Chapter One
I
KNEW
IâD hate it. I kept telling and telling Dad. But he wouldnât listen to me. He never does.
âI like the sound of this adventure holiday for children,â said Dad, pointing to the advert in the paper. âAbseiling, canoeing, archery, mountain biking . . .â
âSounds a bit dangerous to me,â said Mum.
I didnât say anything. I went on watching telly.
âHow about it, Tim?â said Dad. âWhat about an adventure holiday, eh?â
âYou canât be serious! Timâs much too young,â said Mum.
I still didnât say anything. I went on watching telly. But my heart had started thumping under my T-shirt.
âHeâs nine, for goodness sake!â said Dad.
âBut heâs young for his age,â said Mum.
I still didnât say anything. I went on watching telly. I stared hard at the screen, wishing there was some way I could step inside.
âTim?â said Dad.
I didnât look round quickly enough.
âTim! Stop watching television!â Dad shouted.
I jumped.
âDonât shout at him like that,â said Mum.
âIâm not shouting,â Dad shouted. He took a deep breath. He turned his lips up into a big smile. âNow, Tim â youâd like to go on an adventure holiday, wouldnât you?â
âHeâd hate it,â said Mum.
âLet him answer for himself,â said Dad. He had hold of me by the shoulders.
âI â I donât really like adventures much, Dad,â I said.
Dad went on smiling, but I think he wanted to give my shoulders a shake.
âWell, what do you like, Tim?â asked Dad.
âWatching telly,â I said.
Dad snorted.
âAnd drawing and reading and doing puzzles,â said Mum. âAnd he comes top in all his lessons at school. Apart from games. You know heâs hopeless at sport.â
âOnly because he doesnât give it a try,â said Dad. âI was Captain of football and cricket when I was a boy.â
Dad had tried to teach me football. Dad had tried to teach me cricket.
He had tried. And I had tried. But it hadnât worked.
âTim canât help being bad at games,â said Mum, pulling me away from Dad.
She gave me a cuddle.
âItâs because youâve turned him into a right Mummyâs boy,â said Dad. âI think an adventure holiday would do him the world of good.â
He wouldnât listen to Mum. He wouldnât listen to me. He booked the adventure holiday.
âYouâll love it when you get there,â said Dad. Over and over again.
He bought me new jeans and T-shirts and trainers and a stiff soldierâs jacket to make me look tough.
Mum bought me a special safety helmet to wear all the time to keep me safe.
I didnât feel tough. I didnât feel safe.
I needed to hug Walter Bear very hard when Dad drove us to the Adventure Centre. Dad said I shouldnât take a teddy bear with me because the other kids might laugh at me. Mum said I couldnât get to sleep without Walter Bear. I didnât say anything . I hugged Walter even harder, sniffing in his sweet dusty smell.
Dad looked in his driving mirror and saw what I was doing.
âTim!â said Dad, turning round to frown at me. âCome on, youâre doing it deliberately. Put that silly bear
down
. Youâll be sucking your thumb next.â
He was watching me, not watching the road. An old banger suddenly overtook us, making Dad swerve.
âIdiots!â Dad shouted, peeping his horn.
A girl leaned out the open window of the car and yelled right back.
âSlowpokes!â she shouted, and pulled a silly face.
âI hope that girlâs not going on the adventure holiday,â said Mum.
I hoped she wasnât going on the adventure holiday too. I wished
I
wasnât going on the adventure holiday.
âLook, Tim! I think thatâs it,â Dad said excitedly.
I
I
KNEW
IâD hate it. I kept telling and telling Dad. But he wouldnât listen to me. He never does.
âI like the sound of this adventure holiday for children,â said Dad, pointing to the advert in the paper. âAbseiling, canoeing, archery, mountain biking . . .â
âSounds a bit dangerous to me,â said Mum.
I didnât say anything. I went on watching telly.
âHow about it, Tim?â said Dad. âWhat about an adventure holiday, eh?â
âYou canât be serious! Timâs much too young,â said Mum.
I still didnât say anything. I went on watching telly. But my heart had started thumping under my T-shirt.
âHeâs nine, for goodness sake!â said Dad.
âBut heâs young for his age,â said Mum.
I still didnât say anything. I went on watching telly. I stared hard at the screen, wishing there was some way I could step inside.
âTim?â said Dad.
I didnât look round quickly enough.
âTim! Stop watching television!â Dad shouted.
I jumped.
âDonât shout at him like that,â said Mum.
âIâm not shouting,â Dad shouted. He took a deep breath. He turned his lips up into a big smile. âNow, Tim â youâd like to go on an adventure holiday, wouldnât you?â
âHeâd hate it,â said Mum.
âLet him answer for himself,â said Dad. He had hold of me by the shoulders.
âI â I donât really like adventures much, Dad,â I said.
Dad went on smiling, but I think he wanted to give my shoulders a shake.
âWell, what do you like, Tim?â asked Dad.
âWatching telly,â I said.
Dad snorted.
âAnd drawing and reading and doing puzzles,â said Mum. âAnd he comes top in all his lessons at school. Apart from games. You know heâs hopeless at sport.â
âOnly because he doesnât give it a try,â said Dad. âI was Captain of football and cricket when I was a boy.â
Dad had tried to teach me football. Dad had tried to teach me cricket.
He had tried. And I had tried. But it hadnât worked.
âTim canât help being bad at games,â said Mum, pulling me away from Dad.
She gave me a cuddle.
âItâs because youâve turned him into a right Mummyâs boy,â said Dad. âI think an adventure holiday would do him the world of good.â
He wouldnât listen to Mum. He wouldnât listen to me. He booked the adventure holiday.
âYouâll love it when you get there,â said Dad. Over and over again.
He bought me new jeans and T-shirts and trainers and a stiff soldierâs jacket to make me look tough.
Mum bought me a special safety helmet to wear all the time to keep me safe.
I didnât feel tough. I didnât feel safe.
I needed to hug Walter Bear very hard when Dad drove us to the Adventure Centre. Dad said I shouldnât take a teddy bear with me because the other kids might laugh at me. Mum said I couldnât get to sleep without Walter Bear. I didnât say anything . I hugged Walter even harder, sniffing in his sweet dusty smell.
Dad looked in his driving mirror and saw what I was doing.
âTim!â said Dad, turning round to frown at me. âCome on, youâre doing it deliberately. Put that silly bear
down
. Youâll be sucking your thumb next.â
He was watching me, not watching the road. An old banger suddenly overtook us, making Dad swerve.
âIdiots!â Dad shouted, peeping his horn.
A girl leaned out the open window of the car and yelled right back.
âSlowpokes!â she shouted, and pulled a silly face.
âI hope that girlâs not going on the adventure holiday,â said Mum.
I hoped she wasnât going on the adventure holiday too. I wished
I
wasnât going on the adventure holiday.
âLook, Tim! I think thatâs it,â Dad said excitedly.
I
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