Perijee & Me (eBook)

Ross Montgomery (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2016 | 1. Auflage
288 Seiten
Faber & Faber (Verlag)
978-0-571-31796-7 (ISBN)

Infos

When 11-year-old Caitlin discovers a shrimp-like alien creature on the shores of her island home, she takes responsibility for teaching it about the world. Mostly, this just involved stopping little Perijee from eating everything! Caitlin becomes increasingly close to her alien friend, treating him like a brother. There's only one problem - Perijee won't stop growing. Then the authorities try to hunt him down and through his fear, Perijee disappears and starts causing trouble. Caitlin must leave home and travel across the country to try and convince Perijee to stop destroying everything before it's too late.

Ross Montgomery is a primary school teacher and he writes his books when he really should have been marking homework. Author of Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door and The Tornado Chasers, Ross has been shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and nominated for the Branford Boase Award. Perijee & Me was his third middle-grade novel. Ross lives in Brixton, London.

Rezensionen

A really moving and original adventure, with lots of humour.

Textauszug

Frank gave up after two minutes.

*

The hut became Perijee’s new home. Frank went out to catch fish every morning while Perijee and me wandered round the island, learning new words. Then at night Frank would haul back his catch to the beach for Perijee to eat. He became a pretty good fisherman. I think he even started to like Perijee.

‘I hate that little weirdo,’ said Frank.

‘You’re still helping him,’ I said.

‘I’m not doing it for him,’ Frank muttered.

We watched Perijee work his way through a pile of fish twice his size. He loved fish more than anything.

‘He’s getting bigger, you know,’ said Frank. ‘He’ll be bigger than you soon.’

‘I know!’ I said excitedly. ‘Then he can carry me!’

Frank coughed.

‘Any idea when he’s going to stop growing, sprat?’

Perijee was emptying a bucket of haddock into his mouth like it was a tube of Smarties.

‘No,’ I said. ‘But he can’t get that much bigger, can he?’

*

‘This is a camera,’ I said.

Perijee smelled it.

‘It’s called a Polaroid,’ I said. ‘It’s an old man camera. That’s why Frank has one. He said we should be “documenting your growth” rather than “larking about all day like a pair of morons”.’

I found a big rock to balance the camera on and turned round. I jumped. Perijee was standing right behind me. He was almost as big as me now.

‘Breakfast again please,’ he said.

‘No!’ I said. ‘This is important. Plus – what have I told you about following people? We don’t want you to scare Dad like you scared Frank.’

I pressed the timer button.

‘Quick!’ I said. ‘Smile at the camera. And do the peace sign with your fingers.’

We both did the peace sign. The camera snapped and spat out a picture. It was all black at first, but after a few seconds shapes and colours started appearing like they were coming up from dark water.

‘There,’ I said, holding up the photo. ‘That’s you and me, in the middle.’

It was a bit blurry and rubbish, but there we were, our arms around each other and the sun behind us. Perijee looked at it in amazement.

‘Caitlin and Perijee,’ he said. ‘Friends. Family.’

I smiled. ‘Yes! Well remembered, Perijee.’

He ran his fingers over the photo. His whole body started changing. He was green and then pink and then red and then blue all over, his skin speckling and dancing through colours.

‘I didn’t know you could do that,’ I said.

Perijee just looked at the photo.

‘Family,’ he said quietly.

*

‘This is the sea,’ I said.

I stood up to my knees in the water. Perijee was walking back and forth along the beach, wearing my old swimsuit and arm bands. They were already too small for him.

‘Come on!’ I said. ‘It’s just ground, with water on top – see?’ I stomped up and down. ‘That’s all the ocean is. Hills and valleys covered in water. Middle Island’s like the top of a big underwater mountain.’

Perijee stepped nervously into the sea.

‘Cold and wet,’ he said.

‘Stop whining,’ I said.

The deeper Perijee got, the more he seemed to like it. Soon he was doggy-paddling around me and chirruping like a happy cat.

‘Hey!’ I said. ‘You’re actually really good at this. Who knows – maybe there’s water on Sirius, too.’

Perijee turned his hands into flippers and started swimming out ahead of me. I grabbed him before he went too far.

‘Careful!’ I said. ‘It gets deep, you know. Really deep. That’s what Mum’s job is – I mean, was. Exploring deep water. She used to work above the Mariana Trench.’

Perijee looked at me. ‘Marry inner chench?’

‘Mariana Trench,’ I said. ‘It’s the deepest part of the sea. It goes down for seven whole miles. You could fit the whole of Mount Everest in there. There’s not even any sunlight after the first half-mile down – just pitch black.’

Perijee held my hand.

‘And it’s filled with fish, too,’ I said. ‘Fish with enormous eyes and see-through skin. Fish that look like spaceships.’

Perijee stepped a little closer to me.

‘It’s the most unexplored part of the whole world,’ I said. ‘There could be anything hiding down there – maybe even sea monsters! Who knows? But it just keeps going down, deeper and deeper …’

Perijee started trying to climb on top of me.

‘Hey!’ I said. ‘Get off! Come on, you’re too big for that now!’

‘Monsters,’ said Perijee, growing extra legs and wrapping them round me.

*

After Frank left each night, Perijee and I would wander the beach until it was dark enough to see the stars. That’s one nice thing about Middle Island. Back in the city, you’d be lucky to look up and see any stars at all. But out here the sky is so dark and so big, it’s like looking into a whole other world.

We sat down on the shingle and I leaned against Perijee. He was bigger than me now.

‘Sirius?’ he said, pointing at a plane.

I moved his hand. ‘Er … over there, actually.’

Perijee gazed at the star. He started glowing, ever so faintly, lighting up the tiny bugs in the shingle.

‘Home,’ he said.

I smiled. ‘Frank told me sailors in olden days used the stars as a map. Sirius always leads the way to the south. You could even use it to find your way home, if you knew which star it was.’

I lay on my back. I thought how good it would be to have a map in the sky, one that showed you how to get to wherever you wanted.

‘Maybe that’s what the symbols on your body are,’ I said. ‘They’re not letters or numbers – they’re a map. Telling you where you come from and how to get back again.’

There was silence for a moment. The waves came in, and out.

‘Perijee,’ I said. ‘Do you think much about where you came from?’

Perijee didn’t say anything.

‘Perijee?’

I sat up. He wasn’t beside me any more. He was in the sea. His arms were stretched out ahead of him and he was getting deeper with every step, his head sinking down and down …

‘Perijee, no!’ I cried.

A big wave appeared out of nowhere and knocked him backwards. The shock of it terrified him and he started splashing about, spluttering for breath. I didn’t even have time to take off my clothes. I charged straight into the sea and got to him just in time, dragging him back to shore and throwing him onto the shingle.

‘What were you thinking?’ I shouted.

Perijee lay on his front, coughing up water.

‘H-home,’ he spluttered.

I didn’t understand at first – but then I turned to the sea. The whole night sky was reflected on the water ahead of us, like a giant mirror. And right in the middle was Sirius.

‘… You thought you could swim there?’ I said. ‘To space?’

I laughed, but it wasn’t real laughter. I didn’t feel happy.

‘You … you were just going to leave?’

I clenched my fists. I was almost shaking – I thought I was going to walk off, or worse. But I didn’t. I sat down on the shingle and said nothing.

It was silent for a while, except for the wind over the island. I felt a wet body huddle up against mine. Perijee peered into my face.

‘Caitlin,’ he said. ‘I am sorr—’

He stopped, because I was crying. He didn’t understand what it was – he’d never seen tears before. He took off my hat and started trying to rub my face dry. I held his hand there, his fingers glowing and fading through the wool.

‘You can’t go, Perijee,’ I said quietly. ‘You’re my friend. We’re supposed to look after each other – no matter what.’

I held him and looked into his eyes. I had to make him understand.

‘You’re the reason Dad’s going to come back,’ I said. ‘When he discovers you, he’ll be the most famous scientist in the world. He won’t have to do the tours any more. Him and Mum won’t argue all the time … it’ll be just like it was before. We’ll be able to do things together – go sailing, or go to the theatre …’

‘Family,’ said Perijee.

‘Exactly, Perijee! A family!’ I said. ‘And you can be part of it! You’ve got everything you need here – food, a bed … I mean, what more do you want?’

Perijee looked up at the stars.

‘Home,’ he said.

I frowned. ‘But this is your home, Perijee! Here with me …’

I turned to him, huddled on the stones – and stopped. He looked so strange, and so lost – and so alone. Suddenly it was like I was seeing him for the first time. He would always be lost – no matter where he went on Earth.

‘Oh, Perijee,’ I whispered. ‘I … I’m sorry, I never …’

I was so ashamed. I had never once thought about what he wanted. I had never even asked.

… What kind of friend did that?

I held his head in my hands.

‘I’ll get you home, Perijee. I promise. When Dad gets back … we’ll find a way.’

Perijee glowed.

‘Promise?’ he said.

I held him tight....

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.3.2016
• Verlagsort: London
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch ► Jugendbücher ab 12 Jahre
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch ► Kinderbücher bis 11 Jahre
• Schlagworte: Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door • Aliens • christmas dinner of souls • ET • magical realism • max and the millions • The Tornado Chasers
• ISBN-10: 0-571-31796-0 / 0571317960
• ISBN-13: 978-0-571-31796-7 / 9780571317967