Unleashed! Read Online Free PDF Page A

‘You look like you’ve got a bloody nose, Bryce.’
    It was Bryce’s turn then. He grabbed a stalk of berries and chucked them back at Clem. Clem ducked so that they hurled past and hit Mr Lark full on the forehead.
    Mr Lark froze for all of one millisecond, then with an almighty roar he scooped up some fruit and pitched it back, hollering, ‘Food fight!’
    Perched on top of her ladder Mio shook her head. Some customs she didn’t understand. All of a sudden the firm frame beneath her was plucked away and…down she came. Clean clothes turned ruby red. ‘Bryce!’ she yelled. ‘Mum will freak.’
    And then it was on. A free-for-all.
    ‘Cop that!’
    ‘No, you.’
    Berries were flying, missing more than hitting their targets. Except for Mr Lark, who was throwing with deadly accuracy.
    ‘Oh!’
    ‘Oomph!’
    Pulp and juice splatted everywhere. It looked like someone had tried to make a berry smoothie but had forgotten to put the lid on the blender. Mr Lark peeled away and stood near the veranda picking mulberry out of his ear. Every so often he giggled and, unable to resist, another mulberry hit the mark.
    ‘Aaaaghh!’
    Darcy decided to sit on Bryce so Clem sat on Darcy.
    ‘Here I come!’ Mio crash-tackled them all. They skidded across the sodden grass, laughing and screaming. Mio couldn’t remember ever having this much fun.
    When the shots got more desperate and started to go over the fence it was time to stop. ‘Oy!’ Mr Lark shouted. ‘Enough!’
    The kids froze, looking like contestants in a paint-ball fight.
    ‘Time for the hose.’ Mr Lark stumbled to the rear of the yard, picked up the hose, then turned the nozzle on himself. Most of the pulp and juice washed away but some purplish stains remained. ‘Bit of soap and hot water should fix them,’ he said, handing the hose to Darcy. ‘Your turn.’
    ‘Me next,’ said Clem.
    Bryce stood beside her flicking off bits of mulberry. ‘Third!’
    Mio shrugged good-naturedly and said, ‘Guess I’m last.’
    When everyone was hosed down there was still the problem of the dirty, wet clothes.
    ‘We look like we’ve been targeted by mulberry-eating pigeons,’ said Clem.
    ‘Nuh, uh,’ said Bryce, shaking so hard that water flew in all directions. ‘We look like we’ve been to a Holi festival. They’re mad. My friend Saanjh took me to one and we got covered with red dye. Worse than this.’
    ‘Can’t have you going home like that,’ said Mr Lark, heading for the laundry. A few minutes later he came back. ‘There’s a bucket of warm soapy water, a brush and an armful of old clothes in the laundry. Scrub up, put them on, then dump your gear in the washing machine. Some boiling water and OxyGleam will soon have them looking like new.’
    Half an hour later, their skin glowing and hair cleaned, the kids huddled in the warm kitchen. The washing machine worked overtime.
    Mr Lark stood looking out the window. ‘Back yard’s a bit of a mess,’ he said, the understatement of the century. ‘And there’ll be no mulberry pie. Shame.’
    Clem and Bryce hung their heads. ‘Sorry,’ they said.
    Darcy fought to keep a serious face. ‘Yes, sorry.’
    They turned and waited for Mio to apologise.
    ‘Mio?’ prompted Darcy.
    Mio sat in the kitchen wearing a tracksuit ten sizes too big. She looked at her rolled-up sleeves and rolled-up trouser legs. She looked at the war zone of a back yard. Her eyes began to twinkle. Her lips twitched. ‘I’m not sorry,’ she said.
    Clem gasped.
    Mr Lark cleared his throat.
    The room fell silent.
    Mr Lark ran his fingers through his snowy hair. Then he smiled, snorted, and said, ‘Neither am I!’

Chapter Four
    It was almost a week before the kids got to visit The Van again.
    ‘I’m sure someone’s been in our van and I’m going to prove it,’ said Mio, striding out of their classroom and talking as she went. With each step her hair swished across her shoulders, shimmering like silk in the afternoon sun. ‘My