Mindspaces. Hazel Edwards

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      ‘Excuse me.’

      The chemist looked over his counter piled with jars, tubes and packets of pills. He wore a white jacket and his bald head shone under the light as he bent forwards. Art wondered if he polished it with Mr Sheen.

      ‘Yes?’

      ‘How much does a cast cost?’

      ‘What kind?’

      ‘A plaster cast.’

      The chemist laughed. ‘I’ve never been asked that before. Well, I suppose it depends whether it’s new or used.’

      Art thought for a moment. ‘Second-hand.’

      The cast was on India’s foot, but it was old. Sort of. India had worn it for several days now. Since she fell off the camel.

      ‘Is it on a person, or loose?’ asked the chemist.

      ‘On the person.’

      ‘How much of the person? Full body? Arm? Leg?’

      ‘Leg.’

      The chemist laughed. ‘Is it the fibula? That’s the little bone inside the leg.Is that the one?’

      ‘Probably,’ said Art. There couldn’t be that many bones to break in a leg. Later, India looked it up for him. Only two large bones in the bottom of the leg. Seven in the neck. And 208 in the whole body. You never knew when a detective might need to know that!

      ‘Cost of materials, about fifteen dollars.’

      ‘Great,’ said Art.’ That was less than fifty.

      But then the chemist added,’ Of course, there’s the doctor’s fee- about $130.Most doctors would include the cost of the plaster in their fee. All up, it’s worth about $130,I suppose.’

      ‘Oh,’ said Art. That might be a problem.

      Art wasn’t keen on joining the competition. There might be a lot of reading. If India’s leg could still be in the team because the cast cost more than the fifty-dollar limit, India mightn’t need him. He’d have to find a way of making the cast cost less./

      ‘Ah!’ Art had an idea.