Copyright Published by The Loud Bunch, Hillcrest Christian College, 21 Bridgman Dr, Reedy Creek QLD 4227. Savanna Brosnan, Elizabeth Maynard, Connor McNeish, Joel O’Connor, Grace Purnell, Kooper Ransome, Jonathan Rouse, Noah Smith.
Copyright © 2021, Hillcrest Christian College.
All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquires should be made to the publisher.
Dedication Page
We dedicate this book to our teachers, parents, peers, and of course, those who are struggling.
To our teachers: Thankyou for helping us achieve our goals, we would never have made it without you.
To our parents: Thankyou for always believing in us.
To our peers: Thankyou for spending 12 hours with us, helping to write and illustrate this book.
To those suffering: We are hoping and praying that you win your battles.
A New House Excitement flooded the aging car as the sign of Greenwood Road entered their vision. The long and painful road trip was finally coming to an end as a new chapter in the Murphy family was about to begin. Alexander and Ryan’s rough faces and messy hair were glued to the glass, anxiously awaiting the first sight of their new home. Alexander, or otherwise known as Alex, is the unlucky younger brother of the two twins. His older brother Ryan is constantly reminding him that he is the older one and that he should be respected for it. Because of this, the two boys are constantly fighting with one another about who is the better technician. The wannabe firework boy Alex or the techy computer guy Ryan. William, the youngest of the three kids, lay squashed in the back of the car, dressed in his brand-new full body orange and black dinosaur suit. Ever since he got it for Christmas, he hadn’t taken it off. He constantly ran around screaming ‘RAWWWW’ as he waved his tiny arms around in the air. Once he even pretended to eat his older brothers, however it got out of hand as he began literally biting them. “Are we there yet?” William wined.
“Yeah kiddo, we’re pulling up now,” replied Dad in a voice weak from exhaustion. Mr and Mrs Murphy are kind and caring parents. They are always trying to keep the family together, and ensure the twins behave. They’re also very encouraging and helpful towards William’s dreams and give him the attention that he needs and values. Then there it was. Everyone was speechless as they slowly pulled up to the house. It had a modern design and two stories tightly mounted on top of each other in a spanning, open plot of land. The single garage door slowly wound open; the tension building after every prolonged second. Immediately, the rare bubble of silence burst as Alex and Ryan started talking; their voices quickly rising with exhilaration. “Look at the ROOF it’s-” “OH MY GOSH ITS AWESOME!” “Shut up I was talking-”
“I don’t care if you were talking-” “Let me FINISH SPEAKING-” “Enough, boys.” Their father did not raise his voice, yet the commanding tone in which he spoke, with an underlay of weakness from exhaustion, froze their conversation. The boys were paying no attention; however, they were already out of the car door and racing into the house. Within minutes they had raced through the house and already found the largest room in the house, claiming it as their own. “Ha, I got here first!” “No, you didn’t, there is no chance you beat me!” “I found the room first, FINDERS KEEPERS LOSERS WEEPERS!” “LISTEN TO YOUR BIG BROTHER, I’m 5 minutes and 31 seconds older!” Alex proclaimed. The twins argument was interrupted by mum’s soothing voice. “How do you two like your brand-new room?” A minute of silence followed mum’s words. The twins stared stony-faced at each other, whilst mum smiled from the doorway. “OUR ROOM? This is MINE!” Ryan bellowed. “NO! It’s MY room.” Alexander yelled in retaliation. “Listen, you’re sharing rooms and you’ll have to deal with it because there’s no other option.” Said Mum sternly. The twins didn’t like that. They turned their backs and stalked to opposite ends of the room, sitting down on the floor. “Come down in a few minutes, we have a surprise for you kids in the backyard.” Mum told the twins. “Fine, we’ll be down soon.” They sighed; and their attention was drawn towards the two desks on opposite sides of the room. A large, black, flat desk sat in one isolated corner. On the contrary, a tiny wooden desk with bumps like a mountain range sat by a window and a wardrobe. The boys opened their mouths to start the second wave of arguing, only to be stopped by Dad’s bulky figure, carrying 2 boxes. He placed them in the room and asked, “Can you two sort these out then come down for the surprise?” “Ugh fine dad, alright.” complained the twins, with no intention of ever touching the boxes. Dad marched out the room, and the twins hurriedly stuffed them into the wardrobe and raced downstairs.
Alexander, the aspiring firework technician, and Ryan, the aspiring computer technician.
Limited Edition Float Master 3000 “I know you guys are annoyed about sharing a bedroom, however your father and I have put together a little bit of a surprise in the garden to cheer you guys up, so come on down and take a look,” Mum said as the boys walked downstairs. Alex, Ryan and their little brother William, dressed in his new dinosaur suit that fitted head to toe in premium materials, slammed the doors open and funnelled onto the big wooden deck. To their surprise, there lay a large uniquely shaped modern pool imbedded amongst the garden and sizeable grass area.
“Mum, Dad why did you buy a house with a pool when we barely know how to swim?” questioned Ryan. “We thought it would be a great way for you guys to learn in a safe and relaxed environment.” Mum answered. “But that’s not all kiddos,” Dad continued. He moved aside to reveal a large pineapple pool floaty. “This is the brand-new, Limited-Addition Float Master 3000.” “Dibs that’s mine!” shouted Ryan. “No way mate I saw it first, I’ll be taking that!” replied Alex aggressively. “What about me?” whined William. “Shut up,” the twins snapped back at him. Both Ryan and Alex darted towards the floaty desperately, jumping onto it and throwing their hands around it. They greedily gripped either side of it with full force. “It’s mine!” They both screamed at the top of their lungs, viciously tugging either side. William watched worryingly at the side of his mother. Dad demanded, “BOYS, STOP!” It was too late. The twins were already consumed with greed, they were unable to hear their own fathers’ words; it was impossible for them to break loose; they were too fixated on the LimitedEdition Pineapple Floaty 3000. TUG! TUG! SQUEAK! POP! Time froze as the twins stood in horror
and they stared dumbfoundedly at what they had just destroyed, which now lay in tatters across the deck. William burst into tears. “Alright boys I’ve had enough of you for one day,” Dad demanded. “Go up to your room right now and keep unpacking those boxes upstairs. I don’t want to see you two boys again until you can learn to get along with each other!” A wave of regret washed over the boys when they realized the dreadful thing they’d done after losing control once again. They slowly slumped their way through the sliding door with their heads down in sorrow. It was supposed to be a special fun day with the family; however, they were overwhelmed with immense greed, and they had ruined their parents’ efforts to entertain them. They apathetically slowly slumped up the stairs avoiding eye contact at all costs. They entered the room and quietly closed the door behind them in shame as they lay on the floor, not making a sound, considering the awful thing that they had done. The boys knew that they were in the wrong and they began unpacking their belongings out of the boxes. “This is so stupid, why do we even have to do this.” said Ryan. “It’s our stuff which means that it’s our responsibility. Don’t be such a whiner,” replied Alex. “What do you mean, we’re only 14?” “You’re 14 and complain about putting away your own clothes. What a joke.” “At least I’m not obsessed with fireworks.” “You can’t speak, you’re so fixated with computers.” “Shush, I think Mum’s calling us.”
The Dinner Drama “Boys!” Mum yelled out from downstairs, “Your father and I are going out for dinner, we’ll be back in a few hours. I expect by the time I’m home all your boxes are unpacked.” “Yes mum,” the twins groaned. “And look after Will, you know how he gets when he’s had too much sugar.” “Yes mum,” they groaned a second time. “Love you boys, stay safe.” The wind slammed the front door shut, lightly shaking the whole house. Ryan turned to his brother without missing a beat. “Look, why don’t you just give me the desk, my flares are way more important than your stupid phone,” he argued. “I’m going to save someone’s life one day with my flares, your phone probably won’t even work.” Alex snapped back immediately. “Well at least I’ll have a phone before you, what will you have? No phone, no friends, nothing.” “I might not have any friends, but I will always get way more girls than you.” The twins snarled at each other and turned to opposite sides of the room to start unpacking. An hour went by, and the pair were silent; not saying a single word to each other. They thought they were done until they came across one last box. Upon opening they found it was the box with their experiments. Both the twins were aspiring scientists. Alex wishing to be a computer technician and Ryan with ambitions to become a Firework technician. “ALEX, LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” Ryan screamed. “I haven’t done anything.” Alex shrieked, walking over. “Your stupid flares crushed my phone.”
“Well maybe if you had built your phone better it wouldn’t have been destroyed so easily.” “I was almost done and now I have to start all over again!” “That’s not my problem is it!” Alex rebutted in anger. The bedroom door slowly swung open as if someone was hesitant to come in. A small voice squeaked through the door “Alex? Ryan?” “What?” they both groaned in unison. It was Will, their little brother. He slowly entered the room, wearing the dinosaur costume that he never took off. “What do you want?” Ryan demanded. “Um… can one of you please take me for a swim; Mum said you need to watch me.” “No, I’m busy.” Alex said annoyingly. “Ryan…” Will pleaded. “No, go away!” Ryan groaned. “Fine, I’ll just go by myself.” Minutes passed, and the twins continued to fight. It wasn’t until later that they thought of Will, and how he would not have taken the dinosaur costume off, and therefore would not be able to swim properly.
The Pool Problem: Part 1 “Crap,” he muttered. Ryan turned towards his big brother, crossing his arms over his chest. “William can’t swim with that suit on, can he?” They locked eyes and raced out the door, knocking the blue bottle off the cluttered desk as they ran. They took the stairs two at a time, bursting through the back door and skidding across the wooden deck. They stopped short upon hearing William scream, a high-pitched screech that only a 6-year-old was capable of. Their eyes searching, they found him struggling in the middle of the huge pool, the dinosaur costume impairing his ability to stay above water. The boys stood frozen, unable to save their brother. Their pool was too large to risk their limited swimming skills, however William was sinking faster by the minute. Their parents had taken the only cell phone that the family possessed; ‘always insistent on being old school,’ Alex thought, annoyed. Ryan’s eyes travelled to the floaty, punctured by their previous fighting, and for once wished that he and his brother got along. William’s screams became more hysterical, and all the brothers could do was helplessly watch. Alex suddenly turned to his brother, his face full of feverish delight, and said, “Ryan, I have an idea.”
The Pool Problem: Part 2 “What’s your idea?” asked Ryan. William’s screaming intensified as the splashing became louder and louder. Alex raced back into his room and quickly returned with a cylindrical shape. He spoke fast, saying that he had recently been developing a firework rocket that acted as a flare in an emergency. He had not finished coding the launch process, however, and had been struggling to find the right coding phrase for months. “Do you know how to code a complex, timed, launch initiation?” Alex questioned. “Of course I do, what do you take me for, an idiot?” Ryan replied. Alex bit back his sarcastic retort, knowing his brother’s life was on the line, and handed the flare over to Ryan. Thankfully, Ryan knew exactly how to do what Alex needed; he had already ingrained the coding phrases in his brain from a project last year. They raced to finish the flare, putting bits and pieces of their expertise together to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. For the first time in forever, the boys worked together without an argument. The flare was completed in record time, and they smiled as it launched into the sky, lighting up the night with a red glow. The boys then turned to each other helplessly as William’s screams finally ceased. “What do we do now?”
The Noble Neighbours Knock knock knock. The boys raced to open the door. “Oh my gosh! Are you guys okay? My husband and I saw such a bright light through our window!” said a woman the boys had never seen before. To their surprise, there was someone who might be able to save their little brother, just in time. “What was it?!” The woman’s husband said, seeming very out of breath. “Our brother! You have to help us!” said Alex urgently. “What, what, what?” the neighbours said, seeming stressed. They ran through to the pool area. Alex was overwhelmed by the whole situation and couldn’t get any words out. Ryan butted in and said frantically, “YOU HAVE TO HELP US OUR BROTHER FELL INTO THE POOL AND HE CAN’T SWIM!” “Mate, I have an idea. Everyone hold hands and we’ll link up, like a chain.” the husband exclaimed. They all nodded, and quickly clenched each other’s hands. They lent down, with Ryan at the front closest to the pool, and the neighbour at the back holding onto the pole nearby to assure no one would fall in. Ryan reached out for Will as quickly as he could. “Just a little closer!” Ryan shouted out, trying his hardest to extend his arm out to his brother. It was a struggle as the night was blacker than midnight. With only a slither of the moon left in the sky, and no lamps or lighting near them, this rescue was an even bigger challenge. Ryan knew he was running out of time, so he cleared his thoughts and took a deep breath. “HOLD ON TIGHT” he shouted, in the direction of the three other people holding him. He leaned forward over the concrete ledge, being held back by his waist. One hand was gripped super tightly on the concrete, meanwhile the other was almost touching Will’s hand. Stressed out and running out of time, only hearing the sounds of the silent night; cicadas, and splashing water ,he struggled and struggled but gave it his all. Ryan, with the confidence from the rush of adrenaline, leaned forward just slightly more, and bravely grabbed the hand of Will. Making sure it was gripped tightly, he began to pull Will in towards him. Everyone was leaning back, helping Ryan pull. “SO CLOSE, SO CLOSE!” “GOT HIM” “Thank you so much for helping us Mr and Mrs Smith, you guys are a lifesaver.”
***
“Hey Ryan… um, thanks for helping me code the flare today.” “No problem, I guess. Um, the flare was pretty sick Alex!” “Yeah, yeah it was!” exclaimed Alex in excitement.
The Perfect Plan Hours after the traumatic event, the boys were sitting at the table together eating their risotto reflecting on the events throughout the day. Their parents asked them about their day. To everyone else’s surprise, Ryan asked Alex if he wanted to have a turn speaking. Of course, after the years upon years of bickering and fighting, their parents thought that this was some practical joke, that would result in blood-curdling screams and bruises, but it wasn’t. The two twins who hated each other from birth, were getting along together! Their parents were confused about what else had happened that day, but ate in silence as they watched their boys play together. Screams still came from the boys, but ones of joy. They shared the TV remote between themselves, combined their Lego sets to create empires, and even shared exclusive topics between themselves about their upcoming inventions. The parents couldn’t believe what was happening. It was like two new kids had come to live with them. And they actually liked each other! When William was sent to bed, the boys had gone in together to say goodnight. Eventually, the boys were slowly getting quieter and quieter until they fell asleep next to each other, computer and firework lying together on the floor. *** Once Mum had gone in to turn off the lights, she checked what the boys were planning on making together. Through the haphazardly scattered sketches and journal entries, she had come across a diagram of a firework that exploded in the shape of a computer. This was an incredible sight for her, as never, in her 14 years of being a mother, did she ever recall them enjoying each other’s company. When she had turned off the kids’ lights and went to bed, however, the boys jumped back up and got back to work on the big project. Their amazing idea was to create a bunk bed that had a computer area, and a place for little, virtual fireworks to shoot out of.
A Happy Ending Days and days went by, before they had agreed on the perfect design. A 3-story bunk bed with two desks on the bottom, supporting the beds. The boys had the equipment and access to the materials that they needed to build it, but they still needed the confirmation from the parents. Both of them, terrified to initiate conversation about what was wanted, couldn’t do it. So, as any sibling would, they asked their little brother William to do it for them, with the condition, they would buy him a new dinosaur suit. Of course, with the guilt trip that almost any young child can do, he convinced the parents to let the boys do it, even though the parents didn’t know how much money it was going to cost them. Once the materials were bought, with a grand total of $2,000, the building process had begun. The constant sound of drills, hammers, saws and laughing were heard from the outside of the boy’s bedroom. *** Weeks went by before the final reveal of the bed, and when it was time, the boys had really put a lot of effort into the reveal. Balloons, music, party lights, and food were all present in the boys room, ready for the parents and of course, William, in his brand new bright pink dinosaur suit, ecstatic with glee. It was finally time. “Three, two, one,” the boys yelled in sync. As they said one, they both tugged on the black cloth covering the bed, and it looked gorgeous. Everything had been made to perfection. Two dark, mahogany wooden desks, a sleek, black bed frame, and the mattresses, both with blue sheets on them stood stable, and tall above the family of five. Everyone was pleased with what they saw, and the parents were even happier that the boys had done it together. *** Days, weeks and even months had passed, since the boys had their last argument together, and with the strength of their friendship, it looked like they weren’t planning on having another one for a while.
Twin brothers Alex and Ryan hate each other with their entire existence. And moving into a new house in which they must share a bedroom is exactly what they don’t want to do. Mum and Dad have prepared a special surprise for the boys, but due to the twins bickering, a chain of unexpected disasters occur. Will they survive? Are dinosaurs actually real? Will someone take responsibility and be their lifesaver?
RECCOMENDED FOR AGES 11 - 15