Everything Upside Down at Four O'Clock
Lachie sat on his pink rug with a pencil and a very serious face. "Bat," he whispered, "you hang upside down every day. So tonight, the whole world will hang that way too." Bat blinked, wings folded, very interested.
There was one problem, and her name was Batty. She lived next door and turned up whenever anything secret happened. Lachie counted on his fingers. Banner, cake, trampoline. Three jobs. One nosy Batty.
In the kitchen, Dad was cracking eggs. "Dad, can we make a cake? A secret one?" Dad grinned. "The best kind." They stirred pink icing until the spoon looked like a sunset, and Bat watched from the fruit bowl handle.
Knock, knock came at the window, and Batty's face popped up. "What are you making?" Lachie threw a tea towel over the cake. "Maths homework," he said. Batty squinted. "It smells like sprinkles." "Maths smells good," said Dad, very calmly.
Batty finally wandered home. Lachie carried the paper banner out to the backyard to hang it up. Then he heard the gate squeak. Footsteps were coming up the path, and the banner was far too big to hold behind his back.
Lachie scrambled up the gum tree with the banner tucked in his shirt, and Bat flew up beside him. He tied it behind the leaves. Below, Batty looked left and right, then at the sky, and never once looked up.
"Have you seen a boy?" Batty called. "Small. Pink-loving." Lachie held very still among the leaves. Bat tucked in beside his ear. When Batty finally left, they both let out a long, leafy breath.
At last the coast was clear. Lachie and Dad hung the banner between the fence and the trampoline, upside down so the stars pointed at the grass. Lachie checked it twice. Upside down was harder than it sounded.
Then Dad carried out the cake on its plate, and Lachie turned it around until the sprinkles faced down. "Will they fall off?" Dad asked. Lachie worked it out. "Not if the icing is sticky enough. That's maths."
Just then, Batty's head appeared over the fence. Everyone froze. She looked at the banner, the cake, and Lachie. "Is this the secret?" she asked. Lachie's heart did a big wobble. Then he said, "You're invited. You're the guest of honor's friend."
Batty climbed over, delighted. "I'll be quiet as a bat," she said. Then she whispered the whole time anyway, which is not quiet at all. Everybody laughed, even Bat, who made a little chirp.
Now came the best part, the very last piece of the plan. The sky turned pink, Lachie's favorite color, and the party was ready. All it needed was Bat, in the best upside-down spot there could be.
The party is ready. How does Lachie bring Bat in?
