Gasp of the Ghoulish Guinea Pig Page 2

  Before Joe could answer, a smug smile appeared on Spiker’s face. “Are you Erin’s boyfriend?”

  “No!”

  “Joe loves Erin!” Spiker sang.

  Joe felt his face turn beetroot red. “Get lost!”

  “Wait till I tell everyone at school!”

  “No!”

  Just then, Flash reappeared through the wall of the Crawfords’ house. “They’re out, Joe. I saw a window open at the back of the house. Sneak inside so you can hunt for the snake!”

  Joe frowned. Even if Spiker hadn’t been there, no way was he going to break into someone’s house!

  “Talk to me, Joe!” squealed Flash. “What’s the plan?” He scrabbled anxiously at Joe’s ankles, scratching him through his socks. “Do something!”

  Joe gave Flash an exasperated look. Didn’t he understand they were being watched? He bent down and pretended to retie his shoelace. “We’ll come back later!” he hissed.

  “Want me to tell Erin you came round?” shouted Spiker.

  “What?”

  “I’ll tell her you send your LOVE!” Spiker made a soppy face.

  “GET LOST!” Joe scooped up Flash, stuffed him back in his pocket and headed for his bike.

  “No!” Angry bubbles exploded from Flash’s nose. “What about my friends? Guinea pigs stick together!”

  Joe didn’t answer. As he got on his bike, he expected Spiker to tease him again. But he didn’t. Spiker’s back was turned and he appeared to be looking for something in the bushes.

  “Strike!” Matt shouted.

  “Wow! You’re on fire! High five!” Ben leaped up to slap palms with Matt.

  The bowling alley was packed full of families enjoying the half-term holiday.

  Joe heard another yelp of delight from the lane next to them and watched Toby and his friend Ricky high-fiving, too.

  “Even my little brother’s doing better than me,” Joe muttered.

  Flash was scuttling round Joe’s feet non-stop. “When can we go, Joe?” he was squeaking. “I’m worried – so worried.”

  The more Joe thought about the snake, the more anxious he felt. He could just picture the snake slithering across the kitchen, inching towards the guinea pigs…

  “Strike!” yelled Ben, punching the air.

  “Awesome!” Matt slapped Ben on the back. “But I’m still beating you.”

  “Only just!” Ben replied.

  Both boys looked at Joe. It was his turn next.

  Joe ran his hands over all the bowling balls and grasped a big purple one that was really too big for him, but looked impressive!

  He staggered to the lane.

  “Want me to get a strike for you, Joe?” Ben teased.

  Joe shot him a glare then lunged forward, aiming as straight as he could. The weight of the ball made him lurch sideways and he dropped it on to the lane heavily.

  The ball began rolling slowly towards the pins.

  Matt snorted and Ben stifled a giggle.

  Eventually the ball drifted left and dropped into the gutter.

  “Unlucky, Joe!” called Dad from the next lane. “Try a lighter ball!”

  “Maybe you need the rubber buffers, too,” giggled Matt. “Like the little kids have!”

  Joe scowled.

  “Sorry, mate,” Matt said. “Just kidding.”

  Joe grabbed another ball and stepped back on to the lane to bowl it. As he let go, Flash shot out from between his feet and zoomed down the lane in front of the ball.

  “That looks better!” called Dad.

  Joe’s ball was much straighter this time, but it still lacked power – it certainly wasn’t going fast enough to knock all the pins down.

  BANG!

  The ball slapped into the front pin. Three pins fell and a couple of others wobbled…

  “Nah – you’re not gonna get them all,” said Matt. “Shame.”

  “Wait!” said Ben. “Look!”

  More pins were falling.

  Flash was streaking in and out, head-butting the pins. In seconds they were all down.

  Ben and Matt stared.

  “How did you do that?” Matt asked with a frown. Then he grinned. “High five!”

  “You were awesome, Joe!” said Toby as they got into the car to go home. “You smashed Matt and Ben!”

  Flash gave a happy squeak. “Guinea pigs stick together!”

  Joe grinned. For once he didn’t mind being counted as a guinea pig. Thanks to Flash, Joe had won that game – and the one after. He’d even beaten his dad’s score! Being Protector of Undead Pets had got Joe into many tricky situations so it made a change for one of the pets to actually do something to help him!

  “Can we go for pizza?” Toby begged.

  “Not today,” said Dad. “But we are going to stop off at the shops on the way home. Mum asked us to pick up something for George’s birthday. Any ideas?”

  “Guinea pigs!” shouted Toby.

  “What?” Joe jumped. Could Toby see Flash?

  “Let’s get George something for his guinea pigs – some toys or something…”

  Phew! Joe thought.

  “Good idea!” said Dad. “We’ll go to the pet shop and have a look.”

  They pulled into a parking space.

  “Don’t worry,” Joe whispered to Flash, putting the guinea pig back into his hoodie pocket. “It won’t take long.”

  They got out of the car and Joe hung back behind Dad and Toby, pretending to fiddle with his watch. “Maybe the shop will have a book about snakes,” Joe whispered. “We might get some ideas for where to look.”

  “The snake’s behind the fridge!” snapped Flash. “I told you!”

  “Yeah, but it might not have stayed in the same place. If it did, I reckon the Crawfords would have spotted it by now.”

  Joe ran to catch up with Toby and Dad.

  The pet shop was enormous.

  “Joe!” called Toby. “Come and look at the guinea pigs!”

  Flash gave an excited squeal. “Let me see, let me see!”

  He scrambled down Joe’s leg and hurtled after Toby, squeaking loudly.

  Inside the pen was a gang of baby guinea pigs, munching hay. By the time Joe arrived, Flash was already in there, sniffing and nuzzling and making happy squeaky noises.

  “Some of them are hiding!” said Toby, pointing to a pair of smaller guinea pigs that were peeking out from under a plastic pet house.

  “They must be scared,” chuckled Dad. “I would be, too, with your ugly mug staring at me!” He ruffled Toby’s hair.

  “Can we have one, Dad? Please!”

  “Don’t be silly, Toby. Come and choose some toys for George…”

  Toby’s shoulders slumped. Then he spotted another pen. “Wow! Rabbits!” he said, and raced over.

  Joe lingered, looking at the guinea pigs. They were chasing each other round the pen now, with Flash joining in as though he was still alive.

  Then Joe noticed a series of large tanks, right at the back of the room. He went over to take a closer look.

  Two small geckos stared back at him out of the first tank, their tiny ink-spot eyes following his every movement. Joe went over to the next tank where a bright green chameleon sat on a log. The last tank was empty.

  Joe was just about to go back to the chameleon when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

  “Didn’t see her, did you?” A young shop assistant was standing there with a cleaning spray in one hand and a bucket of soapy water in the other. She smiled at Joe. “She’s good at hiding.”

  Joe peered into the last tank again. Finally he spotted a small stripey orange snake right at the back, half hidden under a curved piece of bark. It poked its tongue out at him. It was similar to the one he’d seen on the internet only much smaller – it looked like a shoelace.

  “Is it a corn snake?” asked Joe.

  “Yep, just a baby. She’ll grow much, much bigger.”

  Joe glanced over his shoulder to make sure Dad and Toby weren’t l
istening. “Do pet snakes ever escape?” he asked.

  “Oh yeah! Lucky, my boa constrictor, got out once. We tried all the tricks – laying out food, dusting the floors with flour to see if we could spot where she’d been… Then Mum found her at the back of the airing cupboard snuggled into the warm towels!”

  Joe grinned. He could just imagine what would happen if his mum found a snake in their airing cupboard! “Where else do they hide?” he asked.

  “Anywhere warm. Snakes hate the cold. Behind the fridge is another hiding place – the motor makes it hot there.”

  So that was why Flash saw the snake sneak behind the fridge! thought Joe.

  “Down the back of the sofa,” the girl went on, “under floorboards… Bigger snakes are quite strong. If you don’t put a brick on top of the vivarium lid, they can push their way out! Are you thinking of getting one?”

  Before Joe could answer there was a shout from the other side of the room. “Caitlin!” It was the pet-shop owner, calling from the cash desk. “Can you fetch a box of pinkies for this boy?”

  Joe glanced over and gasped.

  It was Spiker!

  He hadn’t noticed Joe yet. He was too busy counting out a pile of change.

  “Gotta go!” the girl said, and she disappeared into the back of the shop.

  Joe headed over to Dad and Toby, who were comparing guinea-pig toys. But as he passed the cash desk he heard Spiker talking to the pet-shop owner.

  “And you reckon if I put out more snake food he’ll come back?” Spiker asked.

  Joe froze. Did he really just say “snake food”?

  The man nodded. “Yep, if he’s been missing for a few days, he’s bound to get hungry soon. Just put some of his usual food – a couple of dead mice – near his tank. You can try other places, too. Corn snakes usually come back when they smell grub!”

  Joe gasped. Spiker had lost a corn snake… And he lived next door to the Crawfords! That meant it was probably his snake that Flash had seen.

  “What are you staring at?” Spiker growled, peering at Joe.

  Joe shrugged. Then he had an idea. If he could somehow tempt the snake out of the Crawfords’ house and back to Spiker’s then all his troubles would be over!

  “Did you say you’ve lost a snake?” asked Joe.

  “No!” Spiker glanced round nervously. “You heard wrong.”

  “Here you go!” said Caitlin, arriving with a cardboard box. “Remember to defrost them before you feed them to your snake, OK?”

  Spiker’s face went beetroot and he glared at Joe.

  “Five pounds, please,” said the pet-shop owner.

  Spiker was in such a rush to pay he dropped the coins on the floor. He bent down and scooped them up then counted them out. But one coin was missing – he was twenty pence short.

  “Must have gone under the counter,” he mumbled.

  “Here,” Joe dug in his pocket and handed over a coin.

  “Thanks,” Spiker muttered. Then he snatched up the box and turned to go.

  “Wait!” said Joe. “My cousin lost his pet corn snake once…” He hoped the fib wouldn’t show on his face. “I found it for him!”

  “What? How?”

  Joe shrugged. “You’ve just got to look in the right places.”

  “I’ve tried that—” Spiker stopped abruptly when he realized he’d just admitted that he had lost a snake.

  “I know loads of secret places that snakes hide,” said Joe. “And there’s always the flour trick!”

  “The what?”

  Before Joe could explain, a woman appeared in the shop.

  “Bradley, there you are!” It was Mrs Piker – Spiker’s mum. Joe giggled – no one at school ever called Spiker by his real name. “We’ve only got a few minutes left on the parking meter – come on!” She glanced at Joe and immediately recognized him from Spiker’s class. “Joe, isn’t it?” she smiled. “Enjoying half-term?”

  “Yes, thanks.”

  “Lovely. Well, we’ve got to go now. Come on, Bradley!”

  “Can Joe come round to our house?” Spiker said suddenly.

  “What?” Joe turned to look at Spiker.

  Mrs Piker looked shocked, too. “Well, I…” she stuttered.

  “Joe wants to see Harley’s pets,” Spiker said. “As I’m looking after them while he’s away, maybe I could show Joe today.”

  Joe remembered now that Spiker had once done a school presentation about his brother’s collection of exotic pets.

  “Joe’s thinking of getting a corn snake!” Spiker added. “Aren’t you, Joe?”

  “Er, yeah.” Joe nodded, uncertainly.

  “And he’d like to come and meet Thor!”

  Joe wondered why Spiker didn’t just say that he wanted Joe to come round and help look for his brother’s lost snake… But then it hit Joe like a thwack on the head with a cricket ball. Mrs Piker didn’t know the snake had escaped!

  “You boys and your snakes,” she sighed, shaking her head. “Why you can’t just have a nice hamster or a rabbit, I’ll never know!”

  “Can he come?” Spiker asked. “After lunch?”

  “I suppose so,” Mrs Piker replied. “You’d better ask your dad, Joe. Is that him over there?”

  “Weird!” said Toby as they pulled up outside Spiker’s house a few hours later. “Why are you going to Spiker’s house? You hate him!”

  “I don’t!” Joe felt his cheeks redden.

  “It is a bit odd,” added Dad. “I mean, you’ve never wanted to hang out with him before.”

  Flash, who was sitting on Joe’s knee, gave a sudden squeak. “They’re home!” He was looking at the Crawfords’ car, which was now parked in the drive outside their house. “I want to see Bolt and Lightning!”

  As Joe opened the car door, Flash jumped off his knee, scrambled out and raced up the Crawfords’ path, disappearing into the house.

  “Can we go and see George?” asked Toby, undoing his seatbelt.

  “No!” said Dad firmly. “You’ll see George tomorrow at the party.”

  Toby refastened his belt. “S’pose.”

  Joe climbed out of the car and spotted Spiker waiting for him on his doorstep. Joe gulped. He felt like he was about to enter the dragon’s lair.

  “All right,” mumbled Spiker. “Want to come upstairs?”

  Spiker’s house wasn’t what Joe was expecting. In fact, it was just like his.

  “That’s my room,” Spiker said, nodding to the first door on the landing. “Go in, if you want.”

  It was bigger than Joe’s bedroom and much tidier. There were posters on the walls of snakes, lizards and spiders. In the corner was a small TV with a bean bag next to it and a pile of games stacked up. On top of the chest of drawers, Joe noticed several wooden models.

  “Is that a lizard?” he asked, picking up the largest one.

  “It’s a komodo dragon,” said Spiker. “I made it with my granddad. He’s got an amazing workshop with loads of power tools.”

  Joe turned the model round to get a closer look.

  “Careful! I spent ages on that.” Spiker took it from Joe and put it back on his chest of drawers.

  “Is that a rattlesnake?” Joe pointed to a poster above Spiker’s bed.

  “Yeah, it’s an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. That’s the heaviest poisonous snake in America!”

  “I’ve got a tree python’s tooth at home,” Joe said.

  “Yeah, right!” Spiker rolled his eyes.

  “No, really! My great-uncle Charlie got bitten by it when he was trekking in the rainforest in Australia! He brought the tooth back as a present for me.”

  Spiker shook his head. “Don’t believe you.”

  “It’s true – you can come round and see it if you want.”

  “Yeah?”

  Joe nodded. Then he realized that he’d just invited his least favourite boy in the whole school round to his house. Working together to catch the snake was one thing, but hanging out together was another matt
er!

  “Cool! A tarantula!” Joe said, pointing to another poster to change the subject.

  “Yeah! Harley’s got a real one. Do you want to see it?”

  Joe followed Spiker back on to the landing.

  “We’ve got to wash our hands first,” Spiker said.

  “What?” Joe asked, frowning.

  “The bathroom’s here. We shouldn’t bring germs into the room,” Spiker explained.

  Joe looked at Spiker to figure out whether he was joking, but he was deadly serious.

  They both washed their hands and then Spiker led the way to Harley’s room.

  It was a bit like a jungle. The curtains were almost closed and the tank lights gave the room a greeny-yellow glow.

  “Don’t touch anything,” hissed Spiker. “Harley’s got everything fixed at the right temperature. All these creatures are very delicate!” Spiker crouched down by a plastic tank that contained an enormous hairy tarantula. “This is Zena,” he said. “She’s awesome, isn’t she! Want to hold her?”

  Joe hesitated. He didn’t want Spiker to think he was a wimp, but didn’t tarantulas bite?

  “Ha! Only joking,” smirked Spiker.

  Joe tried not to look too relieved. “Does she bite?”

  “Nah…”

  Joe looked round at the other tanks. In one, a small spotty lizard was staring out at them.

  “That’s a leopard gecko,” Spiker told Joe. “There are two of them in there, but the other one’s shy. And that’s Cheese next door…”

  “Cheese?” Joe peered into the next tank.

  “Yeah, his mate’s called Pickle.”

  Joe smiled. “Is he a turtle?”

  “No, he’s a terrapin. Want to hold him?”

  This time he wasn’t joking.

  “Remember, be careful!” growled Spiker. “Look, I’ll show you…” He picked the terrapin up out of the tank. “You support him under his body like this.”

  He handed the terrapin to Joe, watching him like a hawk. “If you drop him, he’ll die.” Spiker glared menacingly at Joe. “And so will you!”