Don’t worry my friend My section of the Coast is only ever black and white You’re safe I’m saving the embarrassing photo spot for Mayor Bullock Why stop this year eh Two youths eating hotdogs with fried onions and pus-like mustard sliding down their fingers stopped to gawk Watch out one laughed This one’s gonna blow They were rocking together pointing at Will and sniggering when with the same suddenness the rollercoaster ride had come to an end everything Will had eaten at the Riddle Gully fair that afternoon the hamburger-with-egg sour cream wedges chocolate muffin corn dog two doughnuts and large blueberry slushy rocketed up his throat and propelled themselves in a colourful arc towards the boys feet Pollo clapped a hand to her mouth The youths gazed from their spattered shoes to Will and back again Both looked like they wanted to beat him up on the spot but were too disgusted to go near him They stalked away muttering and swearing hurling their hotdogs onto the path Two ravens flew down and began stabbing at the pink meat hopping back and forth as pedestrians passed Will looked at Pollo sheepishly Whew I didn’t feel it coming till the last second 10
Well it’s not like you’re a giraffe or anything Huh A giraffe You know with a mile-long neck A giraffe would know something was coming I wonder how long it takes a giraffe to throw up Maybe they never do maybe the gunk never reaches the top said Will That’d be neat I’ll have to ask Dad He’ll know Handy having a vet for a dad sometimes Not as handy as you having a police sergeant for a stepdad That would be brilliant in my line of work I could get the scoop on Riddle Gully every night over dinner It has its ups and downs said Will HB has this way of getting details out of me before I even know what we’re talking about Like the time he From the corner of her eye Pollo could see the rollercoaster attendant his hi-top sneakers planted wide as he trickled sand from a bucket over Will’s offering He seemed to be taking extraordinary care over it His head was tilted towards them and his earphones dangled loose from the pocket of his baggy jeans Was he eavesdropping on them wondered Pollo Getting the low-down on the local arm of the law 11
She put a hand on Will’s shoulder Say let’s head over to the Kitchens Rule tent They’ve got free samples Good idea said Will his face back to its usual pink I’m hungry all over again now 12
CHAPTER TWO They ambled in the spring sunshine away from the rollercoaster across the Riddle Gully fairground a stretch of playing fields ringed by tall dark Norfolk Island Pines that at the end of each winter as soon as finals were over was spruced up for the District Fair My editor needs a report on the fair and I want to do something really special said Pollo Her after-school cadetship as Youth Reporter for the Coast regional news network kept Riddle Gully on its toes it also kept shiny Pollo’s dream of becoming a professional investigative journalist like her mum had been She ran her fingers down the leather thong around her neck to the notepad and pencil tied at the end I’m going to buttonhole the judges in the Pickles and Chutneys Division and get the 13
