by J. E. Fison
‘I guess no one can use those explosives now,’ Lachlan says.
He shines the torch on the spot where the ute went into the billabong. All that’s left are bubbles.
Behind us, music is still booming from the fire station. The party is in full swing.
‘Ten ... nine ... eight ... seven . . .’ I can hear the crowd chanting.
It must be almost midnight. The countdown to the New Year has begun. In just a few moments the whole sky will be full of fireworks.
‘Five ... four ... three ... two ... one ...’
Booommm!
A huge shower of pink lights up the sky. Then a rocket of green streaks through the night.
‘Blue! ... Yellow! ... Red! ... Turquoise!’ come the shouts from the crowd at the fire station.
The night sky is ablaze with colour. The New Year’s Eve fireworks display bangs, crackles and sizzles. But for me, it’s time for bed.
I grab Ben and we head for home, leaving Mimi and Lachlan to enjoy the fireworks and to tell someone how we saved the bats. They’re both older. They’ll be better at that.
Mum and Dad are watching the fireworks from the verandah when Ben and I get home.
‘Have fun at the disco?’ Dad asks. ‘Did you meet any nice girls?’
‘Mmmm,’ I mutter, trying not to attract any attention to myself and hoping to get to my bedroom without any more questions.
Mum looks away from the fireworks display and straight at me.
Here comes trouble.
‘Are you two wet?’ Mum asks. Water drips from our clothes.
‘I tripped in a puddle. Ben fell in as well,’ I say. It’s not a very good excuse and I try not to look at Mum. She can always tell when I’m lying by the smile on my face.
‘Is that right?’ she says. ‘I hope you two didn’t get into too much mischief tonight.’
‘A bit,’ Ben says. ‘We got into a fight with Toilet Brush Head. Then Mr Elephant Ears and Mr Banana Nose were after us, because we stole their ute. They’re not nice people.’
I look at Ben in horror. I hold my breath waiting for someone to explode.
‘All right then,’ Dad says calmly. ‘As long as no one got hurt. Time for bed.’
What? We don’t get into trouble for stealing a ute! I get punished for pinching Ben on the arm and he gets away with this. He gets away with everything just because he’s the youngest. It’s so unfair ...
Or maybe Dad is just used to Ben’s wild stories.
I let out a huge yawn and head into the bedroom. I tuck my iPod under my pillow.
‘Don’t forget to clean your teeth,’ Mum calls. ‘I’ll be in to kiss you goodnight.’
I’m an animal warrior. I have just saved a colony of bats from certain death and made the planet a better place. I do not need to brush my teeth or be kissed goodnight.
On the other hand, if Mum and Dad find out what we’ve been up to, we’ll be on washing-up duty for the rest of the year.
I don’t want to make anyone suspicious. I think I’ll do as I’m told ... just this once. I have a feeling I’m going to get into more than enough trouble this summer holiday.