Plastic Palace (9781743583555) Read online

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  Lola was sitting on her bed, staring at her favourite toy Buddy.

  Buddy was a clown. And he was a clown with pen all over his face.

  Someone had drawn a pair of glasses on poor old Buddy. And a moustache.

  Lola knew exactly who had done it. Nick!

  Why did she have such an annoying brother? Why couldn’t he stay out of her room?

  Poor Buddy! She would have to wash him, but she knew Buddy hated getting wet.

  ‘Hey, Lola.’

  Nick was standing at her door. He had a big stupid grin on his face. ‘I thought Buddy needed a new look,’ he said. ‘What do you think?’

  Lola glared at Nick. She was so angry she couldn’t speak. He was horrible.

  She had to get him back somehow!

  ‘No need to thank me,’ Nick sang as he went off to his own room.

  Lola groaned. ‘I know what will cheer us up,’ she whispered to Buddy. ‘We need a little adventure. Come on!’

  At the end of her bed, Lola had a toy box. But it wasn’t just any old toy box.

  This one was special.

  Lola opened the lid of the toy box and climbed inside with Buddy. She gently closed the lid above them.

  Then the toy box filled with a bright light and started to shake. It was a bit like being inside a washing machine!

  Lola held on to Buddy and closed her eyes. Her tummy flipped and tumbled.

  Finally, the toy box stopped shaking.

  Everything went still.

  Lola opened her eyes. She took a deep breath, pushed up the lid and climbed out.

  She had climbed into her toy box. But she had climbed out of …

  She had climbed out of a very tall plastic wardrobe.

  Buddy climbed out behind her.

  ‘Well, bless my buttons, Lola,’ said Buddy, as he closed his eyes and did a nice big stretch.

  ‘It’s good to be back in the Kingdom!’

  Lola smiled. She loved hearing Buddy talk. He said some funny things!

  The toy box always brought them somewhere in the Kingdom. It was the place where toys came when children weren’t playing with them.

  The question was, where in the Kingdom were they today?

  ‘Hey, the toy box has become a wardrobe,’ said Lola. ‘Perhaps we’re in Narnia.’

  Buddy looked puzzled. ‘I beg your buttons?’ he said.

  ‘Doesn’t matter,’ said Lola with a smile. She looked around.

  They were in a very fancy bedroom. There was a huge bed, a chair that looked like a throne, and the tall wardrobe.

  Only – and this was strange – everything was made of plastic.

  Lola looked closely. It was all made out of hundreds of tiny little plastic bricks.

  Everything was shiny. And yellow. Very, very yellow.

  ‘There’s only one place in the Kingdom made of plastic,’ said Buddy slowly, looking worried. Then he went silent.

  ‘Well?’ Lola asked. ‘Where do you think we are?’

  But before Buddy could answer, Lola felt an odd thumping.

  Everything seemed to jump. It was a bit like when Nick stomped down the hallway at home. Only louder.

  Lola wanted to explore the strange plastic world, but the thumping was getting louder and louder.

  She looked at Buddy. Under his drawn-on glasses, his big eyes were even bigger than usual.

  He looked scared.

  The thumping sounded like marching feet.

  Lots of marching feet.

  And they were coming closer!

  ‘Quick!’ hissed Buddy. ‘Hide!’

  ‘Who’s coming?’ asked Lola as she rolled under the huge bed. ‘And where are we?’

  ‘We’re in the Plastic Palace, of course!’ whispered Buddy.

  He sounded more scared than ever. ‘In Nevercalm!’

  Oh, thought Lola with a shiver.

  She knew that Nevercalm was the home of the evil Plastic Prince. She also knew that he had formed an army of Almost Toys.

  Lola tucked herself out of sight. Buddy ducked behind the throne.

  The marching was much louder now.

  Lola was quiet, but her mind was racing. She knew there was a battle going on in the Kingdom. A battle between the Great High Bear and the Plastic Prince.

  If Buddy was right, and they really were in Nevercalm, then the toy box had taken them to a very dangerous place.

  All the toys that Lola knew agreed on one thing: Nevercalm was the scariest land in the Kingdom.

  But then Lola had a comforting thought.

  ‘They can’t be looking for us,’ she whispered. ‘No-one knows we’re here yet.’

  But before Buddy could answer, the marching stopped.

  Right outside the door.

  Lola gulped.

  The door handle turned. The door slowly squeaked open.

  Lola held her breath. She didn’t want to get caught. They’d only just arrived! Where was the fun in that?

  Lola peeped out from under the bed. She saw a large plastic soldier peering into the room.

  The toy didn’t look very well made. Lola reckoned she could have done a better job herself.

  It wasn’t very well painted, either.

  Lola was still holding her breath. But any moment now, she would have to gasp for air …

  Luckily, the toy soldier stepped back and closed the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked shut, the marching began again.

  ‘Phew!’ said Buddy, standing up on his wobbly long legs. ‘By my buttons, that was close!’

  Lola rolled out and stood up too.

  ‘That was an Almost Toy, wasn’t it?’ she asked softly, but she already knew the answer.

  Buddy nodded so hard his floppy hat bobbed up and down.

  ‘I thought so,’ whispered Lola. ‘It’s just like the ones I’ve seen in other parts of the Kingdom.’

  Lola listened as the sound of marching feet faded away. ‘They’ve gone now,’ she said. ‘Let’s go and explore!’

  ‘But it’s not safe!’ cried Buddy.

  ‘Oh, Buddy!’ said Lola. ‘It’s never totally safe in the Kingdom. But it’s always fun. Come on!’

  And she flung open the door and bolted down the corridor.

  The corridor was long and straight. And very yellow.

  Lola raced down it. Buddy chased after her as quickly as his big clompy clown shoes could carry him.

  He had just caught up with her when Lola noticed that one of Buddy’s buttons was flashing.

  She pointed. ‘Look, Buddy!’

  ‘Well, twist my toggle!’ he said. ‘Someone’s trying to contact me.’

  Lola peered at the button. It looked ordinary, but a red light was flashing in the middle.

  ‘How clever!’ said Lola. She didn’t know Buddy’s buttons could do that.

  ‘How does it work?’ she asked.

  ‘It’s a signal,’ Buddy replied. ‘It will lead us to whoever is calling.’

  ‘Come on, then,’ Lola said. ‘You lead the way.’

  As they hurried on, Buddy kept checking his button. ‘We’re getting closer. I can feel it in my stuffing.’

  Lola raised her eyebrows. She knew buttons were really important in the Kingdom. But still, she was surprised.

  ‘Useful things, buttons,’ Buddy said importantly. ‘What did you think they were for?’r />
  Lola nearly said, For keeping up your pants? But then she thought better of it.

  ‘We’d better be quiet,’ said Buddy, as they got further down the corridor. ‘We mustn’t be seen by the Almost Toys.’

  Lola didn’t know much about the Almost Toys, but she did know that all the other toys were scared of them.

  Was it because they were different? Or because they were plastic, and the other toys were made from soft fabric or fur?

  Or maybe the Almost Toys hadn’t been played with very much, and so they weren’t quite toys at all. Not quite, but almost?

  Buddy stopped and stared at the yellow wall ahead. He took another look at his button.

  Lola shivered. She loved the Kingdom, but it could be quite scary sometimes.

  ‘OK, are you ready?’ he asked Lola in a serious voice.

  She wasn’t.

  ‘Can you see that doorway?’ asked Buddy.

  She couldn’t see anything.

  ‘The signal is coming from inside,’ Buddy said.

  It didn’t look like a doorway to Lola. It looked like just another shiny plastic panel in the endless plastic corridor.

  ‘There’s nothing here,’ said Lola.

  ‘Nothing is ever as it seems in Nevercalm,’ Buddy explained. ‘There’ll be a switch somewhere.’

  He ran his soft mittens over the plastic wall.

  Lola stood beside Buddy and copied him.

  ‘Oh!’ she said suddenly.

  To her delight, she felt a switch on one of the panels.

  ‘Lucky Lola with the clever fingers!’ said Buddy. ‘Flick the switch. And on the count of three, we push.’

  Lola could feel her heart beating as she flicked the switch.

  ‘One, two …’

  But before they got to three, the door swung open and Lola and Buddy fell through!

  ‘Hey! Grand entrance!’ said a deep voice.

  Lola was staring at a pair of furry, orange paws.

  ‘Well, don’t just lie there,’ said the voice.

  Buddy leapt up. ‘Felix!’ he cried. ‘Son of the Great High Bear himself!’

  Lola stood up as Buddy threw his arms around Felix. Then she shook Felix’s paw politely.

  Felix was one of Lola’s old toys. She had left him at her gran’s one day. Felix came to the Kingdom because she wasn’t playing with him. But then he decided to stay there.

  He was needed to help his father run the Kingdom.

  Lola was proud of Felix. He was brave and clever, and an important bear in the Kingdom.

  ‘I’m so glad you could make it,’ said Felix. ‘I need your help. Look!’

  He took a letter from his bag and passed it to Lola.

  She began to read:

  ‘It took me ages to find the right room,’ said Felix. ‘They all look the same, you know. Yellow!’

  ‘How did you get in here?’ asked Lola.

  ‘I stick to the shadows,’ Felix said with a smile. ‘And paws don’t make much noise.’

  Buddy looked very impressed. ‘Well, pull out my stuffing and call me a pillow case!’

  Felix and Lola laughed.

  ‘This place is crawling with Almost Toys,’ said Buddy. ‘We just heard a whole army of them!’

  ‘Can’t worry about that sort of thing,’ said Felix, shrugging. ‘Not when there are top-secret plans to steal back.’

  Lola cleared her throat. ‘May I ask a question?’

  ‘Fire away,’ said Felix.

  ‘If you can slip in and out of dangerous places so easily,’ Lola asked, ‘then why did you call for our help?’

  ‘Good question, Lola,’ said Felix. ‘I didn’t need help to get in here. And I’ll be fine getting out. But I need help to reach that.’

  Felix pointed his furry paw to the middle of the room. Set into the floor was a huge safe.

  Something was not quite right about it.

  ‘Umm, Felix?’ said Buddy, scratching his woolly hair. ‘That doesn’t look very hard to reach.’

  Lola crept closer to the safe.

  ‘But Buddy,’ she said slowly, ‘you said nothing in Nevercalm is as it seems, remember?’

  Lola leaned over to get a better look at the safe.

  And what did she see?

  Herself, looking back!

  ‘It’s a mirror!’ cried Lola. ‘The real safe is up there.’

  She pointed up at the ceiling.

  ‘Well done, Lola!’ said Felix. ‘And the stolen plans are inside.’

  Lola smiled at Felix.

  Then she thought for a moment. It seemed that they had two problems.

  ‘First, we need to get up there to open the safe,’ she said. ‘Then we need to work out the code to get into it.’

  Felix nodded. ‘There is a key pad on the safe with letters, not numbers,’ he said. ‘So it must be a code word.’

  Lola thought about that.

  ‘I’ve got an idea. Let’s see which letters on the key pad have been used the most.’

  ‘We’ll never see from down here,’ said Buddy, staring up at the roof.

  ‘Of course we will,’ said Lola, kneeling down. ‘We’ll use the mirror.’

  They huddled around the mirror on the floor.

  Buddy gave a cry when he saw himself in the mirror. ‘Twist my toggle! What happened to me?’

  ‘Oh sorry, Buddy!’ groaned Lola. ‘My brother thought glasses and a moustache would suit you.’

  Felix smiled at Buddy. ‘I thought it was your new look, friend. I rather like it.’ Buddy took another look, then turned to Lola. ‘Hmmmpppphh!’ was all he said.

  Lola turned back to look at the letters again, trying not to laugh.

  ‘The most worn letters will make up the code word,’ she said extra seriously.

  Most of the letters looked brand-new. But sure enough, some looked a little worn.

  ‘I think it’s C, L, A, S, P and I. And definitely T.’

  Felix pulled out a piece of paper.

  Lola wrote the letters down. Buddy watched over her shoulder.

  Buddy studied the letters. ‘CLASPIT!’ he cried.

  ‘CLASPIT?’ said Felix. ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘Tangled laces, you’re right!’ said Buddy. ‘It should be a real word. Hang on.’ He went back to studying the letters.

  ‘SALTPIC!’ he cried next.

  ‘Buddy,’ said Lola. ‘Can you make an actual word from these letters?’

  ‘Let me see. Yes … yes … yes. Um, no.’ Buddy shook his head sadly.

  ‘Did we miss a letter?’ asked Felix.

  Lola stared at the key pad again. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said.

  Lola was quiet for a few moments.

  She arranged the letters this way and that. Then she smiled and wrote something new down. She held up the paper for them to see.

  ‘Oh, you’re good, Lola,’ said Felix, smiling. ‘You’re very good.’

  And what Lola had written?

  PLASTIC.

  Felix was delighted. Buddy turned a quick cartwheel. Lola was happy too, but something still didn’t feel quite right.

  ‘OK,’ said Buddy. ‘We have the code word. Now how do we reach the key pad to type it in?’

  ‘We’ll never climb up there,’ said Felix. ‘Too high.’

  ‘Anyone carrying a spare ladder?’ joked Buddy.

  ‘We’re not carrying anything,’ said Lola.

  Buddy checked his pockets.

  ‘Looking for these?’ Felix asked. In his paws were three juggling balls. ‘You lent them to me, remember?’

  ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ grinned Buddy, taking the balls from Felix.

  Felix nodded. ‘You can hit the letters from down here.’

  ‘So that’s why you called me!’ said Buddy, an even bigger clown grin on his face than usual.

  Felix clapped his friend on the back. ‘If anyone can do this, it’s you.’

  ‘Buddy the juggler, at your service!’ said the clown.


  He started to juggle.

  He was really good. Lola was always surprised at how clever her favourite toy was.

  Slowly, Buddy started to send the balls higher. And higher.

  Almost to the ceiling.

  ‘I’m ready to give it a try,’ called Buddy.

  He was about to aim the first ball at the letter P, when Lola suddenly pushed him aside.

  ‘Stop!’ she cried.

  The balls fell to the floor. Buddy looked at her, his big eyes confused.

  She’d realised what was bothering her. ‘It won’t be PLASTIC,’ she said. ‘It’s too obvious.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Buddy.

  ‘It’s like you said,’ Lola told him. ‘Nothing in Nevercalm is as it seems. It won’t be PLASTIC.’

  She paused, her mind racing. Then she looked up. ‘I think it will be the opposite.’

  ‘If you’re wrong, Lola …’ Felix trailed off.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ she replied. ‘But I think it will be PLASTIC, but backwards. Like seeing the words in the mirror.’

  Felix looked at Lola for a long moment. Then he nodded. ‘Get ready, Buddy. I’ll call out the letters. You hit them!’

  Lola held her breath.

  Buddy was magnificent. He didn’t miss a single throw.

  C! I! T! S! A! L! P!

  The door to the safe hummed a little and clicked, then slowly opened.

  ‘You’ve done it, Buddy! You’ve done it!’

  Felix was dancing from paw to paw.

  As the safe door opened, it started raining.

  But it was raining paper!

  The top-secret plans!

  Felix, Buddy and Lola grinned at each other.

  That’s when all the lights started flashing.

  And somewhere not too far away, a very loud alarm started ringing.

  ‘Oh, blast my buckle!’ said Buddy, over the noise of the alarm. ‘That can’t be good.’

  Lola felt the floor start to vibrate. ‘I think they know we’re here,’ she called.

  ‘It’s the Almost Toys,’ said Felix. ‘Marching this way!’

  Suddenly this wasn’t quite so much fun.

  This was the first time Lola had helped someone break into a top-secret safe and steal back some top-secret plans.