CHERUB:Maximum Security - Robert Muchamore Page 0,3

didnt ?she could do better than pick between two gangly twelve-year-olds with dishevelled blond hair and a gap the size of a Mars bar between their crooked front teeth.

Ttrike e Gabrielle shouted, as ten pins rattled off in different directions. She flailed her arms and jiggled her bum about, doing a kind of freaky war dance. Houte up, Kyle,?she whooped.

Gabrielle turned away from the scene of her triumph to see Callum and Connor grinning at her from their plastic chairs, either side of where shet been sitting before she bowled.

Lreat shot,?Callum beamed.

Cidnt I say yout bowl better if you swung your arm back a little less??Connor interrupted, as he shot an evil glance at his identical twin. Hour balance is much better now.?

Gabrielle remembered the advice, but she hadnt bowled any differently to normal. The strike had been down to luck. She looked at her plastic seat and realised she couldnt handle another second of the two boys fawning over her. She reached under her chair and grabbed her bag.

Lhere are you going??Callum asked apprehensively. Lhate the matter??

Lames looks a bit down in the dumps,?Gabrielle explained. it gonna sit with him for a minute and see if I can cheer him up.?

Lood idea,?Connor grinned. i抣l come with you.?

Ro,?Gabrielle said stiffly. Hou two are gonna stay right there.?

Bute Connor said, half standing up before sitting down again.

慙ook,?Gabrielle said. i dont mean to be rude, but you two are acting seriously weird and ite getting on my nerves. Cant you let me have five minutes?peace??

Gabrielle felt bad as she reached over and pulled her jacket off the back of her chair. Both twins had the exact same expression: like toddlers whose mother had punished them by confiscating their favourite toy.

James was in a daze, staring down at the floor between his legs. Gabrielle tapped him on the knee. Lhate up, misery guts??she asked, as she took the seat next to him. Ttill thinking about Miami??The previous summer, James had got into a bad situation and ended up shooting a man to save his own life. He still had nightmares about it.

i guess,?James shrugged. Ind I kind of miss Kerry. I havent heard from her in over a week.?

Reither have I,?Gabrielle said. But the last message I got said shet arrived in Japan and was going deep undercover, so ite hardly surprising.?

James nodded. i spoke to her mission controller on the phone. He says everythinge fine and hopefully Kerry will be home in a month or so.?

Lhat about Lauren??Gabrielle asked. Nowe she getting on with basic training??

Hou know how it is,?James said, Hou only ever hear rumours, but I think shee doing OK.?

Gabrielle started to laugh. Remember when we were in training? Me and Kerry locked all you guys out on that hotel balcony and made you grovel to get back in??

James allowed himself to smile a little. Heah, we never got you back for that.?

Something cold touched the back of James?neck. He looked around and realised he and Gabrielle had been splashed with Coke and ice by the gang of sixteen- and seventeen-year-old boys who were playing the next lane. They were acting rowdy, rucking and throwing stuff around.

Oi,?Gabrielle stormed, as she scowled over her shoulder at a mass of acne in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt. Co you mind??

Torry,?the kid said, grinning mischievously at the ice in the bottom of his cardboard cup. Gabrielle got the impression he wasnt sorry at all.

Lames,?Kyle shouted. Hour frame.?

James got out of his seat and grabbed a bowling ball off the rack. Het picked up a coupon and taken a couple of free bowling lessons, so when James was on form he looked the business: delivering the ball in a powerful arc and racking up respectable scores. But not tonight. In fact, James?mood had nothing to do with missing Kerry, or worrying if Lauren would pass basic training. James was feeling down because he couldnt aim a bowling ball to save his life.

He lined up, holding the heavy ball under his chin. He took a good smooth swing. The ball crashed nicely into the front three pins, and for a second James thought het scored his first strike in ages. But pin seven, at the back on the far left, merely wobbled and number ten on the extreme right didnt even have the decency to do that. James couldnt believe his rotten luck.

Teven-ten split,?Kyle shouted, slapping his thighs deliriously. Houte going down again, Adams.?

James glanced up at the scoreboard. When they bowled in a group, James