A Present From Aunt Agatha

By Lynne Roberts

Aunt Agatha gives Ryan a pen for his birthday. Ryan is amazed to discover that whatever the pen writes comes true. Ryan and his friend Andy have great plans for the pen but somehow, something always goes wrong.
This is for readers of aged ten and upwards.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynne Roberts
• Release date: Feb 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781927241035

Lynne Roberts

Lynne is a writer, musician, dance teacher and porcelain painter, among other things. She lives on an orchard in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand where she breeds donkeys and collects grandchildren. Lynne has written copious numbers of educational teaching resources from pre-school through to tertiary level. She writes story books and fantasy fiction for children and poetry for children and adults, always with a strong vein of humour. Lynne also writes musicals for which she composes the original music.

Book preview

A Present from Aunt Agatha

by Lynne Roberts

Published by Liberty Publications at Smashwords

Copyright Lynne Roberts 2014

ISBN 0-9582705-2-X

Chapter 1 – Happy Birthday

Chapter 2 – Snakes Alive

Chapter 3 – In Harmony

Chapter 4 – In the Dark

Chapter 5 – All at Sea

Chapter 6 – Table Manners

Chapter 7 – Once Upon a Time

Chapter 8 – Happily Ever After

Chapter 9 - Howzat

Chapter 10 – Hero Worship

Chapter 11- On Reflection

Chapter 12 – Having Kittens

Chapter One. Happy Birthday

Ryan’s Aunt Agatha was odd. She wasn’t a real aunt, as Ryan’s mother hastened to assure her friends; just a distant relation of some kind. No one was quite sure how old she was, but at every family gathering there she was. Aunt Agatha wore men’s trousers – long before women wore trousers of their own – and a shabby fur coat from some long-dead species of animal. No one had ever seen her without the coat, even in the summer. Aunt Agatha seemed both impervious to heat and cold, as she fixed her faded blue eyes on something only she could see and cackled gently to herself.

‘Why do we always have to ask Aunt Agatha?’ Ryan’s older sister Tracey had demanded.

‘Because she’s family,’ her mother replied firmly.

‘But she’s seriously weird,’ complained Tracey. ‘She’s so old.’

‘Now then, that’s enough. She can’t help being old; it comes to us all with time. I know she’s not exactly...’ Mrs Hughes faltered, trying to avoid using the word ‘normal.’ ‘Anyway,’ she concluded briskly, ‘she comes to all the family gatherings and that is that.’

It was Ryan’s birthday. He was turning eleven on Saturday and having a party tea. The joy of anticipation was dulled by the realisation that Aunt Agatha was invited. ‘It’s not fair,’ Ryan complained bitterly to Tracey, ‘how can I enjoy myself when every time I look up I see her staring at me. She looks like an old witch.’

‘It would be useful if she was,’ commented Tracey. ‘You could get her to make you some magic spells.’

‘It’s not likely to happen. You know Aunt Agatha doesn’t do anything for anybody,’ replied Ryan gloomily. ‘She doesn’t even give us decent presents.’

‘Last year she gave me a teaspoon for my birthday,’ Tracey said bitterly. ‘I reckon she pinched it from the café by the station. Perhaps you’ll get the cup and saucer to go with it.’

‘It’s not even like a proper birthday without a party with games and stuff. I can’t see Aunt Agatha playing musical chairs.’ He and Tracey giggled together.’

‘You could have had a party if you wanted to,’ Tracey protested.

‘What’s the use. No one would come. Now that Daniel has moved away I haven’t got a best friend any more and I hardly know any of the boys at school. I wish I could have gone to Greenwood with all the others instead of Sunnyridge.’

‘Sunnyridge is a great school and you should be pleased to go there. Anyway, since they changed the zoning you couldn’t go to Greenwood even if you wanted to.’

‘Oh, I know, I know, it’s just harder than I thought it would be to make friends, that’s all, ’ complained Ryan.

‘Poor little you.’

Tracey made a face at him and Ryan promptly tickled her in the ribs in a mock fight, which occupied both of them satisfactorily until it was time for lunch.

Saturday was fine and sunny. Ryan was delighted with the presents from his family. His parents gave him a huge electronic workbox full of fascinating pieces of wire and transistors. There was also an instruction booklet on how to create a variety of projects. He was pleasantly surprised to get a new cricket ball from Tracey and decided to postpone his experiment on her bedroom door handle, which would give her an electric shock whenever she touched it.

‘Now you’ll be able to build things to your heart’s content,’ said his father, ‘and you can leave my things alone.’ He turned a stern look on Ryan who guiltily remembered taking his father’s calculator apart some days earlier.

‘I put your calculator back together again,’ he protested.

‘Oh, you put it back together again, I’ll give you that,’ replied his father, ‘only now it doesn’t work properly. Instead of two plus two equalling four, it’s just as likely to equal seven hundred and five.’

‘Perhaps I’ll learn a bit more now you’ve given me this electronics set,’ suggested Ryan hopefully.

‘Just don’t touch my hair dryer,’ threatened Tracey

‘Come on, it's Ryan’s birthday. Lets not give him a hard time,’ said his mother. ‘Come and help me with the food Tracey. Ryan, you can help your father bring out the picnic chair and tables. We can all eat outside then we don’t have to worry about making a mess.’

The rest of the day passed in a pleasurable mixture of practising bowling the cricket ball against the passion fruit vine, and soldering together small pieces of wire and switches.

‘Ryan,’ called his mother, ‘Aunt Agatha’s here.’

‘Blast!’ said Ryan under his breath. ‘I’d better get it over with,’ he muttered, and dutifully went across the room to meet Aunt Agatha.

‘Heh heh,’ cackled Aunt Agatha. ‘Eleven eh? I guess you think you’ve really grown up now.’

There was no answer Ryan could make to this. He forced a smile and mumbled thanks as Aunt Agatha thrust a pen at him.

‘Happy birthday. Thought you might enjoy this,’ she leered.

‘A pen,’ said Ryan in disgust as he made his way back to the table where Tracey was