The Paradise Trap Read Free

there wasn’t one. ‘Is it hidden somewhere?’
    ‘It’s out the back.’ Coco waggled her fingers at the rear wall. ‘In our rumpus room.’
    ‘There’s a rumpus room? ’ Holly squeaked.
    ‘It’s just a little lean-to. You can dismantle it in about ten seconds flat,’ Coco assured her, before turning back to Marcus. ‘Why don’t you go and find the other kids, sweetie? They’ll show you how the equipment works. It’s no good asking me; I’m hopeless.’
    ‘Okay.’ Marcus was keen to explore the rest of the caravan. ‘So where are the other kids?’
    ‘God knows. Upstairs, probably.’ Coco waggled her fingers again – at the ceiling, this time. ‘Either that or they’re in the gym.’
    ‘There’s a gym ?’ cried Holly.
    ‘It’s just an inflatable thing like a jumping castle. It comes in a box,’ Coco replied. To Marcus she said, ‘Keep looking – you’ll find them somewhere. It’s only a caravan, after all. It’s really not that big . . .’

4
    A NEW FRIEND
    M ARCUS ’ S FIRST STOP WAS THE KITCHENETTE . H ERE HE found Prot trying to open the fridge door, which kept hitting the robot’s caterpillar treads and springing shut, over and over and over again.
    ‘Hey, Prot,’ said Marcus, as he came to the rescue, ‘is there an Xbox in this place?’
    ‘You want eggs?’ Prot droned. ‘In a box?’
    ‘No, no. An Xbox . Or a Wii console. Something like that.’
    ‘You have a weakened sole? You require a shoe repair?’
    Marcus rolled his eyes, just as a grufflittle voice behind him warned, ‘It’s no good talking to Prot . He never understands anything .’
    Turning, Marcus was surprised to see a very small boy in a suit of armour. The armour had been constructed out of tinfoil, flowerpots, kitchen utensils and computer equipment. The boy underneath it had unruly hair and no front teeth.
    ‘I’m Edison Huckstepp,’ the boy announced. ‘Who are you?’
    Marcus introduced himself. ‘Your mum and my mum are friends,’ he explained. ‘Your mum said I could look around.’
    ‘She’s not my mum,’ Edison corrected. ‘She’s my stepmum .’
    Marcus shrugged. ‘Whatever,’ he replied. ‘So can I have a look around or what?’
    ‘Sure.’ Edison made for the dining nook. ‘See that table?’ he asked, pointing at a square table with rolled edges. ‘Well, check out what happens when I push this button.’
    As Edison pushed – and Marcus watched – the ends of the table unfurled like a length of carpet.
    ‘It goes from four people to twelve people,’ Edison continued. ‘And if I push this button, you get flowers.’ A holographic centrepiece suddenly appeared on the tabletop: pink roses in a nest of cherry blossom. ‘You can change them, too,’ he added, pressing the wall-mounted button again and again.
    The roses flicked off, to be replaced by lilies, then orchids, then peonies, then carnations . . .
    ‘Yeah, but where are the computer games?’ said Marcus, who wasn’t very interested in flowers.
    ‘Upstairs,’ Edison replied. ‘I’ll show you.’
    He led Marcus back into the vestibule, where they encountered a fat, balding, red-faced man wearing a vivid Hawaiian shirt. Marcus guessed that this man was probably Sterling Huckstepp.
    ‘Hi, Ed,’ the man said cheerfully, pausing on his way to the front door. ‘What are you doing?’
    ‘Hi, Dad.’ Edison’s greeting confirmed Marcus’s suspicions; the man definitely was Sterling Huckstepp. ‘I’m going to play a game with Marcus. What are you doing?’
    ‘I’m off to show the people next door my new pocket-sized barbecue.’ Sterling Huckstepp waved a small black box at the two boys, then opened it like a book so that two halves of a metal grill fitted neatly together. ‘See?’ he went on. ‘You can plug it into a dashboard cigarette lighter and stow it away in a glovebox!’
    ‘That’s great, Dad.’
    ‘The grills are detachable. You store the tongs and the spatula underneath.’ Grinning with delight,