Winning Stories 2009
Story by Tom Hooke
“What’s in here then?” Corey comes up beside me and squints into the cage.
“A python. “
He watches it with me for about five seconds. It looks sad in there, all curled up on itself.
“It doesn’t do much, does it?” He taps on the glass. The python doesn’t stir. He taps again.
“It says don’t bang on the glass” I tell him, pointing to the sign.
He narrows his eyes at me, says “You always follow the rules, don’t you?”
It makes me smile, because he’s so wrong. I’m about to turn the whole world upside down. Upside down and inside out.
Corey kept on banging; the python awoke!
“Corey!”
“What?” asked Corey
As they were arguing, the python slithered towards them. “ SSSSSSSSSS” “SSSSSSSS” .
“What on earth was that?” said Corey.
“It was the python, stupid!” I replied.
“Let’s look at something different” said Corey.
Corey and I set off for the dolphin pool.
We sat down in our seats, eagerly waiting for the show to begin, “I’m boiling” said Corey.
He was thinking about diving into the water. He didn’t know that there was a special Portal in the water that was why it was so sparkly and welcoming!
He just couldn’t resist having a swim, the water just look so beautiful. He started pushing his way down through the crowds; other people didn’t like it at all!
“Oi!” said one.
“Watch yourself” said another, but Corey ignored them.
Corey eventually got to the front.
“Corey! Corey! Stop it!” I commanded while pushing through the crowds after him.
“What are you doing?” I said “You’re not going to get naked are you?”
But it was too late; he had already jumped in with his clothes on.
I dived in after him. The water felt so warm and relaxing but I still swam after him. I managed to grab onto his foot, then I saw myself and Corey go through a rainbow coloured portal.
Just as I was about to take him back through the portal, oh blazers it had closed!
“Corey, you stupid, dumb, idiot, dipstick, moron face,” I thought in my head.
I could not hold my breath any longer, I breathed out, hang on! I felt like I was breathing normally, like I could breathe in oxygen, even though I knew I was under water!
“Oh my goodness – I can breathe under water and how amazing, I can speak under water as well!”
Just as I was being amazed I heard something moving behind me. “Corey, where are you?” I spotted Corey. His shadow appeared on the darkness of the sea. His shadow looked a lot different to usual.
No it couldn’t be! Corey was standing in the jaws of a humongous great white shark! “Corey, get out of there now.” It was too late - he had fallen into the beast’s stomach. Luckily the shark did not manage to get a bite on him. Now that dreaded shark was chasing me!
I managed to bonk it on the head with a rock. “That’ll teach you to mess with me dumbo!” I said. “Right! Now I need to get inside the shark and rescue Corey without awaking it.” Just as I was about to get in through the huge jaw the beast made a noise. Plop, parp, plop. Corey shot out of the back of the shark with a rather disgusting smell! “You be more careful Corey, understand?”
Corey nodded. “Look there's a key over there” Corey said. I picked up the key and saw a door with a picture of an ice cube on it. I put the key in the lock and twisted it left and right five times. The door opened. We walked through, wondering what we would find. The door behind us turned into another rainbow coloured portal and sucked the key inside it. The portal disappeared leaving another key behind. I quickly shoved this key into my pocket without looking at it. Corey and I kept on walking. We found ourselves trapped in a world of ice. We were freezing cold!
“UH OH!” said Corey. In about five seconds, we were surrounded by penguins with freeze ray blasters. Corey had a wise idea (for once!) He walked forward to the biggest penguin (which we guessed was the leader) Corey put his hands forward to surrender while saying “please handcuff my hands, I give up” (but he was tricking him). Corey yelled “NOT!” as he grabbed a smoke bomb from the biggest penguin’s pocket, then slammed it on the floor as we made our escape. The penguins were left coughing after inhaling the smoke.
As we were running, I put my hand in my pocket and found the key! A door appeared in front of us with a picture of the zoo we had visited on it. We heard a thunderous charge behind us …. it was the penguins we had knocked out with the smoke bomb.
I quickly put the key in the lock and twisted it left and right five times. “Hurry up!” screamed Corey. The door turned into a rainbow coloured portal. I grabbed Corey and shoved him through the portal, flinging myself through after him.
The portal closed once again leaving another key behind after sucking the one we had used to open it back in. Again, I shoved the new key into my pocket. “Where the flippin' heck have you been?” said Granddad Malcolm (his chin covered in candy floss) who had taken us to the zoo that day. Nana came rushing up behind him pulling us into her arms. “We thought we had lost you, we’d looked everywhere!”
I looked at Corey and whispered “perhaps not everywhere after all.” I still have that key in my pocket and I know a great surprise awaits us some day.
but that’s another story…
Tom Hooke aged 8
Archive - Henrietta Branford Writing Competition 2009 - 10th anniversary year
The Branford Boase Award for authors and their editors
The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition for young writers
