34 A Bobsleigh Ride

34 A Bobsleigh Ride Rockwell had never been a fan of roller coasters. If he was completely honest, he'd not even liked the tall slide at the local playground. He would only ever go down it sitting on his mum's lap which, when you're ten, could be a bit embarrassing. That's why, when he saw what Peanut was drawing with her magic pencil, several beads of sweat appeared on his brow. 'Is that... a bobsleigh?' he asked. ' Yes. We need to get down this mountain as quickly as possible, so I thought this would be our best bet. ' Right.' He swallowed. And you know how to drive a bobsleigh, do you?' 'Nope. Don't have a clue.'

'Right.' He swallowed again. Peanut started drawing what looked like a long, narrow bathtub on skis with a steering wheel at one end. As she rushed to colour in her outlined drawing with a wash of black rain ink, the faint alarm call of the levitating mechanical fish rang out in the distance. Even Rockwell had to admit that a fast escape was a good idea. But that didn't mean he was happy about it. 'Finished!' Peanut put her art equipment back in the bandolier. 'Right, I'll drive. Doodle can sit by my feet and LB, you sit behind me. Rockwell, you're in the back. OK. Everybody in. They took their places. Rockwell started to feel a bit sick. Actually, Rockwell. Thinking

about it, we're going to need a push-start. 'You want me to do it?' ' Yes. I've got to steer. Come on, get out and give us a push. Hurry up, that thing looked like it meant business and I'm guessing whoever it's calling will be here soon!' Rockwell clambered out of the sleigh and walked around to the back. It was pointing straight towards a very steep downward slope that ran for about thirty metres before

disappearing into the clouds below them. He shook his head. 'I could be practising my differentiation now,' he said out loud. 'But instead I'm 'GO!' shouted Peanut. He was surprised at how light the sleigh felt. It didn't need much of a shove to get going, and when it did, it gained momentum rapidly. He just about managed to haul himself back inside before it tipped forwards and plunged down into the clouds. The children were forced backwards as they hurtled down the mountain. Peanut squinted against the onrushing wind, steering left and then right and then left again, narrowly avoiding tree after tree. Rockwell, meanwhile, had his head between his knees and was praying for a quick death. He realised, to his relief, that the sound of the fish's alarm had faded away. It had, however, been replaced by a deafening, high-pitched whooping sound. He glanced up to see Little-Bit with both her hands

in the air and her head tipped back. "THIIIIIIIISSSS IS AWESOMME! she hollered. Rockwell put his head back down, just as they took a chicane at full speed. Bang. His left shoulder slammed into the side of the sleigh. Whack. Right shoulder. Bang. Left again. 'THIS IS REALLY HURTING!' he shouted. 'CAN WE STOP NOW PLEASE?' 'ER, ABOUT THAT...' replied Peanut. 'I FORGOT TO DRAW ANY BRAKES.' Rockwell shut his eyes tightly and cursed the fact that he wasn't going to get to fulfil his potential as one of the nation's greatest ever engineers. He was at least thankful that he had managed to finally understand the laws of thermodynamics during last night's revision session. 'RIGHT! HOLD TIGHT EVERYBODY!' bellowed Peanut. 'I'M GOING TO TRY SOMETHING. All four passengers were suddenly thrown violently to the left and Rockwell felt the entire sleigh start to tip. They travelled for a full ten seconds leaning at a seemingly impossible angle before eventually levelling out and, miracle of miracles, starting to slow down. Rockwell didn't lift his head from between his knees until he was absolutely certain that they had come to a complete standstill. He groaned. 'I think I'm going to be sick.