Backflip

• Rhys Cameron , Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2018

The hail threw itself against the window of the school. The noise was as deafening as a herd of charging buffaloes, but Max and Charlie didn’t care. They were best friends and loved adventure. That day, though they didn’t know it was coming, and they weren’t prepared for it, Max and Charlie were going to change. And they would never change back. Max and Charlie were cursed. No-one could understand them, because they spoke backflip.

The first problem they faced was when Max got up to ask the teacher about what they were doing after lunch. “Tahw era ew gniod retfa hcnul?” Asked Max. “What did you say?” Asked the teacher. Time to give it another try, thought Max. He held his breath, prepared himself and then blurted out, “Gnihton.” The teacher pulled a face that said, I don’t understand kids these days.

The second problem occurred while Charlie was at home. Some people from the government had come to speak to his parents, and Charlie was just about to ask his mum if dinner was ready yet. “Mum, si rennid ydaer tey?” One of the inspectors took out a mobile phone and typed something down, the rest looked at him silently. This can’t be good, thought Charlie, sensing something was wrong.

At Parliament House, the inspectors were talking to the president, Mr. Freckles. He was thinking about something president-like to do. “So, if what you’re telling me is true, these boys are aliens speaking secret code. They can understand us, but we can’t understand them. Fetch them immediately.”

The next day was the weekend, and Max and Charlie had figured out a way to put everything back to normal, by making a translation device. Suddenly, the door burst open and heavily armed soldiers stormed in. “Quick, they’re making a bomb!” Shouted one of the soldiers. Then they shot the translation device. Max and Charlie escaped through the back door, and scurried down the road, but they hadn’t lost their enemies yet. Helicopters were all around them, firing their machine guns at the two boys, but missing. Then some army trucks arrived with more soldiers spilling out, forcing Max and Charlie to run the other way. “We have to lose them,” panted Charlie. So, after one glance back, our two heroes sped off into the distance, escaping from the soldiers.

After five months of hiding out, the two were beginning to starve. Suddenly, they heard the crunching of leaves behind them. Max and Charlie spun around and there was the son of the president. “You two are in big trouble, but I can help.” Max looked at Charlie and shrugged, so they followed him to Parliament House. Then the most unexpected thing happened: the president’s son spoke backflip words. Then the President believed that Max and Charlie weren’t aliens after all.