A Super Weird! Mystery: Danger at Donut Diner. Jim Smith
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Название: A Super Weird! Mystery: Danger at Donut Diner
Автор: Jim Smith
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Учебная литература
isbn: 9781780318066
isbn:
‘Hello kids,’ said Violet, and Melvin sniggled.
‘Hello, Rhubarb Plonsky,’ he said.
Rhubarb sniffed the air. ‘Is that a Hokum City accent?’ she asked.
Violet raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s a pretty good shnoz you’ve got there,’ she said.
Rhubarb marched straight up to Melvin and did another sniff.
‘Stinks, doesn’t he,’ said Violet.
Rhubarb shook her head. ‘It’s not that,’ she said. ‘It’s something else. Do you like mysteries, Melvin?’
‘Erm, I dunno,’ said Melvin.
‘Hmmm, we’ll see,’ said Rhubarb, pincering one of the little plastic toy packets from Melvin’s cardboard box. ‘What are these things, anyway?’
Melvin pulled the box away and pushed the cardboard flaps shut.
Violet slid out of the car and wandered over. ‘That’s my little brother’s collection of toy bags.’
‘You collect toy bags?’ asked Rhubarb.
Melvin nodded. ‘And the toys inside them,’ he said.
Rhubarb stroked her chin. ‘But none of the bags were open,’ she said.
‘Melvin doesn’t open the bags,’ said Violet. ‘He’s way too cool for that.’
‘I like guessing what’s inside them,’ said Melvin, pulling one out of the box and giving it a fiddle. ‘Anyway, the packets are more interesting than the toys half the time.’
Rhubarb thought for a second. ‘Plus I suppose all the excitement’s gone once you’ve opened it,’ she said.
smiled Melvin.
Violet stared down at the two of them. ‘She’s almost as cool as you, Melv,’ she chuckled. ‘Say, be a good little brother and grab my bags from the car, wouldya?’
Rhubarb opened her mouth. ‘What’s it like?’ she said. ‘Hokum City, I mean.’
Violet looked around. ‘Better than this place,’ she grumbled.
Rhubarb’s face went all serious and she leaned forwards. ‘Donut’s not an ordinary town,’ she whispered, so only Melvin could hear.
‘What does that mean?’ asked Melvin. ‘Not that I care or anything,’ he added, trying to sound a bit cooler.
‘I’ll tell you tomorrow,’ said Rhubarb, marching off, but not very far, seeing as she only lived next door.
It was the next morning and Melvin was walking to school with Rhubarb Plonsky.
As they turned onto Donut High Street, Melvin peered around at the dusty old shops. Each one had the word ‘Donut’ written on its sign, then the name of the thing it sold next to that.
There was Donut Butchers, Donut Books and a shop called Donut Toys. Next door to that was Donut Funerals and across the street, next to Donut Magazines, was Donut Hamburgers.
‘Donut Hairdressers,’ said Melvin, reading what the nearest shop was called. ‘Who goes in there, little hairy donuts who want a haircut?’
Rhubarb sniggered. ‘Ooh, I like people who try and be funny!’ she said, giving him a nudge, and he boinked into a blue lamppost which had ‘Donut Electric Co’ written on it in dented-in letters.
At the end of the road stood a low, round building with an enormous plastic donut sitting on top of it.
The words ‘DONUT DINER’ were printed on the gigantic snack in huge yellow capitals.
Behind the building was a great big circle of scrubby-looking land with a wire fence all the way round it.
‘That’s where the hole used to be,’ said Rhubarb, spotting where Melvin was looking.
‘The hole?’ said Melvin.
Rhubarb nodded. ‘Why do you think it’s called Donut Island?’ she said. ‘A donut’s not a donut without a hole!’
‘Unless it’s a jam one,’ said Melvin. ‘So what happened to this hole?’
‘They filled it in,’ said Rhubarb. ‘Spose it was a bit dangerous, having a great big hole sitting there in the middle of town.’
Melvin zoomed his eyes in on the filled-in hole. There was a zig-zaggy crack in the middle, kind of like a lightning bolt had hit it.
He remembered the enormous
from the night before and a bubble popped in his tummy, like he was a can of donut-flavour cola or something.
‘That thing you mentioned yesterday,’ he said. ‘About Donut not being an ordinary town . . .’
Rhubarb smiled. ‘Bet you were thinking about that all night, weren’t you?’
‘Not in the slightest at all,’ said Melvin, trying to sound cool. ‘What did it mean, though?’
Rhubarb leaned towards him. ‘Do you like mysteries?’ she asked.
‘Do I like mysteries?’ said Melvin. ‘Didn’t you ask me that already?’
‘I dunno, did I?’ said Rhubarb, stuffing СКАЧАТЬ