The Amazing Brain of O C Longbotham

Philip James Longbotham is twelve. His nickname is OC and he possesses a most amazing brain. It might not go round corners but its a whiz at science and plays chess like a dream. It also has a nasty habit of seizing up at the wrong moment; Kitty says it only does that because its overloaded with maths equations. Kitty and Anna are OCs sisters and theyre the reason Mum wants to leave home. OCs best friend is Charles Andrew Sheridan Harris. He lives next door and goes round in an excessively speedy wheelchair. Nicknamed The Cash, his ambition is to become the worlds greatest villain and make a bankful of money. Hes not doing such a bad job of it either! While OC plays chess and does maths and science homework for lazy kids, Cash has a nice sideline in forging sick notes and shop-lifting. When a chess tournament lures the four friends to Birmingham, Cash takes OC to meet Jim Bowie, one of the all-time great villains, with the intention of asking if he can become an apprentice villain. Told they dont hire kids in wheelchairs, Cash is devastated. If villains dont want him, what is he to do with the rest of his life? With Cash in decline and refusing to go to school, OC attends the carol service on his own in Gloucester. He witnesses some suspicious men board his coach and recognises one of them as Jim Bowie. Remembering that Cash has warned him to never talk to Jim Bowie again, OC stays out of sight. The coach trundles him back to Bristol where the men are intending to rob a bank. Unfortunately, the bank they have chosen is where OC keeps his chess winnings, over three hundred pounds, and hes not about to let them steal that!