Until Fibber added: ‘Even Mrs Scribble said I was onto something.’
If Fibber was telling the truth now, which he seemed to be, Mrs Scribble hadn’t been helping him with extra homework, but instead working with him to come up with a plan to secure his place in the Petty-Squabble family. That meant he was probably leagues ahead of Fox! Because who did she have on her side? Absolutely no one… Fox felt a familiar loneliness trickle through her.
She glowered at her brother’s briefcase. For a moment, she had hoped she was back on an even playing field with him. But it seemed that, if Fibber did manage to get off this train, he could just go back to their parents, safe in the knowledge that one of the most respected teachers at their school would vouch for his idea to make millions and save the family fortune.
Fibber threw Fox a haughty look. ‘What was your plan? You said you had one almost ready.’
Fox didn’t fancy admitting that her plan had simply been to run away from the shame of being the Petty-Squabble twin without a scrap of talent. She flung herself into an armchair and refused to say anything at all.
When the armchair – or the snuggler or whatever Tedious Niggle had called it – started moving, though, Fox let out a yelp.
‘What’s it doing?!’ she cried as the snuggler twisted and shuddered and transformed from a sagging armchair into a horribly uncomfortable steel throne with razor-sharp thorns down its back and spikes along the armrests. ‘I thought Tedious Niggle said these chairs would change to suit our personalities. This is like sitting on an iron!’
Fox was shocked into silence for a few seconds, but in that silence the snuggler began to change again. The thorns shrank, the spikes vanished and suddenly the steel wriggled out of shape to become an enormous, fur-covered beanbag that purred gently.
Fibber, now slightly curious, edged closer to the other snuggler. He sat down with his briefcase on his lap. Immediately, the snuggler spun round and round before jiggling itself into the shape of an office chair.
Fox sighed. Of course Fibber’s snuggler would turn into a hot seat for business while hers was nothing but a childish beanbag. Then she flinched. The beanbag appeared to be trying to cuddle her. At least she thought it was. She hadn’t actually been cuddled before, but she’d seen it happen in films and with other families at end-of-school pickups, and it did seem that this beanbag was stretching furry arms round her waist. Fox felt a sudden and rather unexpected urge to cry, but thankfully she was spared that ordeal because Fibber’s chair was now spinning faster and faster and he had started screaming.
‘Make it stop!’ he cried. ‘Make it stop!’
When the snuggler did eventually stop, it was no longer an office chair but a beautifully carved park bench, made more comfortable with a row of brightly coloured cushions. Fox thought all of this very strange. Tedious Niggle had said the snugglers would adapt to suit their personalities, but what did a cuddly beanbag say about her and a park bench reveal about Fibber? It made no sense. But, for now, there were more important things to discuss. Like understanding what on earth was going on.
The train was still moving irresponsibly fast and through the window Fox could see that the light was fading. As if the carriage itself could sense dusk approaching, the lanterns burned brighter and some of the plants seemed to curl up as if going to sleep.
Fox turned to the bookcase and glanced over the book titles, hoping to find something that might shed a little light on their situation.
‘If –’ she paused to throw Fibber a death stare – ‘Casper Tock was telling the truth and this train is real and we are in fact heading for the Unmapped Kingdom of Jungledrop, I for one would feel just a little bit better knowing something about the destination ahead of us.’
She lifted an enormous leather-bound book called Navigating Jungledrop and all its Quirks by Mildred Amblefar into her lap. Fibber was making out that he wasn’t interested, but given that the book started talking as soon as Fox turned to the contents page it was impossible for him to ignore things completely.
‘For Lofty Husks, the ruling powers in every Unmapped Kingdom, turn to page three,’ a woman’s voice – presumably Mildred Amblefar herself – said. ‘For magical beasts (contains full-page illustrations of whitegrumps, swiftwings and trunklets), turn to page ten. For rainforest plants (includes new discoveries about thunderberry bushes), turn to page twenty-three. For the Forever Fern, turn to page fifty-one.’
Fox thought Lofty Husks, the ruling powers sounded like the most sensible place to start, but something about the Forever Fern seemed to beckon to her. After all, wasn’t that what Tedious Niggle had said they needed to find?
She flicked to page fifty-one and the voice picked up the narration once again:
‘During my explorations through Jungledrop, I have discovered plants that grow pocket money and trees that sprout forgotten objects, but in all my travels I have never found the elusive Forever Fern. According to an ancient prophecy read in the wax of the candletrees, the fern can grant immortality. If the message from the candletrees is to be believed, an individual can take this fern and use it for their own gain or they can plant the rare pearl found inside it into an Unmapped Kingdom’s soil to grant that kingdom safety and prosperity.’
Fox closed the book for a moment. A fern that could offer immortality? That could be exactly what she needed! Squabble Sauces claimed, among other things, that their ingredients improved sleep and boosted intelligence, which was all nonsense. This, though – an ingredient that could grant customers immortality – now that would sell for millions.
