False Bottom. Hazel Edwards
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‘Wilhemina might eat that rubbish.’ Amy said, and looked at the bin full of lolly wrappers, banana skins and a crumpled pop magazine. A pop singer The Mouth and the singer’s little dog Bozo were on the cover.
The goat put her head into the bin and took a bite of the magazine.
‘Wilhelmina’s eating The Mouth!’
The twins laughed. ‘Perhaps we should call her that!’
‘I’ll be back very soon,’ Aunty Viv shouted to the parking officer’s back.
He left in a hurry before anything worse happened.
Quickly the twins carried their luggage through the touch- open doors. They liked travelling alone, even if listed as Unaccompanied Minors, under the care of the flight attendant.
REPTILE SMUGGLERS ARRESTED said the headline on the newspapers outside the airport news agency. Amy glanced at the story underneath. Luckily she was a superfast reader . She sped through the news. Wildlife officers had caught two smugglers with frozen lizards stuffed in socks.
Amy didn’t have time to buy a paper now. She’d read the rest on the plane. Newspapers were free on board. Amy liked to keep up with any international news or do the puzzles. Christopher usually read the cartoons if he wasn’t watching movies.
Aunty Viv checked them in. Amy wrote out another label to replace the nibbled one. Their bags disappeared carried away by the moving belt. The twins collected their seat numbers.
‘Gate 8. Flight Q9. Okay? I’ll have to go, before my animals cause a traffic jam or get booked again! Give my love to your parents. If the plane crashes over water, swim backstroke the way I taught you.’
Aunty Viv’s black Doc Martens thudded across the departure lounge. As she turned, her long black skirt swished over a rubbish bin. It fell loudly, rolled in front of an old woman in a wheelchair being pushed by a tall, bearded man.
‘Careful!’ The bearded man said, and picked up the bin.
‘Sorry, said Aunty Viv. ‘See you, Amy. Have fun, Christopher. Draw me the best orchid you see in Singapore.’
‘Bye, Aunty.’ As Christopher waved, the woman in the wheelchair muttered. Her escort nodded. People usually did stare at their black T- shirted Aunty.
Amy preferred travelling without parents or Aunty Viv who was always warning them about what to do when they crashed.
‘It’s gone! Look. Q9 is missing,” Christopher said, pointing at the board.
Chapter 2
UMs
Christopher pointed to the flashing screen high above his head, on which flight times were listed.
‘Wrong one,’ said Amy fixing the pin on her all purpose Save Anything badge.
Christopher had two hobbies: drawing people and worrying. He blinked and looked again. ‘Flight Q9 I can’t see it! But it was there before. We’ve missed the flight.’
Amy checked her Save the Whale watch. ‘It’s only 12 o’clock. Our plane doesn’t go until 1:45 . That’s arrivals ,Christopher. We’re going, not coming. We need the departures screen. Over on the other side.’
A breathless airport attendant with legs like a giraffe rushed towards them. She waved a list. ‘Amy? Christina? I’m supposed to be looking after you. Ever travelled alone before?’
Christopher went red. His hair did need a cut, but, ‘My name’s Christopher, not Christina! And we’ve flown about a million times already!’ He pushed his round John Lennon glasses back on his nose. He always did that when he was cross.
‘Ah...Your aunt said she had to get back to where she’d parked her goat. Was she joking?’
‘No. Wilhelmina the goat is part of ‘Animal Actors,’ Amy explained in a said-it-all-before-kind of voice.
Christopher added, ‘We’re okay.We always are.’
That wasn’t true. The twins were always falling into trouble. And today was no different.
‘Did you see the mystery flights sign?’ Christopher pointed at it.
Amy nodded. ‘Lucky-dip flights. People pay fifty dollars. Then they get a vacant seat on an interstate flight. They have to come back the same day. Joy- riding.’
‘Oh, I thought it was a flight with a mystery happening.’
‘I was looking for identical twins,’ the airport attendant said. That’s why I couldn’t find you earlier. You should be in the unaccompanied minors’ lounge.’
Amy didn’t like being called a U M but it was better than being called an unaccompanied minor twin. Christopher told everyone he was born first.
‘No thanks. We’ve been there already, millions of times.’ Christopher preferred sketching people or wandering around. ‘Anyway, we’re not by ourselves. We’re together.’
‘Our flight doesn’t leave until 1.45,’ said Amy, fiddling in her purple and aqua backpack. Her passport was safe on a cord around her neck. Edwina had a mini-passport too. ‘Why isn’t it on the screen?’
‘That’s why I came looking for you.’
‘Has the plane crashed?’ Suddenly, Christopher was interested. ‘Or gone missing?’
‘No. The plane has been delayed. It will be an hour late.’
‘2.45,’ muttered Amy. That’s why Singapore wasn’t listed. The screen had room only for flights due in the next two hours.
‘Why is it delayed?’ asked Christopher.
‘Something’s missing. Not the engine,’she said quickly as Christopher’s mouth opened with that question.
Amy watched closely. Was she covering up something? She didn’t seem to want to answer all their questions. Was something really wrong with the plane?
‘What else is missing?’ asked Amy.
‘A person.’
‘Who?’
‘Is it the pilot?’ asked Christopher.
‘No.’
‘Is it a passenger?’
‘Don’t worry about him.’
‘Who is he?’ Amy never gave up.
‘We don’t know. His baggage is here and he isn’t.’
‘How do you know he’s missing?’ Once Amy caught the scent of a mystery, she followed it regardless.’He might just be running late.’
But the giraffe lady was not going to answer awkward questions. Her high heels moved nervously, like well-polished hooves.
‘I’ll ring your parents in Singapore. If they’re not home, I’ll leave a message at Changi which is the Singapore Airport. Wait here.’
‘May I go to the toilet? It’s just over there.’ Amy pointed to the international toilet sign. ‘Then I’ll come back.’
‘All right. But don’t wander off. I’m responsible for you. My name is Rose.’
Amy had read her name tag already. And she smelt of roses, too.
Christopher said, ‘I’ll wait for you out here.’
He pulled out his sketchbook and watched through the window. Yellow lights flashed on busy vehicles. Joined-together trailers piled with