Friday Barnes and the Case of the Lost Passport

To celebrate the release 'Friday Barnes 9, No Escape' I have recorded a short story from that book. I hope you enjoy it. It features Parker, always a popular character. If you really like it, please do buy the book!

I’m very excited to announce that we now have merchandise for BEDTIME STORIES WITH R.A. SPRATT! You can order t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, notebooks and coffee cups all with the show’s new logo on it. They look super cool. Here's the link to the online shop...

https://raspratt.threadless.com/designs/bedtime-stories-with-r-a-spratt-2/kids

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

Hello,

Speaker 2: 0:37

Welcome to bedtime stories with me. Are I spread well? It's a huge week here for me because the ninth book in the Friday bond series came out this week on the 2nd of February, 2021. And, uh, for those of you who haven't followed the saga, I wrote eight books in the series and everyone loved them and they did really well, but some people didn't like how I ended the eighth book. I thought I ended it really well, but some people disagreed and I have been nagged for years by the fans to write another book and have another way of tying it up. So I was like, okay, I will say I've actually written a night. We're going to have even committed to writing a 10th book. But the nights one has come out this week and went on sale yesterday. So to promote that, I thought I would read a chapter from the book for you here on the podcast. I'm not going to reach out to one cause there's spoilers in it. So if you're going to buy the book, I don't want to ruin it for you. I'm going to read you chapter two and three, which is the first whole mystery, the mint, a mini story in the book. So you can just hear the whole thing and you'll be able to enjoy it on its own. Even if you don't read the rest of the book. Okay? So here goes To, to school suite school at long last the road began to seem familiar. The rolling green countryside, the luxury country mentions discreetly tucked away behind high hedges, the general rural affluence, they were entering the land of rich people's weekend retreats. They were also nearing high crest. You could practically smell the money. Well you could. If the center of cow poo didn't overpower it when Friday spotted the school's Clocktower and the distance, her heart rate accelerated, she felt warm. She hadn't expected that sight to be so reassuring. Here's Mr. Pilcher. All right. Us Friday was the first. Any of them had spoken in nearly an hour. The question took Dr. Bell crony by surprise. Mr. Pilcher was the school's groundskeeper and handyman. Yes, he was fine. When I saw him this morning and said, Dr. Bell, Crady no leg injuries as Friday. No. He said Dr. Bell credit. Why do you ask the clock is three minutes. Slow set Friday. That's not like him. If he knows that he's avoiding walking up the stairs, which could be an unconscious symptom of heart disease. Alternatively, if he doesn't know that the clock is wrong, he should get his eyes tested. He probably needs glasses. Friday was staring out the window. She still looked glum, but Melanie smiled. Her friend was still in their deductive reasoning and innate curiosity, which is dormant below the sadness on the surface. She'd be all right. Eventually. Hopefully Dr. Bell Crady pulled into the school's driveway. It was nice to hear the familiar crunch of gravel. Again, everything was so beautiful. The sports fields were green and immaculately cut. Students were practicing cricket and hockey drills. Even the swamp looked pretty as the sun glinted off the buggy water Friday led out of sigh. Ah, she expected it to feel so good to be back to be home bang, something slammed into Friday's car door. She threw herself into the footwell in the detention center. She learned the dive into the floor was a good tactic in emergency situations. It's okay. Said Melanie kindly it's only Parker Friday looked up to see parka. Now a year 12 boy, his face pressed up against her window. Friday exclaim Parker. His voice only slightly muffled by the window. Thank goodness it's you. I need your help pack. His nose was squashed up against the glass and flattened. He resembled a cartoon version of himself. It was hard to take his anxiety. Seriously. Friday grabbed the door handle and pushed and took a moment for bargain to realize he would have to step back. And Friday was going to get out. Leave her alone. Parker said Dr. Bell. Crady give her a few days to settle in before you start badgering her to solve all your problems. But I don't have a few days complained Parker. I need Friday now. I'm not problem-solving anymore. So Friday sorted out yourself. Gosh, Friday, that's just cruel said Parker. You know, I'm not up to that sort of thing. Leave me alone, said Friday. I will said, Parker, I'll go all the way to Italy, but you've got to help me. I've lost my passport. You see if you help me find it, I'll leave the country entirely for two weeks. That's two weeks of peace for you. Why don't you simply order a new one said, Friday's not what you rich people do. There's no dimes at Barker. My parents were on a cruise to Antarctica. So it take forever to get them to sign the paperwork and get it back here, please. Friday. I'm begging you after all we've been through together, you've got to help me. No said Friday. You've got to learn to take care of yourself. I'm not taking on cases anymore. It's not taking on a case, said, Melanie, it's helping a friend. Ex-boyfriend said Parker, you're not helping. Melanie told him she turned back to Friday. You can be miserable. And self-involved all you want. Yes, you have been hard done by, but that's no excuse for you to be anything less than a good person. Parker is your friend. I am a greed pocket. You may not want him to be. Your friend continued Melanie, but that's what he is. Good. People help their friends. Friday felt ashamed of herself. Melanie was a good person. In every sense. She said rarely got from about anything is because we broke up isn't it said, parka love can be so destructive. What are you talking about? So Friday we didn't break up. You asked me out. And I said, no, but you've come to regret it. And resent me said pocket. I understand the girls are impossible to understand. I'm willing to move past this. If you'll just help me. This once Friday had an enormous intellect. She could comprehend quantum physics, the trajectory of asteroids and molecular biology, but she was entirely baffled by the train of Parker's logic. Ha said, Friday, just come to my room. Find my passport is so jolly. Clever. Let me take a few moments at Parker. Then you'll be rid of me for two whole weeks. High crest without pocket did sound more restful than high crest with Parker. All right. So Friday with OSI, I'll have a quick look. Would you like me to arrange your things to be taken to your room? I stopped at bell crazy. I think I can manage that Friday. She held up a garbage bag that contained her mega possessions from the last 11. Yeah. Dr. Bell. He shook her head. Sorry. I'm used to dealing with students who turn up with enough luggage to explore the Amazon for two years. You can probably handle that yourself. So carrying all her worldly goods Friday, put on her hat and went off with me. Name, pocket and the direction of his room. As Friday followed Parker towards the senior boys dormitory. She watched him walk. He'd changed since you saw him last. He had swagger. Now he'd show at least 10 centimeters. And he had muscles. He was started to be mad and shaped. It happened to all the boys eventually. Well the hormones kicked in and physically, at least yeah. Came to resemble men. Are you objectifying Parker? Melanie asked what's the trial. She took a moment to figure out what Melanie was talking about. We're so far from our own train of thought. You're staring at his butts, said, Melanie, I was observing the way he walks at Friday. You say potato. I say, potato said, Melanie, do you have a room to yourself? Now you're a senior Friday asked Parker. She wanted to do steer the conversation away from Melanie's uncanny ability to notice this company things gosh knows at Parker. Only the smart fellows get that. Well, the top 95% aren't quite enough rooms for everyone to get their own. So the bottom six fellows have to share two to a room. Who's your roommate. As Friday rockets. I said, Parker, he's a good filler. It does a lot of Roman at the crack of Dawn. So he's dead to the world straight after dinner. Sometimes before dinner as well. Sleep is so important said Melanie approvingly. I like running around as much as the next I said pocket, but I don't understand why anyone would choose to play a sport that involves getting up. So dreadfully early in the morning, it's because the water's flat has said Friday, but there's a water, always flat Parker. I've had girls tip a glass of water over my head or throw it in my face several times and always forms a very flat puddle on the floor around my feet. No, the wind makes the water wave. You said Friday and wind increases through the day as the air temperature over land. If as to the air temperature over the sea choppy water makes the boats go slower. So they row earlier the morning, that's a dreadful sacrifice to have to make in the name of sports at Parker, as they approached the last door in the corridor. Here we are. This is our room. He unlocked the door and threw it up. If the girls to go through ahead of him. When Friday stepped into the room, the first thing she noticed was the smell. Oh dear. I said Friday covering her nose, Melanie, you might want to stay out in the corridor. It's okay. Said Melanie also holding her nose. I've got four older brothers. I'm used to the stench of hormonal teen Friday story just inside the door to maintain her access to fresh air for as long as possible. But also to take in the scene, the room was only four meters by four meters. You would assume that such a confined space would make finding the passport easy, but that small room had so much dirty laundry, disused school, stationary, candy, and general detritus littered over every surface. That'd be like finding a needle in a haystack in fact harder because at least a haystack is pleasant smelling. So where do you normally keep your passport as Friday pinching her nose and trying to wheel her eyes to stop watering. The last time I saw it was when I put it away, he said, Parker, where was that? As Friday in my underwear drawer said, Parker, you do realize that that's the least imaginative place to hide anything of value. So Friday the underwear drawer is always the first place thieves look to be first at Melanie. They might look at Parker's underwear drawer, but I doubt they'd want to touch anything. None of it smells as bad as the rest of his room. Friday knew she had to be brave and see for herself. Luckily, the chest of drawers Parker pointed out was on the less messy side of the room. Both sides were a disaster area, but once I'd looked slightly less likely to be overwhelmed by an avalanche of filth at a moment's notice, the chest was a standard pine structure with three long drawers for clothes and two small drawers at the top for socks and underwear. Every student at high crest had exactly the same piece of furniture in the room. Friday reached out, tentatively grasp the handle of the top right drawer and pulled it bracing herself to see something horrific. She was surprised to discover that it was entirely empty, ah, said Friday, what asked Parker? Now it makes sense at Friday. What makes sense asked Melanie why Parker is walking? Funny, said Friday. She turned to look at Parker. You're not wearing any underwear. Are you Parker blushed? How did you know to have some sort of x-ray vision? The thought of this made him blush harder. He quickly picked up a folder and held it in front of his pants. No, you're walking funny, said Friday. I wondered if you had a groin strain or some sort of injury that made it more comfortable to walk that way. But now I realize you were mainly trying to avoid chafing Friday. This is a very delicate subject, even for you said Melanie, but it explains the missing passports at Friday. How does park is lack of Andy's explained the theft of his passport as Melanie. Was it a girl who was so entranced by his new suggestive walk that you had to have a photograph of his face? No. Although your train of reasoning is not far off. The Mark said Friday, this is a cause and effect situation, but you've got the cause and effect around the wrong way. I'm not following a word of this conversations at Barker. Don't worry. You never do. And it always works out in the end, said Melanie kindly true agree Parker. One of the thief didn't intend to steal the passports at Friday. One of the thief wanted to steal the underpants. Wow. That would have to be a girl who really liked the way Parker walked said Melanie or a boy who was so exhausted from constant early morning training that he never had the time or energy to take his washing to the laundry set Friday. As a result, he ran out of clean underwear. What was he to do? It's one thing to go commando when you're only sitting around in class, but no undies. When you're sitting in a rowboat at 5:00 AM on a cold swamp, that would be deeply unpleasant. And if you're really lazy, you wouldn't want to steal a new pair every day, better to steal a whole lot at once. And the laziest way to steal a whole lot at once would be to take your own empty drawer, pull out the whole thing and swap it with the nearest full drawer. Friday went over to rocket Hays, chest of drawers and pulled out his underpad straw. It was full of at least a dozen pairs of clean underpants. My undies exclaimed Parker. How can he be? Sure they're yours asked Melanie, you see the hole in the front of the pair on top said Parker. I got that. When I spilled hydrochloric acid on my pants during Mr. Spencer's science lesson. Gosh, I'm glad I had undies on that day. Now, parka. I prefer not to stick my hand into your pile of underwear said Friday, could you please reach underneath and see if your passport is still there. Parker moved the undies to one side and there it was his passport. You did it again. Exclaim Parker. He grabbed Friday in a hug. It was a lot bigger than the impromptu uninvited hugs he used to give Friday. I had to catch a breath as he squeezed at ribs. I don't suppose you'll reconsider my offer as Parker as he released his grip on Friday. What offer asked Friday to be my girlfriends at parka? I know you will besotted with Wayne Scott. I don't know why it is, but girls always seem to go for the miserable sullen types. Anyway, he's been gone for two years now. It's time to move on. Are you sure you wouldn't like to settle for me? Quite sure said Friday. I don't mind about your criminal records at Parker. I was exonerated said Friday. The fact that a member of my study group happened to be in a terrorist cell and they took my work for our criminology project and use it to plan an attack on a military base was determined to be no fault of my own. Once the special forces team raided, their headquarters translated their communications and cross-examined everyone involved. I was eventually cleared of all involvement. Yes. I don't mind about that. Either said parka no said Friday. She knew she had to be clear for Parker. So there would be no confusion. I will not be your girlfriend. Oh, Oh well said parka. A fellow has to ask. Well done. Parker said, Melanie, you got your passport and your undies back. And you had the courage to proposition Friday. It's been a big day for you. Yes. At Parker, smiling proudly at the thought spinner jolly good day. The end. Thank you for listening to support this podcast just by a book by me, RA SPRAT. There's lots to choose from, from across the Friday. Bonds, nanny Piggins and pesky kids series. And now there's the audio books of the adventures of nanny Piggins and Friday Bond's girl detective. So you can order these through your local bookstore or you can go to my website, RA spratt.com and click on the book, depository banner. They have all my titles and free international shipping. That's it for now until next time. Goodbye.