Write a Book in a Day 2018

Somerset College 2018

ABRAHAM’S BAHAMA LLAMAS Write a book in a day First Sight Lo e at

Write a Book in a Day

PARAMETERS FORM TEAM DETAILS

STATE: DIVISION: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… SCHOOL/GROUP: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… TEAM NAME: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… TEAM ID: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… QLD Upper School SOMERSET ABRAHAM'S BAHAMA LLAMAS 624 ....…………………………………………………………………………………………

PARAMETERS AND RANDOM WORDS Parameters

Random words ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... Silver patch struggle clock prickly

Primary character 1 ………............................................ Primary character 2 ………............................................ Non-human character ………............................................ Setting ………............................................ Issue ………............................................ Rock star Game show contestant Dragon Daycare centre Love is in the air

INSTRUCTIONS • Start at 8am • Write an original story: - based on all five parameters (above) - including all five random words (above), and in bold type - with some identifiable Australian content (in theme or setting or characters, etc) - keeping within the allowed word count • By 8pm , log on to writeabookinaday.com to: - check (and update if necessary) your team name and team members’ names - complete the declaration - submit your finished book in PDF format • Bind this parameters form into your book immediately after the front cover • Mail a hard copy of your book on the next business day to: Write a Book in a Day The Kids’ Cancer Project PO Box 6400 Alexandria NSW 2015

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Copyright Published by Abraham’s Bahama Llamas, Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba. Uni Kyeong Riley Cameron Kurt Grgic Maddie Strickland Bria Phillips Annika Puhalla Sarah Norton Hannah Kennedy Anna Hori Ava McCarthy Copyright ©2018, Somerset College. All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher

Authors: Uni Kyeong Riley Cameron Kurt Grgic Maddie Strickland Bria Phillips Annika Puhalla Sarah Norton Hannah Kennedy Anna Hori Ava McCarthy Illustrators: Uni Kyeong Annika Puhalla

Sarah Norton Ava McCarthy

CHAPTER 1 ‘Welcome back to Season 2 of Love is in the Air - a game show for masked blind dates! All contestants wear a mask concealing their face to truly encapture the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. In last week’s semi-final round, Contestant 4 took our Fairlady on a romantic picnic date on the beach, where they enjoyed a magnificent cheese platter together. This was definitely a crowd favourite date by far! This week so far, we saw that Contestant 8 took her on a quirky date to the trampoline park which, surprisingly, has been going great so far. Now we will join them on a romantic dinner date at a 5 Michelin star Italian restaurant…’ Kylie arrived to the restaurant in a dazzling silver dress. This dress wasn’t just any dress - Kylie was the biggest rock star ever known to Australian rock culture, and this dress was the one that she wore the night that she performed at the ARIA awards last year, where she stole the show and won the Australian song of the year, with her piece ‘Love at First Sight’! This made Kylie almost the happiest person ever! However all she wanted was a little bit of love in her life. Being one of the biggest performers of all time was tiring and lonely, and she often found herself wondering how she did it all. The only nights she had free, she would sit on the lounge with a glass of wine contemplating her ultimate man. It was difficult for her, touring non-stop and never having a partner to support her. The constant struggle of not having a perfect and supportive man by her side caused sadness to fill her heart during these nights. That same morning, she had gone to the trampoline park with Contestant 8, where she let go of all the stresses of touring and really had fun for the first time in forever. She was nervous, but excited to get to know Contestant 8 a little bit more, before she would have to choose her ideal man in next week’s Finals round. Kylie found 4 to be gorgeously charming, but it was 8’s quirkiness that really caught her eye. 4 had the mind of a crazed romantic, and the body of a pure model. His dream was the same as hers, to live a long, happy life with children that would tour with her wherever she went. They were so similar that sometimes she couldn’t tell the difference between them - she would take his hand and run in a heartbeat. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was too perfect - it was almost suspicious. It always seemed that he wanted to impress her, was that a good thing? Contestant 8, however, was weird, quirky and slightly awkward. There was something about him - was it his smile? Optimism? Laugh? Voice? For some reason, he was always happy. There wasn’t one time she could think of that he had been uncalm. His voice was odd, but soothing. The only part of his face that Kylie could see was his chin, and this wasn’t sharp and cornered, but instead was rounded and smooth; everything about him was unique, and in it’s own way - kind of perfect.

Kylie walked into the restaurant to find Contestant 8 sitting at a candle lit table. The bright candle shone on his glittery, blue mask, which made Kylie’s heart flutter. The night consisted of a delicious dinner and lots of laughter. Kylie really began to see the charm behind Contestant 8’s quirkiness - maybe he was the man for her. Too quickly, the night became old, and it was time for them to go home. In the cold of the winter night, under the shining moonlight upon their faces…..Kylie leaned in for a kiss and……”CUT!”. Contestant 8 pulled away, laughed and said “Looks like the clock has struck 12… I guess I will see you next week.” Kylie’s heart fluttered once again at his fairytale comment. The difference of personalities somehow brought them together, and they found themselves getting closer and closer. As she headed home, her mind was clouded with the excitement for the reveal of the contestants’ faces in the upcoming week’s episode.

CHAPTER 2 Grant was late for work again. He saw the time ticking away a little too quickly, as he grabbed his morning coffee and headed towards the animal day care to drop off his pet dragon. “Cora! Come on, please cooperate with me! I know you don’t like the day care, but I’m late for work again, I don’t need you being like this,” he said as Cora flapped her wings in protest. The car ride was a disaster. Grant couldn’t get Cora to sit down, or shut up for that matter. There were constantly purrs and growls coming from the orange blur flying around in the car. Right now Grant hated Cora’s power more than ever. Instead of breathing fire, Cora could create a powerful gust of wind. This was so powerful that the car began to pick up off of the road every now and again. Barely being able to see (from all of his hair flying in his face), Grant only just managed to pull into the carpark at the daycare. Grant rushed into the daycare, trying to stop Cora from squirming in his hands. Cora’s prickly skin was scratching against Grant, leaving a giant red patch on his skin. Cora making it difficult for him to keep a hold of her. Grant tried his best to hand Cora over to the receptionist, but Cora kept growling and nipping at the her, creating unnecessary havoc. The door slammed and Grant turned around to see a woman wearing a brightly coloured pink jumpsuit. She strutted in confidently with a vibrant phoenix perched on her arm causing Cora to growl even louder than before.

Grant had no idea how to react or what to say. Was he jealous, mad or just completely mesmerized by the woman’s stature? There was something familiar about her that Grant couldn't get a handle on… His daydream ended as she shoved past Grant. He had never seen

someone so beautiful turn angry so quickly. She arrogantly said to the receptionist “Hi, I’m Kylie, just dropping off my baby Amara. I’m expecting her to be in perfect condition when I get back!” Her phoenix fluttered off her shoulder and flew elegantly into the daycare room. Grant stood there in awe. If only his dragon behaved just as well as her phoenix… Grant snapped back to reality. “Come on Cora! I really need to go now!” Cora reluctantly flapped her wings to head towards the receptionist, but just as she started moving, her wing clipped the edge of Grant’s coffee cup, which sent it flying… Everything was going in slow motion - Grant saw the dark liquid flowing out, and splatting straight onto the lady’s pink clothes.

CHAPTER 3

Kylie was not happy.

Giving a sharp glare, she stormed out of the building. She was drenched, her favourite jumpsuit was ruined and she could smell the strong scent of coffee- which she did not like. What a great way to start my day… The doors behind her swung open and the man came out. ‘I’m so sorry! My pet… It was an accident. Let me help you.’ Kylie rolled her eyes and turned away, ignoring him. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. ‘Come on, it can’t be that bad.’ Kylie turned around at pointed at her coffee covered jumpsuit. ‘See, it’s fine...’ he joked. Kylie was still angry. But the man, however, began swinging his arms happily and clicked to the beat of a song: ‘In every life we have some trouble, But when you worry you make it double, Don’t worry, be happy...’ She turned around and the man was smiling hopefully at her, but she just glared back at him angrily. Sharply turning on her heel, Kylie brushed forcefully past him and pushed open the large glass doors of the daycare centre to get some paper towels to dry herself off. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, and Kylie spun around to face him in protest, when the doors which she had pushed open swung closed into the back of her head. Kylie felt suddenly dizzy, the world around her seemed to blur. ‘Easy, you okay?’ The man questioned with a slightly worried tone, his voice sounding fuzzy and Kylie feeling lightheaded. She stumbled and fell on top of the mystery man, pushing them both onto the ground of the daycare carpark. It took a minute before the world stopped spinning and he came back into focus. He was laughing profusely at what had just happened. ‘I hate you.’ said Kylie strongly, but he just continued to laugh. His smile was kind of reassuring and in the back of her mind, she thought she recognized his laugh.

Probably just the headache talking, Kylie thought.

She began to get up off of the floor, now dizzy as well. All because of him. ‘Why did you grab my hand anyway?’ Kylie spat as she lightly leaned against the door with crossed arms. ‘Paper towels.’ he replied, holding them out to her. ‘I know you’re angry at me, but I only want to help. I’m sorry.’ Kylie was about to snap back that she was still mad at him, but held her tongue. ‘It’s fine,’ she said instead. Even after all that he seemed kind of sweet, and the coffee was an accident… but Kylie thought he was annoying, way too quirky and he was just some typical guy. Kylie was a huge rock star, and she knew she was way above him. However, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling a little. ‘It looks like the clock has struck twelve.’ chuckled the man, handing her the paper towels. He stood beside her, humming the rest of the song. Wait, did he just say that? Or is my head still spinning? Kylie’s mind flashed back to when Contestant 8 said the same thing, when Kylie was on ‘Love is in the air.’ It’s probably nothing- I’m obviously making things up, I did hit my head pretty hard, which was all this dumb man’s fault. Contestant 8 would never do that. Is he honestly asking me that?! I’m Kylie! ‘Yeah, of course I do.’ replied Kylie coolly. ‘What do you do?’ asked Grant. ‘Wait. You don’t know?’ How stupid is he? How does he not know who I am! ‘No...’ he replied, puzzled, ‘Should I?’ Kylie burst out laughing but Grant confusedly looked back at her. ‘You’re hilarious ,’ Kylie said in between giggles. ‘Why? I have no idea what your job is.’ Frowning, she paused. ‘You genuinely have no clue who I am?’ ‘No idea.’ He replied. ‘I’m Kylie.’ she said. The man started laughing, ‘Oh! Yeah, I know Kylie! You sing?’ ‘ International rock star ,’ she corrected. ‘I’ve won Australian song of the year and performed at the ARIA music awards. I can’t believe you don’t know who I am.’ ‘Wow,’ laughed Grant, ‘I guess you learn something new everyday.’ Kylie just rolled her eyes. I was right. This man absolutely couldn’t have said that before. It was just my mind playing tricks on me. This guy is way too shallow and weird to be Contestant 8. Kylie began to dry the coffee off herself and Grant stood silently beside her, tapping his foot. ‘Um… my name’s Grant.” He awkwardly broke the silence. This man is so uncool, she thought. ‘So… uh… tell me a bit about yourself,’ Really, small talk? ‘Do you have a job?’

The sound of shattering glass interrupted Kylie’s thoughts. Grant confusedly turned around to face the daycare center, a concerned look on his face. ‘What was that?’ she said softly.

The whole building was dark and alarms were wailing from inside.

CHAPTER 4

Grant and Kylie dashed through the entrance, bursting through the lobby, as the wails of alarms continued to create a deafening sound. They rushed into the main room, where the animals had previously been playing peacefully with one another. Now, the room laid empty, it was now a desolate environment. All of the lights had been switched off, and the blinds had been drawn, blocking all of the sunlight tendrils from peering into the room. After turning on the lights, the image confronting Grant and Kylie was shocking. There were no happy chimes from the animals frollicking about, and there were no movements from any corner of the room. But most disturbingly, there were no animals that remained in the room. They had all disappeared into thin air. “Wh… Wh… Where are all the animals?” stuttered Grant. “My precious pet!” cried Kylie. Flutters of immense terror flooded their minds- their pets vanished, disappeared, gone! Where were they taken to? Who took them? Why did they take them? So many unanswered questions, yet so little information. They desperately needed help to find them. And so, they set off in search of their pets in a determined fashion, putting their differences on the backburner. They searched high and low, up and down, far and wide. Yet still, there was no sign of their pets anywhere throughout the entire town. With the light fading, they decided that it was best to postpone the search until the next day, as horrifying premonitions continued to flood their brains. The next day they searched for hours, but they had no luck. And so, frustrated and tired, Grant and Kylie dejectedly headed home in silence. Annoyed at their inability to find the animals after a long day of searching, they all slumped into the comfort of their beds. It had been an absolutely exhausting day. They couldn’t understand it! Who would do such a thing? How could someone be so heartless to steal such beautiful creatures? They were certain that the doors were locked and they were perplexed how somebody could have snuck in and out undetected in a matter of minutes. They would have to have been stealthy. They would have had to be “How much worse can this day get?” Kylie sighed with tears welling in her eyes. Amongst the all the panic, Grant glanced sideways to see Kylie’s distressed face. “Kylie, it’s ok! We can go find the animals together” he suggested.

speedy. They would have had to be slick. Just as they began to collectively lose hope in their search, Grant experienced a lightbulb moment. How could they not have thought about this? The daycare had installed a number of security cameras around the facility a few months before, for events like this, in which pets staying at the daycare go missing. They could search through the footage to find that evil person who had stealthily entered and stolen the pets. He decided to wait until morning before telling the rest of the group about his recent discoveries. That morning, Grant called up Kylie, in the hope of impressing her with his awesome idea. Hastily agreeing to come help, they both headed to the control room and wound back the footage to that fateful day. Nervously, Grant placed his finger on the play button and up come the images. There, the animals all were, playing happily and freely. Then, all of sudden, the lights were switched off and a mysterious figure crept across the room. In the darkness, they couldn’t make out his features, just the bare outline. Then, shockingly, the thief continued by grabbing and kidnapping the animals putting them into his large truck. The only problem was, all that they could see, were bright, radiating teeth. The rest of the thief, his body, was as black as night. They were perplexed, what could this person or creature possibly be? Eventually, they gave up, taking some pictures of the thief on the screen before they left.

Later, they were driving around the town, searching with no success, until they drove past the town’s only cinema, and saw a sign that read ‘premiere screening of black panther tonight at 8 o’clock’. The features of the actor that was playing the Black Panther on the movie poster looked eerily similar to the white smile of the thief that they had witnessed on the security camera footage earlier. They both knew that it was a longshot, but wanting to investigate further, they thought what have they got to lose? The actor who was playing the main character of the movie would surely be at the premier of their own film they thought to themselves. They had no success searching every corner of the town, so they decided that they may as well follow this lead as it could be the breakthrough they were searching for. Grant reached for his

tranquilliser gun and concealed it in his bag, in case they encountered the thief. Grant and Kylie walked inside hastily, and joined the long queue to buy two tickets for the premiere screening. They then realised that It was the world premier of the movie, so their chances of getting tickets were extremely slim. Then suddenly, an announcement was made over the pa system of the theatre, “Attention: The premier screening of Black Panther will be moved to our Imax theatre to accommodate for the hundreds of extra people still waiting to purchase tickets, thank you and please enjoy the film”. Grant and Kylie were relieved, as eventually, they reached the front of the queue and it was then that they knew that they would get their chance to investigate and be reunited with their pets. “Two tickets for the premier of Black Panther please, up the back for the best view, thanks” Grant told the cashier. With a sudden twist, Grant thought to himself, “Was this a date?” . With their mind back on task, they perched themselves at the back of the theatre and waited as the guests arrived and took their seats. Slowly, people began to trickle in, yet there was no sign of the thief, until they heard a bellowing, echoing voice with a thick Indian accent… “Come on Emilia, let’s sit down before the movie begins.” Behind the staircase, a couple dressed to the nines entered, encouraged by a round of rapturous applause. A spring of realisation dawned on them together, as they simultaneously stated, “That’s the thief!” They recognised his broad smile from the CCTV footage, as it flashed pearly whites that could have been seen from anywhere. “It’s the notorious smiling assassin, the black panther.” His broad shoulders were encompassed by his dashing, black suit. Beside him sat a gorgeous woman, with flowing blonde hair. Stealthily, Grant and Kylie crept into the row behind them and seated themselves, waiting to pick up on any clues. They didn’t have to wait very long. Within minutes, Kabilan turned to Emilia and expressed with suspense, “After the movie’s finished, I’ve got a surprise for you.” Together, Grant and Kylie tuned into the conversation. “ I know how much you love animals, so I decided to do something special for you. Come back Again, that broad smile returned, but it was countered by a tinge of guilt spread across his face. “Can you believe it …” whispered Kylie, as they looked at each other in amazement, the bond between them deepening as they conversed their plan. As they intently stared into each other’s eyes and enthusiastically engaged in planning, the connection between Grant and Kylie flourished. Momentarily distracted from the task, Kylie thought to herself, “Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.” Later on, the credits rolled, and Kylie and Grant raced outside, perching themselves near the exit. Then emerged the perfect couple of Kabilan and Emilia. They chatted breezily as they with me to my truck afterwards, and I’ll show you something you won’t forget.” “I’d love that,” replied Emilia, as she reached over and hugged Kabilan.

walked into the carpark, followed by paparazzi holding cameras and microphones, asking benevolent questions. With all the attention on the couple, nobody noticed Grant and Kylie slowly creeping behind them. They soon approached the carpark and Kabilan opened the door to his massive truck. Grant and Kylie assumed a perfect vantage point, obscured from view. As he opened the van door, they couldn’t believe the heinous sight portrayed in front of their eyes. In a feisty spat of anger, Grant aimed a tranquiliser he had brought with him and pulled the trigger, tranquilising Kabilan on impact putting him to sleep. They rushed over and Emilia squealed “oh my god, you’ve killed him, you’ve killed him’. Grant and Kylie opened the truck and low and behold, there were their pets. They hurried to reunite themselves with their beloved animals. Emilia scurried away in a fit of panic.

“This has been one miraculous journey” Grant exclaimed. “Yes indeed it has been.” beamed Kylie.

Kylie then asked “ Do you think we should we call the police on the animal thief?”

“No I don’t think we should ruin his life, he could be put in jail with other violent criminals just for theft. I know that Kabilan stole the pets, which scared us because we had no idea where they were, but I don’t think he had bad intentions, he was simply just trying to impress his girlfriend Emilia with the exotic pets.” Grant explained. “Yes I agree, he was trying to be somebody he wasn’t, a thief, he was blinded by love.” added Kylie. “I guess he was… He should have just asked us, and we could have arranged for him and Emilia to come and play with the pets on a date during the day”, Grant agreed. “Yes you’re right, hopefully he has learnt his lesson from this experience, he should just be himself, that is the most impressive and attractive thing a man can do” said Kylie.

CHAPTER 5

‘Welcome to final episode of Season 2 of Love is in the Air - a game show for masked blind dates! All contestants wear a mask concealing their face to truly encapture the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. There have been many amazing dates that have really captured our eye in this season of Love is in there air. However, there has been two contestants in particular who seem to have a special connection with our Fairlady. The first contestant in the grand finals has been a charming man, taking our Fairlady on romantic dates such as drive in movie theatre and picnics on the beach. Yes that’s right, the first contestant in the Finals is crowd favourite - Contestant Number 4! Our next finalist is not necessarily a crowd favourite, but has caught the attention of our Fairlady - it’s Contestant 8!’ The two contestants came out onto the stage in front of Kylie. It was finally time for the reveal… Kylie was filled with nervous excitement - she really wanted to find out what the contestants looked like, but at the same time, she was scared that her feelings would disappear as the faces were revealed. Although in the beginning, she fell for Contestant 4’s charms, she felt like Contestant 8 was truly the man of her dreams. “Fairlady! It’s now time to take your pick! Who is it going to be? Contestant 4 or contestant 8?” exclaimed the show host. So many thoughts were flying through Kylie’s mind - who was she going to choose? But suddenly, an image of Grant flashed before her eyes. Why am I even thinking of him right now? That was when she realised… She had developed feelings for the awkward man who she met yesterday.

“Fairlady, have you made your choice?” the host queried.

Kylie panicked. “Contestant 4!” she blurted out.

It was finally time for the reveal. Contestant 4 stepped forward, and lifted off his mask. Kylie gasped, “Oh my god.”

At the same time, Contestant 8 also gasped and stepped back. It was the animal abductor. Kylie ripped off her mask, still stunned from the impossible coincidence. She could hear cries and whispers of the crowd. “Is that Kylie” “No, it can’t be!” “It really is Kylie!” Kylie yelled, “This man is evil! He broke into an animal daycare yesterday, and stole my beloved baby phoenix!” Contestant 8 gasped again and took another step back. He also ripped off his mask with a look of perplexion, before a look of realisation flashed across his face. “Kylie?”

“Grant!” Kylie exclaimed.

“This is crazy! It seems as though our Fairlady and both of the contestants know each other!” exclaimed the host. “What a coincidence! This must be destiny!”

Kylie and Grant ran towards each other and engulfed each other in a hug.

“Maybe this really is meant to be” Kylie smiled.

~The end~

They say opposites attract... Kylie is one of the biggest rock stars ever known to Australian rock culture. She is well put together, confident and has a beautiful pet phoenix. Grant is just your average man, with average brown hair and an average job. He is known to be an awkward man, but his corny jokes and never-ending optimism make him the unique person he is. Through embarking on a journey of missing dragons and phoenixes, tranquilisers and impossible coincidences, the two vastly different people slowly begin to bond, and of course, learn to love…

Recommended for ages 8-12.

1

Write a Book in a Day

PARAMETERS FORM TEAM DETAILS

QLD Upper School SOMERSET TRUDIE'S BEAUTIES 623

STATE:

....…………………………………………………………………………………………

DIVISION: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… SCHOOL/GROUP: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… TEAM NAME: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… TEAM ID: ....…………………………………………………………………………………………

PARAMETERS AND RANDOM WORDS Parameters

Random words ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... Silver patch struggle clock prickly

Primary character 1 ………............................................ Primary character 2 ………............................................ Non-human character ………............................................ Setting ………............................................ Issue ………............................................ Charity worker Actor Ghost Beach Time travel

INSTRUCTIONS • Start at 8am • Write an original story: - based on all five parameters (above) - including all five random words (above), and in bold type - with some identifiable Australian content (in theme or setting or characters, etc) - keeping within the allowed word count • By 8pm , log on to writeabookinaday.com to: - check (and update if necessary) your team name and team members’ names - complete the declaration - submit your finished book in PDF format • Bind this parameters form into your book immediately after the front cover • Mail a hard copy of your book on the next business day to: Write a Book in a Day The Kids’ Cancer Project PO Box 6400 Alexandria NSW 2015

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Copyright

Published by The Kids’ Cancer Project, Box 6400, Alexandria, NSW 2015 Copyright © The Kids’ Cancer Project, Box 6400, Alexandria, NSW 2015

All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

Distributed in Australia and overseas by the publisher.

Copyright Published by [Trudi’s Beauties], [Somerset College], [Somerset Dr.]. [Trudi Morris, Taylor Crooks, Jack Daly, Julius Wright, Michael Savic, Amy Barry, Ashlee Park, Eliza Foiliott, Bella Harris,

Skylar Klease, Anna Boone, Lily McCoomb] Copyright © [2018], [Somerset College].

All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquires should be made to the publisher.

Written by:

Amy Barry Anna Boone Ashlee Park Bella Harris Eliza Folliott Jack Daly Julius Wright Lily McCoomb Michael Savic Skylar Klease Tay Crooks Trudi Morris

Message

Dear Reader,

We have written this book with lots of love and sincerely hope you enjoy reading it.

Immerse yourself in story!

CHAPTER ONE

“CUT! No! No! No! No! NO! You’re doing it all wrong! You’re supposed to kiss with passion, excitement! You’re in LOVE! I SHOULD SEE SPARKS FLYING. Sparks I say! We’re going to film more takes, until we get this perfect .” Dan the Director yelled. The sand was glistening, the wind was gently humming, and the waves softly collided onto the shore. It was a calm Summer's’ day at Bondi Beach. They were filming the blockbuster of the year - “A Surfer’s Paradise” - starring world famous actors Penelope Mullin and Jack Morris. It was going to be the Love Story of the century, that would shoot Australian filmmaking into the Hollywood Stratosphere.

“Guys. This isn’t working. Penelope take five, your focus is all over the place.” instructed Dan.

Penelope sighed, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. The call time for cast and crew had been 4am that morning, and she was already exhausted from her endless night partying. It was a struggle just to stay awake.

“It’s boiling hot and there’s sand all through my hair! Not to mention the fact that I had it curled only an hour ago! Ugh!”

Out the corner of her eye, Penelope noticed a shadow cast over her. She tried turned her head sharply to face it, but a huge gust of wind blew through her quickly-dropping- curls, covering her eyes so she couldn’t see. Penelope, furious about her hair being ruined, screamed at the top of her lungs. As she peeled the blonde curtain away from her face, a wide-eyed man stood clasping a leaf blower in front of her. Behind him was a group of people clothed in similar graphic tees picking up litter from across the shore.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” She shrieked.

“I’m so sorry ma’am. I’m Hunter, head of the Save the Turtles Foundation. Today we’re cleaning the coasts along Sydney. Did you know Plastic will last for more than 1000 years left on a beach? Pollution largely affects our beautiful marine life. Our aim is to

clean plastic from the beaches and save the turtles native to Australia’s unique environment.” He continued, “would you like one of our pamphlets?”

Before she could squeeze a word in, another volunteer whipped his head around as he piped, “Wait I recognise you... You’re...Penelope Mullin! The famous actress! We love your work! You know you are super lucky to have such a huge platform. Millions of people adore you. Perhaps you could take a look at our foundation and maybe spread awareness? You could post a picture with our poster? That would be amazing!” A stale look brushed across her face as she puffed: “Are. You. Serious?” I don’t have time for your silly little “charity” work. Big Whoop! The earth isn’t going to disappear because of a few turtles !” She continued, “besides, what’s in it for me? Unless your charity wants to hand me a paycheck, count me out!”

Hunter’s face slowly melted from hope into disappointment. He pondered for a moment before saying;

“Hm, I-I thought that you were be understanding and generous to such an important issue...” But before he could continue, Penelope interrupted.

“Look, whatever-your-name-is.” She began to get flustered. “I don’t have time OR the energy to care about insignificant causes like yours. A rich, famous and beautiful woman such as myself needs to channel my focus on becoming even more successful. So, remove yourself from my sight and stop hanging around the set. GOSH!” Hunter, confused and upset, managed to reply; “There’s so much change you could make, if only you used the voice you have. An influential person like you could help us save the world! If only you could see our future if we lived without compassion.” At that very moment, the atmosphere surrounding them both froze in time. A rumbling began to grow from beneath the ground. Both Hunter and Penelope looked around, a great blurry haze surrounding them. The other volunteers, cast and crew of the film stood motionless, as the waves violently pounded into the darkening sand. A grand, silver, bullet train rose from the great ocean and cascaded over the coast. As the steel doors of the train spontaneously opened, a cloud of steam poured across their feet. Hunter, momentarily confused, soon realised his calling to show Penelope the importance of giving to others.

“What have you done!? WHY IS THERE A TRAIN?! How did this happen” Penelope yelled frantically. Her hair swirled in the mighty winds.

Over the crashing waves and howling hurricane. Hunter shouted as loud as he possibly could, “I think we should go in the train...maybe it’ll take us somewhere. It’s our safest bet.”

Without a second thought, Penelope popped her hip, raised her eyebrows and grunted: “Do you really think that I’m going to get in that, with you?!”

“It’s our only option!” He replied. But before they could move a step, all of sudden, a huge gast transported them inside the magical vehicle.

Hunter instantly noticed the clock suspended on the wall of the train, and noticed it mysteriously winding forward. Abruptly, the train took off, leaving Hunter and Penelope confused and afraid as the speeding vehicle charged into the abyss. Hunter clung to the window, witnessing the view before him. He caught a glimpse of the beach, however, instead of the glistening sand and blue waves, it was completely desolate. Not a creature was to be seen.

The landscape soon morphed into a city. A concrete jungle with toppling skyscrapers was shrouded in smog and steam.

The train halted without warning.

“I think I know what this is about.” Hunter posited. “Look at the view,” he urged. “Look at where we are; machines, factories, the polluted city and the empty beach. It’s exactly what I’ve been saying. It’s the world without giving. A world, sad and desolate.”

Penelope continued to pace up and down the train, suspended in shock. It was cold and dark, and they could hear the bustling streets and heavy machinery in the distance.

CHAPTER TWO

Penelope stood in the doorway of the train, marveling at how the dirty smog blended with the dirty yellow light of the train station.

A horn sounded over the PA and a booming voice fell over the station “This is Yarra Valley station. The next stop is Badger Street Mall.” The doors were about to close when a boy wearing a black hoodie jumped between them. “QUICK!” he shouted and his four mates followed him into the carriage. Hunter and Penelope noticed they were all wearing the same colour and style of clothes: baggy tracksuits in dull colours. They couldn’t have been over 14 years old, and all had gigantic backpacks, which made Hunter and Penelope assume they had to be up to no good. All of a sudden, the kids began to push elderly passengers out of the way to take a seat. Hunter shook his head, then looked towards Penelope expectedly. No reaction. Penelope glanced down intently at her nails as she inspected her fresh manicure. “How aren’t you seeing this?”. Hunter asked, frustrated. “What?” Penelope looked up, dumbfounded. Hunter sighed, the edges of his face curving upwards. “What are you smirking at?” Penelope asked bluntly. “Look outside.” Hunter smugly replied. Penelope reluctantly turned her head. “I don’t see any-” She stopped. The serene grass fields that were filled with farm animals and beautiful flowers were no longer there. “What is going on?” A rushing indulgence of colourful noise spread through the carriage. The young boys who were now spread throughout the carriage stood frozen. Untouched numb to the unnatural conditions. The Elderly passengers hang mid air on their way to the floor. “Hunter!” Penelope screamed. “What are we doing? What is going on? What? What……” Her voice trails off as a glimmer elixir starts flowing into the carriage. Transposing through the windows. Seeping through the cracks. It was like space itself was bleeding. The elixir starts pooling at Hunter’s and Penelope’s feet. “Hunter!!!!” The gloop starts crawling up the legs of the two. “Hunter!!!” Penelope screams at the top her lungs. The elixir is now covering both their legs constricting any movement.

“You have to understand Penelope. It’s not about you. It’s about everyone else” Soon there is a silver shade over everything in the carriage. “I'm going to show you what could happen. How this world relies on the kindness of its people.” Soon the carriage was pitch black. A void. Penelope tried to move, make a sound, create any kind of disturbance, but nothing could shatter the silent darkness. Then came the electrical zapping. Bright light filled the carriage. Fluorescent, radiant light. “Come on,” Hunter looks down at Penelope who is huddled on the floor. “We’ve got to go! Places to be, people to see.” Penelope is slow to get up. Her muscles burned with fatigue, ears ringing. She slowly took one step at a time. One, two, three, four and into the light.

CHAPTER THREE

Penelope squinted at the bright light that seeped through the opening door.

“Where are we?” She asked as they disembarked the train.

As she looked around the train station, it dawned upon her that this station was just like the one at her own home. However, something was different; all of the people were shouting; either on the phone, or at each other. She had barely stepped out of the train when someone barged into her and yelled, “Move, move, I’ve got money to make!” Flustered, Penelope jumped out of the way. Hunter returned her angry look with a shrug, and told her to come with him.

Running to catch up with him, Penelope asked what this was all about. His simple reply was to explain that this place was her home city, but with no compassion at all.

Across the street she could see the same teenage kids who were on the train earlier. She was shocked by the hatred and anger displayed by everyone in that city. Penelope looked across the wide city and saw people with desolate faces limping on paths and begging for money. She noticed how the bustling city goers treated the people in need with disregard and disgust. The future was so different to the world she knew. It made her afraid. “We’re here!” exclaimed Hunter, breaking Penelope out of her thoughts. She slowly gazed around the clinical office she has mindlessly wandered into. She figured that the office clearly belonged to the intimidating man who sat in the crocodile skin chair. There were the heads of exotic animals like tigers and polar bears hung up on the wall and even a whole stuffed platypus displayed in a glass case. She glanced down, and saw a whole cow skin with the head on the floor. While Penelope was no environmentalist, she was still shocked by the amount of decorative animals that were present in the one room. “Well, what do you want? I’m a busy man. I’ve got things to destroy, money to make.” “We want to know what your company plans are,” inquired Hunter. “Well, you know, I’m going to be knocking down a whole retirement village, to make space for another high-rise that will make me lots of money.” “But what about all of the old people?” Penelope asks. “Who really cares about them? They’re old and are useless to me” “That’s true” Hunter looked deep into Penelope’s eyes and saw that she was not yet able to see the impact that charity and kindness has on the world. He sighed and took her back on to the train.

CHAPTER FOUR

Penelope stood to the side, thinking about what she had seen. Suddenly, a slightly grumpy ghost popped into the space next to them. Both Hunter and Penelope jumped.

“I thought I sensed some time travelers. You'd better be careful, it can be dangerous,” he warned. “I'm Elias, by the way. Do you mind if I come with you?”

Hunter nodded, and started to tell Elias why they were time travelling and what they had already seen. “I'm worried that seeing the city like that has only made her a bit nicer. She is still a bit selfish, and doesn’t seem to want to help people that much either.” Just in that moment, Penelope pushed an elderly woman out of the way to take a seat. “Ah, just as I had thought” Hunter said, rolling his eyes. “What?” Penelope replied, “My feet are sore!” Penelope seemed unfazed by what she had seen in the city. Hunter began to think that she would never change. “Don’t worry,” Elias whispered into Hunters' ear, “I have another idea that might help to change her ways.” “What have you got planned?” Hunter asked as he eyed Penelope, who was now

snoring obliviously as she lay across a row of seats. “You will have to wait and see,” Elias replied, smirking. “Well whatever it is I hope it works!”

At that moment, the train came to a screeching halt, waking Penelope by launching her off her seat and onto the floor. She yelped as her head collided with the seat in front of her, and glared up at Elias and Hunter. “Why didn’t you warn me!” Penelope growled. Elias and Hunter ignored her and as the train doors slid open, they stepped out.

Penelope followed them, still rubbing her head from her incident with the train seat. The light was so blinding, Penelope couldn’t make out the scene before her. However,

as her eyes adjusted she could barely recognize the familiar place. It was the beach where she had met Hunter, except this time it was very different.

The sky was filled with clouds, the air smelled of rotting fish and the once clear ocean was covered in a blanket made from plastic bottles, bags, dirty, prickly wrappers and old torn clothes. The sand on the other hand, was much worse. Dead fish with dull silver scales and turtles with broken shells were washed up on the shore whilst birds of all colours lay tangled and injured, surrounded by old fishing nets. Palm trees were bare, their remaining brown coloured leaves lay limp on the floor next to their roots. Penelope couldn’t believe her eyes, she went to follow Elias and Hunter onto the sand but as she stepped forward she heard a crunch beneath her feet. She looked down and saw Hunters old ‘SAVE THE TURTLES’ poster torn and yellowed with age. “Hey!”, Penelope called, “Hunter, I found your poster, what is it still doing here?” Hunter turned his head slightly towards Penelope and said sadly, “This is what happens when nobody cares.”

Penelope couldn’t understand how this had all changed in so little time, the beach had completely changed. It went from being the famous Bondi Beach known for its incredible surf and sand, to a beach piled high with pollution. She was distracted by the poster until she was startled by joyful barking and the tinkle of a bell from a dogs’ collar. Wagging its tail, a wet, ruffled black and white Dalmatian puppy appeared from the bushes on the left side of the beach. As the puppy ran up to her, Penelope knelt and was immediately covered in kisses from the dog’s small tongue. Penelope picked her up and scratched her behind her ears as she read the nametag written on the dog’s blue weathered collar. “Hey there Patch, how are you doing girl? Hunter and Elias looked on in surprise. They didn’t realize that Penelope had such a love for dogs nor did they think she had any kindness at all. But as they watched her play and snuggle with the small puppy, they realized she could change and maybe she would have the heart to change the rest of the world for the better. As if they had predicted it, Penelope looked up at them with a sad look in her eye. “Do you know who this dog belongs too?” she asked. Hunter and Elias shook their heads in unison. “Well if you don’t mind I think I’m going to take her home with me. This little girl deserves a good home and lots of hugs.” Penelope said. “I’m sorry Penelope but that’s not how time travel works. You can’t take things between dimensions. It messes with the laws of reality,” Elias said. Penelope was startled, “But what's going to happen to her? Won’t she die out here all alone, without family, food or shelter?” “Penelope, you don't understand. This is not real. This is what the future would look like if people continued to act the way that they do. If they continued not to care about the environment, or animals or even each other. But it can all be stopped with your help. All you have to do is begin to care and you can change the future,” Elias replied kindly.

Penelope contemplated what Elias just told her as she said her goodbyes to Patch and stepped back on the train. It was time to go back home and she now knew exactly what she had to do.

CHAPTER FIVE

After a peaceful train ride where Penelope not only offered her seat to elderly people, but also offering to help them disembark the time travelling train. Elias, Hunter and Penelope arrived back at Bondi beach, right where they had started their enlightening journey. “Well, this is us” said Hunter with finality as they left the train. “And this is where i leave you” Elias said tearfully “I’m going to miss you guys” “So am I,” Penelope announced with more than a little emotion. The three time travelling companions stood (and floated) silently for a moment, as each of them reflected on the days events. As soon as Elias left, time unfroze, and all of Hunters volunteers were staring open-mouthed at her. She frowned as she tried to figure out why, and then it clicked, she had been a horrible person and told all of these people that she didn’t care about the environment, only money. She smiled and said; “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened there, but I would love to support the turtles, I am willing to help you as much as possible” “Are you sure? If so, we would love it if you could become our ambassador for our turtle protection program,” Hunter questioned.

“Of course!” she exclaimed, catching Hunters eye, “where would we be without charity and kindness”.

Actress Penelope Mullin is obsessed with 3 things. Herself. Her hair, and herself. It takes a time-travelling adventure with a generous charity worker named Hunter to realise how bad the world would be without giving. As they travel to a dystopian future, both Hunter and Penelope witness desolate beaches and polluted cities. On a train to a desperate world, Penelope may come to realise how vital giving truly is.

PENELOPE

A Mammoth of a Time Team Name: IT’S NOT A COLANDER, IT’S A RELIGIOUS GARMENT By Ziggy Encoch, Lilliana Swainson, Giulia Provenzano, Jack Colahan, Andre Vasquez, Calvin Walther, Thomas Gray, Mitchell Hamilton, Nico Verin, Chloe Garrier (Illustrator)

Copyright Published by IT’S NOT A COLANDER IT’S A RELIGIOUS GARMENT, Somerset College, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba 4213 QLD AUS. By Ziggy Encoch, Lilliana Swainson, Giulia Provenzano, Jack Colahan, Andre Vasquez, Calvin Walther, Thomas Gray, Mitchell Hamilton, Nico Verin, Chloe Garrier Copyright © 2018, Somerset College. All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquires should be made to the publisher

Chapter 1 “All aboard the Mammoth!” Mum yelled, “We’re off to Tassie!”.

The Mammoth is my Mum’s favourite baby. I reckon she loves it even more than us. A huge, silver land-cruiser which I reckon can do just about anything. We’ve been driving all year as part of her new project – Mum's a travel journo to the extreme. Most recently she’s souped it up with a broadcast tower on top – she's turned it into a portable radio station! At the end of every day she sits in the boot and lets her devoted listeners know what she’s been doing for the day. She’s a classic adventurer, and she’s been everywhere you can go without running the risk of becoming a political prisoner, from deep in the Mexican jungle of Bonampak to the remote areas of eastern Russia she’s been there. Mum’s tough as nails, with nerves of steel and is capable as anything. Dad... Not so much. Dad works as a beautician and I suppose you could say opposites attract. He’s about a foot shorter than her, and he’d definitely lose to mum in a fist fight. Then there’s my twin brother Quentin. He doesn’t like to talk too much, mostly just draws. He’s really into graphic design at the moment, but that means he doesn’t look up from his iPad too often. After Mum, my favourite member of the family is Rory, our Kelpie. He has the sweetest goofy smile, loves to chase his own tail and is the best listener I’ve ever come across. Mum’s project that we’re all taking part in is a road trip around Australia. We’ve been almost the whole way around and the only place we’ve got left is the cold wet armpit of Van Diemens Land. You might ask, how do you get to Tasmania on a road trip? I wondered the same question. Turns out that it’s easy when you’ve got a boat. Even easier when you’ve got a land rover that turns into one. I think that Mammoth must be buoyant because of all the extra fat. Either way, the Tasman Strait was crossed with ease despite my lack of understanding of the Mammoth’s internal mechanisms. “She’s a beauty!” Said Mum, in sync with the steady rumbling of the Mammoth’s outboard. She stood beaming against the wind, her Akubra hat firmly fixed in place, despite the howling Southeasters winds. On the horizon, our destination slowly rolled into place, the dull yet beautiful glow of Hobart as alluring as ever. “That’ll be us soon,” she says.

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