Luke Walker: animal stick up for-er,Β chapter 17, continues from yesterday:
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Inside the busy department store Luke and Joe headed to the food hall at the back. It was like a supermarket only posh. High on the walls were colourful photographs of grazing animals alongside stylish pictures of meat and fish dishes with captions like βCommitted to Animal Welfareβ and βRSPCA Freedom Foodsβ.
Luke turned to Joe.Β βThe leaflets said this shop is sellinβ ducks from factory farms so stick these on anythinβ with ducks in,β he said, handing Joe half the stickers. Then he reconsidered and took them back. βNo, itβs busy so weβd better stick together. You pretend to be shoppinβ β get a basket β anβ Iβll put the stickers on.β
Joe fetched a basket and the two outlaws headed for the chilled section. They walked along the large glass-fronted cabinets and whenever they saw anything labelled βduckβ Joe reached up and pretended to be rummaging, picking things up, looking at them, putting them back, choosing something else. All the while Luke, screened from onlookers by his friendβs authentic movements, commenced putting stickers on plastic-wrapped trays of duck spring rolls, duck breasts with plum sauce, and duck legs with Hoisin sauce. Then they moved on to the freezer section and Luke stickered a pile of whole ducklings with giblets while Joe casually kept watch. After that they progressed to the tinned meat aisle but there was a man restocking the shelves. Luke whispered something to Joe who shook his head.
Luke frowned. βIf you wonβt do it, Iβll have to do it and youβll have to do the stickers on your own!β he whispered.
Joe accepted the commission, preferring that to the alternative, so Luke approached the shelf-filler.Β ββScuse me,β he said politely, βIβve lost me mum, can you put an announcement out for her?β
βSure,β said the man, helpfully, βcome with me.β
As soon as Luke and the man were out of sight Joe, as fast as he could, began stickering stacks of tinned duck cassoulet, duck confit and duck liver pãtè. He had to keep pausing, trying to look casual, every time someone entered the aisle, but as soon as they left he resumed. Sometimes the stickers were frustratingly difficult to peel off their backing paper but he took deep breaths to calm himself and persevered. When he heard the announcement for Mrs Kathryn Janeway to meet her son at the customer service desk he knew his time was up. With only one sticker left, he made his escape before the shelf-filler returned. The two boys rendezvoused in the toy department and left the shop unhindered, but not before Luke affixed their last remaining sticker to a yellow toy duck.
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βWhatβs your name?β asked Isabel.
βAndy,β said the suited man, βwhatβs yours?β
βIsabel. Why do you dress like that?β
βIn a suit you mean?β
βYeah.β
βTo look respectable.β
βLike an estate agent?β
Kris laughed.
βWell, that wasnβt exactly what I was going for,β said Andy.
βOh, sorry,β Isabel apologised. βLike a bank manager then? Or a teacher?β
Kris laughed again.
Andy sighed. βNot like anything in particular,β he said, βjust a regular upstanding citizen as opposed to a scary, pierced, tattooed, hippy dippy punk, like someone I could mention.β
βHeyyy!β Kris was mock-offended.
βI think she looks nice,β said Isabel.
βYeah, sheβs cool,β Tania agreed.
βThanks guys,β Kris smiled.
βYes yes yes, sheβs very cool,β said Andy, βbut she looks like a weirdo. If we want to persuade ordinary, mainstream people to take us seriously they have to be able to relate to us. We have to look ordinary. Approachable, respectable, non-threatening.β
At that moment a policeman arrived.
βAfternoon folks, have you got a permit for this stall?β
βDonβt need one officer, weβre not collecting money,β Andy replied.
βHow long have you been standing here?β
βGot here about twelve oβclock didnβt we?β
βYeah,β said Kris.
βAnd youβve been here the whole time? All of you?β Kris and Andy nodded. βWhat about you two?β he asked Tania and Isabel.
βWe got here about quarter past one,β Isabel told him.
βAnd where were you before that?β
βThe library,β said Tania, deciding that their brief time in front of the RSPCA shop wasnβt worth mentioning.
βNowhere else?β
βNo.β The girls felt their faces flush.
βCan anyone vouch for that?β
βIs there a problem officer?β Andy intervened.
βSpittles have found stickers on a lot of their duck products. Theyβve had to take a couple of hundred pounds worth of stuff off the shelves.β
Everyone behind the stall tried to keep their faces expressionless.
βAny stickers here?β the policeman asked as he browsed the stall, βyouβve got leaflets about Spittleβs factory farm duck. Did you do it?β
βCertainly not,β said Andy truthfully, βweβre just here to provide information.β The policeman looked sceptical. βLook,β Andy gestured to all the literature on the stall, βno stickers.β
βNevertheless,β the policeman continued after a momentβs pause, βSpittleβs would like you to move away from their store.β
βWe have every right β¦β Kris began to object.
βNevertheless,β the policeman repeated with emphasis, βIΒ would like you to move your stall away from this store.β
βNo problem officer,β Andy replied, βwe can do that. No problem at all.β
Wearing a serious, βdonβt mess with meβ expression, the policeman looked hard at Andy and Kris before nodding and turning away.
βThis is exactly the kind of thing I was trying to avoid!β complained Andy. βNow they think weβre thugs.β
Kris shook her head. βI call that a win,β she said, βwe werenβt going to get that duck off the shelves by just standing here handing out leaflets.β
βWeβre playing a long game here Kris,β Andy argued, βwe have to keep to the high moral ground. We canβt force the issue or it wonβt stick. Weβve got to persuade people to do it for the right reasons, so they wonβt renege later on.β
Kris shrugged as she continued piling leaflets into her battered shopper on wheels. The girls, who could see both sides of the argument, quietly exchanged glances before retrieving their clipboard. Andy folded the table and all four of them relocated outside the Arndale Centre.
βDβyou think Luke and Joe will be able to find us?β Isabel asked Tania.
βI hope so,β said Tania, βif they donβt get here soon weβll have to go. Our bus leaves in ten minutes.β
βAre you all going home together?β Kris asked.
βNo, we donβt live in the same village,β said Isabel.
βDonβt worry then, if youβve got to go, you go. Iβll explain it to them when they get here. If they get here.β
βThanks.β
βDid you reach your target?β
βNearly,β said Isabel, smiling, βTwo hundred and ninety four.β
βNot a bad dayβs work then,β said Kris.
The girls thanked her, said their goodbyes and made tracks for the bus station.
****
At the public toilets Luke was having trouble with the automated hand-washing machine. Heβd been dispensed liquid soap, no problem, but after covering his hands with it heβd been unable to get any water. He moved his hands from left to right, trying to activate the sensor, but nothing happened.
βDonβt bother,β said Joe, wiping his hands on his trousers, βit doesnβt work.β
Luke was annoyed at the sticky mess. βWeβd better get back to the others,β he said, grabbing a handful of toilet tissue.
βTheyβll be gone by now,β said Joe, βtheir bus was at three.β
βOh. Shall we go then?β
βOkay. Unless you wanna see the new Spiderman.β
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For more Luke Walker chapters clickΒ hereΒ π
Chapters 17 to 24 are available in paperback:
Luke Walker and the Secret Society of animal stick up for-ers

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vegan, veggie kids, animals, animal rights, children’s story, children’s book, books, juvenile fiction, creative writing, vegan children’s book, vegetarian
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