Arrival (1 of 8)

The Skoot Kids Arrive

The full moon shone upon the deck. Down below, a strange red glow moved
nearer and nearer to the scooters which were on their way to
England.

A voice, a deep eerie voice, from the centre of the glow, began, "Do
you want an adventure?"

"W&;#8230;w&;#8230;well, yes, er&;#8230;, maybe," nervously
replied an ET4, which found that it could talk like a girl. She found
herself saying that she was Emma T4, and that she was on her way to
England from the factory in Pontadera, Italy.

"Well," said the magic voice, "I can make your stay there very
interesting indeed. Do you think your friends would like to be part of
the adventure?"

The red glow was now gleaming from Emma T4's engine as she replied,
"They probably would. It would be better than having our insides
spinning around all day with someone sitting on top of us!"

She found herself saying that the three scooters closest to her were
her sisters, Lucy Liberty, Alice Zip, and Rebecca Runner, because they
had been built by the same people in the factory. The others were their
friends, Tommy Typhoon, PX Peter, Sally Skipper, and Emily T2.

The voice, now beginning to fade away with the red glow, said, "When
you get to England you will end up at a town near the sea and behave
like normal children. Good luck, I hope you find
Har..&;#8230;"

The red glow was gone, and outside the moon had disappeared behind the
clouds.

"Who is 'Har'?"

Emma turned round to see who it was who could also speak. It was PX
Peter. She asked if anyone else could speak One by one her sisters and
their friends all began to talk.

They all knew what children were, as they had seen many of them who had
come to watch the scooters being built at the factory. It was going to
be fun doing what they had seen those children do - running around,
laughing and shouting, and being a bit naughty!

But who was 'Har'?
Eventually, they felt the rocking of the ship stop, and after a while
the lorry they were all in was moving into the port of Dover in
England. The swaying of the ship had now changed to the smooth ride of
the lorry.

"Emma, I'm scared," cried Alice.

"It's going to be alright, Alice, it's going to be exciting!" Emma
gently explained, as she comforted her little sister.

As the lorry sped along the motorway the Skoot Kids fell asleep,
even though they were all excited about their future. But Emma stayed
awake thinking about what lay ahead, and looked around at her sisters
and friends. Lucy, the slim-line Liberty, was very cheeky; Alice Zip
could be anything from A to Z in her red clothes; and purple and yellow
Rebecca, the youngest, was going to be the quickest!

Her friends were all different. Emma was sure that Tommy Typhoon,
looking powerful in red, would be helpful if they came across any
bullies; green-bodied PX Peter and Sally Skipper, looking cool in
yellow, were both older than Emma but would be very reliable; and Emily
T2, looking stylish in silver, was the same age as Emma, a bit smaller,
but would be fun to be with. A good gang!

As Emma herself drifted off to sleep an idea of who or what 'Har' was
began forming in her mind &;#8230;&;#8230;

"Screeeech!" went the tyres as the lorry skidded to a halt in the New
Forest road, having just missed a deer which had run straight out in
front of them.

The driver could not get the lorry going again and had to get all the
scooters out. As they waited next to the road, something told Emma to
lead her friends away into the forest. For the first time, their
engines started and, to their surprise, they liked the feeling - their
insides spinning around was actually a very pleasant sensation!

Emma called to them, "Come on, let's go! I can feel something inside
leading us to our new home!"

She told her sisters to stay closest to her, and then they were off.
The adventure had really begun!

Emma soon realised that she could understand the road signs, the first
time that she had seen any words. So now, not only could she speak, she
could also read. Indeed, they could all read - before long everyone was
shouting out the words on the signs.

"The sea! &;#8230;.. the sea!" shrieked Rebecca, "there it
is!"

They looked to where Rebecca was pointing and all cheered as they saw
the sea glistening in the distance. Now they were at full speed. They
were so excited at being so close to their new town.

The Skoot Kids reached the pier and just stared out at the waves.
They kept staring out to sea until the sun went down and darkness fell.
Suddenly, to their right, the red glow appeared.

"Come on!" shouted Sally, "it's telling us where to go!"

They followed the path along the sea-front and up some steps to a big
wide road. But the red glow had disappeared. Everyone became nervous -
they were alone. Alice and Rebecca started crying. As Emma turned to
help her sisters, she noticed it.

The idea, which had played on her mind inside the lorry, had been
right. It was 'Har', or Harry Hexagon who she remembered from the
factory. Harry had been very upset when he was taken away from Emma and
her sisters.

Harry turned and immediately recognised Emma, Lucy. Alice, and
Rebecca.

"Sonia! Quickly, the kids are here!" he cried.

Sonia Sfera appeared next to Harry and they both rushed over to hug
their girls.

"You're home!" Sonia blurted out, in a flood of tears.

"We've brought some friends with us," said Lucy, "can they stay with
us?"

"Of course they can" beamed Harry, "we've got loads of room here. Come
on inside - let's refuel!"

The adventure was only just beginning &;#8230;.

Mark Timlett