Page 56 - Mobile Magic

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Athol looked nervous. ‘Hey! We won’t really have time to do scientific research. We’re just interested in seeing the place - the way Angie described it fascinated us. It sounds as though it is genuine, untouched, old-growth forest. I hate seeing native ecosystems wantonly destroyed!’
'We’ll just take some notes and a few photos,' Patrick added. 'Perhaps there’ll be something you can use in your campaign.’
‘Thanks for coming anyway, it’s really, really, important to me,’ said Saffron. ‘You know, I think Chuckie only wants to come so that he can ride in that souped-up minicar of yours.’
Saffron snuck Kiwi’s packet of kitten snacks into her bedroom, filled her old lunch-box with them and hid it in her backpack. She put Magic’s dinner in on top and zipped it up. The kids squeezed into the back of the green-mobile, definitely not a family car, but it was a luxury not to have to walk to the paddock as usual.
As they pulled into the carpark she could see that none of the after-work riders had arrived, although the horses were already hanging about hopefully. Athol and Patrick unloaded huge rucksacks from the back. Why do they need to bring that much stuff? she wondered.
Saffron sent the others on ahead, with the excuse that she needed to feed Magic. She had just placed the open lunchbox on top of the gnarled rafter supporting the shed’s verandah, when the sound of wing beats made her look around.