Jailbreak! (2 page)

Later that afternoon Terri, Robert and Bindi were seated behind a long table draped with a white tablecloth. It was piled high with stickers, badges, and information about the Tassie devil, Devil Facial Tumour Disease and Wildlife Warriors.
Dressed in their black-and-white- striped convict costumes, they were also promoting the charity auction that would be held later that night.

‘You look good dressed as a convict, Mum,' noted Bindi.

Terri laughed. ‘Thanks, Bindi. I just wish I hadn't been jailed for stealing a loaf of bread to feed my family.' She was really getting into character!

Robert pretended to hold a phone to his ear and said, ‘Hey, Bindi, it's a Mr Zebra for you. He says he wants his stripes back!'

Bindi laughed. ‘I'll give you stripes. Fifty lashes for you, convict!'
She rolled up a flyer and held it out menacingly.

‘But Judge …' pleaded Robert to Terri, ‘I'm innocent!'

Terri scrutinised her son and made a stern face. ‘I find the prisoner guilty of teasing his sister. Twenty lashes!'

Bindi pretended to deal out the punishment and they broke into a fit of giggles, but it wasn't long before they were kept really busy. As Adam Starr was nowhere to be seen, they quickly drew quite a crowd of Adam's fans, who were still waiting around to see their idol again.

‘Excellent!' cried Bindi. ‘New recruits! Surely all these guys would
love to know more about Tassie devils and support Black and White Day.'

Robert struck up a conversation with a girl named Clara. ‘Did you know that devils have a jaw strength as strong as a tiger? They're real bone crunchers!'

‘Uh huh?' Clara didn't look that interested. She was busily reapplying her lip gloss while gazing at her reflection in a compact mirror.

Robert tried again to grab her attention. ‘And did you know that they're Australia's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial?'

This piece of information didn't seem to be having the desired effect
on Clara either. Then Robert had an idea. ‘We also have a charity auction tonight with proceeds going to help Tassie devils.'

‘What are the prizes?' Clara asked, without taking her eyes off her mirror.

Robert picked up the list of prizes that people could bid on and began to read.

‘You could bid on a VIP Platinum Adventure Tour to Australia Zoo. Or you could spend the day in historical Port Arthur with Adam Starr. Or you could –' but Clara cut him off before he could continue.

‘How do I bid?' she cried, now fully focused on Robert.

‘Wow, you must really like Adam Starr,' he noted.

Clara's whole face lit up. ‘Yeah! What's not to like? I mean, he's a really good actor. He was so scary in
Mad Dog Creek
.'

Robert nodded.

Clara continued enthusiastically. ‘And he's really cute.'

Robert was not sure about this one, but went with it anyway. He noticed Bindi listening in. He continued. ‘Yeah, I think he's a bonza bloke.'

Clara added, ‘And he obviously really likes animals or he wouldn't be supporting such a good cause.'

Bindi couldn't stop herself from
commenting. ‘He likes animals, you say?'

‘Yeah!' nodded Clara emphatically. ‘Like, totally.'

Robert turned to his sister, grinning. ‘He sounds like a great guy, hey B?'

Bindi shook her head. ‘The jury's still out, convict!'

Just then Robert's mobile phone rang. He answered and after listening for a few seconds, jumped up.

‘Be right there!' Robert hung up the phone.

Bindi looked at him, bemused. ‘Since when have you had your own mobile phone?'

Robert grinned. ‘Since now.' He
stood up. ‘My sister will look after you, Clara. I've got to go!'

And with that he was off. Bindi frowned. What was going on with her little brother?

Early that evening, as Bindi made her way down the corridor backstage, she could feel her tummy give a flip. Her pre-performance butterflies had arrived. Small or large, she never failed to get them. Bindi had even categorised them into actual butterfly
species. Tonight's butterflies, she decided, were the lemon migrant, a favourite species of hers, which was found in tropical Australia.

‘Come on, guys,' she whispered to her tummy. ‘Give us a good performance!'

The corridor was abuzz with pre-show preparation. Singers were warming up their voices, technicians were hastily preparing last minute details, producers and organisers were racing around, consulting clipboards and speaking in low voices into their walkie-talkies.

Bindi caught sight of Tess and Ella at the door of the change room. They were dressed and in make-up
and looked fantastic in their convict costumes.

Tess gave Bindi a wave. ‘I'm so excited!'

Bindi smiled. ‘Me too. You guys look fantastic, but look at me. I better get a move on!' She hurried past her friends into the change room only to find it empty. When she was last in the room it had been full of all the props and costumes the performers would need.

‘What's going on?' Bindi muttered to herself.

Just then Adam entered the room and took a seat at the mirror. ‘There's been a change of plan. I'm not big on sharing and, after all, the
star has certain expectations, even when I turn up to small-time events like this.'

Bindi's mouth dropped wide open. ‘You're kidding?'

Adam began doing his hair in the mirror. ‘No, I'm perfectly serious.' He pointed further down the corridor. ‘You'll find your new change room further down the hall.'

Bindi stared at him and looked as if she was about to argue when Tess grabbed her by the arm. ‘Come on! We're running out of time.'

Adam had already forgotten they were there and continued his preening. Bindi decided to let it go for now. The girls made their way
down past a few more doors to a small room that looked as if it had been hastily cleared to make room for all of the costumes and performers. As Bindi threw on her costume she couldn't stop thinking about Adam and his diva ways. The actor was out of control!

The intercom crackled as another announcement was made. ‘Ten minutes to curtain!'

Once Bindi was ready, the girls piled out into the corridor to make their way towards the backstage area. They would be performing three songs and were the first performers due on stage after the initial introduction.

Bindi noticed Chris, the devil keeper, step out from a room and into the corridor.

‘Hey, Chris, where are the devils being kept now?' she called out to him.

He smiled and pointed back to the closed door. ‘They're in a little room back there. I think it's the storeroom. I've made it nice and dark for them and they seem quite comfortable.'

Bindi smiled. ‘That's good.'

Robert raced past them. ‘Good luck, Bindi!'

Bindi watched as her brother whizzed past her. ‘Thanks, little buddy. Where are you off to?'

‘I've got work to do.' He raced off so quickly he was a blur of activity and then he was gone.

Bindi shook her head. ‘Brothers? They're a mystery.'

Chris smiled. ‘I'll be watching your performance from backstage, behind the curtain.'

‘Speaking of curtains,' said Ella. ‘What time is it?'

The intercom crackled again. ‘This is your final call. Take your places. Two minutes.'

‘Eek!' The girls raced off down the corridor. They certainly didn't want to miss their cue!

To thunderous applause and earsplitting screams, Adam Starr sauntered past the girls and walked onto the stage. After a celebratory air punch and a lot of posing, he addressed the crowd.

‘Hey there! Great to see you
all!' The whistling and screaming increased and he finally held out a hand for the audience to quieten down.

‘Thanks, thanks very much. Wow. What a welcome! Great to be here tonight, supporting such a good cause.' He gestured to his outfit. ‘As you can see, tonight I'm dressed in black and white. In fact, this suit is from my label, Starr Creations. You can check it out online.'

Bindi and Robert were watching from the wings backstage.

Robert was impressed. ‘Look at the crowd. They just love him!'

‘Mmm,' mumbled Bindi unenthusiastically. She turned and
looked at Tess and Ella but they too were standing transfixed, watching Adam.

Bindi let out a small sigh. ‘Honestly, guys, is it just me or is there something a bit phony about Adam?'

Three pairs of eyes turned on Bindi. She could feel the power of their laser stares burning holes into her back. She shrugged. ‘I'm just saying, I don't get what all the fuss is about.'

Ella smiled. ‘If I didn't know you better, I'd say you're jealous, Bindi Irwin.'

Bindi spluttered. She wasn't sure if she heard her friend correctly over
all the screaming. ‘You've got to be kidding?'

Robert's eyes lit up mischievously. ‘Ella's got a point. It's not like you to be down on someone, B.'

Bindi felt instantly defensive. ‘It's not about my ego. Tonight's about raising awareness for Tassie devils and instead he's trying to sell his clothing line!'

Robert was quick to defend Adam. ‘Adam's all right once you get to know him.'

Bindi couldn't believe she was hearing this from Robert. ‘But you don't even know him.'

Robert gave a big smile. ‘I do, sort of. He gave me a job.'

Bindi was shocked. ‘What? You're seven years old. He can't do that.'

Robert puffed out his chest. ‘Adam hired me as a runner, which is why I've got the phone. I'm his number one go-to guy tonight.'

‘I can't believe I'm hearing this. This isn't a good idea,' Bindi protested.

Bindi was momentarily distracted by Adam's voice. He was talking about her, which meant they would be going on stage any second now.

Robert held up a hand to silence her. ‘You've got it all wrong, B.'

Bindi tried to argue but was literally pushed onstage by Ella and Tess, who had plastered big smiles
on their faces as they stepped on stage.

‘Come on!' hissed Tess. ‘This is no time for a family argument.'

They walked onstage and the audience applauded loudly. Adam had done a good job warming up the crowd. He gave them a huge smile and even had the nerve to wink at Bindi as she took the microphone from him. Tess was right. This was no time for distractions. They had a performance to do and Bindi prided herself on being professional. She never let her fans down!

The girls high-fived each other as they raced offstage to loud applause. The songs had been a hit and they had really brought the house down with their version of ‘Jailhouse Rock'. Terri gave them a big thumbs up as she took the microphone from them to address the audience.

Ella was bouncing up and down backstage with excitement. ‘We rocked! That was so much fun!'

Bindi agreed. ‘Looked like the audience enjoyed it too! They were all dancing to the “Jailhouse Rock”!'

Tess wiped her brow and gave a huge sigh of relief. ‘Now the hard part's over we can just enjoy the rest of the night.'

‘You bet,' agreed Bindi as the three friends linked arms. Only then did they realise that all was not well backstage. All of the production staff seemed to be having a huge meltdown. People were racing past, looking frazzled. Bindi recognised
the production manager, a young woman named Rachel. She looked particularly stressed out.

‘What's going on, Rachel?'

Rachel paused as she listened to instructions through her headset. ‘When I said find them now, I meant yesterday!' She turned her attention to Bindi and grimaced. ‘Our star devils have escaped, Bindi!'

Bindi couldn't believe it. ‘How?'

Rachel explained. ‘We're not quite sure but it seems Adam needed something from the supply closet in the room the devils were staying in. When he turned on the lights they panicked and raced out the door.'

With that she hurried off down the corridor, barking more orders into the headset.

‘Oh no!' cried Bindi. ‘That's terrible. We have to help find them.'

They hurried after Rachel. Bindi could hear Terri's voice over the intercom as she talked to the audience about Tasmanian devils and the threat to the species from Devil Facial Tumour Disease. Bindi knew that this talk was the lead-up to the devils coming onstage with Adam as he was going to host the auction. They needed to find the devils and fast!

As they ran past Adam's dressing room Bindi noticed Robert and Adam were inside.

Adam was shouting into his phone. ‘Just get me out of here! I was attacked!'

Robert was looking at him, incredulous, shaking his head.

Adam was pacing the room as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. ‘No, I'm not in hospital. I wasn't actually mauled but I
was
threatened.'

Bindi shook her head as she listened. This guy just had no idea about animals.

‘No! No stitches, no missing limbs, I still have all my toes and
fingers. I'm fine but it was a close call.' He listened again to the speaker. ‘No, not a dingo, a
devil
. Like a huge possum with a massive head and out-of-control teeth.'

Robert could not let this comment pass. ‘They're not actually like possums. They're carnivorous predators.'

Bindi met Robert's eyes. ‘Your new boss needs to pull himself together and get ready for the auction!'

Robert groaned. ‘I know, I know. He's behaving as though he's been attacked by a velociraptor.'

‘I COULD HAVE DIED!' screamed Adam into the phone. He
hung up in frustration and tossed the phone across the room.

‘Don't you think that's overstating it a little?' asked Bindi.

Adam shot her a dirty look and started packing up his stuff. ‘I'm so out of here.'

Bindi shook her head. ‘You're not going anywhere, Adam. You caused the devils to escape, you can stay here and help search for them. They'll be terrified.'

Adam picked up a large duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. ‘They are vicious and dangerous creatures. I am leaving and there's nothing you can do about it.'

With those parting words he
pushed past the girls. Even Tess and Ella were looking unimpressed by his behaviour.

Bindi scowled and turned to Robert. ‘Why was he in the devil's room anyway?'

Robert sighed. ‘He ran out of hair gel or something.' He looked really disappointed in his new friend.