Chapter Twelve EVERYTHING NEEDS A NAME…

The woodland den was a hive of activity. Jas, Jack, Bella and Rav had brought as much stuff as they could carry in backpacks while still being able to cycle up to the farm. Uncle John had let Ava and Tom load up the back of the truck with camping chairs, lantern lights, a new storage box and a large bag of snacks they’d snuck out from the pantry. Everyone was pitching in to set everything up. Bella was currently balancing on a chair, hanging solar-powered fairy lights around the corners of the den, and Jas was adding cushions to the camping chairs. Jack and Tom were attaching blackout material to the windows for secret meetings (although Ava suspected it was also to make the den as dark and spooky as possible for telling ghost stories – they hadn’t stopped talking about it all morning), and Rav was arranging the bird and wildlife books neatly and alphabetically within their topics on a camping table Tom had found in the shed.

Ava looked round at the completely transformed den. They’d worked really hard that morning to finish tidying it up and make it perfect again. Her stomach growled loudly. It was way past lunchtime and definitely about time they got stuck into their supplies. She opened up the storage box that held the food. They were all hoping the new one would be sturdy enough to stop anything getting into it that might sneak into the den. There were plenty of tasty treats that would be irresistible for the squirrels and wildlife that inhabited the woods. She took out a selection of food and laid it out on the old metal trunk they’d set up as a makeshift table. Within seconds, the others had stopped what they were doing and had begun tucking in.

‘Interior design is hungry work, isn’t it?’ said Bella, ripping off the wrapper of a cereal bar.

‘Interior design?’ said Jack, almost choking on his apple.

‘It does look good in here though,’ said Jas, gazing around the den.

‘Total transformation,’ agreed Rav, his mouth full of crisps.

They sat in a contented silence for a few minutes, each of them eating and looking at all their hard work.

‘It’s nice to see this place back to what it was,’ said Tom.

‘It’s better than ever,’ added Jack.

‘Now we’re a proper gang again with our own secret den, we should really give ourselves a name,’ said Rav.

The other children groaned. Ava frowned.

‘What’s wrong with a name?’ she asked.

‘Not you as well!’ said Tom. ‘Rav here has wanted us to have a name ever since we all started meeting here and hanging out.’

‘All the best groups have names,’ continued Rav.

‘It’s all right if you’re about five!’ muttered Jack.

Rav looked taken aback.

‘Even MI5 is called MI5, and they’re spies. Look at the FBI, the CIA. Oh, and the Avengers. They’re serious crime-fighting organizations!’

Ava smiled at Rav’s enthusiasm.

‘He has a point,’ she said.

‘Oh, you’re always giving things names!’ said Tom, rolling his eyes. ‘You can’t help yourself.’

‘No, I’m not!’ protested Ava. ‘I haven’t named the owl we found yesterday.’

‘Owl?’ said Bella. ‘What owl?’

‘We found a tawny owl in the woods yesterday, not far from the den,’ said Ava. ‘I can’t believe we forgot to tell you about it!’

‘Yeah,’ said Tom. ‘It was on the ground under a rowan tree near the pond. Luckily, it’s not too badly hurt. Cassie the vet reckons it’s injured its wing but should hopefully be okay in a couple of weeks.’

‘Tom. The rowan tree had red berries, didn’t it?’ asked Ava, a smile forming on her lips.

‘Yes. Why?’

‘Well, that’s perfect!’

‘Perfect for what?’

‘The owl’s name! I’ll call her Ruby, like the ruby-red berries!’

‘See!’ cried Tom, pointing at his cousin. ‘I told you that you have to name everything!’

The others sitting in a circle in the den began to laugh. Rav sprang up from his camping chair.

‘Well, if Ava gets to name the owl, then I can name us!’

Everyone laughed even harder.

‘Go on then. Give us a name,’ said Jack.

‘I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I think we should be called… the Whistlers!’

The den fell silent as everyone looked at Rav.

‘What do you think? The den’s in Whistledown Woods. We could make up some cool whistles too. Ones that are a secret code that only we know.’ Rav stared at the others expectantly.

‘I don’t mind it,’ said Jas with a shrug.

‘I like the secret-whistle-code idea,’ added Jack.

‘It’s better than the name Ruby that Ava’s come up with for the owl,’ said Tom.

Ava threw her empty juice carton at him.

‘What?’ he said with a laugh.

‘Well, I like Ruby,’ said Ava defiantly. ‘That’s her name.’

‘Fair enough,’ said Tom.

Jack checked the time on his phone.

‘Oops. Gotta go.’

‘Go where?’ asked Rav. ‘I thought we were going to come up with some secret whistles and stuff.’

‘Next time, Ravvy. I’ve got to get back to our farm. Things are getting busy with harvesting stuff for the farmers’ markets, and we’re just about to start picking some of the pumpkins, along with everything else that needs doing. It’s one of our busiest times of the year.’

Jack stood to leave.

‘Shall we meet again next weekend?’ asked Bella. ‘We could come Saturday and Sunday next time so we get to spend as much time in the den as possible before the weather turns really bad.’

Jack hesitated.

‘I think I’ll have to stay and help with the pumpkins next week. I don’t think they can spare me for that long.’

Ava stood to face Jack. ‘What if we helped? What if we all helped?’

She gestured around the circle of friends.

‘Yeah,’ said Tom, standing with Ava. ‘This time of year’s more quiet for us with the sheep, so I’m sure we can get our jobs done quickly, then head over to help.’

‘I’m in,’ volunteered Jas. ‘I love a pumpkin.’

Rav and Bella glanced at each other and shrugged.

‘I guess it’s the more, the merrier,’ said Bella as she and Rav stood too.

Jack grinned at them.

‘Thanks,’ he muttered, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly.

‘It’s what Whistlers do!’ said Rav, standing with his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest.

Jack groaned.

‘I knew it was a bad idea to give us a name!’