The Star Agency

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 – Adult Interference

Chapter 2 – A trail of Breadcrumbs

Chapter 3 – A letter of Condolence

Chapter 4 – The Pod

Chapter 5 – Polisium Prime

Chapter 6 – First Contact

Chapter 7 – An Invitation

Chapter 8 – About Christmas

Chapter 9 – The Journal of Alice Logan

Chapter 10 – Attack On Ch’Dath

Chapter 11 – Theo 2.0

Chapter 12 – Fallen Angel

Chapter 13 – Time off for bad behaviour

Chapter 14 – The Redeemer

Chapter 15 – Command Centre

Chapter 16 – The Descent

Chapter 17 – First Mentor

Chapter 18 – The Star Shield

Chapter 19 – Debriefing

Chapter 20 – New Horizons

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

A note from the author

THE STAR AGENCY

The Star Agency Chronicles Book 1

R.E.Weber

THE STAR AGENCY

Copyright ©: R.E.Weber

Smashwords Edition

Published July 2020

First published: January 2014

Publisher: Richard Weber through Smashwords

Cover Art by The Cover Collection - http://www.thecovercollection.com

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. You must not circulate this book in any format.

For Dad, who fought for us...

and for Mum, who held us together…

Prologue

For almost five billion years, the mile-wide asteroid had remained untouched by the hand of civilisation, its path around its giant orange parent star shifted only by the occasional close pass of one of its larger planetary neighbours. Yet now, for the first time since its formation, conscious minds had interfered with that natural order, setting a new destiny for the giant space rock. Using technology designed for a different and more peaceful purpose, intelligent beings with ruthless clarity and purpose had altered the path of the asteroid with the precision of a skilled marksman, aiming it at a planet on the far side of the sun.

The creatures inhabiting the lush green and blue planet would never glimpse their attacker until it was upon them, having only moments to contemplate their fate before the devastating collision tore a deep scar in their world. The attack would tear at their very souls, forever changing them and setting in motion an unprecedented chain of events.

The battle for the Affinity had begun.

Chapter 1 – Adult Interference

Any second now thought Theo as a clap of thunder rumbled in the distance. Any moment and his auntie’s shrill voice would be echoing up the stairs. Theopolis. Why did she insist on calling him that? Why, when everybody else in the entire world called him Theo because they knew that he didn’t like his full name, did his auntie still insist on using it, especially when she was angry? Of course, he knew what her argument would be. ‘It’s a noble and historic name and it also belonged to your grandfather, so why wouldn’t you like it?’ But Theo didn’t really care. To him, it was just a strange old-fashioned name that he had never really liked. Why couldn’t she just understand that?

Suddenly, he heard the back-door slam. His auntie had gone outside. Relieved that she’d left him alone for a change instead of nagging him to help bring in the washing, he carefully pulled open his bedroom blinds and peered out, hoping that she wouldn’t look up and see him. But she was too busy hurriedly piling the washing into a basket to notice. For a moment, he felt a little guilty for not helping her. Then he reminded himself that it was her fault that the washing was outside in the first place and that she could have used the spin dryer in the kitchen, like any other normal person, and saved herself a lot of effort.

Tearing his gaze away from his frantic aunt, Theo stared out across the rolling fields beyond the end of the garden. It was a cold, grey November day outside. Why did the weather always seem to be so miserable on Saturdays? As he looked across to the horizon, he could see a bank of menacing grey clouds drifting slowly over the rounded green hills of the local countryside, hanging beneath which were what looked like ribbons of mist. But Theo knew all too well that even though it looked like mist, it wasn’t. It was rain: torrential rain. And as he watched, the shadows of the clouds seemed to be cascading down over the rolling hills towards him. Theo stared at the unfolding storm, sighed and then closed the blinds. How much more depressing could things get?

The isolation of Theo’s home, Number 1, Brightside Farm, seemingly from the rest of humanity, had done little to lift his already low spirits. It stood right at the end of a rough, narrow, badly pitted, tree-lined road, surrounded by hills and farmland. There were several other cottages at various points up the road, yet despite its regular use, it had never been widened or properly tarmaced and was still only just about wide enough for one car to trundle slowly up or down at any one time. It was so narrow that many Lorries had gotten stuck trying to get to the cottages and had then been forced to back out, much to the annoyance of any angry motorists behind them who’d then had to reverse back to one of the passing points further down the road. The other end of the road opened out onto a wider main road, which led onto a busy dual carriageway a few hundred yards away. Theo could always hear the distant hum of the traffic on the dual carriageway, even at night, but he’d become so accustomed to it that he barely even noticed anymore.

Up until the 1930s, Brightside Farm had actually been a working farm. However, once it had closed for good, the main house had been split into two cottages by its new owners. Theo’s great-grandmother had moved into Number 1 just after the war, and after she’d died, it had been passed to his grandfather who had lived there until his death. Then it had been put into trust for Theo until he was old enough to own it himself. The adjoining cottage was owned by the Kingsleys. They had one daughter, Julie, who also happened to be Theo’s best friend.

As Theo turned away from the window, he caught sight of himself in the half-length mirror on the far wall, and he stopped for a moment to stare at the bedraggled figure looking back at him. He was taller than the average thirteen-year-old boy, with a narrow face, thin neck and lean athletic body. He’d always been an above-average runner and had enjoyed the school athletics competitions, but few other sports held his interest. His dark brown hair - which was a little lank and greasy due to his refusal to wash it for several days in a row - was split down the middle with a rough parting and hung down loosely either side of his forehead. He was wearing an old, baggy, grey, wool jumper and loose, blue jeans, which were dirty and frayed around the bottom and the pockets. His dark brown eyes looked heavy and bloodshot through lack of sleep and too many late nights on his computer, indulging in one of his favourite pastimes: online role-playing games. He knew that he’d looked better. But he didn’t really care anymore.

As Theo stared at himself in the mirror, his smartphone bleeped into life indicating the arrival of a new instant message:

Sender: JulesK99

How u doing, T? Borin ain't it? Can I come round?

A little smile crept across his face. He had thought that Julie from next door, or Jules as he preferred to call her, was out with her dad as he hadn’t heard them return. But there she was, online right now, seemingly just as bored as he was. Quickly, he tapped out a response and hit send:

Come on over J.

A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang. He heard his auntie run through the hallway, open the door and let Jules in. They exchanged a few pleasantries before she galloped up the stairs. Moments later, there was a quiet knock on his bedroom door.

‘Come,’ said Theo sarcastically.

The heavy wooden door creaked open and there stood Jules. She was quite a tall, thin, willowy girl, with long blonde hair and a pale complexion. Although plain looking, she had pretty blue eyes, which was something that many people had commented on when meeting her for the first time. However, whenever they’d told her that, she’d always been quick to point out that it was just as well as she didn’t have much else to offer. Theo guessed that perhaps she might grow into her looks one day. Not that he really cared. She was his best mate and that was all there was to it. He liked her just the way she was, even if she was only twelve.

‘Typical,’ said Jules, ‘just as I opened the front door, it started pouring. Look at me.’

Without a word, Theo grabbed a towel from the radiator and tossed it over to her.

‘What you been up to then?’ said Jules as she began to dry herself. ‘Saving the Empire from the Ko-Dan Armada again?’

Theo turned to look at Jules. She didn’t look much better than him. Her long hair was soaked through and stuck to her forehead, and her jeans were wet and splattered with mud around the bottom. She stood by the door as she continued to towel dry her hair.

‘Ko Dan’s been defeated, Jules,’ said Theo. ‘I’ve now joined the Dark Shadow Clan. We’re searching for Stella Nova.’

‘Don’t you ever get bored with those games? They just seem to go on forever.’

Theo just looked at Jules and shrugged his shoulders.

‘Well, if you fancy going out somewhere, my dad said he would run us down the bowling alley if we liked. Fancy that?’

‘Not really, I’m happy here,’ lied Theo.

But as Jules could plainly see, he was not happy at all. Although he hadn’t been crying, his eyes looked heavy and sad, and she could see that they’d lost their boyish sparkle. The death of his beloved grandfather and guardian three weeks earlier was still raw in his mind, and he was again feeling - as he’d felt so many times over the past few weeks - overwhelming sadness, with a sick knotted feeling in the pit of his stomach. Since the funeral, he’d scarcely thought about anything else and had barely left his room, except for school, which he hated. His auntie, who had moved in with him immediately after his grandfather’s death, had told him repeatedly that it was unhealthy to carry on living at the cottage where his grandfather had passed away and had often suggested that he should come back to live with her in Finchley, North London. However, Theo had been adamant about staying behind because, somehow, he’d felt that leaving and trying to forget about his grandfather would be disrespectful. How could his aunt have possibly thought that he could put his grandfather out of his mind so easily when he’d meant so much to Theo? To him, it had been an insult, and even the slightest suggestion to the contrary had nearly always resulted in Theo storming angrily out of the room.

Of course, Theo was far from helpless and didn’t need anybody else’s help, especially his interfering auntie. For a start, he’d never really cared for her cooking. ‘Any fool can knock up a spag bol’ he’d often said to Jules and had gone on to prove it, becoming quite an accomplished cook. And then there was her ironing – her insistence on putting a sharp crease in all his shirts and trousers. Once she’d even ironed a crease in his jeans, which he’d then been forced to go out in, much to the amusement of some yobs passing by in a beaten-up old car, who’d yelled out ‘mummies boy’ and ‘beam me up snotty’ before hurling a half-empty can of beer at him, narrowly missing his head. And then there was her constant nagging and her insistence on talking about his feelings. He really could do without that. No, as far as he was concerned, he could live quite happily on his own without any adult interference.

Not only was he able to look after himself perfectly well, but he’d been more than capable of looking after his grandfather too – a job with which he’d become increasingly familiar as his grandfather had become frailer. Spending more time doing chores had, of course, meant spending less time with his friends, but to Theo that hadn’t really mattered. Most of his friends had drifted away when he’d changed schools, and only Jules, of whom he was dearly fond, saw him often. Theo had never admitted to Jules, even when he’d had to do practically everything for his grandfather, that he’d wanted help so he could have just a little time to himself. But with her, he didn’t need to. Without even a hint from Theo, she had always just got on with whatever needed doing and had never complained once – a fact that Theo had appreciated more than she would ever know.

But for all the help that Jules had given him, there had still been a few days over the last months of his grandfather’s life when Theo had taken time off school to look after him. Of course, he would have been quite happy to skip school altogether and stay at home, but despite his failing health, his grandfather had always insisted that he shouldn’t miss out on his education. ‘You’ll be surprised at some of the useful things you can learn at school,’ he had often said, ‘even if you think they’re a waste of time.’ But despite being rather clever, especially at the sciences and computing, Theo had always thought that school was a bit of a waste of time, and even his grandfather had never been able to convince him otherwise. The other pupils just irritated him because they were so infantile, and the teachers - they were worse. They never taught him anything he was interested in and never stretched his mind in any way as far as he was concerned. He had always believed that he could learn more at home if he put his mind to it. But the fact was he had stopped trying and given up.

As Theo looked at Jules, a single tear rolled down his left cheek. He quickly rubbed it away, mumbling something about having spent too long in front of his computer, but she knew him far too well for that and, without saying a word, just wrapped her arms around him. They were warm and comforting and he didn’t push her away.

‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered.

But Jules just hushed him and held him tightly.

A couple of minutes later, Theo gently released himself from her arms, wiped his eyes and then turned to face her, forcing a smile.

‘That bowling alley,’ he said, ‘sounds like a really good idea right now.’

Jules smiled and leapt up. ‘I’ll go and tell my dad,’ she said excitedly.

As she opened the bedroom door to leave, Theo reached down behind his bed, grabbed a small umbrella and tossed it over to her.

‘Try this,’ he said, grinning. ‘I’ve heard they work quite well.’

Clumsily, she caught it, and as they looked at each other, they laughed.

*

Later that evening, they arrived home, and Theo had been pleased to discover that Jules had been right. He’d really enjoyed himself and had a good laugh at the half-dozen times that her bowling ball had ended up drifting into the channel at the side of their lane, or indeed the one occasion where it had somehow seemed to stick to her hands and drag her forwards, comically, to fall flat on her face, much to the amusement of some older teenagers in the lane next to them. Theo wondered really why she ever bothered with bowling because he always beat her. And with a smile on his face, he crawled into bed and closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for him to fall fast asleep.

*

Sunday had been a particularly boring day for Theo. The Kingsleys had been away visiting relatives all day, forcing him to spend the day at home with his nagging aunt. So, it was almost a relief when Monday morning came along, even though he didn’t particularly enjoy school.

Theo dressed quickly and headed downstairs to the breakfast table. The toast rack had already been filled and a bowl of cornflakes was waiting for him. His aunt walked in with a glass of orange juice and, without saying a word, plonked it down in front of him. Then she sat in her chair opposite. Theo grabbed a slice of toast from the rack, spread on some butter and marmalade, and then began munching noisily away. But instead of eating, his aunt just glared across at him.

‘It’s not healthy you know,’ she said.

Instantly, Theo’s stomach began to knot up as he sensed yet another argument brewing. It was only eight am and already she was starting. Deliberately, he didn’t answer and just continued eating.

‘I said it’s—’

‘I KNOW,’ interrupted Theo angrily. ‘Let me guess what comes next. I need to talk to somebody and let it all out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all before. What I need is to be left alone. If I want to talk, I have Jules. She’s the only friend I need.’

His aunt paused for a moment.

‘What I was about to say actually,’ she said, puffing out her chest defiantly, ‘was that it’s not healthy for a boy of your age to spend all his time alone with a girl. You used to have mates, you know, other boys. What happened to them?’

Theo just fixed his aunt with a stare. Did he really want to get into this now? It was far too early in the day for another row. But then, on the other hand, he knew that she wouldn’t let it go easily, so perhaps it was better to confront her and get it over with. Not that she ever listened to his point of view. She always thought she knew best.

Theo took a deep breath. ‘Look, auntie, these other boys who you think were my friends, live on the other side of town. And anyway, all they ever want to do is hang around outside, playing football or listening to their stupid music. They think they’re so cool, but they never do anything interesting. It does my head in. They’ve got no imagination. They know nothing! They’ll never be anything.’

‘But sitting in your room playing ‘The Star Race’ or whatever it’s called, that’s using your imagination, is it?’

‘YES, IT IS,’ shouted Theo. ‘And nobody ever nags you in there either.’

‘Theo, I was only saying. No need to bite my head off.’

Theo looked across the table at his scowling aunt and sighed. Bad idea these early-morning chats. Time to retreat.

Quickly, he glanced at his watch. ‘Time for school,’ he muttered. Then he rose from his chair, picked up his plate of toast and headed up to his room. His aunt said nothing and didn’t try to stop him.

As Theo packed his school bag hurriedly, he heard the doorbell ring, followed by his aunt opening the door. Then there were a few muffled voices. Wondering what was happening, he headed out onto the landing and peered over the rail, down the stairs.

‘Theo, come down here now, please,’ his aunt shouted.

Theo tramped reluctantly down the stairs, readying himself for another argument. But when he got there, his aunt was standing in the porch, with the local postman: a warm, friendly, slightly chubby, silver-haired man who Theo had known for many years and actually quite liked. He stood there beaming at Theo.

‘Is it your birthday again, Theo?’ he said, smiling.

‘Every day’s my birthday,’ said Theo sarcastically, staring at the thick padded envelope stuffed under the postman’s arm.

‘You need to sign for this one, mate,’ he said, holding out an electronic pad and pointing to a small rectangular box. ‘There.’

Theo took the pad and quickly scribbled his signature with the tiny plastic pen. Then he handed it back to the Postman.

‘There you go lad,’ he said, stuffing the envelope into Theo’s hand. ‘Enjoy.’

‘Thanks,’ said Theo before turning and galloping back up the stairs.

Once he’d closed his bedroom door, he sat down on his bed and stared at the parcel. It was a large, brown, padded envelope, heavily sellotaped around one end, with a printed address label stuck carelessly to the front. Theo winced as he read out his full name on the label. Theopolis James Logan. Then he sighed. His parents weren’t around anymore to blame. He flexed the envelope, which bent easily, and he heard a faint crinkling noise from inside. For a moment, his eyes lit up. Was it perhaps a late birthday present? Enthusiastically, he ripped off the sellotape, pulled open the end of the envelope and then shook it impatiently. A thickly folded newspaper and a loose sheet of paper dropped out onto his bed. He put the envelope down, picked up the sheet of paper first and turned it over to read. It was a typed letter:

Dear Theopolis,

I was so sorry to hear about your Grandpa. He was a very special man. Please accept my condolences to you and your family.

I know right now you are feeling sad and lost, but don’t give in to it. Stay strong, be brave and look to your friends.

And finally, here is the news. You matter, you really matter so much. You wouldn’t believe how much.

Look up. The sky is the limit!

Amistad!

Love

A friend

PS: Don’t believe everything you are told.

Theo stared for a moment at the letter, confused. Then he picked up the newspaper and unfolded it. It was The Pinton Chronicle: a free weekly local newspaper, delivered every Thursday or whenever the paperboy could be bothered. He checked the date. It was two weeks old. Why was somebody sending him an old newspaper? He opened the paper and quickly flicked through the pages but there was nothing that caught his eye or was even of any interest.

As he continued to scan the paper, the doorbell rang again, and he knew that it was Jules ready for the twenty-minute walk to school. Quickly, he stuffed the letter and newspaper back into the envelope and shoved it into his bag. His aunt was just about to shout up to him when he came galloping down the stairs with his bag slung over his shoulder. He opened the door, shot outside and quickly shouted ‘Bye,’ before racing off down the path past Jules, hoping that it wouldn’t give his aunt enough time to call after him.

‘Hey, slow up, mate, what’s the rush?’ panted Jules as Theo galloped ahead.

Once Theo was out of sight of the cottage, he slowed down and gave Jules a chance to catch up.

‘So, I suppose this means you’ve had another row then, does it?’ said Jules.

‘Same old, same old,’ said Theo.

‘When are you two ever going to get on? She’s only trying—’

‘Never mind that,’ interrupted Theo. ‘Look at this. I got it in the post this morning. A newspaper and a letter.’

He took the envelope out of his bag, pulled out the letter and handed it to Jules.

‘Have a read,’ he said.

Jules stopped walking while she read the short letter. After finishing it, she paused before looking back at him.

‘So, what do you think?’ said Theo.

‘Well,’ said Jules, ‘it doesn’t say who it’s from. It doesn’t make much sense, does it? Not the last bit anyway. It’s like a riddle or something.’

‘Yeah, that’s what I thought,’ said Theo. ‘But why is somebody sending me a riddle?’

Jules paused for a moment as she read the letter again.

‘Look here, Theo,’ she said, pointing to the last paragraph, ‘it says here is the news. It’s like whoever wrote this is telling you to look in the newspaper for something. We’ve just gotta work out what it is.’

‘Yeah, but when I had a look all I could see was ads and stuff. I couldn’t see anything to do with the letter.’

‘Well, we probably just need to have a closer look. Why don’t we meet in the Library at lunchtime, see if we can work it out together?’

‘OK yeah, good one, J. Bout 12:30?’

‘Sounds good to me.’

Theo stuffed the envelope back into his bag. Then they hurried off down the road, both knowing that they might be late for school if they didn’t run.

Fifteen minutes later, as the bell rang, they reached the school gates and parted, heading for separate doors.

‘See you at 12:30,’ shouted Jules, just before she disappeared through the door.

‘Yeah, 12:30,’ Theo yelled back as several other boys behind him smirked at each other.

*

The village Library was only a five-minute walk from the school gates. It was an old 1970’s brown brick building, small and plain looking, with large dirty windows. One side of the Library was overgrown with Ivy, which a few weeks earlier had been a bold red colour. Now, most of the leaves had fallen off, making it look rather sad and tatty.

Theo was already sitting at a table inside, with the newspaper open, when Jules arrived.

‘Any thoughts yet, mate?’ she whispered as she sat down beside him.

‘Not really,’ said Theo. ‘It’s just bonkers.’

‘OK, let’s have a look,’ said Jules.

She pulled the middle few pages out of the paper and handed them to Theo, leaving her with the remaining sheets.

‘You check through that section, I’ll check through this,’ she said.

‘What are we supposed to be looking for?’

‘I’m not sure really, but I reckon we’ll know when we see it.’

Quietly, they both scanned the pages, which were mainly advertisements with the odd local story wedged in between. Jules quickly reached the back of the paper, and just before the sports pages, she came across the local services section. There were various trades listed: Computer services, Education Services, Gardening and Landscaping, Painting & Decorating and Self-help.

Self-help. For some reason, it caught her attention, even though she wasn’t immediately sure why, so she quickly read on. There were only three ads in the section, but as she reached the last one, she knew instinctively she’d found what she was looking for:

Release your potential my friend!

Ever felt like life is passing you by?

Ever wanted to try something new, but felt like something inside was holding you back?

Do you want to climb a mountain or parachute from a plane, but are scared of heights?

Have you always wanted to write a book or learn to act, but been told you have no talent?

What’s really stopping you - other people or yourself?

Throw off your mental chains and reach for the sky!

Call Juanita, 01456 555635

‘Here,’ said Jules, pointing excitedly. ‘Look at this.’

Theo leant over and read the ad.

‘Just one of those daft self-help groups, isn’t it?’ he replied.

‘No Theo, look at the name - carefully.’

Theo looked at the Name. Juanita. It was unusual for sure, but apart from that, he couldn’t see anything else interesting about it.

‘I don’t get it,’ said Theo, feeling rather stupid.

‘Well,’ said Jules, ‘Juanita. It sounds Spanish to me.’

Theo knew that Jules and her family regularly travelled to Spain on holiday and that Jules had picked up a few Spanish words and phrases.

‘OK, so it’s a Spanish name. So, what?’ said Theo.

‘Theo, get the letter, quickly.’

Theo pulled the letter out from under the newspaper and laid it out in front of them.

‘Look, Theo,’ she said excitedly. ‘Look at that word. Amistad. I’ve seen it before. I can’t remember what it means, but I’m sure it’s Spanish.’

Theo stood up and glanced around the library. It wasn’t very big and he easily spotted the languages section. He walked over to it and scanned the shelves. French, German, Polish, Spanish. It didn’t take him long to find a Spanish dictionary, which he brought back to the table and handed to Jules. Quickly, she flicked through the entries beginning with A and there it was:

la amistad SUSTANTIVO

friendship

• hacer amistad - to make friends

‘Friendship!’ said Jules.

‘Friendship?’ said Theo. ‘Did I miss something?’

‘Sometimes you’re so dense, Theo,’ Jules laughed. ‘Reach for the sky and The Sky is the Limit. Release your potential my friend and Amistad. The Spanish word for friendship in a letter, then a woman with a Spanish name in the newspaper ad. That’s the link.’

Theo thought for a moment. Then his eyes popped wide open and he stared back at Jules.

‘Of course,’ said Theo. ‘Of course. Brilliant, Jules. You’re so clever. What would I do without you?’

‘Struggle,’ said Jules sarcastically.

‘There’s a phone number there. Do you think we should call it?’

‘Yeah, we’ll call it, but not now. Tonight, round at yours.’

As Jules and Theo had become increasingly excited, they hadn’t realised that their voices were becoming louder and louder. Suddenly, without warning, a stern old man appeared in front of them, almost as if out of nowhere. He was balding, with half-moon glasses hanging off the end of his nose, and slightly overweight. He glared down at them.

‘Will you kids please keep the noise down. This is a Library, you know,’ he whispered.

‘I…I’m sorry sir,’ stuttered Theo. ‘We’re done now anyway.’

Quietly, they rose from the table. Theo put the newspaper and letter into the envelope and stuffed it into his bag. Then they walked quickly out of the Library. Looking at her watch, Jules realised that they might be late for afternoon school and grabbed Theo’s arm.

‘Come on mate, we’re gonna be late again,’ she said as she dragged him running towards the school gate.

‘I don’t think old three eyes in the Library really likes us kids, does he?’ said Theo.

Jules didn’t answer Theo, but as they ran, she looked over at him to see that a huge grin had appeared on his face. It was something that she hadn’t seen for a long time. It made her happy.

Their timing, as usual, was spot on, and as they dashed through the school gates, the afternoon bell had just started ringing.

‘Yours at seven?’ shouted Jules.

‘Can’t wait,’ cried Theo as he headed through the door to his next class.

*

That afternoon, lessons passed slowly for Theo, and he was even less able than usual to concentrate on his schoolwork.

‘Your head’s in the clouds again, Logan,’ his French teacher bawled, bringing him crashing back to reality. ‘CON-CEN-TRATE!’

Theo did his best, but it was really no good. He hated languages at the best of times, and today he’d scarcely heard a word that the teacher had said. He quietly cheered to himself when the 3. 30pm bell rang. Then he quickly grabbed his books and dashed through the door.

‘Don’t run in the corridors,’ he heard a teacher shouting behind him. But it didn’t make any difference. He was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him now.

He met Jules again at the school gate, and they walked quickly home, breathlessly talking as they went. As they arrived home, they separated and headed for their own front gates.

*

Jules arrived at 7pm on the dot, as agreed. Neither of them had been able to think about anything else, other than the letter and the newspaper, all afternoon.

‘Jules,’ said Theo as they sat down in his bedroom. ‘Do you really think we’ve got this right? It could be just coincidence. Maybe we’re looking for things that aren’t there.’

‘Well,’ replied Jules, ‘we were given the paper for some reason. Did you see anything else in there to do with the letter?’

Theo had spent a good hour after he’d gotten home from school going through the paper, but he had to admit that he hadn’t. ‘No,’ he said.

‘Well there’s no time like the present,’ said Jules, handing him his mobile phone.

Theo paused as he looked at the phone, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

‘But what’s gonna happen? What do you think I’m gonna find?’

‘Dunno,’ said Jules, ‘but there’s only one way to find out. Here’s the number. Come on, get on with it. I haven’t got all day.’

Nervously, Theo tapped out the number from the advert and then held the phone to his ear. After a short pause, it began to ring. One ring, two rings - Theo’s heart began to thump with anticipation - three rings, four rings - still nothing - five rings, six rings.

‘There’s no answer,’ said Theo.

Seven rings, eight rings. Then there was a click and a recording of a heavily accented woman’s voice began to play:

‘Hola. You have called Juanita. I’m sorry but Reach for the Sky is no longer open for business. Thank you to everybody who has supported me over the years. Have a good life and remember – throw off your mental chains. Adios!’

The phone clicked and a continuous tone sounded. Theo held the phone out in from of him and stared at it for a moment. Then he ended the call and slammed the phone down on the bed.

‘It’s a bloody waste of time,’ said Theo angrily.

‘It can’t be,’ said Jules. ‘What did it say?’

Theo told her what he’d heard as best as he could remember.

‘Try it again,’ said Jules. ‘You might have missed something.’

‘No, I haven’t. That’s it - it’s nothing but a con. How could we have been so stupid? How could I have been so stupid? I thought for a moment, just for once, something might have happened to me - something exciting or different. But no, it’s me. Nothing ever happens to