Pages

Tuesday 1 May 2012

MayDay Flash - 'Unexpected Cargo' by Brendan Way


‘HMS Junebug, come in, HMS Junebug. Do you read me?’
‘I read you loud and clear, skipper. What appears to be the problem?’
‘Well, we’ve, er, found something rather unexpected and we wanted a bit of advice.’
‘Okay… Why not simply call the coastguard?’
‘That’s sort of the problem. We don’t know whether to report it.’
‘Eh? What exactly is it you’ve discovered?’
‘May Day.’
‘What’s wrong, skipper? Do you need help? Is everything okay?’
‘We’re fine, thanks, Junebug. That’s just the name of a little girl who appears to have snuck aboard.’
‘What? I’m sorry, I don’t follow.’
‘Well, we think she –’
‘Who?’
‘May Day.’
‘What’s wrong? Are you sinking? Is something on fire? Are you alright?’
‘We’re fine. I’m just saying that we have an unexpected passenger in the form of a Ma - uh, M.D.’
‘You’ve got a doctor with you? Well, that’s standard practice. Nothing unusual about that. Certainly nothing to call the coastguard about.’
‘She’s not a doctor.’
‘Come now, skipper, don’t be so old-fashioned. Women can be everything nowadays!’
‘Even so, the passenger is not a doctor. She’s only six!’
‘So, she’s like, what, a nurse?’
‘No! She’s nothing. She’s just a young missus who must have wandered off from her parents and ended up hiding on here.’
‘I see. Well, that you should definitely call in to the coastguard. Do you want us to report it in for you?’
‘Could you? My officers and I would do it, but we’re very busy here trying to keep her amused.’
‘Sure thing, skipper. I’ll get on that right away. What colour’s her hair?’
‘Mousy brown.’
‘Okay… And her eyes?’
‘Hazel.’
‘Right, and finally, her name?’
‘It’s May Da – on second thoughts, I’ll do it myself…’

No comments:

Post a Comment