Originally Posted by Felixir

Technically, yes, Charlie's dad had said a very clear 'no' to a group or solo trip to Fortescue's, but he said a lot of things. Also, technically, the real refusal was about going to get ice cream when they had plenty at home that was already paid for. So, if Charlie wasn't here for ice cream, and he didn't pay any money, he had a very good defence.

This whole trip, he'd had a parent clutching his hand, partly because of his tendency to go off on his own as soon as no one was looking and partly because of that business in the mirror shop last time and partly because they thought he was a fragile baby, probably, even though he was only a day younger than the others and almost eleven too. Charlie hadn't complained all that much, because actually he didn't really mind being the precious youngest most of the time, and also because, eventually, his dad let his guard down and his hand relaxed juuust enough and Charlie was able to disappear in an instant.

And now here he was, not buying ice cream. As soon as he reached the parlour, Charlie Upstead slipped through the customers towards the toppings bar, using his small stature to his advantage, and stepped right in front of the girl who was just stood there doing nothing. He picked up the nearby scooper, and boldly shovelled out a handful of the reject mixture from the tray, apparently unconcerned by what some might consider a bizarre or even unpleasant combination of toppings.

Using the scooper as a makeshift bowl, he turned to the girl he'd usurped in the non-existent queue. "All yours." The machine, that is. The scoop was his; Charlie picked a banana chip smeared with nacho cheese out of it and threw it into his mouth to make that clear.