Mission Climate Change (2 page)

Worn out by their long plane trip, all three children eventually drifted off to sleep. Professor Tikkanen woke them a few hours later, once they'd arrived at his home. The sun had set hours ago, but Bindi could make out Alek's station
wagon parked in the driveway.

The professor led his guests into the large farmhouse. The children were surprised by how beautiful its high beamed ceilings and wooden interior were; they felt as if they had entered a grand old concert hall. With the snow outside, and the crackling fire inside, Bindi, Robert and Madi could feel in their bones that they were a long way from home.

Kelly and Hannah were already curled up on the sofa, chatting away like old friends.

Terri gave her kids a quick hug. ‘How are you feeling?'

‘Tip-top terrific!' said Bindi. ‘Ready to take on the world.'

Terri smiled. ‘That's my girl!'

The housekeeper, a plump and cheerful woman called Elina, was passing around cups of hot chocolate and a light supper of something she called Karelian pasties, which were delicious and filling. After the meal, Professor Tikkanen explained that the adults would be sleeping in the main house, and the kids would stay in their own separate guesthouse.

‘Awesome! It's just like a school camp,' said DJ.

The professor gathered up the children and their belongings, and was opening the door out of the kitchen, when the phone in the hallway rang. ‘Ah, kids, I better
get that. If you would just follow the path up to the guesthouse. The door's open, and there are bunk beds aplenty.' He went back to grab the phone, and the kids scampered up the path towards the guesthouse.

Bindi opened the door, but inside was pitch black. ‘Where's the light switch, I wonder?' she said, feeling around the doorframe.

‘Did anyone bring a torch?' asked Hannah. DJ and Robert were behind them, shivering. ‘Hurry up, guys, let's get inside.'

Kelly bounded ahead into the darkened house, full of her usual positivity. ‘How great is it that we're
all here. It's going to be totally fantastic …'

All of a sudden there was a screech, followed by a menacing growl.

Everyone froze.

‘What was that?' yelled DJ, as he pushed his way into the room.

Bindi finally found a light switch further along the wall, and turned it on … to find Kelly sprawled on the floor with two dark-furred, sharp-toothed creatures walking around her, sniffing.

‘Oh my gosh, wild … What are
they? Wolves? Small bears? Is Kelly about to get eaten?' asked Hannah, starting to hyperventilate.

Kelly was not impressed. ‘Hannah, I can still hear you. I'm being stalked by two scary creatures, but my ears are working fine!'

Hannah felt awful. ‘Sorry, Kelly, I'm just … ah, nervous … for you,' she replied meekly.

Kelly grimaced. ‘Okay, thanks, I guess. Can someone help me out here?'

Bindi edged closer to the two creatures. ‘Kelly, stay still. They're not behaving like they want to attack,' she said reassuringly. ‘Are you hurt?'

‘No. But I tripped over one of them, thinking it was a furry coffee table.' DJ let out a squawk of laughter. Both the creatures turned away from Kelly to stare at DJ. He backed out of the room. ‘Sorry, guys, didn't mean anything by that noise. Ignore me.'

Bindi crouched down a little way from the creatures. They slinked slowly away from Kelly and towards Bindi.

Kelly moved a little. ‘Phew, that's better. Those guys have bad breath!'

Robert was concerned for his sister. ‘Do you know what you're doing, B?' he asked, ready to intervene if need be.

Bindi shook her head gently. ‘Not really, but they seem quite –'

She was interrupted by the slam of the front door. Everyone jumped a mile in the air, and the two creatures bounded towards the entrance.

Professor Tikkanen looked a little harassed, but when he saw the animals, his frown disappeared and was replaced by a big smile. Kelly scrambled to her feet.

The creatures were winding their way in and out of the professor's legs like house cats. ‘Well then, you've met my babies,' he said affectionately, and bent down to pat them.

Madi wasn't sure what to make of the situation. ‘What are they?' he asked.

Professor looked around the room at the children's faces. No-one had a clue. ‘These two little balls of mischief are wolverines, Madi,' he explained. ‘Seppo and Sophie, brother and sister.'

‘Wow, wolverines! I've never seen one before,' said Bindi. ‘I didn't know they were so friendly.'

The professor gave the animals another pat. ‘Well, they're not normally. These two I saved from a brown bear attack when they were young kits. Their mother was killed in the attack, and these little guys
wouldn't have survived without some human intervention. They've been part of the family ever since.'

Robert was intrigued. ‘They're carnivores, right?'

Professor Tikkanen nodded. ‘Yes, and they're actually part of the weasel family. Nothing to do with wolves or bears. In the wild they are excellent scavengers, but these two are very well fed, so as long as I deliver their meals on time, everyone's happy.'

The expression on his face darkened. ‘I'm afraid I need to pop out for a while. Something to sort out before tomorrow.'

Bindi noticed the free-spirited
professor now looked quite stressed.

He continued. ‘But I'll see you bright and early for breakfast before the conference tomorrow morning. Okay?
Hei
.' He gave a distracted wave and walked up the path, forgetting to shut the door.

Madi shivered and rushed to close it. ‘I'm taking a while to get used to this cold climate,' he said, jumping up and down to keep warm.

Seppo and Sophie the wolverines sniffed around the guests, and decided they were acceptable roommates. They both jumped on one of the sofas in the lounge room, and curled up into a sleeping, two-headed ball.

The kids found their rooms, chose their beds and brought in their luggage. Just as Bindi was about to suggest they go over their speeches before bed, DJ decided it was time for a stand-up comedy routine.

‘Hey, what do reindeer say before telling you a joke?' he asked.

Kelly answered with a grin. ‘This one will sleigh you.'

‘And where do you find reindeer in Finland?' asked DJ.

Kelly responded a second later. ‘It depends on where you leave them.'

DJ looked admiringly at Kelly. This American girl knew her way around a joke!

Before he could ask a third joke, she got in first. ‘Why did the reindeer wear sunglasses surfing?'

DJ shot back, ‘Because he didn't want to be recognised.'

DJ and Kelly both cracked up.

The others shared a look as DJ and Kelly continued swapping jokes. It didn't sound as though much rehearsing would get done tonight!

Early the next morning, the international guests were seated around the large dining table in the main farmhouse. Robert was mimicking an Olympic Games commentator. ‘Representing Australia on the left, we have the Irwin family and DJ.
From South Africa, we welcome Kirsten and Hannah. Kelly the wolverine tamer from the US is on my right, then there's Madi from sunny Sumatra and from Finland … Hang on, where's Professor Tikkanen?'

Terri turned to Hannah's mum, Kirsten, who shrugged her shoulders. ‘I'm not sure, honey. He went out last night, but I was out like a light shortly after he left.'

Elina was busy serving up a delicious pancake breakfast. ‘Perhaps he went for an early morning walk. There is no snowfall this morning. Please, do not wait for him. Enjoy.'

She returned to the kitchen.

Everyone tucked in, not needing
any more encouragement. The cold weather was making them especially hungry.

But Professor Tikkanen didn't appear at breakfast, and by the time the guests were assembled, ready to leave for the conference, there was still no sign of him.

Alek was waiting outside with a minibus he'd organised to drive them to the venue.

Bindi was a little concerned about the absence of the professor. ‘Alek, where could he be? I know how much he has been looking forward to this conference.'

Alek shrugged. ‘I'm not sure, Bindi.'

‘I'm sure Fredrik will turn up,' added Elina. ‘He can be a little eccentric at times.'

‘Perhaps he just lost track of time?' suggested Hannah.

Alek gestured to the group. ‘Jump in. He would be very upset if we didn't get you to the conference.'

The parents and children trooped on board and with a wave goodbye to Elina and the wolverines, who had come outside to see what was going on, the guests drove away. The children were not scheduled to speak until the afternoon, but would spend the morning listening to various talks and discussions. There was a lot of chatter in the bus.
Hannah and Madi were practising their speeches to one another and DJ and Kelly were still trading jokes. The parents were discussing what they hoped would be achieved by the end of the conference.

Once they reached the convention centre, they were overwhelmed by the number of international delegates flooding into the hall. Although there was no snowfall, a thick blanket of white covered the landscape and made everything sparkle in the sun.

Bindi and Kelly squeezed hands through their gloves, exhaling their breath like dragons in the freezing air. ‘I can't believe we're here at
such an important conference!' said Bindi.

A moment later, a snowball whacked into the side of her head. DJ and Robert, a couple of metres away, were grinning ear to ear.

‘Don't worry, B, I'll defend you,' said Kelly, racing over to a mound of snow and counter-attacking with not just one snowball, but many. DJ and Robert soon realised Kelly was not a girl to be trifled with. Bindi managed to fire off one or two, but Kelly was catapulting snowballs left, right and centre with extremely good accuracy. She was a snowball-hurling machine!

Five cold and wet minutes later, DJ and Robert held up their hands. ‘We surrender!'

Kelly shot them a triumphant look. ‘You're safe for now,' she said dangerously.

As people made their way along various corridors into the main auditorium, Hannah and Madi paused in the reception area, looking at the list of speakers and workshops that were taking place that morning.

Madi pointed to a workshop later in the day concerning the increase in extreme weather events. ‘In Indonesia, we have many natural disasters. Thousands of people die
or are left homeless by tsunamis, droughts and fire.'

Hannah nodded her understanding. ‘Africa has similar problems, Madi. And there is serious danger of war over land, food and water if things continue the way they are going now. Our native animals also suffer in these conditions.'

Kelly and DJ entered the reception area, still trying to wipe off the snow all over their clothing. They joined Hannah and Madi. ‘Time for the opening speeches,' said Kelly, checking her watch. She glanced back at Bindi and Robert, who were still outside the conference centre.

‘Bindi. Robert? Get a move on.'

Bindi grinned at her friend's limitless enthusiasm. ‘You guys go inside. Robert and I want to wait for Professor Tikkanen. I'm sure he'll be here soon.'

DJ nodded. ‘Cool. See you in there,' he said, leading the group confidently in completely the wrong direction. Bindi could see Hannah say something, and the group changed direction and headed towards the other corridor.

Bindi laughed. ‘Same old DJ.'

A few stragglers were hastily making their way into the reception area now, but most of the delegates were already in the auditorium. Bindi and Robert could hear the dull
murmur of the first speaker. The conference had begun.

Bindi shook her head. ‘Why isn't he here?' she asked, frustrated.

‘I think you're right to be worried, B. He was really looking forward to the conference,' said Robert.

She sighed. ‘I know. And remember, he's making that special announcement after lunch. The one that should attract all the media. There's no way he'd miss that unless –'

‘Unless something has happened to him,' finished off Robert, sharing a concerned look with his sister.