At five to six, Gaius wakes up.
You woke up! says Terence. We were supposed to wake you.
Well, now you won't need to, says Gaius.
We cleaned your bike, says Terence.
And we scared off the spiders, says Prong.
Excellent! says Gaius. Now I'll just pump up my tyres, eat an apple, buy a ticket to Barcelona and then we'll go and see Belle.
He goes outside and pumps up his tyres.
He hopes they stay up.
He eats a a shrivelled apple that has been in the fruit bowl since the day he left for Canberra.
Intense flavour, this apple, says Gaius. Will you eat the seeds, Prong?
Yes I will, thanks says Prong.
What do I get? asks Terence.
Belle will have something, says Gaius.
He sits at the table, takes out his phone and buys a ticket to Barcelona.
It is expensive. The flight takes 22 hours with one stop in Shanghai.
He checks his bike tyres. Good. They've stayed up.
Ready Terence? asks Gaius.
Yes he is ready. So is Prong.
Gaius cycles to the Velosophy office in the city, with Terence and Prong in his backpack.
Belle is the only one there.
Gaius! says Belle. And Terence! And this must be Prong!
Right on all counts, says Gaius.
Here's Prong's passport, says Belle. It's lucky about the whiskers.
She'll be a spy parrot, says Terence.
Why is it lucky about the whiskers? asks Gaius.
No one will accuse you of smuggling a native species out of the country, says Belle.
I hadn't thought of that, says Gaius.
We're smugglers! says Terence.
No you're not, says Belle. With those curly whiskers, Prong's an exotic.
To all appearances, says Gaius.
Where are the whiskers? asks Belle.
Curses! says Gaius. In Katherine's handbag!
You'd better get them before you fly out, says Belle. When are you leaving?
This evening, says Gaius. On Air China.
It sounds like we're on the same flight, says Belle.
How fortuitous, says Gaius. Are Vello and David on it too?
They're already in Barcelona, says Belle. I stayed behind to wait for Surfing-with-Whales and make sure he gets there in time for the race.
I see, says Gaius. Where is he?
Picking up his new wheels, says Belle.
Have you got any red drinks? asks Terence.
Of course I have, says Belle.
She finds him a Ribena.
Gaius calls Katherine, about the curly whiskers in her handbag.
I'll bring them to the office, says Katherine. Wait there.
But I have things to do, says Gaius. Wash my kit, and flatpack my bike. Perhaps you could leave the whiskers with Belle. We're on the same flight to Barcelona.
All right, says Katherine. Good luck, Gaius!
Thank you, Katherine, says Gaius.
But he does not think he will need it.
Everything has worked out so well.
