Mark Spark in the Dark Read online

  “Mmm,” said Mark, looking at his new trainers. They didn’t look very new now. Jason was right. Mark’s mum was going to get mad.

  “I’m not frightened of my mum,” said Mark, jumping in another puddle. He always had his tea with Great Gran, before Mum got back from work. Maybe Great Gran could cook his trainers as well as his tea so they’d be dry by the time Mum saw them?

  “I’m getting new trainers for my birthday too,” said Louise. “Pink, to match my pink T-shirt and my pink leggings. Mark, come out of that puddle. Yuck, it’s all gungy!”

  Some of the gunge clung to Mark’s trainers. He bent down to wipe it off. It moved. It was a big fat worm.

  “Hello, worm!” Mark muttered. “What’s your name, eh? I’m Mark Spark. And you’re… Wilfred.”

  “Have you gone completely crackers, Mark?” said Jason. “Why are you talking to your trainers?”

  “And for my best birthday present I’m getting a tent. I want a pink one, because it’s my favourite colour,” said Louise. “And my mum says for my birthday treat I can have some friends to stay over night and we can all sleep in my tent out in the garden. Won’t that be great?”

  “You bet!” said Jason. “We can come, can’t we, Mark and me? We’re your friends, aren’t we, Mark?” Suddenly he noticed that Mark was holding something. “What’s that you’ve got in your hand?” he asked.

  “It’s my new pet. Say how do you do to Wilfred.” Mark held Wilfred up so he could maybe waggle his tail.

  “YUCK!” Louise squealed, and she went flying down the road in her frog wellies.

  She screamed so loudly that Mark jumped and dropped Wilfred back in the puddle.

  “Oh Wilfred, come back!” said Mark. “Louise, you are a bore. You’ve made Wilfred run away.”

  Louise was still running away herself. “You keep that horrid worm away from me,” she shrieked. “If you bring it anywhere near me again I won’t let you stay overnight in my tent.”

  “It’s okay, Louise,” said Jason, dashing backwards and forwards between them. “He’s dropped his worm. So we can still sleep in your tent, eh?”

  “Bye bye, Wilfred,” said Mark sadly, stirring the muddy puddle in vain.

  Don’t you dare fetch it out again!” Louise shouted.

  “I can’t. You’ve frightened him away,” said Mark, sighing. He squelched along the road. “I don’t know why you don’t like worms, Louise. They’re your favourite colour. Pink.”

  “Is your birthday tent really going to be pink, Louise?” asked Jason.

  “Yep, with a pink sleeping bag to match. You and Mark will have to bring your own sleeping bags for my birthday treat,” said Louise.

  “No problem,” said Jason.

  Mark Spark didn’t say anything. He did have a little problem. No, not a little problem. A Great Big Problem.

  Chapter Two

  Mark Spark didn’t know what he was going to do. He didn’t say anything to Jason. He didn’t say anything to Louise. He couldn’t tell them about his Great Big Problem. They might laugh at him. They would think he was a silly baby. Just thinking about it made Mark blush Louise’s favourite colour.

  Mark Spark had always had this Great Big Problem but he had kept it a deadly secret so far. Mark Spark was afraid of the dark.

  He wasn’t frightened of anything else. He’d dare anything. He didn’t care about getting into trouble. He didn’t cry when he fell and gashed his head and had to have ten stitches at the hospital. He didn’t flinch when a pit bull terrier barked and tried to bite him. Everyone thought Mark Spark was the bravest boy in the whole school.

  But he was still scared of the dark. He had a little lamp at home. Mum always left the hall light on too, in case he had to nip to the bathroom in the night. But even in the light he knew the dark was there, in all the other rooms. It was outside the windows, this huge terrifying darkness.

  He knew he’d never be able to sleep outside in a tent with Jason and Louise. He could have a torch but that would be just a very little light in the very big darkness outdoors. It would be much much much too scary. Mark Spark might end up blubbing like a baby.

  Great Gran guessed something was wrong when Mark went to her house for his tea.

  “I’ve mucked up my new trainers, Great Gran,” said Mark.

  Great Gran was blind so she couldn’t see them. But she could feel them.

  “You mucky pup,” she said.

  “We’d better give them a good wash, eh?”

  Great Gran sorted out Mark’s trainers as best she could.

  “But there’s still something wrong, duck,” she said. “Can’t you tell your Great Gran?”

  “Well, I lost my pet worm Wilfred coming home from school,” said Mark.

  “Did you, dearie? How tragic,” said Great Gran. “Still, I dare say you’ll find yourself another worm. You could go out in my back garden and get one right away. How about a lady worm this time? Wilma Worm?”

  “Yes, good idea, Great Gran,” said Mark, but he didn’t sound enthusiastic.

  “There’s still something bothering my little lad,” said Great Gran, and she reached out for Mark and pulled him onto her lap. “What is it, chum?”

  “Oh Great Gran!” Mark wailed. “I don’t know what to do. Louise is getting a tent for her birthday and she’s asked me and Jason to stay overnight to camp in her garden and I can’t because… because… because I’m scared of the dark.” Mark said it in a very little voice. Great Gran was rather deaf as well as blind but she heard him and she hugged him tight.

  “Don’t you fret yourself, my pet. We’ll sort something out, just you wait and see.”

  Chapter Three

  “I’m ever so sorry, Louise,” said Mark. “I really wish I could stay overnight for your birthday treat. But I can’t. I’ve got to go and stay with my Great Gran that weekend.”

  “Oh Mark!” said Louise, frowning. “Don’t muck up my birthday treat.”

  “Can’t you go and stay with your Great Gran some other weekend?” said Jason. “You’ve got to come too, Mark.”

  “I’m sorry. But I’ve got to be with Great Gran. She’s – she’s scared of the dark, you see. She needs me there,” said Mark.

  “Hang on,” said Jason. “Your Great Gran’s blind, so she’s always in the dark. Why should she be scared?”

  Mark Spark scratched his head. “Burglars,” he said. “There’ve been several break-ins down near my Great Gran’s. She’s getting nervous.”

  It was true enough. There had been several burglaries. And Great Gran was worried about it. And Mark Spark certainly wanted to look after her. Great Gran always looked after him. It was her idea that he should stay with her, so he needn’t go to stay with Louise.

  “It won’t be any fun without you, Mark,” said Jason.

  “Yes it will,” said Louise crossly. “Okay then, Mark. If you can’t come I’ll invite my friend Lily instead.”

  “Yuck! Not Lily,” said Jason, looking horrified. “I can’t stick Silly Lily.”

  Jason didn’t ever dare call Lily Silly to her face. She might have a small soft name but she was a big tough girl and she never let any of the boys boss her about. But she could be good fun too. She often had good ideas. Almost as good ideas as Mark Spark.

  It was very hard for Mark listening to Louise and Jason and Lily planning the birthday treat.

  “Mum says we can cook food on her little camping stove,” said Louise.

  “Sausages! Wow, can we have sausages?” said Jason.

  “And if I bring my mum’s special pan we could have pancakes with maple syrup,” said Lily.

  Mark’s mouth was watering. It sounded as if the birthday treat was going to be such fun.

  “Look, Louise, maybe I could come for the camp stove feast?” he said hopefully. “Then I could go along to my Great Gran’s after, when it gets dark and you lot go to bed in the tent.”

  “No, Mum says I can only have two friends. She says more will just get silly. And now I�€