s choice, was it?’
Aleksander hung his head. ‘My dad ordered Professor Singh to include you in her class. He wanted me to keep you out of his way while he unveiled his plan to stop dangerous weather. He said you’d nearly killed him once and might try again. I didn’t know he wanted to hurt you.’ Aleksander looked pained. ‘He also said he wanted us to be a real father and son again but that was a lie too. I was just another tool to help him return to power.’
‘You deserve a much better dad.’
Aleksander blinked away a tear.
‘Are you going to stay here?’ Isabella asked.
‘Principal Galloway has found another sponsor, so I’m moving back to the school boarding house.’
‘Won’t you miss all this?’
‘Not really,’ he said. ‘Having you all here made me realise how lonely it is. It’ll be nice to have other kids around. And you?’
‘Jeremiah said we can go home tomorrow. You’re welcome to visit. The house is small, there’s only one bathroom and it gets really noisy over breakfast, but it’s home and we love it. Jeremiah has made sure of that.’
‘He’s a good man.’
‘The best.’
‘When I started reading about you,’ Aleksander said, ‘I instantly admired you. I still do. Even more. I think you’re amazing, Isabella Charm.’
The door swung open and Griffin stumbled inside, only just catching himself from falling. ‘Everything okay in here?’
Isabella laughed. ‘Perfectly fine.’
‘I’d better go,’ Aleksander said. ‘Cora is cooking up a welcome home feast. She’s gone a bit overboard. I hope you’re hungry.’
‘I’m famished!’ Isabella said.
‘I’ll make sure she’s got plenty for seconds.’
As he left the room, Griffin shot him a disgruntled stare.
‘He’s okay, Griffin.’
‘It might take me a while to believe that.’ Isabella toyed with the edge of her blanket. ‘It’s okay if you’re angry with me too.’
> ‘Why would I be angry with you?’
‘Because I yelled at you and refused to listen when you were looking out for me.’
Griffin sat beside her. ‘Maybe I was a little annoyed, but I was never angry. I wish I’d been better at convincing you that that woman wasn’t your mum.’
‘I wouldn’t let you, even though I knew you were right.’
‘You did?’
‘I had a feeling that it wasn’t her but I –’ a sharp breath caught in her throat ‘– I wanted my mum back so badly.’
A tear fell down her grazed cheek.
Griffin wiped it away with his sleeve. ‘She was pretty convincing.’
‘To everyone except you.’ Isabella sighed. ‘She’s never coming back, is she, Griffin?’
He wanted to tell her she was wrong. That there was still a good chance her mum would be back one day. But he couldn’t.
‘You’ve always been there for me, Griffin, and I treated you so badly.’
Griffin threw back his shoulders. ‘I can take it.’
‘Fly’s right. You’re the bravest person I know.’
‘Me?’
‘Who else has swum through a harbour with sea monsters, braved sharks and sneaker waves and fought off robotic eagles on a hoverboard?’
‘My best friend was in danger.’ Griffin shrugged. ‘You spend your time being brave and courageous and I follow you everywhere to make sure you’re okay.’ He gave her a cheeky smile. ‘Even though it’d be nice if you could tone down the bravery and we could get back to doing homework and reading stories at night.’
‘That sounds perfect.’
‘What should we read next?’
‘The Lord of the Rings?’
Griffin winced. ‘Maybe something with a few less orcs and murderous battles.’
Isabella laughed. ‘Okay. What about Heidi? Or Bambi? Or Charlotte’s Web?’
‘As long as we read them together.’
‘It’s a deal,’ Isabella said. ‘Because I’m not planning on going anywhere without you.’
About the Author
After completing a teaching degree, Deb went to Africa where she was caught in a desert sandstorm, harassed by monkeys and thrown in jail … twice! She produced and wrote a national kids’ TV show before leaving to write twenty-six books, including her cranky climate change trilogy, Grimsdon, New City and Final Storm. Teresa A New Australian was inspired by her dad, who was born in a cave during one of the heaviest bombing raids of WW2. The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee and The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery have been published to great acclaim here and in the US. Her picture book Wolfie: An Unlikely Hero was chosen to be part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. She is a proud ambassador for the Premier’s Reading Challenge, Room to Read and Books in Homes. Deb’s won awards for her books but mostly hopes to be as brave as her characters.
deborahabela.com
Acknowledgements
This is the third of my cranky climate change novels. They began with Grimsdon and New City and were inspired by my crankiness that governments around the world weren’t doing enough to combat climate change. Ironically, I thought by the time these books were published we would have tackled the major issues and the books may even be irrelevant, but I think getting cranky about climate change is more important now than ever. We’re better now, and really exciting things are happening, but lots more still needs to be done. My first shout out goes to all the kids around the world, including Greta Thunberg, who’ve taken the brave step of standing up and demanding change of our leaders. You are my heroes.
I write my novels in an attic at the top of our house, with a window on the world when I get stuck or need to daydream. But books find their way into the world because of all the other hardworking people in that novel’s orbit who care for it and lovingly see it into print.
Firstly, I would like to thank Penguin Random House, who have been my publisher since my very first novel, Max Remy Superspy: In Search of the Time and Space Machine in 2002. I have been UBER lucky to work with publisher extraordinaire, Zoe Walton, who always has a smile and a head coach attitude when it comes to listening to my ideas and making sense of the mess they sometimes are.
There are not enough words to thank Brandon VanOver, who has been my editor for more books than I can remember. You have made me a better writer and person. Huge thank you to Mary Verney, who fearlessly and wonderfully took over the editorial reins on this book. Your patience is astounding.
The publicity and marketing team at PRH are stellar! Special thanks to Dot Tonkin and Zoe Bechara, I couldn’t hope for a more dedicated, talented and fun-to-party-with team.
Thank you to Monica Hawton for your writer’s eye and for taking these characters to your huge heart. I look forward to reading your books and watching your films one day.
Thank you to my uber-talented and ever-lovely friends at SCBWI, especially Susanne Gervay, Marjorie Crosby-Fairall, Margaret Roc, Jodie Wells-Slowgrove, Sue Whiting and Sarah Davis.
To the incredible teachers and librarians I have met over the years, who champion books like kids’ lives depend on it … because they do! And the tens of thousands of kids I have met over almost twenty years of writing.
To my dear friend Carol, who is always my lead cheerleader in writing, to Tara who tells me to never give up and Poz, who has reminded me for decades to ‘keep swimming’. Thank you to Brian and Shirley Decker, my unofficial managers, and for Shirl’s sharp proofreading eye.
And to the beautiful Todd, who never loses faith in me. You simultaneously anchor me and brighten my world. Thank you.
Deborah Abela and Room to Read
Deborah Abela is a writer ambassador for Room to Read, a global non-profit organisation which has transformed the lives of over 16 million children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.
Founded in 2000, Room to Read believes World Change Starts with Educated Children®.
Deb says, ‘Every child has the right to an education and to the joy of reading. By helping to educate the world’s poorest, we are not only creating better communities, we are helping build a better, brighter world. It is that fundamental.’
roomtoread.org
Praise for Grimsdon:
‘A new Deborah Abela novel is always something to be excited about and this one does not disappoint.’
Australian Bookseller and Publisher
‘Grimsdon is a rollicking adventure … Highly recommended.’
Magpies
Praise for New City:
‘An exciting story for mid-upper primary readers.’
Magpies
‘I loved this story! It is perfect for 9- to 12-year-olds who love adventure mixed with a little mystery.’
Sunday Mail Adelaide
Books by Deborah Abela
Grimsdon
New City
Final Storm
The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee
The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery
The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen
Max Remy Superspy 1: In Search of the Time and Space Machine
Max Remy Superspy 2: Spyforce Revealed
Max Remy Superspy 3: The Nightmare Vortex
Max Remy Superspy 4: The Hollywood Mission
Max Remy Superspy 5: The Amazon Experiment
Max Remy Superspy 6: Blue’s Revenge
Max Remy Superspy 7: The Venice Job
Max Remy Superspy 8: Mission in Malta
Max Remy Superspy 9: The French Code
Max Remy Superspy 10: The Final Curtain
Jasper Zammit Soccer Legend 1: The Game of Life
Jasper Zammit Soccer Legend 2: The Striker
Jasper Zammit Soccer Legend 3: The Finals
Ghost Club 1: The New Kid
Ghost Club 2: The Haunted School
Ghost Club 3: A Transylvanian Tale
Wolfie: An Unlikely Hero
PUFFIN BOOKS
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UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa | China
Penguin Random House Australia is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, in 2019
Copyright © Deborah Abela 2019
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, published, performed in public or communicated to the public in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd or its authorised licensees.
Cover illustration by Sebastian Ciaffaglione
Cover design by Astred Hicks/Design Cherry
Internal design and typesetting by Midland Typesetters, Australia
ISBN 9780143794479
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