Extraordinary Losers 3 (10 page)

“No worries, Mundi, it is okay.” His mother didn't look amused but she tried to hide her displeasure. I guessed she didn't like the idea of her son accepting expensive gifts from other people.

“I used that watch to SMS, you know?” Mundi quickly added. “Where's Janice?”

“I am here,” she declared, raising a donut with her hand encased in a cast.

Clandestino turned to her and said, “We must get that signed later! The cast. With different colours!”

I heard distinct footsteps approaching us and two men swung the door open. Uncle Andy rushed in with a cup of steaming hot Milo in his hand.

“Here, have some!” Uncle Andy stretched out his hand towards Mundi.

“Thanks.” Mundi took the cup gratefully. He had no qualms about drinking Milo after that Milo van ordeal?

“So there you are, Mundi,” another voice said slowly. It was Mundi's Uncle Gofin. He had two balloons in his hands. “Next time, never go anywhere on your own, okay?” He smiled and looked even more charming. “You had us all worried.”

“Yes, Uncle Gofin,” Mundi replied. “Did you find out wh-wh-wh-wh-who took me?” He looked at his mother, who had locked her arms around him.

“Yeah, thanks to your friends, they caught the man and woman who kidnapped you,” Uncle Gofin explained, as he tied the balloons to Mundi's bed.

“It was a Chinese construction worker and his girlfriend. They kept saying that someone had paid them to do this!” Clandestino recalled.

“That's just what people say when they are caught! Good thing they are at the police station now.” I smiled. “And thanks to your precise text message, Mundi, we found you.”

“$100,000 for ransom?” Adam laughed. “My parents wouldn't have been able to redeem me. But I would have been able to escape on my own.”

All of us ignored Adam like he wasn't really there.

Mundi's uncle strode towards Mundi and folded his arms. He was the epitome of manliness.

“Well, I'd better be leaving. My flight is tonight.” He was leaving so fast? Janice quickly struggled to dig for her phone in her pocket. I knew she wanted to take a photograph of him.

“I am so glad everything is over!” added Uncle Gofin. Then he opened his arms wide and embraced Mundi and Mrs Sakdipa tightly.

“Bad shot!” Janice sighed as she examined the blurred image on her phone.

“Bye, Uncle Gofin, see you next year.” Mundi beamed. “Thanks for all the presents!”

Uncle Gofin sucked in a deep pocket of air with his nose and gave the loudest snort ever! Eeeewwww! That was a really loud snort coming from such a pleasant-looking face!

Then he walked towards the door, his keys dangling from his pocket. Maybe the rest couldn't hear it, but his keys were music to my ears!
Mi fa so. Mi fa so. Mi fa so.
I hummed.

“Bye!” Clandestino said as he tried to sharpen the image on Janice's phone.

Janice was too shy to say anything and just waved her cast.

As soon as he stepped out of the door, Mundi let out a shrill cry.

“Oh, no! Mundi, are you okay? Are you okay, my boy?” Mrs Sakdipa yelled.

Mundi was shaking violently, the way he always did when he was very frightened and nervous. His mother ripped away his blanket and, to her horror, saw that he was shaking all over like he was having a seizure.

Clandestino leapt up from his seat. “Hey, buddy, are you okay?”

“What's happening?” Uncle Andy rushed to Mundi and took the cup of Milo from his hands. “Mundi, tell us what is happening.”

Mundi didn't reply. His eyes widened towards the door. They didn't blink at all. Not for one second. “Un-Un-Un-Uncle.” He gulped and pointed towards the door with his shaky hands.

A nurse came and tried to assure everyone, “It is just post-traumatic stress disorder.”

But his friends knew better. A moment ago, he was fine but when his uncle spoke and left, he started to panic!

“What on earth?” Clandestino scratched himself again. “Uncle? Who? Uncle Gofin?”

“Maybe the uncle had a hand in it? The kidnapping?” Janice asked weakly. “Mundi, do you remember something?”

Mundi managed a tiny nod.

Uncle Andy rushed out of the room and grabbed the first police officer he saw. I followed him outside. “Quick, grab that man! Mundi's uncle. He may have been involved.”

“Are you sure?” The policeman was puzzled. He looked at Uncle Gofin, who was speeding towards the stairs.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Uncle Andy jumped, his face turning redder.

The policeman charged up to Uncle Gofin. Uncle Gofin quickened his pace but the policeman caught up with him and caught hold of his wrist.

“Sorry, sir,” he said. “We need to ask you a few questions.”

“Are you kidding me? My flight is tonight. I am supposed to be on my way to Thailand. Don't be silly.” He tried to free himself from the grip of the policeman. His hair was coming down in loose strands and for once he didn't look so handsome anymore.

“Well, you just have to postpone your trip.” The police officer was firm and he led Uncle Gofin towards the lift. Uncle Gofin turned towards us in the lift and his eyes flickered in contempt. His flawless face transformed into a sinister one. I heard the satisfying click of a handcuff, then the lift door closed. That was the last we saw of him in the flesh.

CHAPTER 13: EXTRAORDINARY FRIENDS

Okay, class, we are glad to have Mundi back with us,” Miss Jacobs announced.

“What a brave boy he is!” Janice said, pointing at Mundi with her cast.

The class cheered as they were happy that Mundi had been found. Even Adam, Justin and Leonard, who were usually jeering, grinned from ear to ear.

“Let bygones be bygones?” Clandestino turned to them. “Thanks for helping us find Mundi.”

“Well,” Leonard said. “Alright. But don't think we are going to hang out with you from now on.”

“You bet!” Clandestino stretched out his hand for a handshake. Adam's hand swerved right in and shook Clandestino's hand firmly. This time he didn't squeeze it.

I turned to Mundi. “Aren't you glad we saved you? If not you'd be in Thailand by now, who knows doing what?”

“Yes, it came out in the news last night that your uncle has been charged for kidnapping,” Janice added.

“Uh huh, Mundi, the police found a fake passport for you in Uncle Gofin's hotel!” Clandestino said. “And they found plane tickets to Thailand sandwiched in your passport. The two clowns were right after all. There was another person who was the mastermind! And he was going to send you off to Thailand!”

“Uncle Gofin must have paid them to fake the Milo van, kidnap Mundi, call Mundi's parents, ask for a ransom of $100,000 and divert them to Jurong, Jalan Pempin,” Janice said.

“Apparently, the house we found you in wasn't even his. He broke into it as the owner wasn't there since it was undergoing renovation,” I said.

Mundi's head was bowed low like he didn't want to talk about it. Janice didn't stop. “But why would Uncle Gofin want to kidnap you?”

Mundi looked up with sombre eyes. “Uncle Gofin has never married. It's kind of strange since he is so good-looking.” He bit his quivering lip. “An-An-An-And he adopted me as his godson about a year ago, no? He lives in India and I hardly saw him, but we chatted often on the Net. He knew that I was a genius in math and he always mentioned that I was worth millions of dollars. I didn't know he meant it literally.”

“What a loser!” Clandestino said angrily. I elbowed him.

“What was he going to do with you in Thailand?” I asked.

“I-I-I don't know,” Mundi said sadly.

“Maybe he was going to sell Mundi to an evil spy organisation! One who needs brainies like Mundi,” Janice said gleefully, no longer worried now that Mundi was safe.

“Yeah, Mundi,” I said, interrrupting Janice before she continued blabbering. “You are worth gazillions of dollars. Not just millions. Let's think happy thoughts for now, like vandalising Janice's cast!”

“Okay. No?” He sighed as he fiddled with his spanking new wristwatch.

Clandestino whipped out two pens and started spinning. “Jan, put your hand on the table! It's time for some serious action!”

“Hee hee,” Janice giggled. “Sure!”

Mundi and I took out our coloured pens and scribbled away. Mundi's tongue licked his lips awkwardly as he drew, but this time Janice didn't voice her disgust.

When we had finished, we looked at the masterpiece before us.

“COOL!” Janice exclaimed and danced about in her chair. She twisted her arm to read all our messages.

“Get well soon. Frrooooomm Mundi. Ja-NICE, you ROCK! Frrrooooommm Poetry boy. And I will never forget your sacrifice. I would have done it for you. From Clan.”

“Awwwww! Thanks, guys!” she said bashfully. “That's what extraordinary friends are for!”

THE END

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In putting together this book, I would like to thank the people who have contributed in so many ways.

• Eliza Teoh, the dedicated editor who did not give up on the exlosers.
  
• LXY, the illustrator whose drawings kidnapped our eyes.
  
• Serene See, the patient creative collaborator whose talent is beyond words (in every sense).
  
• My lovely family who supported me throughout this extraordinary journey.
  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J
essica has been teaching publicly and privately for over 10 years. She has written six English Model Composition books for Primary 1 to 6 students.

Jessica's debut novel
The Singapore Kid
won the Popular Readers' Choice Awards in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award 2011. Her first book in the Extraordinary Losers series,
Operation Pants on Fire
, was also shortlisted for the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award in 2013.

Through her
Extraordinary Losers
series, she touches on the things closest to her heart: friendship, courage, the inner person and, of course, donuts and chips. She loves to listen closely to children's babble because she feels that childhood's the time in life when most truths are uttered.