The Adventures of Stunt Boy and His Amazing Wonder Dog Blindfold by Lollie Barr Page B

she said as she cut the tomato to join the rest of the salad on the tuna sandwich. ‘Your timing is only impeccable when it comes to food. Everything else, forget it.’
    I ignored the bossy insult. ‘Jem, a bike courier with an envelope from the bank just turned up,’ I said, pulling the yellow envelope from my pants and putting it on the table. ‘It’s addressed to Ginger, but we’ve got to see what’s inside.’
    â€˜We can’t do that!’ said Jem, who has always been a stickler for rules and regulations. She placed a sandwich in front of me. ‘It wouldn’t be right to open it. Eat your lunch and then take the envelope back to the office.’
    The envelope sat on the table like a present under the tree, just begging to be opened at five-thirty on Christmas morning, but you have to wait for everybody else to get up. Have you noticed how time slows down when you’re waiting?
    â€˜Aw, come on, Jem. The envelope is for a representative of Stoked. While Dad is in hospital, surely we’re the representatives, not Ginger Styles?’ I said, feeling my temper flaring. ‘She doesn’t ever have to know! I’ve seen how people open envelopes in movies. You put the envelope in the steam from a boiling kettle and it dissolves the glue. Then we can seal it up again.’
    â€˜I don’t know, Stunt. It feels like we don’t trust Ginger,’ said Jem.
    â€˜Well, I don’t. Right now, the only people I trust are you and Blindfold, even though Blindfold’s not really a person,’ I added.
    Jem didn’t say no, so I went into the kitchenette, boiled the kettle and gently placed the envelope over the steam. It took ages but eventually the lip of the envelope came loose and I used a knife to gently prise it open. I took the opened envelope back to the table and slid out the contents before taking a few quick bites of the sandwich. I was starving.
    â€˜Coo-ee! Jem, Stunt!’ called out the singsong voice of Ginger Styles.
    I quickly grabbed the pile of papers and the envelope and sat on them. Jem and I didn’t dare breathe, hoping that Ginger Styles would just turn around and go away, but she wasn’t one to wait for an invitation and she came barrelling on in.
    â€˜Hey, kids! Hey, Blindfold!’ she said as Blindfold ran up to her for a pat. Dogs are very trusting of people. Blindfold is friends with everyone and couldn’t understand that I didn’t trust Ginger Styles one bit.
    â€˜I just ran into a courier on my way in and he said he had dropped off an envelope for me, which you signed for, Stunt Boy. I just checked and it wasn’t in the office.’
    I felt every drop of blood in my body rise to my face like my head was going to explode and there would be blood everywhere. If I’d tried to make a run for it, I would have fallen over because there wasn’t any blood left in my legs. I suddenly felt dizzy and sick.
    â€˜You okay, Stunt Boy?’ said Ginger Styles. ‘You don’t look well.’
    â€˜I think I got food poisoning from my tuna sandwich,’ I said, holding my stomach and pointing at the half-eaten remains. I looked desperately at Jem, whose face was nearly as red as mine; her ears were making devil horns out of her hair again. ‘My tummy really hurts.’
    â€˜Oh, poor baby. I don’t think it’s the sandwich, though – it takes a bit longer for food poisoning to kick in. Did you have the vegetable curry in the mess last night? Maybe it’s upset your tummy. Why don’t you have a lie-down? Do you think you’ll be okay to perform tonight? It’s okay if you don’t.’
    â€˜Yeah, I’ll be okay,’ I lied, because I wasn’t sick at all. It’s the worst feeling in the world when you get caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing. ‘I want to, I mean, it’s my first time back on the bike in nearly two