Wait for the Green Man

Continued from yesterday:

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Things were drawing to a close on the bowling green.  Grandad’s team had not won but it had been a pleasant match and everyone was ready for tea.  Nan and Grandad’s house bordered the park, just a three minute walk from the green, so Nan went ahead to put the kettle on while Grandad said cheerio to his team.

“I’ll go and round up the boys,” Dad volunteered.

Mum caught up with Nan.

****

Luke pressed the button and waited for the green man.  When the traffic stopped and the green man lit up, they crossed the main road.

“See,” said Luke, “safe assouses!”

They both looked up and down for the ball with no more success than they’d had so far.  Luke saw a side street which sloped downwards and guessed it had probably rolled down there.  It hadn’t.

“I think we have to go back,” said Joe.

“I know,” agreed Luke reluctantly.

They walked up the side street until they reached the main road.

“The cinema!” said Joe with surprise, “I wonder if they’ve got the new Batman film.”

Luke would also have liked to check out the new Batman but first he wondered how come they hadn’t noticed the cinema on their way out.  Had they passed it and not seen it?  Or was this a different road? Luke looked at the other buildings in the street: a pizza restaurant, a chip shop, a key-cutting shop.  None of it looked familiar.  Well this road must be parallel to the other road.  Luke felt sure if they took the next left they’d be back on track.  They took the next left.  Then the next right.  Then they went straight ahead for a long time.  They were completely lost.

“What’re we gonna do?” Joe was really worried.

Luke wasn’t entirely calm himself but he pretended he was.

“Let’s sit down for a minute to think,” he said.

It was so hot and they were really thirsty.  They sat down on a bench and thought.  Mum and Dad had mobile phones but Luke didn’t know the numbers.  And anyway, there were no phone boxes.

“Just think!” Luke told himself, “I’m an outlaw. I can get us out of this.”

He looked up and down the length of the street and at one end of it he saw something that would solve everything.

******

Continues tomorrow 😀 but if you don’t want to wait you can read the whole story here