Monster Pirate Cheese Boy: Fromagium Rocks, #1

By Suzanna Stanbury

Title: Monster Pirate Cheese Boy

Children's Book

24,725 words

When exploring in his scientist neighbour's workshop, eight year old Alfie Rains eats something he shouldn't.

To Alfie's amazement, when he next eats cheese he experiences a chemical reaction waking up in Pirate World as a seven foot pirate with a gold obsession.

Alfie's cheese fuelled adventures never last long enough and all too soon he's back home again.

The hunt is on for more cheese so he can rejoin his boisterous pirate crew sailing over storm-tossed seas and plundering treasure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Suzanna Stanbury
• Release date: Sep 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465828644

Suzanna Stanbury

Suzanna Stanbury lives in Bristol, England. She publishes as Snub Try Publishing. Suzanna writes children's books, novels and short stories. She performs regularly at spoken word events, performing at schools and libraries encouraging children to love books. She is administrator and an active member of The Bristol Fiction Writers' Group. Website: http://snubtry.weebly.com/ Twitter: @suzannastanbury Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SuzannaStanbury The illustrations for Suzanna Stanbury books are created by Liz Ascott.

Book preview

Monster Pirate Cheese Boy

By

Suzanna Stanbury

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

PUBLISHED BY

Suzanna Stanbury on Smashwords

Monster Pirate Cheese Boy

Copyright © 2011 Suzanna Stanbury

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

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Cover art by Liz Ascott Copyright © 2013

Chapter One

Fromagium

It was the day of Trixie Tracy Buttercup Fleming’s birthday party and the perfect opportunity for Alfie Rains to go next door and explore their garden.

Alfie! called his mother. It’s time to go to Trixie’s party.

I’m ready! Alfie pelted down the stairs, his legs going like pistons. Come on, Mum – let’s go.

Trixie Tracy Buttercup Fleming was eight years old with tweakable curly red hair and a liking for clothes in all shades of purple.

Yuck, said Alfie, when he spotted Trixie’s party dress.

Alfie, snapped his mother. Be nice. I think Trixie looks delightful – just like a lilac cupcake. Alfie! Don’t do that! Go and play!

Alfie didn’t need a second invitation. Kicking up the soles of his scuffed trainers, he sped to end of the garden. He’d been longing to poke about down there for ages. Many times Alfie had spied Trixie’s father, Professor Fleming, walk to the end of his garden and disappear.

A line of conifer trees, their thick branches meshed tightly together stretched all the way to the far fence. Pushing and pulling at the greenery, try hard as he might, Alfie couldn’t see any way through to the other side.

Rats! said Alfie, startling a blackbird that flew out of the trees quite close to his face.

Hmm, I wonder… said Alfie. Pushing away a branch in the place where the blackbird had emerged, he struggled through the dark green frondery. Twigs poked his cheek and pine fronds tickled his ear, getting into his mouth and sticking up his nose, but Alfie was determined to fight his way through. Closing his eyes against the prodding branches, he pushed forwards and then stopped. Alfie could go no further as his nose was pressed up against a window.

Hmm, mysterious, he muttered, trying to wriggle his arm up to shine a clear patch on the glass, but it was far too dirty for him to see what was inside. Alfie edged along until he reached the corner of the wall.

He’d come out into a small yard. The shed – for that was what he’d come up against, was quite large and completely hidden behind the conifers. Alfie rattled the door handle. It was locked. This time, he pulled the handle so hard his fingers slipped and he fell backwards.

Grrr, said Alfie. Blinking door. He bounced up, giving the door a swift, but powerful kick. It quivered under his boot and something fell from up above, whizzing past his nose, to land on the ground at his feet. Alfie grinned. Using the key to unlock the door, he gave it a shove. The door flew open, hitting the wall inside.

It was light inside the shed. Glass panels set into the roof let in a surprising amount of light. Cobwebs strung from the roof supports jiggled in the draught from the open door, disturbed dust settled in grey heaps over shelves that groaned under the weight of boxes, jars and bottles.

Wowza, said Alfie. Venturing further inside and turning round in circles, he stared at the walls packed with shelves. All along one wall of the shed was a bench with a row of brass-handled drawers set into its base. A wooden chair with wheels screwed to the legs squeaked as he pushed it. Alfie tried one of the drawers. It opened easily and was filled with glass rods, trays, small rubber-ended straws and more paperclips than he’d ever seen before. He took a tiny red paperclip and put it in his pocket. Alfie’s eyes strayed to the shelf above the bench where a long line of glass jars of every shape and size were filled with an eye-popping assortment of strange contents.

Heatherbat? said Alfie, squinting at a faded label. Inching along the bench, he read the labels on any jars that took his fancy. At the far end of the bench was an old oak shelving unit covered in little boxes. Each box had a neatly written label. Alfie picked one up. "Iron particulum." A mess of tiny black specks flew out as he flipped the lid. Alfie stuffed the lid back on so fast; he elbowed the shelf next to him, almost sending a jar crashing to the floor.

Phew, said Alfie, catching it. The jar seemed to be full of moss floating in a bright green liquid. He unscrewed the lid and took a sniff at its contents.

Pooh! Alfie crammed the lid back on and replaced it quickly on the shelf. Next, he pulled the handle of one of the drawers. It moved about a millimetre then refused to budge any further no matter how hard he tried. Planting his feet firmly on the floor Alfie gave the handle a tremendous yank – the drawer flew out, strewing papers everywhere.

Stinkers! Alfie dropped to his hands and knees and began scooping papers back into the drawer. All the time he was putting the things back he kept looking behind him to check Professor Fleming hadn’t appeared in the doorway. The Professor was a large bearded fellow with a deep voice. His jet black spiky eyebrows met in the middle over deep-set eyes making him look as if he were permanently cross. Alfie shuddered. He was absolutely sure Professor Fleming wouldn’t be at all amused if he knew someone, particularly Alfie, had been poking about in his secret workshop. When the papers were all back in place, Alfie picked up the drawer and was just trying to slot it into the workbench when he noticed something hidden in the space at the back of the drawer hole. He poked his arm in and began fishing about.

Got it! Out came a dusty old tin box. It took a bit of prising to get the lid off. Eventually, it popped open revealing two bars wrapped in brown paper. Both had labels which said:

Fromagium

Yum – chocolate! Alfie pulled the paper apart on one of the bars for a closer look. He snapped off two squares, popped them in his mouth and began chewing. Funny tasting chocolate, he muttered, chewing hard. Nice though. I’ll try a bit more. Soon, Alfie had chomped an entire bar. He crumpled up the paper and stuffed it in his pocket then replaced the other bar in the tin box. Then he put the drawer back, giving it one last shove to make sure it closed properly.

Alfie stretched out his arms and looked around the workshop for somewhere comfy to sit. He tried the wheeled chair but the plastic seat was slippery and hard. At the far end, tucked in the corner was a high-backed basket-weave chair, with a flowered cushion on the seat.

Yuck, purple. Alfie flung the cushion on the floor.