Selby Sorcerer Read Free Page B

umbrella.
    ‘This is brilliant!’ Drew said, finally. ‘This is not just a room in a beach house — this is the beach! Just what someone from this dry little town would love to come home to. Now the owners will be back in a couple of minutes so hide everyone. Cut!’
    ‘But Drew they’re not coming back till tomorrow morning.’
    ‘I know that, Tabby. We’ll stay in the local motel tonight and we’ll come back and hide here when they return. The viewers will never know we fixed the room the day before. Hey, somebody ring the skip company and get them to take away all that rubbish.’
    It was a very sad dog that lay on the banana lounge with one paw in the sand.
    ‘What have I done?!’ he wailed. ‘Dr Trifle’s life’s work is lying in a skip and about to go to the tip. Dr Trifle’s going to crawl into a hole and die — and it’s all my fault.’
    A tiny tear formed in Selby’s eye but before it could roll over his lower eyelid and down his nose, it suddenly dried up again.
    ‘I’ve got it!’ he said, racing to the phone.
    ‘Room Rage,
how may I help you?’
    ‘There’s been a terrible mistake!’ Selby said. ‘This is Jetty in Bogusville and your
Room Rage
crew just fixed up the wrong room!’
    ‘The wrong room?’
    ‘In the
wrong house!’
Selby said.
    ‘But I don’t understand,’ the startled receptionist said. ‘They went to Number 10 Lamington Drive, didn’t they?’
    ‘No, they didn’t.’
    ‘Are you sure?’
    ‘They didn’t even go to the right street!’ Selby said. ‘The chief of police is going to be really angry when he finds out you ruined his workroom.’
    ‘The chief of police?! Oh, no! I’ll ring the crew straightaway.’
    The night was dark. There was no moon. The people of Bogusville slept silently as a small shadowy figure carrying a screwdriver ran from door to door and climbed utility pole after utility pole until he, too, lay exhausted.
    ‘Hello? Anybody home?’ Drew’s voice said. Morning had broken but it was still very early. ‘Nope, just the family dog. Come in, guys.’
    ‘How could you have got it so wrong?’ Tabitha said. ‘The number on the door says 13, not 10. And the street sign doesn’t even say Lamington Drive.’
    ‘Stop complaining,’ Drew said, ‘you didn’t notice it either. Come on, let’s get things back exactly where they were. Check the video and make sure we get it right. Luckily the skip hasn’t been emptied yet.’
    For the next hour, the
Room Rage
crew worked frantically to put the workroom back to the way it was.
    ‘Okay, guys,’ Drew said, finally, ‘let’s get out of here before Mr Top Cop gets home. We’ve got a lot of work to do before we get out of this dreadful little town.’
    Selby lay down for a snooze but didn’t have his eyes closed for more than a second when the Trifles came home.
    ‘I can’t believe it!’ Mrs Trifle said. ‘Those high school kids have switched all the house numbers and the street signs.’
    Suddenly the phone rang. Mrs Trifle held the phone at arm’s length, listening to the screams. Finally she put it down.
    ‘What was that all about?’ Dr Trifle asked.
    ‘That was Jetty,’ Mrs Trifle said. ‘She’s in a terrible state.’
    ‘But she was fine when we dropped her off a couple of minutes ago,’ Dr Trifle said.
    ‘Well, she’s not fine now,’ Mrs Trifle said. ‘Someone has turned her lounge room into a beach.’
    ‘A what?’
    ‘A beach. There’s sand everywhere. She says she caught the young people who did it. They were pretending to be a TV crew. Probably the same kids who changed the street signs.’

    ‘I think we’d better get over there straightaway before Jetty does something crazy.’
    ‘I don’t think we have to go anywhere,’ Mrs Trifle said. ‘Look outside.’
    Dr Trifle, Mrs Trifle and Selby looked out the front window to see an amazing sight. There, racing down the street was the whole
Room Rage
crew followed closely behind by Aunt Jetty hitting them with