Salamada Appreciation Society: A collaborative anthology: Dunalley Primary School SAS

Salamanda Appreciation

Society

A collaborative anthology

Dunalley Primary School SAS

edited by Chrissy Garwood

Chrisolite Books

Sorell, Tasmania, Australia

Copyright © 2020 by the Dunalley Primary School SAS group, and Chrissy Garwood.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, at the email address below.

Chrisolite Books

Sorell, Tasmania, Australia

chrissy@chrissygarwood.com

www.chrissygarwood.com

Salamanda Appreciation Society/ Dunalley Primary School SAS. —1st ed.

ISBN: 978-0-6489651-0-7 (paperback edition)

ISBN: 978-0-6489651-1-4 m(eBook edition)

This book is dedicated to

Eva Bitterova and Clare McVilly.

Without their support and encouragement,

this book would be nothing more

than a dream.

Foreword

This project, like so many, has started with a simple idea - a writer’s workshop led by our amazing school chaplain. Miss Christine – as the students so affectionately call her at Dunalley Primary School – sent me an email during the early months of 2020, wondering if I would be willing to surrender some of our class time to her. I was hoping to introduce a theme and the students would write their response. The end result would be a self-published anthology, explained Christine.

My answer was obvious. She could give the students everything I couldn’t – insights from an experienced and talented published author. My answer was a very keen YES!

The project took off. The kids were excited to become part of something bigger and exciting; something that I wish I could have experienced as a child.

They worked through the school closures brought on by COVID-19. They met tirelessly every week through various online platforms to discuss the developments in their work. Through the stories, the students were able to come face to face with each other in a world filled with wonder - a commodity that most people have been robbed of in 2020.

This project has been a thrilling adventure that allowed students not only to taste the ins and outs of the amazing and at times hectic life of publishing authors, it also allowed them to experience a new and breathtaking world created by their imagination. This project has allowed the students to dream big, create lifelong friendships, take sides, be deceptive, cause trouble and solve problems. This project has created a world for these students where they could hide from the challenges 2020 has brought with itself.

I hope you can enjoy this work of the selfless and generous Miss Christine and some of the Grade 5/6 students of Dunalley Primary School. I will leave you with a request, however. Please read this with the innocent and imaginative eyes of a child, and let the words and ideas spirit you away into a magical world, where everything is possible!

Eva Bitterova

Contents

Foreword

Welcome

Salamanda by Bray

The Story of Agent Spaghetti  by Ethan

Kendric by Ooli

That’s A Bit Dodgy by Summer

Once Upon A Camel by Ella

Invincible by Eden

Agent Orange And The Notorious Salamanda by Aarden

Salamanda: The Origins by Daniel

Across The Sahara Desert by Abel

Pretty Beaten Up by Jess

The Sword of Salamanda by Marie

About the authors

Acknowledgements

About the publisher

***

Welcome

Welcome to the first meeting of the Salamanda Appreciation Society. Thank you for subscribing to SAS. I look forward to receiving your scribbled notes as you speculate on your suspicions.

As you know, Salamanda is selective about the people they associate with. Because Salamanda has sponsored your membership, each of you is special. Please write a few words about yourself and how you first came to learn about Salamanda.

Please share what you know. Here are a few certainties as conversation starters: No one knows what Salamanda looks like. Tall or short? Dark or fair? He or she? Nothing is certain.

But we do know that they are a secret agent, a sneaky spy, a small-town saviour with superpowers out to change the world - one adventure at a time.

Salamanda likes words that begin with the letter S. Words like secretive, sneaky and special. Do you have any more to add to the list?

Any other suggestions for topics to write about? Send them my way,

Chrissy )i(

Salamanda by Bray

Chapter 1

H ey, Thomas. What’s up? asked Jonathan.

Not much, I said.

There was something different about how he was standing as if he was trying to look normal but not doing a very good job of it.

I like your hair, Jonathan said.

Thanks.

Nice top.

Ok, now that’s a bit weird. But ok, time for class. You’re late – it’s 8:00.

No, it’s not. It is 8:01.

Today should be a good day.

Later the teacher handed out the Maths tests.

What? I got a D in Maths? I thought I did well. Oh well, next time I might get a B.

Jonathan laughed then he snorted in a weird way. It was like he was snorting like a pig while laughing.

Chapter 2

FINALLY, SCHOOL WAS over. I wanted to buy hot chips.

Hey, Jonathan, want to go to the shop?

Jonathan didn’t say anything, but he came with me.

Wait, I need ten dollars. I will ask mum – hang on – what is that? That woman turned into a loaf of bread.

The bread floated, weaving its way along the aisle – bread moving by itself seemed funny.

Let’s follow it, Jonathan said.

Ok, we’ve got to be stealthy. The bread just turned into a lettuce!

At the same time, Jonathan asked, How come the lettuce is looking at us?

We stood there, watching the lettuce look at us.

Then the lettuce shape-shifted into a motorbike.

Run as fast as you can – she’s right behind us – she has turned into a car now. How is that possible?

The car was right behind us. When we got to my house, I said, Hide! Go left into the house. Quick! Run faster! She’s turned back into a human.

I told Jonathan to hide with me in the basement. When we were there, I looked through the spy hole and said, Oh my god, she’s getting stuff from the pantry.

This made me steaming mad. I almost yelled out, but then I remembered that we needed to stay hidden. She’s a cow, I whispered.

Chapter 3

ONCE SHE LEFT, IT WAS safe to go back up.

Ok, split up, I said. I have a list: bread, water, meat and some junk food. Jonathan, go to the kitchen. In the top drawer, there should be 100 dollars. Grab that – don’t use it all on food. Go buy a burner from the Reject Shop.

Ok, said Jonathan. What are you doing?

I am going to pack some clothes. Meet me in 1 hour and bring a shopping trolley. Here are the coordinates for the entrance to the tunnel that will take us to the underground base under the Sahara Desert. There is a chair above the main entrance there. Let’s go.

Jonathan stood watching me while I packed.

Ok, four tops, four pairs of socks, two pairs of shorts and two pairs of trousers, and four pairs of underwear...

Jonathan seemed puzzled

What are you doing? I asked.

Oh, ok. I will go to the shop.

Jonathan phoned me from the shop. I grabbed the bread and water, a big pack of meat and some junk food. I spent 20 dollars, and there’s 80 dollars change. I’m going to get a burner now.

Chapter 4

I PHONED JONATHAN WHEN he didn’t call me back. I was worried because he had been acting weird.

The burner cost 50 dollars, Jonathan said.

Ok, that means we have 20 dollars change.

30 dollars. That’s why you got a D because you’re bad at maths and writing.

Let’s go to the secret base.

How do I get there? asked Jonathan. I don’t know where the base is.

I was not impressed that he forgot so quickly. I gave him the directions again. I was worried – what if it was not Jonathan? I thought it was Jonathan, but it was nerve-wracking because if it was Salamanda, I just gave up the whole base to her. But if it was Jonathan, the base was safe.

He phoned me again. Where are you?

I’m at the bunker, I said. When you get here, Jonathan, ditch the trolley halfway.

Where is the entrance?

I told him how to open the secret entrance, and then he called me again.

I said, Now, lay flat on your back to go down the big slippery slide. Then you will be in the base.

There were noise-detectors in the tunnel. When I heard a sound over the speaker, I went up to meet him. It was dark in the tunnel.

A voice called out. Hey, Thomas! Is that you?

Yes, it’s me, Jonathan. Who else were you expecting?

I grabbed one of the bags. You got the clothes? I asked.

Yep.

Right, jump in the bunker.

Where are we? Jonathan asked.

I frowned. I’ve already told you. The bunker is a secret base. The other entrance is under the chair in the desert. Stop wasting time, and check the camera. We need to know where Salamanda went.

How do you know it is Salamanda?

Who else would it be but Salamanda the Shape-shifter? We know she can shape-shift and she is smart.

Jonathan was looking around in surprise as if he had not seen the base before. I pointed, and Jonathan finally looked at the security camera.

Ok, he said. She is westbound on York Street.

That is 2 or 3 hours away. It’s 8 o’clock. Let’s have some meat and go to bed. Wait. What is that?

I looked at my phone. Salamanda had triggered an alarm, and a camera was streaming the new video. Salamanda! She is here. We have to hide!

We ran into the classroom where the new agents went for training.

Chapter 5

JONATHAN WAS TRYING to fix the camera so he could see Salamanda on the smartboard.

Get going, I said. She might not find us. Look at the camera on my phone.

A lettuce was rolling around the main room of the bunker, looking for us.

A lettuce? Jonathan asked. He seemed worried.

I looked at him. Remember, in the shop, how we saw the lettuce and the bread. She must like turning into food.

Well, we beat her then. This time, she’s not getting any more of our food.

We moved through the tunnels and arrived in the desert.

Well, this is just weird. I can hear a motorised snow ski. What is a snow ski doing in the desert?

Jonathan looked at the camera screen. One of the security cameras in the tunnel is out – Wait, it is back on.

I’m going to check the seventeen-volt doors. I climbed the ladder.

Look, I can see her, Jonathan said. What do you want me to— Hang on – Shoo, lettuce! Thomas, I need a knife!

I pulled out a knife and slid it back along the tunnel. I could hear him chopping something. Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!

He appeared on the ladder below me. Ok. I don’t know if that was Salamanda—

We know she likes to turn into food—

And we know she likes to turn into lettuce.

There was a noise below. I looked past him, and screamed, Run! I swung the door open and sprinted out across the sand.

Why are we running? Jonathan called out, and he slowed down and collapsed at the bottom of the largest sand dune.

I kept running until I reached the top. I looked down at him, standing there.

RUN! You chopped her into little pieces and now she is forming an army.

The first lettuce rolled out of the hatch and spun on the sand. Another lettuce appeared beside it. Jonathan started running.

Go, go, go! I shouted. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go! Go as fast as you can!

When he was halfway up the sand dune, the lettuce army began to speed across the sand.

She is behind you. When Jonathan was almost at the top, I