THE FOLLOWING IS A FAN-FICTION EPISODE OF THE CHARLIE AND LOLA BOOKS AND TELEVISION SERIES BY LAUREN CHILD AND BBC/TIGER ASPECT.
Note that although it is based on a franchise aimed at young children, this story is darker in places than the books and TV series. But I hope you enjoy it, it is my first piece of fan-fiction and I worked hard on it! =)
FIRE IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND COMPLETELY NOT SAFE
It was the night of the fifth of November – Bonfire Night. Charlie, his little sister Lola and friends Marv and Morton were having a blast, eying the tremendous fireworks in their back garden while tucking into an evening barbecue. Although the gang had to block her ears for most of the fireworks due to the noise, the many bursts of rainbow light in a sky dotted with glittering stars was phenomenal. As for the Catherine Wheel fireworks, they would always seem to get stuck while in motion, but it was a good laugh to watch them struggle to rotate.
"Hmm," Charlie thought. "This one looks... kind of awkward, but cool! Let's see what it does!"
Charlie pulled a particularly large pyramid-shaped one from the enormous box, which seemed to contain a limitless amount of fireworks, and then drew a match from a matchbox in his pocket. Charlie buried it within a designated area on the grass, lit the firework, and stood well back.
The pyramid firework produced a wondrous display; sparks of all colours shot of the top of it in a spiral shape that resembled a vivid whirlpool of electricity. It was one of the most incredible fireworks of the night, and no-one was more impressed than Lola, who could not take her eyes off of it. After it had finished, everybody clapped, while Charlie, satisfied, went to draw another match from the box to commence the next firework.
"Ooh, Charlie!" Lola began, excitedly skipping over to the fireworks box on the garden table. "Can I do firework-lighting please?"
It was a quick, straightforward answer: "No, Lola."
"But... but why not, Charlie?"
"Because Lola," Charlie replied. "You are far too young to light or hold a lit match. You'll burn your little fingers."
"But it looks so easy and not difficult!" she replied, disappointed. "And I want to light a firework like you. Fire can do so many great things! It's one of the best and most extremely good things in the history of everything. Come on, Charlie. "
"No, you must never play with fire, Lola" warned Charlie. "Fire is enormously dangerous when handed incorrectly. You can light a match when you're older, but it's not safe at your age. In fact Lola, I've only started lighting fireworks this year. Take my advice - just let me do it."
Lola nodded in disappointment. She had expected that Charlie would not let her. Lola was aware that fire was dangerous, and knew the consequences of playing with it. But she felt that she would be able to do it. She was sensible, right? She would never be silly with matches, never!
After a final hour of fireworks and a session of marshmallow-roasting, the night was over. It had been a successful Bonfire Night. "That was my best actual fireworks show that I have ever watched!" Lola exclaimed loudly as the families made their way into the flat. "I hope that the next one does not take forever or a long time to happen again."
The following morning was a sunny, pleasant Saturday, and Charlie awoke to the sound of the telephone ringing. After sliding out of bed, he ran over to it to answer it, hoping that it would be a quick conversation so he could continue sleeping. It was Marv.
"Hey, Charlie," he said cheerfully. "It's a wonderful day. Do you want to go to the outdoor pool down the road? Mum says they just fitted a wave machine!"
Swimming in November sounded rather unusual, but Charlie couldn't resist. "Sure, I'll just get ready and ask Dad if we can all go. Meet me downstairs."
It was unfortunate that as well as Charlie and their father, their mother was going out in the morning. Lola was to be left alone for a mere hour. But in this mere hour, Lola was to face a serious, life-threatening disaster that she herself would create.
"Okay, Lola, now listen." Charlie began. "Me, Dad and Marv are all going to the outdoor swimming pool this morning for a quick dip. And, Mum's gone out to get some fresh groceries because we ate so much food last night. You'll be by yourself for an hour, but if anything happens, just give me a ring. Morton's playing outside by the way. Have fun and stay safe. Promise me you won't try and light a match while I'm gone."
"Yes, I really promise." said Lola, putting on a sweet smile. "Fire is extremely dangerous and completely not safe. Bye."
"Goodbye, Lola. I know you wouldn't really be so silly."
Charlie closed the door, leaving a content Lola in front of it. She was alone for the next hour, but she was not going to waste it playing with Morton. She had just sixty minutes to prove to herself that she could light a match like Charlie could. The feeling of freedom, the feeling that nobody could stop her was glorious. But there was something that could stop her. Just as she was about to skip to the kitchen, her imaginary friend Soren Lorenson materialised from her mind.
"Lola!" he said. "What are we going to do today?"
"Oh, nothing much." she replied nervously. "No, nothing much at all, Soren Lorenson - I was just going to go into the kitchen to do a tiny, small test."
"A test?" he asked, confused. "What kind of test?"
Lola smiled weakly. "Just going to see if a thingy in the kitchen works. That's all. Absolutely nothing else."
"You're going to try and light a match, aren't you?"
Lola gulped.
"You are, aren't you?"
"Oh, I'll be fine, Soren Lorenson." replied Lola. "Charlie makes it look so easy. You just pull a match from a little box, scratchy-scratch it on the black bit and then it works!"
"Lola, I don't want you to get hurt". Soren Lorenson replied, cautiously. "I don't want you to do this. Charlie said no and Charlie is always completely right."
But Lola was not listening. She deliberately (and confidently) marched to the kitchen cupboard and pulled out the golden-brown matchbox used the previous evening. She slid open the matchbox to reveal the matches.
"Lola, I mean it." warned Soren Lorenson. "Really - you could start a fire. What would Charlie say when he arrives home to find the house up in flames? He would be so angry."
"But I'll be extremely careful" remarked Lola, as if all warnings meant nothing to her. "I really promise. You'll see, Soren Lorenson. Then you can have a go if you like."
There was of course obviously no way Soren Lorenson could have a go. He was just a figment of Lola's imagination, an invisible being that existed only when she was isolated. But despite this, Soren Lorenson felt so real to Lola. It was as if he was her conscience – but a conscience could not stop her from doing this.
"Fine. You just don't care, Lola. Don't you dare say I didn't warn you when it all goes wrong". The monotone imaginary boy vanished from her mind.
"Ok, here we go. It's super easy and also lemon squeezy" she muttered, unsure if she was right or not. She carefully took a match from the inside of the box, closed the box and readied herself. She was incredibly excited, but her older brother's words – and the ones from her imaginary friend - rang in her ears. She tried to block it out by imagining her success at lighting the match.
Lola held onto the matchbox tight and slowly began to scratch at the side of the box with the match. She did this three times, slowly. Nothing happened. This made Lola even more anxious. She had no idea how fast she would have to do it. She was afraid of perhaps doing it too fast and causing the entire match to catch fire, or even explode. But she wanted to be brave. Reluctantly, Lola continued swiping the side; the speed increased with each attempt. Lola secretly hoped in her mind that perhaps she wouldn't be able to light it. Maybe there was some trick to it that she didn't know how to do – this would give her an excuse to give up. But finally her match hissed and a powerful, orange glow formed on the end of the match. She was relieved.
"Yes! I have absolutely completely made done fire-lighting!" she said. "I knew I could do it." Delighted, she stared at the wondrous flame and the wispy silver smoke wafting from it. She felt so grown-up. She had made fire. She had done what so many young girls her age would have been far too scared to do. Lola had been told not to, yes, but she was triumphant and proud of herself – Charlie had been wrong. If only Lotta were here to see it, she thought.
But Lola suddenly realised that the flame on the end of the match was getting closer and closer to her finger. Luckily, she knew what to do, as she had seen Charlie do it multiple times the previous evening. She shook her wrist fast, in an attempt to extinguish it like Charlie was able to. No use. Panicking, Lola tried to simply blow on the flame. But only a raspberry emerged from her lips. Lola then shrieked as the flame touched and burnt the tip of her fingers – she dropped the match in fear. It fell onto a pile of magazines. The pile was set ablaze within a second, and Lola jumped back in horror, the colour draining instantly from her face. Not only had the tips of her thumb and index finger been burned black and were throbbing with pain, but she had started a house fire, exactly what Charlie and Soren Lorenson had said would happen.
Lola was petrified as she watched the fire roar. The inferno towered over her. Her heart beating at the pace of a woodpecker's beak, Lola sprinted to the kitchen for water. Tears of fright and regret began to stream from her eyes as she hurriedly filled a large bowl from the tap, and then dashed back, over a quarter of it spilling from the bowl as she went. But the fire had grown larger in her absence. It was now covering the entire corner of the room, and was spreading quickly; everything had been painted bright orange. Lola threw the water at the immense fire, but it did almost nothing. Lola was Charlie's warning thumped in her brain...
You must never play with fire, Lola. Fire is enormously dangerous when handled incorrectly. You can light a match when you're older, but it's not safe at your age. Not safe... fire... never... play... incorrectly... DANGEROUS...
She then smacked her face, feeling a fool. The phone! All she had to do was dial 999 and call for the fire brigade. She had learnt this in school. The fire brigade could easily put out the fire minutes before Charlie would came back and see the damage she had caused! Luckily, the phone was nearby. Shaking and watching helplessly as the fire dominated the living room, consuming everything; she dialled 999 on the phone and held it to her ear. But then she went pale. She realised that she was holding a plastic toy phone! The real phone was trapped within the flames!
Lola, I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want you to do this...
There was nothing else for it. She had to scream for help. She would have to let the world know that she disobeyed instructions and did something truly terrible. Unable to stand the fear for her life any longer, she sprinted to the window, shoved it open, and bellowed...
"FIRE! FIRE! HELP! SOMEBODY! PLEASE HELP! FIRE! FIRE! HEEEEELP!"
Morton, Marv's younger brother, who was busy outside colouring in a picture he had drawn, jumped in shock. Only he could hear Lola, no one else was around. Morton looked up at her, hanging out the window, her face dripping with sweat and tears due to her extreme concern. Alarmed, he jumped to his feet, instantly aware of the situation.
"Okay, I'll call 999!" he called up to her, running into the flat and into his room. "Then I'll call Charlie and Marv and tell them!"
Hearing the second half of Morton's reply reminded Lola of the strict telling off she would receive. She just knew she was in deep, deep, deep trouble. Deeper than any trouble she had even been in before. She was only five and yet she had caused almost half of the room in her family's flat to incinerate. The regret she felt in her mind was incredible.
But the fire was spreading closer and closer. What if the firemen were too late? Lola backed up against the wall, wracked with hysteria, the fire slowly easing its way to her side. Then, noticing that her room's front door was about to be blocked by the fire, Lola quickly dashed through it, ran down the stairs, and ran outside. She was safe. Hyperventilating, she span round to see Morton, who, having made the calls, had rushed back outside to comfort – and question – Lola.
"Lola, what were you doing in there?" he asked curiously.
Lola was not sure what to do. Was there any use in lying? Would Morton believe her if she decided to lie? Would Morton remain friends with her if she told the truth? Maybe she could tell him the truth but exaggerate it? But Lola could not bring herself to lie.
"Morton, I started the fire... by an accident of course... I lit a match and dropped it..."
"W-WHAT?" Morton yelled. He was flabbergasted. "You lit a match? And even when Charlie said not to! I'd just thought an oven was left on or something! How could you do that, Lola? How?"
Lola did not know what to say, but luckily she did not have to reply. Her ears had picked up the sound of a noisy siren in the distance. She looked out of the window and saw, to her great relief, two massive fire engines approaching. They parked at the side of the road; multiple firemen emerged in a flash and entered the flat to take care of the raging fire within. Morton ran over to examine the fire engines, fascinated with their size and features.
Relieved that help was here but still quivering with agitation, Lola slowly kneeled down to sit on the wet winter grass. As she looked down at it, she also noticed a huge shadow looming over her. Then, she felt something tap her shoulder. She shrieked and span round. It was Charlie. He looked more furious than her had ever looked. Lola wanted to apologise but she quickly understood that a simply apology wouldn't cut it. Charlie glared at her. Lola looked down at her feet. Charlie's expression then disappeared, and he sat down on the grass with her.
"Lola..." he began, his voice sounding disappointed. "I think you now know that when I tell you not to do something, you won't do it. Will you?"
Lola shook her head, trying to look as ashamed of herself as she could.
"I am very angry with you Lola. You disobeyed my instructions AND you broke a promise. But I am also very pleased with you that you sought out help, and very relieved that you're not hurt. When Morton rang Dad I was so, so worried. I thought it might have been too late. Morton didn't tell me whether you were fine or not on the phone."
Lola burst into tears and fell into Charlie's arms, wailing. She should have listened to him. She should have listened to herself...
An hour later, the siblings had returned to the flat. Although the room had been blackened and a few pieces of furniture damaged, the overall effects was not as negative as Lola had imagined. She had been lucky, almost too lucky. And although Lola was spending the day working hard cleaning the house as punishment, she felt good inside – good that the crisis was long over. In fact, cleaning up had never felt so rewarding. By undoing the mess she had made due to her foolishness and disobedience, she would be able to re-obtain Charlie's forgiveness.
END