Chapter 1

      Slipper Orchid

      ‘Slipper Orchid,’ muttered a man behind Amy. He pushed a slim, square package into her hand.

      He kept walking.

      ‘Hey ...’ Amy turned. ‘Who are you?

      But the man had vanished. Opening the package, she looked at the disc. ‘What’s this for?’

      ‘He’s gone.’ Christopher peered into the crowd filling the Singapore Changi airport.

      The man had melted into the quickly moving passengers. Families waited for relatives to come or go. Business people exchanged cards. Some used their laptops or mobiles. Music boomed from electronic gift shops.

      But the man had vanished.

      ‘Why did he say that?’ Amy looked at the blank cover. ‘Why did he give this to me?’

      ‘He said “awkward” didn’t he? You ARE awkward sometimes,’ said Christopher in that way brothers talk.

      ‘But I’m sure he said “orchid”, not “awkward”! And he said “slipper” too!’

      ‘Are you sure? Lots of background noise here. What’s on the e-disc?’

      Excitedly Christopher looked at the cover. No labels. ‘We’ll have to find a player. Did you pack yours?’

      He went on fast -forward when he got excited.

      Amy pretended to be cool. ‘It’s in with my baggage. But I’ve got my I- audio with me.’

      ‘There must be a player around here somewhere.’

      The AIRPORT ELECTRONIC man wasn’t keen on them looking at his display . And he didn’t want them to play their own disk

      ‘Don’t touch that. It’s my demo equipment.’

      Christopher tried again. ‘Can’t you demo this e-disc to us?’

      ‘If it’s yours, you know what’s on it. You don’t need me to play it for you.’

      Salespeople often thought children were users not buyers. This time, he was right. Christopher pushed back his glasses. He needed time to think. He felt in his bum bag. Grandma’s ‘lucky’ money was in there. Next term’s school project was on ‘Flying” and he needed more photos.

      ‘Can I re-charge my cam?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘Okay. We’ll shop somewhere else.’ Christopher re-zipped the bum-bag. Meanwhile Amy wondered if that man had mistaken her for someone else? Had the e-disc been stolen? Maybe there was a secret message on it? They needed to play it!

      Changi Airport was very big and shiny like an outer-space port. Boxed purple-pink Singapore orchids filled the flower shops. And decorated the passageways. Long walkways stretched between numbered gates leading to the planes. Passengers hurried. Security was tight.

      ‘So much security today!’ noticed Amy. What were the uniformed officials looking for? Was someone planning a protest? Was an important person travelling through? Had there been a tip-off ?

      Some Indian passengers wore turbans. Passengers pulled baggage on wheels. Travellers busy going somewhere that was important to them, wanted others to know that . So they talked loudly.

      Why had the mystery man left this e-disc with her? Where did he want it taken? Did he say ‘ awkward ... slip you ... or orchid slippers? And what did it mean?’ Amy shifted her purple and aqua backpack to a more comfortable spot.

      ‘Perhaps it meant shoes like the ones Mum bought in Little India . Or orchid shaped slippers?’

      ‘You don’t wear flowers on your feet!’ said Christopher.

      ‘Did he mean the flowers or something else? Was it a clue?’

      It was a mystery, luckily. And the twins preferred to spend their airport time solving unusual problems.

      ‘Sorry Madame. Do you have two tickets?’ The booking clerk looked embarrassed.

      At the front of the queue was a very big lady, carrying a red and white plaster gnome wearing a T-shirt.

      The garden gnome had a big painted smile and VERY white teeth. Printed on its T-shirt was GNOME MESSAGES.

      The twins were at the back of the queue, but they could hear everything.

      ‘Why do I need two tickets?’

      ‘For