Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 It didn't take long before Flora's idea turned into a plan. She told each of the friends to meet in the playground by the climbing-frame after they had eaten lunch. The four friends wolfed their lunch down as quickly as possible, and rushed outside to the playground. They stood in a huddle, shivering in the cold. It felt like there was snow on the way. A group of hungry- looking pigeons, pecking at the ground, bobbed nearby. Charlie looked at them suspiciously. Were a couple of them familiar? No, Charlie thought. They were just pigeons.fn1

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'OK,' said Charlie. 'What's the plan?' 'Well,' said Flora, 'it was Wogan who first gave me the idea.' 'So basically I'm the brains here,' said Wogan. 'And it comes from Mohsen's idea as well,' said Flora. 'So basically I am also the brains here,' said Mohsen. 'We are all a part of this plan, guys,' said Flora. 'Apart from Charlie. He's had no ideas,' said Mohsen. 'That's right,' said Wogan. 'Charlie's definitely not the brains here.' 'Guys? Can we listen to what Flora has to say? Please?' 'Thank you, Charlie. So– Mohsen was right. We need to break in to Van der Gruyne Industries and steal back the gold that Dylan's dad stole from Charlie's dad. Then you won't have to sell your home and everything will be back to normal.' The three boys murmured in agreement. 'The question is how? How do four children break in to a high-security office with guard dogs and high walls and guards?' 'And the laser-guided nuclear missiles,' said Wogan. 'No,' said Mohsen. 'We decided the laser-guided nuclear missiles probably didn't exist, remember?'

'We did?' said Wogan. 'Phew! That's awesome news! Strike one to us!' He high-fived Mohsen. 'Anyway…' said Flora slowly, 'so how do we break in? It's too difficult for kids. But what happens if we had a special weapon? Maybe a lion that could scare away the dogs? Or a mosquito that could evade security cameras? Or a monkey that could climb over a wall and then open a door? Or a crocodile to bite the security guards?' 'But,' said Wogan, looking a little deflated, 'where are we going to get all those anim– HANG ON A MINUTE! You mean Charlie, don't you?!' Flora nodded with a sage smile. 'So you think Charlie could change into animals and help the mission?' said Mohsen, his voice laced with excitement. 'Exactly!' said Flora. 'OK,' said Charlie. What Charlie was really thinking but didn't say, was how the thought of changing into an animal filled him with utter dread. What if his new problem got worse and he totally forgot who he was and stayed as an animal forever? He tried to squash the problem away deep down inside himself. 'I don't want to spoil the party here, guys,' Charlie continued, 'but there's a couple of big problems with your plan. Firstly, as we all know, I can't choose which animals I turn into.' 'I realize that,' said Flora. 'We are going to have to improvise.fn2 Whatever animal you turn into, we can use its powers. If you're a snake, you can slink

through the fence and bite the guards. If you're a worm, you can crawl underground and then right into the building. All animals have their uses.' 'Hmm. OK. But you're forgetting the main problem,' said Charlie. 'Which is?' said Mohsen. 'It's that Charlie can't choose when to change,' replied Flora. 'Exactly. I can't just click my fingers and change whenever I want,' said Charlie. 'That,' said Flora, holding a finger up, 'is exactly how Wogan gave me a brainwave.' Wogan beamed proudly. 'He asked if you could learn how to control when you change,' Flora said, crossing her arms. 'And I think you can. I think we can train you to change when you want.' 'Now THAT is a plan,' said Mohsen, wide-eyed with admiration. 'Do that and you really will be a proper superhero.' 'Awesome,' said Wogan, shaking his head in wonderment. 'So, so awesome.' 'And how exactly do you think you're going to train me?' asked Charlie doubtfully. 'I'll show you, but we'll need privacy and quiet. So we all need to arrange a play date at one of our houses on Saturday afternoon. Agreed?' 'Agreed,' said Mohsen immediately. 'Afraid there might be a teensy bit of a problem with that actually,' said Wogan. 'There's a My Little Pony movie out this weekend that I thought I'd try to

see with Daisy. Apparently Twilight Sparkle pony nearly loses all her powers and–' 'WOGAN!' said Flora. 'Yes?' 'The My Little Pony movie can wait. Charlie needs our help.' 'Gah, OK! I guess it can wait until it comes out on DVD. Then Daisy can come to mine for a play date and we can watch it together. We can get popcorn and marshmallows. Daisy loves marshmallows.' 'Great,' said Flora, looking slightly exasperated. 'Charlie? You up for it?' Charlie thought for a moment, looking hard at the ground. Saving his family versus the risk of changing into an animal forever? What a decision. Pigeons circled round them, getting closer. One of them had a foot like a piece of popcorn. 'OK,' he said, swallowing his fear. 'OK. It's worth a go. Let's do it.'