Granddad lowers his head and looks at the lawn. ‘I am thinking it is a beautiful day for—’

‘Ah, no, Granddad,’ I say. ‘Not the grass! I know it needs cutting, but do we have to do it again?’

‘Humph.’ Granddad’s face cracks into a grin.

‘Not the patio slabs!’

‘No, not the patio slabs. Even I didn’t enjoy that.’

‘What is it then?’

Granddad puts his arm across my shoulders.

‘I am thinking it is a beautiful day for zip wire.’

Zip Wire

‘I don’t think I can do this.’

‘It’s okay,’ I say.

‘But it’s very high.’

‘I know.’

‘Felix, you know I said we had to be honest with each other?’

‘Yes.’

‘And trust each other?’

‘Yes, Granddad.’

‘Well, trust me, I am being honest when I tell you I really do not like heights!’

‘It’s okay. You’ve got the harness around you and there are people waiting for you at the bottom.’

‘Maybe I will go back down. We’re holding people up.’

‘Granddad.’

‘Yes, Felix.’

‘Just jump!’

‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!’

Acknowledgements

This story was a while in coming, so I’d like to thank:

Sam Drew and my daughter Lois for helping me get unstuck. (Yeah, yeah, and you Tallulah, for keeping up our appearances in Nando’s.)

Jon Bentley-Smith, for his brilliant words of encouragement and leading me to discover The Mechanical Turk.

Lucy Rogers for doing what good editors do.

Clare Wallace for keeping me sane.

Roy Ludlow, for checking and triple-checking all the chess moves, in his chess room and the pub.

Casey Ball (aged 10) from Oldfield Park Juniors, Bath, and Kerrie Grant, who sat down with me and gave me a great insight into the challenges they face and the brilliant ways they overcome them. (Casey, I hope you love secondary school. Kerrie, good luck at uni).

Big thanks to Bob Schopp for a long walk along the beach when I told him about Felix and he kindly agreed I could borrow his surname. And thanks to all the teachers who lent me their names for this book. Of course the story and its characters are all a work of fiction, but once I nailed the names the book took shape.

Anna Funder, for her amazing book, Staziland, that did so much for my understanding of life in the eastern area of Germany during the Stazi era.

I’d also like to thank all the wonderful schools I’ve visited in the last two years. Your pupils, teachers and librarians are amazing and help me to keep going. Special mention to Mr Hunt and all his staff and pupils at Springwood Heath Primary, Liverpool. I am proud to be the Patron of Reading at one of the most special places on earth.