SOS Top Shot

Chapter One

Party Games

‘He bounces! He shoots! He scores! The crowd goes wild!’

Hook Hand Horace leaps into the air. He waves to an imaginary crowd and blows kisses to the empty chairs.

‘Thank you, thank you,’ he cries. ‘This calls for a victory lap!’

Grabbing the closest balloon, the little rat bounces it across the party room like it is a basketball.

He dances around chairs and ducks under table legs.

‘Oh yeah, oh yeah!’ he sings. ‘The Pie Rat is the champ!’

Suddenly there is a loud POP as Horace bursts the balloon with his hook hand.

‘Rotten pies to cheap balloons,’ he mutters.

A red fox tying a bunch of balloons gives him a grin.

‘Great performance, Horace,’ he says. ‘You should get a job here. As a clown!’

‘Very funny, Scorch,’ mumbles Horace. ‘You know I only come here for the pies. And to see you, of course.’

Scorch’s grin widens.

‘There is never a dull moment with you, Horace,’ he says. ‘You can visit me anytime. But remember to pick up the popped balloons. Mum wants this place spotless for the next party.’

Scorch’s mother owns Pandora’s Pie Palace, a castle-inspired restaurant with pie-print wallpaper, pie-shaped windows and enormous pie-themed doors!

Scorch helps in the party room when he is not doing his schoolwork. He is great at lighting birthday candles and organising party games.

Scorch is home-schooled, but sometimes he wishes he went to pirate school with his friend Horace.

‘Did I tell you about the big Cannonball match, Scorch?’ asks Horace, picking up a piece of balloon.

Cannonball is Horace’s favourite sport. Imagine basketball but with upturned cannons instead of baskets! Balls are fired out of the cannons after every goal, so they are made from extra strong rubber.

‘SOS is versing the Captains College in the Cannonball Cup,’ explains Horace. ‘The team tryouts are this afternoon. I have been practising every chance I get.’

‘Even in the party room,’ jokes Scorch.

Horace smiles. ‘It would be a dream come true to make the school team.’

‘I’m sure you’ll do great,’ says Scorch.

He is happy for Horace, but he wishes he could be part of a team. Any team. SOS has the only sporting teams on Shark Tooth Island, except for the snail racing team, but Scorch is not a snail.

‘Hey, I have an idea,’ says Horace. ‘Why don’t you come and watch the tryouts? Old Fetch could use your help lighting the cannons. He always burns his fingers.’

Scorch’s eyes grow bright.

‘Sure,’ he says. ‘I’ll be there with my best box of matches.’

Chapter Two

Team Tryouts

Later that afternoon, Scorch walks over to the Cannonball court on the edge of Port Scoundrel.

The court looks like a basketball court, with three-point arcs at either end. The only difference is the huge iron cannons for scoring.

Horace, Nora Nibblesworth and Chomper O’Many are warming up with basketballs under the watchful eye of Old Fetch, the school butler. Today, the grumpy bloodhound has swapped his top hat for his coaching cap.

‘I hope you’re not catching the balls in your mouth again, Chomper,’ he grumbles. ‘This one is covered in teeth marks!’

Chomper O’Many, who is about to catch another ball with his teeth, lets the ball drop to the ground.

‘Er, not me, sir,’ says the saltwater crocodile. ‘It must have been the rats.’

Horace rolls his eyes. ‘Everyone blames the rats.’ He spots Scorch approaching the court and waves to him with his hook.

Scorch holds up a new box of matches and waves back.

‘Gather round, students,’ says the coach. ‘It might come as a surprise to you but I was once a famous Cannonball player. They called me Furious Fetch. I could fetch a ball from anywhere on the court in the blink of an eye.’

He shuffles his feet to show how fast he is. His movements are even slower than a turtle in reverse.

‘Hmm,’ he says, ‘perhaps I have lost some speed over time. But I can still coach a winning team.’

Chomper O’Many punches his fists together.

‘Oh yeah,’ he says. ‘We’re gonna beat the tails off those Captains College kids.’

He thumps his enormous tail against the court, almost starting an earthquake.

Horace tumbles to the ground with a squeak and bumps his head.

‘Easy does it, Chomper,’ says Old Fetch. ‘Strength alone will not win the game.’

‘But hopping will!’ cries Nora Nibblesworth. The white rabbit begins bouncing up and down like a yo-yo.

She is having so much fun that she accidently lands on Horace’s tail before the dizzy rat has recovered from his head knock.

‘Ouch!’ he yelps.

‘You’re off to a flying start, Nora,’ says Old Fetch. ‘But can you hop that high while you’re bouncing a ball?’

‘Are you kidding me?’ says Nora. ‘I’m a bouncing bunny. Bunnies can do anything!’

‘Talent is one thing,’ says Old Fetch, looking around at his students, ‘but without teamwork you won’t stand a chance against the Captains College. In the eleven years of the Cannonball Cup, SOS has never won. This could be our year! I want to see plenty of team spirit during the trials, understood?’

‘Aye, aye, coach,’ shouts Nora.

She dashes onto the court with Chomper close behind her. Horace staggers after them, still dizzy and swaying from side to side like a tiny boat on a rough sea.

Old Fetch turns to Scorch.

‘You look familiar,’ he says. ‘Are you an SOS student?’

Scorch shakes his head. ‘No, sir. I’m home-schooled. But I work in the party room of Pandora’s Pie Palace. Maybe you saw me at a birthday party.’

‘Ah yes,’ says Old Fetch. ‘That could be it. I love spooky dress-up parties.’

Scorch takes out his matches. ‘I brought these along, sir. Horace said you might like some help lighting the cannons.’

‘I certainly would,’ says Old Fetch, holding up several burnt fingers. ‘My mother told me to never play with matches. And she was right! The cannons are all yours.’

Chapter Three

Bouncing Balls

TOOOOT!

With a whistle blast from Old Fetch, the three Scallywags are off and cannonballing!

Chomper uses his powerful tail to catapult the balls to the other students.

Nora catches her ball easily and races off towards the goal.

With his spinning head and sore tail, Horace has a lot more trouble.

The first ball whizzes straight over his head. The second collides with his legs, knocking him over like a tenpin in a bowling alley! And the third ball whacks him on the nose.

‘Shiver me snot sniffler!’ he howls in pain. ‘Not my beautiful nose! I’ll never smell another apple pie again.’

‘Don’t give up now, Horace,’ shouts Scorch from the sideline. ‘Show them one of your rebound shots.’

But Horace can barely catch a ball let alone throw one into a cannon.

At the other end of the court, Nora takes an enormous leap and slam dunks her ball into a cannon.

‘It’s bunny time!’ she cries.

With a nod from Old Fetch, Scorch rushes over to light the cannon.

One swish of his match is all it takes for the fuse to spark to life. Three seconds later, the cannon explodes with a mighty KABOOM!

The explosion is so big that Scorch is thrown off his feet.

‘Blazing volcanoes!’ he cries. ‘What just happened?’

He looks up to see the ball speeding into the air.

Higher and higher it goes until it is nothing but a black spot against the clouds. Then it vanishes from sight.

‘Oh dear,’ says Old Fetch. ‘I may have added a little too much gunpowder … again.’

‘Shiver me moon landing!’ gasps Horace. ‘You’ve sent the ball into outer space.’

‘Hang on,’ says Nora. She rushes over to her schoolbag and pulls out a spyglass. ‘A bunny is always prepared.’

Raising the spyglass to her eye, she peers into the sky.

‘Did we hit a bird?’ asks Chomper.

‘Where is the ball now?’

‘It’s falling fast,’ says Nora. ‘But not towards us.’

‘So where is it heading?’ asks Old Fetch.

Nora lets out a large gulp. ‘Right for the town square.’

‘Shiver me disaster!’ gasps Horace. ‘Cherry’s Mice Cream cart is in the town square. There’ll be kids eating ice creams everywhere!’

Scorch leaps to his feet and bounds off the court.

‘Where are you going?’ shouts Horace.

‘To stop a disaster!’ Scorch yells over his shoulder.

Chapter Four

Crashlanding

Scorch has never moved so fast in his life. He streaks through the streets like a fireball, his red and orange fur flashing in the sunlight.

He twists round corners, darts through alleys and bursts into the town square.

He sees the ball falling from the sky like a meteor, on a collision course with the Mice Cream cart.

The children are too busy licking ice creams to notice it.

With no time to warn them, Scorch rushes forward and slams his body into the side of the cart.

Cherry M. Mice Cream gives a startled squeak as the cart jerks to one side.

The ball hits the ground with a loud THURWOOMP, missing the cart by millimetres.

Screaming children drop their ice creams as the ball bounces back into the air.

Cherry sticks her head out of the cart and cries, ‘What on earth was that?’

‘No time to explain,’ yells Scorch. ‘There is a bouncing ball on the loose.’

He takes off after the ball, which is bouncing wildly towards Pandora’s Pie Palace.

The ball hits the centre of the road and bounces onto the footpath, but before it can smash through a window of the Pie Palace, Scorch leaps up and snatches it from the air.

‘Gotcha!’ he shouts.

With the ball safely in his paws, he keeps running until he is back at the Cannonball court.

‘Look, he’s back,’ shouts Horace, rushing out to greet him. ‘Wow! Talk about quick, Scorch. You just left and two seconds later you’re back with the ball.’

‘Super quick,’ says Old Fetch. ‘I haven’t seen anyone move that fast since my days on the Cannonball court. And that was a long, long time ago.’ He pauses. ‘How good is your throwing arm? Could you score a three-pointer from the halfway line?’

‘I don’t know,’ pants Scorch, trying to catch his breath. ‘We play a lot of ball games in the party room. But mostly with balloons.’ He looks down at the ball in his paws. ‘I guess I could give it a shot.’

Chapter Five

Top Shot

There are butterflies in Scorch’s belly as he walks to the halfway line.

Can I really do this? he wonders.

He tries to calm his nerves by pretending he is back in the party room.

Just bounce, aim and shoot, he tells himself.

He bounces the ball once.

He bounces it twice.

And then, with his eyes fixed on the cannon, he shoots.

The ball curves in a huge arc through the air.

Holding his breath, Scorch watches as it hits the rim of the cannon, spins once and then drops in for a three-point goal.

‘Shiver me spectacular!’ exclaims Horace. ‘What a top shot!’

‘Pretty impressive for a rookie,’ adds Chomper.

‘Better than a bunny,’ says Nora, before adding, ‘well, almost.’

‘We could do with someone like you on our team,’ says Old Fetch, placing a paw on Scorch’s shoulder.

‘B-but I’m not an SOS student,’ stammers Scorch.

‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ says Old Fetch with a wink. ‘I know a few ways to get you on the team.’

Scorch glances at the three Scallywags students.

‘But you already have a full team,’ he says. ‘Three players per side.’

‘True,’ says Old Fetch slowly. ‘But this is a tryout. Not every student gets to play in the Cannonball Cup. My job is to choose the three best players to represent the school.’

‘So who made the team, coach?’ asks Chomper. ‘Surely you need my terrific tail.’

‘And my brilliant bouncing skills,’ adds Nora.

‘And my, er …’ begins Horace. He stares at his toes and sighs. ‘Never mind.’

There is silence.

Everyone knows who is on the team before Old Fetch makes the announcement.

‘Chomper is our rock-solid defender,’ says the coach. ‘Nora is our brilliant bouncer. And Scorch is our fireball top shot.’

‘What about Horace?’ says Scorch, looking over at his friend. ‘It was his dream to play on this team. Surely he deserves a spot instead of me.’

‘Forget it, Scorch,’ Horace says, waving the idea away with his hook hand. ‘It was a stupid dream. Old Fetch is right. The team needs the best players. I’m better off being the cannon lighter.’

And before anyone can stop him, he turns his back on them and walks away.

Scorch is about to run after him when Old Fetch says, ‘Leave him be. Horace is a tough little fellow. He just needs some time by himself. The rest of you have practice to do.’

Scorch picks up a basketball. He wants to be excited but he cannot help feeling that he has just lost a friend.

Chapter Six

Fireball Fox

On the morning of the big game, Scorch has two visitors at Pandora’s Pie Palace. Neither of them is Horace.

Chomper and Nora arrive before school wearing brand new Cannonball singlets.

‘Check it out,’ says Chomper. ‘Our team singlets have arrived.’ He points to his chest. ‘And look, they gave us cool nicknames.’

Chomper’s singlet reads Chomper the Stomper.

Nora’s reads Bouncing Bunny.

‘I’m as cute as a carrot,’ she says, striking a pose. ‘And look, we have one for you.’

She passes Scorch a matching singlet.

When he holds it up, he feels a rush of pride.

I am finally part of a team, he thinks, running his finger over the SOS logo.

‘So?’ says Chomper. ‘What do you think of your nickname?’

‘Fireball Fox,’ reads Scorch. ‘Cool. Or should I say hot?’

Looking at the three singlets reminds Scorch of Horace. He hasn’t seen his friend since the tryouts. Sighing, he looks at the empty doorway, half expecting to see Horace sneaking in for a pie. But the little rat is nowhere in sight.

Horace wanted to be on this team more than any of us, he thinks.

‘Does Horace get a singlet too?’ Scorch asks. ‘He is our official cannon lighter.’

‘I’ll talk to Old Fetch,’ says Nora. ‘He has some spare singlets at school.’

Chomper gives Scorch a huge slap on the back.

‘See you this afternoon, Fireball Fox,’ he says. ‘And be ready to burn up that court!’

Chapter Seven

The Cannonball Cup

Port Scoundrel has caught Cannonball fever!

Pirates and scoundrels fill the grandstands of the Cannonball court, waving flags and chanting, ‘SOS. We’re the best!’

The hometown team clearly has the crowd support.

When the Captains College players finally arrive after their voyage to the island, Scorch wonders what he has gotten into.

It takes every bit of his nerve not to run away when three enormous students barge through the crowd, heading straight for him.

‘We’re gonna crush you, squish you and turn you into fish food!’ roars a lion.

‘And then we’ll sail off this stinking island with the Cannonball Cup like we do every year,’ sniggers a rhino.

‘You must enjoy being beaten by the best,’ snarls a tigress.

Scorch just stands there like a frightened cub, afraid to even blink.

‘What, nothing to say, little fox?’ growls the lion. ‘Has the big cat got your tongue?’

He will if I open my mouth, Scorch gulps.

The bullies quickly grow bored of Scorch’s silence and wander off to gaze at their reflections in the Cannonball Cup.

As soon as they are gone, Scorch hears a voice behind him exclaim, ‘Shiver me stampede! Those Captains College kids are gigantic!’

Scorch turns around to see Hook Hand Horace wearing an SOS singlet with the words Team Helper written across the front.

‘Oh hi, Horace,’ he says. ‘It’s good to see you. I didn’t know if you were coming.’

‘Well, I couldn’t miss the big game and let the team down,’ says Horace. ‘I’m the official cannon lighter.’

‘So you’re not mad about the tryouts?’ says Scorch.

Horace shrugs. ‘I was at first, but then I realised that Old Fetch had chosen the best team.’

‘I hope we can still be friends,’ says Scorch. ‘I know this was your dream, not mine.’

‘And now it is both our dreams,’ says Horace. ‘To be honest, I’m glad I’m the cannon lighter. One look at our opposition and I started shaking like a jellyfish on a ghost train ride!’

Scorch smiles. ‘That sounds like the Horace I know. Always ready to crack a joke.’

‘It’s better than cracking my head,’ says Horace. ‘Be careful out there.’

‘I will,’ says Scorch. ‘Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you.’ He passes Horace a box of matches. ‘They light first time, every time.’