Sage Cookson's Christmas Ghost by Sally Murphy and Celeste Hulme

SAGE

’ COOKSONS

s a m t s i r h C

t s o h G

Sally Murphy

1

SAGE ’

COOKSONS s a m t s i r h C host G

For my dear friend Rebecca, whose name should be in a book.

And for all the Rebeccas.

First published in Australia 2017

by New Frontier Publishing Pty Ltd ABN 67 126 171 757 48 Ross Street, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia www.newfrontier.com.au Text copyright Š 2017 Sally Murphy Illustrations copyright Š 2017 New Frontier Publishing Illustrations by Celeste Hulme This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers.

All rights reserved.

A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.

ISBN: 978-1-925594-05-8 Cover illustration and design by Celeste Hulme 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in China

SAGE ’

COOKSONS s a m t s i r h C host G Sally Murphy

CHAPTER 1 Manager’s

e SpoficLife

recommendation

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Cook

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Th

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ou stay safe,’ my friend Lucy instructs me. ‘And have a wonderful Christmas. I’ll miss you!’

‘I’ll miss you too!’ I say. ‘Have the best

Christmas ever.’

Lucy climbs into her dad’s waiting car, clutching the Christmas present I’ve given her.

‘And no pressie-poking!’ I call.

‘Same to you,’ she says, grinning as I hold up the gift that she has given me. ‘Bye Sage!’

1

I wave, then turn back to the house. We are heading to the airport soon and I want to fit the present from Lucy into my suitcase.

Usually December is a quiet month for my parents, the famous Cooksons from television, but this year we are heading to Western Australia to do something special.

On Christmas Eve, during a big televised Christmas special, there will be a live cross to Mum and Dad in Perth, where they (and me) will be watching a world record attempt.

Why them? Because it’s related to food.

Perth cook Myra Bateson is going to try to cook the world’s biggest pavlova. And Mum and Dad will witness her efforts, and appear on live TV. As for me, wherever Mum and Dad go, I go too – when they’re travelling Australia, and even overseas, filming for their television 2

show The Cooksons Cook On. So I’m off to spend Christmas in Western Australia.

My phone pings in my pocket as I climb the stairs.

Miss you already. Lucy hasn’t even reached home and she’s already texting me.

I quickly reply. Me too. See you in ten days!

I am so glad that my best friend and I have been given mobile phones so we can stay in touch. We miss each other heaps when I travel, but at least this way we can be in contact with each other every day.

‘You ready, Sage?’ Dad asks as I head inside. He’s coming down the stairs with his suitcase.

‘Almost!’ I say, rushing upstairs. I need to pack my present from Lucy, grab a book for the flight, brush my teeth and zip up my case. Mentally I tick off items as I scurry around my room, hoping Mum and Dad 3

aren’t both ready before me.

Not fast enough. ‘Come on Sage!’ Mum calls up the stairs. It seems to happen before every trip. I’m just not as organised as my parents. Luckily, they always leave plenty of time to get to the airport.

I take one last look around my room, hoping I haven’t forgotten anything, then head downstairs with my suitcase and backpack.

‘Let’s go,’ I say. ‘Perth, here we come!’

An hour later, as we wait for our flight to be called at the airport, I admire the huge Christmas trees and other decorations in the departures area. Mum and Dad like them too, but Mum is even more excited when we stroll past an airport bookstore and spot something near the front entrance.

It’s a mountain of copies of a new cookbook, but not just any cookbook – it’s Mum’s 4

book, The Spice of Life! A sign near the huge pile says ‘Manager’s recommendation’, and Mum beams. The Spice of Life is her first ever book, and it took a lot of work to get it just right.

Christmas is always my favourite time of year, and with Mum’s new book doing so well, and a trip to witness a world record attempt, I’m sure that this Chistmas will be extra special.

5

CHAPTER 2

‘W

ow!’ I say, gazing out of the hotel window the next morning. I hadn’t seen much

from the taxi on our journey the previous night, but now, seated in the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel, I am surprised by the view. We are on the edge of the central city, and close to a big river. Past a busy quay the water sparkles, and a couple of ferries leave foamy wakes as they chug in opposite directions across the water. There 6

are a few sailboats and a jetskier too.

Closer to the hotel there’s a glass tower, which Dad tells me is a belltower. Beyond that, an old sprawling building sits at the base of a green hill which leads up to Kings Park, Dad says. ‘We’ll have time to visit,’ he says, in between mouthfuls of muesli. ‘The view should be even more spectacular from up there. And there’s a good restaurant we should check out too.’

‘Restaurant?’ Mum looks up from the file she’s reading.

‘Don’t worry, Mum,’ I smile. ‘Dad’s just planning his holiday meals, as always.’

We all laugh. Dad seems to judge everything we do by the quality of the food he can eat while he’s doing it. Which I guess isn’t surprising for someone who makes his living from food.

‘What are you reading?’ I ask Mum. 7