CHAPTER THREE

GONE

Jonny had a strange dream that night. The doorbell rang, and when he answered it there was a new brother on the doorstep. Only it wasn’t a boy, it was a tiny squirrel wearing a green suit, eating a cheese sandwich.

Jonny woke with a start, sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he remembered! He’d done it! He had swapped Ted, and today, hopefully, his new, improved extra-much-better-er brother would arrive.

‘You look excited,’ his best friend, George, said at school later. Jonny was tapping his pen feverishly on his desk. ‘Like, massively excited. What’s going on?’

‘Just a bit of family improvement,’ said Jonny. Then he leaned across so he was really close to George. ‘You won’t believe this, but I’ve swapped Ted!’ he whispered.

‘Swapped him?’ asked George.

‘Yes! I’m getting a new brother today. Cool, eh?’

‘How? On a website?’

‘Yes, have you heard of it? There’s this Sibling Swap site where they match you up with a new brother or sister. I had to try it! He’s arriving after school.’

George stared hard at Jonny, his eyebrows raised, and was about to speak when their teacher, Mrs Flannery, told the boys to stop whispering and concentrate on their spellings.

As soon as the final bell rang, Jonny raced home. His hand trembled with excitement as he put his key in the door. Once inside, he stood still and listened.

‘Ted?’ he called out. ‘You there?’

Silence.

Jonny looked in the living room.

‘No Ted in here,’ he whispered. ‘I’m talking to myself, but never mind.’

He moved down the corridor. ‘No Ted in the kitchen! So far, so good!’

Then he bounded upstairs.

‘Bathroom?’ he said, looking in. ‘Ted-free! My bedroom? Yup, also no sign of an older brother.’

Finally, Jonny paused outside Ted’s room. His lair, big brother headquarters, the inner sanctum. A sign on the door said BABY BROTHERS KEEP OUT. With a gulp, Jonny ignored it and stepped cautiously into the room.

Empty.

He sat down on Ted’s bed and glanced around. He grinned and then put his hand over his mouth like he’d said a rude word. Then he began to bounce, just a little. Then a little more. Then he leaped up on to the bed, shoes on and everything, and jumped up and down wildly, slapping the ceiling and whooping with glee. Finally, he crashed back on to the bed, panting.

‘There doesn’t seem to be a single Ted in the house,’ he said. ‘Now, why is that, I wonder? Ooh, hang on, wait a minute. Is it because Ted was so annoying that his brother decided to swap him on the internet? Yes, I think so. And is that same brother now waiting for a Ted replacement to arrive? Yes, that’s right!’

BING BONG.

The doorbell rang.

‘And here he is!’ said Jonny. ‘Let the fun brother times begin!’