‘Okay, we have our dancers!’ said Amelia as Florence helped Gerrard pull on a ballet tutu and dance shoes. ‘But our dancers need something to dance along to . . . Perhaps some music?’
Butler’s ears pricked up.
‘But I’m wondering WHO can play some beautiful music?’ said Amelia, pretending to look puzzled.
Butler began jumping up and down on the spot.
‘Oh! Of course! Butler!’ said Amelia. Then she called towards the door. ‘Come on in, guys!’
Grimaldi waltzed into the unliving room wearing a bow tie and a very TALL top hat. He was using his scythe as a conductor’s stick.
‘Let us make fangtastique muuuuuseeeeque!’ sang Grimaldi in an overly posh voice.
Behind Grimaldi, making the most elaborate entrance so far, was Tangine, who’d borrowed a few things from Countess Frivoleeta’s dressing room. He was wearing a long, frilly ballgown and on his head perched a tall, purple wig. His cheeks were covered in round splodges of red blusher.
‘Say helloooooooooo to your favourite operrraaaaaaaaaaaa siiiiingeeeeeeeeeeer! ’ Tangine sang, rolling his r’s and over-pronouncing every syllable. ‘Butler, my darrrrrrrling,’ he trilled. ‘TEACH ME!’
Butler giggled and meowed joyfully.
‘You’d better get practising!’ said Amelia. Then she leaned in and winked. ‘Especially since Tangine will need ALL the training he can get!’ Butler giggled even more.
Mo was left sitting cross-legged in the suitcase. She adjusted her glasses and twisted her tail around her paws.
Amelia settled herself down inside the suitcase with Mo and pulled out a sketchbook and a pencil from her skirt pocket. ‘Mo, I do believe we have a whole STAGE SET to design!’ said Amelia.
Mo’s eyes grew wide. ‘Mew mew?’
‘Yep!’ said Amelia. ‘And I can’t think of anyone better to paint it than you. With skills like yours, we’re going to create the most beautiful scenery anyone ever laid eyes upon.’
Mo squeaked happily. Amelia passed her the pencil and opened the sketchbook to a blank page. ‘Let’s get to work!’ she said.
It wasn’t until the clock struck two in the morning that Amelia realised how absorbed they had all been. She was having so much fun with the caticorns and her friends, that she’d completely forgotten about lunch!
‘I think it’s time you filled your creative bellies,’ said a friendly and familiar voice.
It was Wooo! He was finally fully defrosted. He was also carrying a HUGE plate full of tongue-twister sandwiches – Amelia’s favourite!
‘Looks like you worked things out,’ he whispered as Amelia took a sandwich for herself and another for Squashy.
Amelia smiled. ‘Look, Wooo! Look at the beautiful stage set Mo has been painting. And can you hear the fangtastic music Butler has composed? And check out the brilliant dance moves Gerrard has been teaching Florence.’
‘FAAAAAAAAAAAR LAAAAR LAAAAAAAR!’
Pumpy rolled upside down and Squashy yelped in fright.
Wooo grimaced. ‘What was that ?’ he asked. ‘Is something dying?’
‘That . . .’ said Amelia in a hushed voice, ‘is Tangine.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘Need I say more?’
Wooo and Amelia looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Tangine came strutting towards the sandwich platter, clip-clopping in a pair of Countess Frivoleeta’s high-heeled shoes. ‘I think I’ve got the hang of this opera malarkey,’ he said airily. ‘Another one to add to my list of never-ending talents.’
‘Of course,’ said Wooo, his expression unchanging. Amelia giggled. ‘But in all seriousness,’ Wooo added as Tangine sauntered away. ‘We should all take a leaf out of Tangine’s book. We all need to love ourselves a bit more. Including you, Amelia.’
A BRIIIING! BRIIIING! rang out from the hallway. ‘I should get that,’ said Wooo. He smiled and floated away.
Amelia grinned to herself as she watched her best friends in the entire world having fun with the caticorns. Soon she’d be able to do all of this with her new baby brother or sister! The uneasy feeling that had been nagging at her was finally starting to fade.
Had the baby been born yet? she wondered. When would her mum and dad be home? She couldn’t wait to introduce her new baby brother or sister to her world and her friends.
Gerrard, Butler and Mo bundled up to Amelia and began tugging at her skirt. ‘Mew, mew, mew!’ they chanted.
‘You’re all ready?’ Amelia asked.
The caticorns nodded enthusiastically.
‘Great!’ said Amelia, feeling her tummy spin with excitement. ‘Why don’t the three of you get ready in the dining room. I’ll fetch Wooo and we can rehearse the show. Then we’ll be ready to do the real thing for Aunt Lavitora when she comes to pick you up.’
Amelia skipped to the kitchen where Wooo was preparing some sweet and salty snotcorn for the friends to munch on.
‘Young Amelia! I have some good news,’ he said with a big smile. ‘That was your mum and dad on the phone. They will be back home by moonset.’
Amelia did a little excitable dance on the spot.
‘Eeeeeeeeeeeee, I can’t wait !’ she cried. ‘Is Mum okay? Is it a baby boy or girl? How big is it? Does it look like me?!’ Amelia thought she might explode with all the questions she had.
Wooo chuckled lightly. ‘Everyone’s fine and I am under strict instructions not to tell you anything more,’ he said with a wink. ‘BUT I do believe there’s a fangtastic show rehearsal about to start, and I’m sure that’ll keep your mind occupied for the rest of the night until they get home.’
‘Okaaay,’ said Amelia, pretending to look sad. But then she burst out laughing, hardly able to contain her joy. ‘I’m just so excited! But you’re right, Wooo, the show IS about to start. Would you like to come and watch with Squashy and Pumpy?’
‘I’d love that,’ said Wooo.
When Amelia and Wooo returned to the unliving room, Pumpy and Squashy were waiting patiently on the sofa, sporting monocles for ultimate observing and judging. Florence was poised in the centre of the stage set, which had been beautifully created to look like the Meadow of Loveliness in the Kingdom of the Light. Grimaldi waved his baton at the side of the set, in preparation for some serious conducting, and Tangine hid himself behind the unliving-room curtain whilst he warmed up his singing voice. ‘EEEEEE EEEEEE OOOOOO OOOOOOOO AAAAAAAAA!’ he sang, very loudly and VERY badly.
Amelia and Wooo snuggled up on the sofa next to the pumpkins with a big bowl of sweet and salty snotcorn.
‘The caticorns are just getting ready in the dining room,’ said Amelia. ‘They’ll be here in a minute!’
Minutes passed and Florence was still poised centre stage on one foot. Alone.
‘THIS IS GETTING UNCOMFORTABLE,’ she said, through gritted teeth.
‘Maybe they’ve got stage fright?’ wondered Amelia. ‘I’ll go check if they’re okay.’
But when Amelia entered the dining room, Gerrard’s ballet shoes were sitting neatly on the table, Butler’s homemade xylophone was perched on a chair, and Mo’s sketchbook was on the floor. There was no sign of the caticorns anywhere.
Florence pranced into the room behind Amelia. ‘ME TOES WENT NUMB, SO I FORT I’D COME SEE WHAT WAS GOIN’ ON.’
She hurrumphed when she saw that the caticorns weren’t there. ‘WHERE ARE THEY?’
Something on the other side of the large window caught Amelia’s eye. Three little caticorns, pedalling away on a penny-farthing across the misty hills of Nocturnia.
