‘So what part are you playing in Beauty and the Beast?’ asked Urk, as they left the tunnels and stepped into the murky world of Monsterland. Thousands of light bulbs buzzed angrily in the damp ceiling of the cavern, shining over the sprawling dungheap that was Monster City.
‘I’m playing tree number two,’ said Will.
‘You’re playing a tree?’ chuckled Urk.
Will nodded awkwardly.
‘And the tree has lines to learn?’ Urk smiled.
‘I’m supposed to say “RUSTLE! RUSTLE!” when the beast appears.’
‘And you need help to remember that?’ Urk frowned.
‘I know the lines, I just keep forgetting to say it in rehearsals,’ said Will. ‘Grant Butcher, who’s playing the part of the beast, keeps putting me off. And when Miss Star isn’t looking he pushes me over.’
‘Who’s Miss Star?’ asked Urk.
‘Oh, she’s our new drama teacher,’ explained Will. ‘We have a new one every year because they all quit during the school play. That’s why I left my lines until the last minute, hoping Miss Star would quit too. But she stuck with it and now it looks like I’ll have to go on stage!’
‘We’ll worry about that later,’ said Urk, patting his friend on the shoulder. ‘And maybe Miffni and Pong Pong will steal the chairs, and the school will have to cancel the play after all.’
‘I wish!’ said Will.
The pair laughed as they entered Monster City and made their way through the backstreets and alleyways until they reached the block of mud flats where Urk’s family lived.
‘Now, we’ll have to be really quiet when we go in,’ said Urk, as they approached the main doors of Terror Towers. ‘And hopefully we can spy on my sister without her even knowing we’re there.’
‘I’ll be as quiet as a m–’ Will began, but stopped when Urk suddenly shrieked and bundled them both into a nearby bush. The young monster quickly clasped his hand over an area of sack where he guessed Will’s mouth was.
‘They’re coming!’ Urk whispered urgently.
Moments later the doors flew open with an enormous bang! and Miffni and Pong Pong stomped and slithered from the building, chatting and giggling loudly as they headed into the maze of alleyways.
‘Phew!’ sighed Urk. ‘That was close!’
‘Mmf mmf mm!’ replied Will.
‘Oh, sorry!’ said Urk, taking his hand away and helping his friend to his feet.
‘Where do you think they’re going?’ asked Will, dusting himself off.
‘I don’t know,’ said Urk, peering down the long dark alley to see Miffni and Pong Pong taking a right turn. ‘We’d better follow them and try to get close enough to hear what they’re saying.’
Urk and Will followed Miffni and Pong Pong as they zigzagged through the maze of gloomy backstreets, keeping out of sight and listening to their chatter. Fortunately Urk’s sister and her friend had very loud voices, but all they spoke about was different flavours of lipgloss, including Rotten Raspberry and Fizzy Fish Guts.
‘I still don’t understand how these two could possibly mastermind a big scare,’ whispered Urk, dropping back to a safe distance as they took a left turn into Monster City High Street.
‘It does seem very unlikely,’ agreed Will.
Hanging back, they tracked the two pairs of hair-bunches bobbing down the High Street above the heads of smaller monsters and ducked into a doorway when Miffni and Pong Pong stopped to cross the road.
‘They’re heading for The Monster Mash!’ said Urk, watching as the two monsters skipped arm in arm towards a large building that had a fat lumpy monster guarding the entrance. ‘It’s a youth club for teenage monsters.’
‘Who’s the big blob?’ asked Will, pointing at the huge creature blocking the doors.
‘I think it’s a Thud,’ said Urk, taking out the Monsterbook and flicking through its pages until he found the entry for a Thud. ‘Yeah, here it is. Not one to be messed with by the looks of it.’