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Chapter 1

On Board

‘Are you flying alone?’ asked the elderly woman.

The twins nodded. People often worried about that.

The elderly woman wore gold chains, gold earrings and gold bracelets. Her friend alongside wore silver chains, silver earrings and silver bracelets. They were moving bling displays.

When she introduced herself, the twins grinned. They couldn’t help it.

‘I’m Mrs Silver and this is my friend, Mrs Gold.’

‘Are you sure?’ muttered Christopher. They were the wrong way around!

Mrs Silver was wearing gold! The friend, Mrs Gold, was wearing silver bling. They both clanked.

In case they heard Christopher’s comment, Amy said quickly,

‘We’re UMs.’

‘What are they?’ Puzzled, Mrs Silver tugged at her heavy earring.

The gold bracelet jangled as she lifted her arm. Amy was a coin collector so she noticed the coins set as brooches. Later, she was glad she had noticed them. Mrs. Silver’s jewellery was very noisy. You’d have to be deaf and blind to miss it.

‘Unaccompanied Minors. Kids travelling alone. The flight crew look after us. They’re great.’

‘Do you have parents?’ Mrs Silver looked a bit worried at the thought of ten year old twins flying around the world alone. She didn’t know that the twins had clocked up more kilometres than most adults.

They’d worn out two passports flying to meet their parents at various airports. And that was just since their eighth birthday!

‘Our parents are still ‘shooting’ in Singapore.’ Amy paused, then added. ‘Shooting film. They’re eco-photographers. But they’ll meet us in

Cairns later. They’re making a doco about the Great Barrier Reef.’

‘A documentary film,’ explained Christopher. Amy liked using work jargon. It made her feel important to know the short words.

The flight attendant bustled up. She had a clipboard on her arm.

Food trays were being collected. The plane would be landing soon.

‘Excuse me. You’re the Lee twins aren’t you?’

The twins said, ‘Yes.’

‘Sorry. I’ve got bad news for you. From your aunt. She’s lost the goat.’

Mrs Silver and Mrs Gold exclaimed, ‘A goat! A real one?’

Amy nodded.

‘Is Aunty Viv going to be late AGAIN?’ groaned Christopher. ‘She rang our parents in Singapore before we left.’

Their Aunty Viv was supposed to meet them at Cairns Airport. She was driving from Sydney in her ‘Animal Actors’ van because Aunty Viv hated flying. Her ‘Animal Actors’ animal actors were booked to perform at the International Games.

‘Why is your aunt taking a goat to the Games? Is she riding it?’

The flight attendant was puzzled, but then she didn’t know Aunty Viv.

The twins laughed.

‘The animals aren’t competing. They’re supposed to be the entertainment between events.’

‘Well, the arrangements have been changed. Your aunt’s van broke down. Some of the animals escaped. She’s lost several hours looking for her goat in Surfers Paradise.’

The twins smiled. That sounded like their Aunty Viv. She was always losing something.

‘She wants you to wait at Cairns Airport for two hours. If she hasn’t arrived by then, we’re to take you to the hotel and wait. The room is booked in your parents’ name. She’ll meet you there.’

‘Where is she now?’ asked Christopher pushing back his glasses. He always did that when he was thinking.

‘On the road into Cairns. She rang from a public phone.’

‘Aunty Viv has a mobile phone. Dad bought it last time she got lost. So we could keep in touch. I wonder what’s happened to that?’

Christopher put his pencils away.

‘Probably the goat ate it!’ suggested Amy. Aunty Viv’s animals acted in TV commercials. But sometimes they just played up. And Wilhemina, the goat, had snack-attacks.

‘Two hours to wait on the ground. Can we have a look around Cairns Airport?’

The flight attendant looked worried. ‘We’re supposed to keep an eye on you. Wouldn’t you like to sit in the Unaccompanied Minors’ Lounge? Or in our office?’

‘Two more hours of sitting? No way,’ muttered Christopher. They’d been in the plane all night.

‘Sometimes we take Y.P.T.A s into the control room,’ suggested the attendant. ‘It depends who’s looking after you.’

The twins weren’t old enough to be Young Passengers Travelling Alone yet. Until twelve, you had to be an UM and the airline people looked after you ALL the time.

‘We’ve been in there before,’ said Amy politely.

Mrs Gold and Mrs Silver were listening eagerly. Amy hoped they wouldn’t offer because the twins liked to be on their own. Mysteries found them then.

‘We’ll just walk around. We’ll check in with you every half hour. Christopher likes to draw. We need to walk after all that sitting. We’ll stay in sight.’

The flight attendant looked relieved. ‘One of our people will stay near you. Are you’re sure you won’t get into trouble?’

She didn’t know that the twins were always in trouble. They were always solving mysteries or getting involved when things went wrong. Especially at airports. Just then the flight attendant tripped over the outstretched leg of Mr Muscles. He was sitting across the aisle from Amy.

‘Sorry, sir.’

‘My fault. Hard to fit my legs in this small space.’

Mr Muscles looked like a balloon man. His arms were double balloons. So were his thighs. Even his head was round. The seat was too small for him. A great shape to draw. Christopher took out his sketchbook again. Since Singapore, he’d sketched several passengers.

As the crew collected the meal trays and got ready for landing, Amy chatted to Mr Muscles. He’d been asleep most of the flight. His snores were proof of that. His snores had kept her awake. And he was a mega snorer. But now he wanted to talk.

She didn’t realise then, how important that chat might be, later.