The Great Kieranski and the Bardbuy

By Cate Mara

It is the last day of the summer holiday before school starts again and the self-named Great Kieranski is determined to have an adventure even if he has to invent one! Joined by his crew of best mates they use recent events as a reason to save their town from aliens, bullies and the evil Bardbuy.

Kieran, an opinionated country boy who loves his town, friends, and family with a fierce pride, tells the story of their last day. Obsessed by magic, the local bully, and being part of a crew, he reveals the triumphs and trials of friends and enemies through their encounters. He explains why kids sometimes tell lies, start fights, and even deal with girls, as his crew saves the town from the monster that lives by the creek. During their adventures the boys support each other, help others, and Kieran even develops an inkling of why the local bully is a bully. This is a MG chapter book aimed at boys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Breedles Publishing
• Release date: Oct 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9780987221308

Cate Mara

I live in Australia with four dogs, a cat and several noisy parrots in my garden! I am doing a teaching degree specialising in Drama.

Book preview

The Great Kieranski and the Bardbuy

Cate Mara

Copyright Cate Mara 2011

Published by Breedles Publishing at Smashwords

http://www.breedlespublishing.com

Cover by Padraig Designs

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and places are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Chapter 1—It’s all about me!

Arrrrgh! Phil! Stop kissing me!

Phil is my boxer dog. He has a droopy face and a big slobbery tongue, and right now, he's just stuck his head in the fridge. He is looking for butter to steal 'cos Phil is a big butter thief! We got up earlier than usual; well, earlier than usual for him because my family made the light rule.

You’re not allowed out of bed until the sun is up!

When I was little, Mum caught me playing army men inside the fridge, since that was the only light I could get. So she told me I wasn't allowed to leave my room until it was daylight. This time we got up just before the whole sky was light. Phil likes to sleep in more now he is old, but when I open the fridge, he comes looking for butter.

My family are sleepyheads—sometimes they sleep in until nine in the morning. Nine! I like to get up early because anyone who sleeps in can miss the best part of the day—the beginning. And today's not just any day; it's the most special day of summer holiday. It's the last day before school starts again.

My little sister thinks school is great and she always wants to go! She decorates all her books with rainbows and fairies, and talks to Mum about her teachers. I think her brain is a little mashed from Mum kissing her on the forehead all the time. All those kisses got to do something to your head. She is shorter than me by lots and has black hair like my older brother and Mum. I am blonde and tall like my dad. I like being tall since it lets me reach stuff way back of the cupboard. The stuff mums are always trying to hide, like cookies.

My brother is five years older than me and pretty tall, only Dad doesn't call him stork legs like he does me. He's in high school and would be boring, only he can build anything out of anything, which is kind of cool. He likes science stuff and can do maths in his head like Dad. He also thinks that's better than knowing how to flip a bike backwards. I can't do that, but I saw a guy on TV do it once and it's way better than numbers. James says you need math to work out stunts but I'm too busy playing tug of war with Phil to care. James doesn't mind that school's about to start again, but then he does weird things like talk to girls on the phone.

This is like the almost worst day of the year, worse than dentist day, doctor day, even worse than standing at the head of the class and reading aloud. That stuff happens when you go to school, but the end of summer just creeps up like Phil on an open fridge.

Dad's been around most of summer since he took his vacation, so we did family stuff like go to the beach for a week and swim in the ocean. He works by himself in an office that's white and smells like bathroom cleaner. We go there when Mum has to meet him and we sit in a room on hard chairs waiting for him to finish. Once I asked him about his work.

Dad, what you do?

Dad smiled and I knew he was going to keep half the answer as a joke for only him.

I help people make decisions.

What kind of decisions?

Big ones.

That's Dad and how he talks to us, well, when he isn't trying to punk us. Like last April Fools' Day was on a Saturday and he came rushing into my bedroom to get me out of bed.

We slept in! Get ready for school!

I'm still sleepy so I get dressed and run down downstairs. Then I see everyone else waiting in the kitchen.

April Fool’s! they shout at me.

Everyone knows about the joke but me, and even Molly was still in her pyjamas. I got so mad I kicked the table leg and Mum made me mow the yard for punishment. First they treat me like junk and then they make me do work on a Saturday morning.

Another time I asked Mum what Dad does and she told me he helps people pay their bills. She said it helps people to talk to him, but I got bored because James already talks enough about numbers.

I get an apple from the crisper and a piece of cheese for Phil. He's a good dog to talk to because he doesn't tattle like little sisters or tell you to shut up like big brothers. I think they're just jealous that I am the Great Kieranski and they have plain names like Molly and James. I used to hate my name and wanted a different one, so I made everyone call me Joe instead of Kieran, until I saw a real magician doing tricks at the markets. He did these cool things like make coins disappear from behind your ear, and when people took a playing card from a deck, he could guess it! It was so awesome that I want to be a magician too. That means having a special name for when I do tricks, so now I'm The Great Kieranski. When my birthday comes, I'm going to ask for the Giant Box of Magic Tricks. I saw it in the window of Major's Toy Shop in town and I know it will make me the Great Kieranski for real! Until I get it, I practice the guessing card trick with a pack of cards from the kitchen drawers.

Molly, pick a card from the deck. I hold the pack out to her but she gets mad.

Muuu-um, Kieran is making me do tricks again.

See what I mean about her telling on me.

Leave your sister alone, shouts Mum from the kitchen.

They still treat me like junk—it's not like I'm doing secret ninja stuff to her, and a magician has to do a trick a bazillion times before he gets it right.

Our next-door neighbour is called Old Tom and one day he told me about a crew. He isn't like ordinary grandpas because he’s sailed the seven seas! He said he was in the navy and they are called a crew, so I guess he would be right. He talks to Mum over the rose bushes