Parcel Pete's Australian Adventure By Heather Playdon

Chapter 3 - Snags, Dogs and Mossies

Pete woke up scratching his cheek. Shook his head, rubbed his eyes. Wow it was 11am, he realized he’d missed breakfast and therefore his friends. He’d have to venture to the Opera House on his own today. He sat up. He felt his face, and his face felt swollen. Jumping out of bed he ran in to the bathroom and eyed himself in the small shaving mirror. “Eurgh what’s happened!” he exclaimed at his reflection.

He knew what he had to do. He hurriedly washed himself down (he couldn’t bear the shower this morning), grabbed his rucksack and ran for the door, tripping over his sandals. Whoops, best not go out barefoot, he thought.

The pharmacist stifled a giggle and gave Pete some antihistamines and lotion to apply to his swollen cheek. Pete was annoyed that he’d forgotten to pack  any mosquito repellant  and made a mental note to always pack it. “Thank you very much” Pete called out as he left the shop, red-faced as well as swollen. “G’day mate, watch the mossies!”

He stopped off at a coffee bar and ordered himself a Dagwood Dog and an espresso. The antihistamines were working now so he felt a bit more human. He sat at the window and watched the world go by. What an amazing city Sydney was. But he couldn’t help thinking about what Penny was up to. He got out his phone and checked his emails. No reply from Penny, he guessed the Rainforest didn’t have the best WiFi connection. He checked his Facebook and his new friends’ newsfeed; he felt like a bit of a stalker but he didn’t fancy being on his own today in this big city. He found out where they were and caught up with them. They were headed to the Opera House so Pete ticked this off his to-do list.

In fact, over the next two weeks he ticked off more than was on his to-do list. He had so much fun with his new friends. 

On Pete’s last day his friends treated him to a rendition of ‘Down Under’ at breakfast, it brought a tear to his eye. They swapped numbers and all promised to catch up when they were back in the UK. The boys were staying on for a further 3 weeks and promised they’d post photos on Facebook to keep Pete involved in their adventures.

He loved Sydney and hoped one day to bring Penny over and to visit other areas of Australia too. 2014 was going to be HIS year! (As long as he remembered to pack mosquito repellant AND extra socks). And leave the parcel tape at home.