Noodle the Doodle Steals the Show

by Jonathan Meres

  “Do we have to do something?” said Marty. “In the show, I mean.”

  Mr Reed looked at Marty for a moment. He knew that some children were confident and liked performing in front of other people. But not all children did. Some were shy. And that was OK. Everyone was different.

  “No, Marty,” said Mr Reed. “You don’t have to do anything. No one has to.”

  Mr Reed smiled. Marty looked relieved.

  “Hey, Marty!” said Shakira. “Your job can be to open and close the curtains!”

  “Yeah,” said Callum. “And switch the lights on and off!”

  “Yeah,” said Abdul. “Those things are really important.”

  Mr Reed looked at Marty.

  “Well, Marty?” he said. “What do you think? Would you like that?”

  Marty nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I’d like that very much. Thank you.”

  “Fantastic,” said Mr Reed. “And how about you, Samir?”

  Samir had been quiet too. He was stroking Noodle. Noodle was lying underneath his desk. He was still asleep.

  “Would you like to do something in the show, Samir?” said Mr Reed. “Do you have any special talents?”

  Samir thought for a moment. Noodle stretched and yawned and made a funny squeaking sound.

  “Maybe,” said Samir.

  CHAPTER 5

  Crash!

  Days went by. Then a week went by. Then another week went by. And another. And another. And another.

  Life carried on as normal at Wigley Primary. Books were read. Stories were written. Drawings were drawn. Sums were worked out. But all the while, everyone was thinking about something else. They were thinking about Wigley’s Got Talent.

  A date had been picked. The village hall had been booked. Posters had been put up. Tickets were selling fast. And something even more important had happened. Nearly everyone knew what they were going to do in the show.

  Josh loved to play football. So he was going to do some tricks. He would keep the ball up in the air. He would kick it and head it. It was called doing “keepy-uppies”. Josh’s record was forty-three. He was going to try to do fifty!

  Sol was funny. He liked to make people laugh. His grandma said that he should be a comedian. So he was going to tell some jokes.

  Lou had a small voice when she spoke. But it was very different when she sang. When Lou sang, she had a big voice. And she loved to sing. So that was what she was going to do.

  Abdul was going to do a magic act. His dad was a bus driver. But he also knew how to do magic tricks. He taught some of them to Abdul. Abdul thought his dad really was magic.

  Shakira’s favourite thing was macaroni cheese. Her second favourite thing was dancing. So that was what she was going to do. But she wasn’t going to do it alone. Callum and Nora were going to dance with her. They would do street dance. The music would be very loud. People would think they were from a big city, not a tiny village. It would be so cool.

  The only pupil who didn’t know what to do was Samir. Samir wasn’t keen on dancing. And he didn’t like singing very much. He didn’t know many jokes. He could only do a few keepy-uppies. So what could he do? What was his talent? Time was ticking on. Samir had to decide soon. The day of the show was getting nearer.

  Samir liked coming to school. He hadn’t been sure at first. But now he didn’t mind when his mum dropped him off. He was friends with everyone. He joined in with their games. The other pupils made Samir feel welcome. But his best friend was Noodle the doodle. Noodle made Samir happy.

  One morning, everyone was hard at work. Samir was sitting next to Abdul. They were multiplying and dividing numbers. The class was very quiet. There were only two sounds. The sound of the clock ticking and the sound of Noodle snoring.

  Then there was a loud crash from the hall. Noodle woke up. He hid under Samir’s chair. He was scared. He was shaking. He made a whimpering noise. But the crash had only been the sound of a pot being dropped on the floor. Shakira’s mum was the school cook. She was getting the hall ready for lunch. But Noodle didn’t know that. He thought that something bad had happened.

  “It’s OK, boy,” said Samir. He spoke in a soft voice. Noodle stopped whimpering. He rolled onto his back. Samir tickled Noodle’s tummy. Noodle wagged his tail.

  Then Samir had an idea. He reached into his backpack. He pulled out a small plastic container. Samir opened it. It was full of blueberries. He took one out and offered it to Noodle. Noodle ate it. His tail began wagging like crazy.

  “WOOF!” said Noodle. “WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”

  “What’s that, Noodle?” said Samir. “You’d like another one?”

  “WOOF!” said Noodle.

  Samir smiled. He gave Noodle another blueberry. And then another. And then another.

  “Samir?” said Mr Reed.

  Samir looked up. He hadn’t noticed Mr Reed standing next to him. He’d been too busy thinking. And he’d just had another idea.

  “Are you OK?” asked Mr Reed.

  Samir nodded. At last he’d decided what to do. He knew what his talent was. All he had to do now was practise.

  CHAPTER 6

  Come Back with That Microphone!

  It was the day before the show. Everyone had been practising very hard. So far, they’d been practising at home. Now it was time to practise all together. They were going to have a rehearsal and perform their acts. But they were going to do it without an audience.

  It was important that Marty knew what to do. He needed to practise opening the curtains. He needed to practise switching the lights on and off. It didn’t matter if anything went wrong during the rehearsal. Because there was no audience there to see it.

  The children walked from the school to the village hall. Noodle was on a lead that Samir was holding. It wasn’t very far. But Noodle kept stopping to pee on every single lamp post.

  “I wish I could do that,” grinned Sol.

  “What?” said Josh. “Pee on a lamp post?”

  “Aw, yuk!” said Nora. “That’s disgusting!”

  “It’s a natural thing to do,” said Callum.

  “Yes,” said Shakira. “If you’re a dog!”

  They all laughed.

  At last they arrived at the village hall. There was a big poster on the door. It was a poster for the show. Everyone was very excited when they saw it.

  “Let’s go, guys!” said Mr Reed. He opened the door and went into the village hall. Noodle ran after Mr Reed, pulling on his lead. Samir got pulled along behind him.

  “Whoa!” yelled Samir. “Slow down, boy!”

  But Noodle didn’t slow down. It was his first time in the village hall. He was excited too. Samir let him off his lead and he started whizzing around. There were lots of new things for Noodle to sniff. And he sniffed every one of them.

  “WOOF!” said Noodle. “WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”

  Mr Reed clapped his hands. “OK, everyone!” he said. His voice was loud. It boomed around the hall. “Let’s get cracking!”

  Noodle stopped whizzing around. He sat down. He was panting. His tongue was hanging out. It looked like a slice of wet pink ham.

  There were some steps at the side of the stage. Marty climbed up them. He vanished behind the curtains. He pulled on a rope and the curtains opened. Then Marty switched the lights on. There was a microphone in the middle of the stage in a stand. The microphone sparkled in the light.

  “Ooooooooooooooh!” said all the other pupils. They were even more excited now.

  Josh was the first to practise his act. He ran onto the stage holding a football. He bounced it. He kicked it into the air. Then he did some keepy-uppies. But the most he did was four. Josh looked a bit sad.

  “It’s OK, Josh,” said Lou. “You’ll be great tomorrow.”

  Then Sol practised some jokes. But he couldn’t remember them.

  “Don’t worry, Sol,” said Shakira. “You’ll remember them tomorrow.”

  Then Lou practised her song. She was singing along to so
me music. Marty pressed a button to play the music. But it was the wrong song.

  “Sorry, Lou,” said Marty.

  Lou tried to smile. “It’s not your fault, Marty,” she said.

  Abdul was the next to practise. All his tricks kept going wrong. He tried to pull a toy rabbit out of his hat. But he pulled out a banana instead.

  “Oh, no!” said Abdul. “What if that happens tomorrow?”

  “Don’t worry, Abdul,” said Sol. “I’ll eat it.”

  Shakira, Callum and Nora were next to practise. The music blasted out. They started to dance. But everything went wrong. They kept bashing into each other. The other pupils thought it was part of their act. But it wasn’t.

  Samir was the last to practise. Only Mr Reed knew what Samir was about to do. He hadn’t told anybody else. He was still a bit shy. Samir walked onto the stage. Everybody looked at him. But he didn’t say anything.

  “Are you OK, Samir?” said Mr Reed.

  Samir nodded and said something. But his voice was very quiet. No one could hear him.

  Mr Reed smiled. “Would you like to use the microphone?” he said. “It will make your voice louder.”

  Samir nodded again. He took the microphone out of its stand.

  “Here, boy,” said Samir into the microphone. Mr Reed was right. This time everyone could hear him.

  Noodle the doodle dashed onto the stage. He saw Samir holding the microphone. But Noodle thought it was a sausage. Noodle jumped. He flew into the air like a furry rocket. He snatched the microphone from Samir’s hand. Then he jumped off the stage and headed for the door.

  “NOODLE!” yelled Marty. “COME BACK WITH THAT MICROPHONE!”

  But Noodle didn’t come back. He was having way too much fun. If the children wanted the microphone, they’d have to catch him first!

  Noodle the doodle ran outside. Everyone chased after him. They had to get the microphone back. Noodle might break it. Or he might dig a hole and bury it. If that happened, the show might not go ahead.

  There was a park next to the village hall. Noodle started whizzing around it with the microphone in his mouth. First he whizzed one way. Then he whizzed another way. His tail was wagging like crazy. He thought it was the best game ever.

  Everyone ran after Noodle. Well, not everyone. Samir was standing still. He took something out of his pocket. It was a small plastic container. He opened it. He took out a blueberry and held out his hand.

  “WOOF!” said Noodle. He was still whizzing about. “WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”

  “Here, boy,” said Samir.

  Samir’s voice was quiet. But Noodle stopped whizzing. He looked at Samir. Then Noodle ran towards him.

  “Sit,” said Samir.

  Noodle sat.

  “Drop it,” said Samir.

  Noodle dropped the microphone onto the grass.

  “Good boy,” said Samir.

  Samir put his hand under Noodle’s mouth. Noodle ate the blueberry. Samir picked up the microphone.

  The others were watching. They were amazed.

  “Wow!” said Shakira.

  “Awesome!” said Sol.

  “Brilliant!” said Nora.

  “Magic!” said Abdul.

  “Well done, Samir!” said Mr Reed.

  Samir smiled. The show would go on after all!

  CHAPTER 7

  Wigley’s Got Talent!

  At last it was the day of the show. The pupils had arrived at the village hall. They were waiting in a small room at the side of the stage. Everyone was excited. But they were also nervous. Did Wigley have talent? It was time to find out.

  Mr Reed clapped his hands. “Everyone,” he said. “May I have your attention, please?”

  They all looked at Mr Reed. He had their attention.

  “Thank you,” Mr Reed said. “Whatever happens tonight, there’s something I want you to know. And no, Sol. It’s not my birthday!”

  Everyone laughed. Even Sol.

  “Good one,” said Sol.

  “What is it, Mr Reed?” said Nora.

  Mr Reed looked at Nora and smiled. “I’m very proud of you all,” he said. “You’ve all worked very hard. So, well done!”

  “WOOF!” said Noodle the doodle. “WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”

  “What’s that, Noodle?” said Mr Reed. “You think everyone should go out there and enjoy themselves?”

  “WOOF!” said Noodle, wagging his tail. “WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”

  Everyone laughed again. By now the audience had arrived in the hall. They were sitting in their seats. It was time for the show to begin.

  Mr Reed walked out onto the stage. He spoke into the microphone.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!” Mr Reed’s voice boomed around the hall. “Welcome to Wigley’s Got Talent!”

  The audience clapped and cheered.

  “We have a fantastic show for you tonight!” said Mr Reed. “And remember, all the money that we raise will go to charity!”

  The audience clapped and cheered again.

  “And now,” said Mr Reed. “Please give a big warm Wigley welcome to our first act of the evening … Josh!”

  Marty was sitting at the side of the stage. He pressed a button. The curtains opened. Marty pressed another button. Some music began to play.

  Josh jogged onto the stage. He was dressed in his football kit and was holding a football. He bounced it a few times. Then he started doing keepy-uppies. He kicked the ball with his left foot and his right foot. He didn’t do fifty keepy-uppies. He did twenty-six before the ball fell to the ground. But no one cared.

  “Oooooh!” said the audience. But Josh hadn’t finished yet.

  Marty pressed a button. The music stopped and everything went quiet. Josh bounced the ball a few more times. Then he did a big kick. The ball rose high into the air and nearly touched the ceiling. When it came back down, Josh caught it on the back of his neck. Then he flicked the ball into the air and caught it. Then he bowed. Everyone clapped and cheered. Josh waved and jogged off the stage.

  Josh joined the other pupils standing at the side of the stage. They’d all been watching him.

  “Wow, Josh!” said Callum. “That was fantastic!”

  Josh smiled. “Thanks,” he said.

  Sol was the next to perform. He walked onto the stage and pretended to trip up. Everyone laughed. Sol smiled and spoke into the microphone.

  “Knock, knock,” he said.

  “Who’s there?” said the audience.

  “Boo,” said Sol.

  “Boo who?” said the audience.

  “There’s no need to cry,” said Sol.

  Everyone laughed again.

  “What’s brown and sticky?” said Sol.

  “We don’t know!” said a voice in the audience.

  “A stick!” said Sol.

  Everyone laughed again.

  Sol told three more jokes. Then he bowed. The audience clapped and cheered. Sol walked off the stage and pretended to trip again. Everyone laughed even louder than the first time.

  “See?” said Shakira. “I told you it would be OK.”

  Sol smiled. “Thanks,” he said.

  Then it was Lou’s turn to perform. She walked onto the stage and took the microphone from the stand. But Lou wasn’t looking at the audience. She was looking at her feet. Then Marty pressed a button. Some music began to play. Lou looked up. Then she started to sing. Her voice was loud and clear. It filled the hall.

  The other pupils watched from the side of the stage. They turned and looked at each other. They were amazed. Lou seemed like a completely different person when she was singing.

  The song finished. Everyone clapped and cheered. Lou bowed and walked off the stage.

  “That was brilliant, Lou!” said Josh.

  Lou smiled. “Thanks, Josh,” she said. Lou’s voice was quiet again. But she seemed very happy.

  The next act was Abdul. He came onto the stage wearing a top hat. He did some magic tricks. First he did a trick with some playing cards
. Then he made a coin vanish. Then he took the hat off. He put his hand inside the hat and pulled something out. But it wasn’t a banana. It was a rabbit. Not a real rabbit – a glove puppet. The puppet bonked Abdul on the head with a magic wand. Everyone laughed.

  Abdul and the puppet bowed. The audience clapped and cheered as Abdul walked off the stage.

  “That was great, Abdul,” said Josh.

  “Hey, Abdul,” grinned Sol. “Can you make my homework vanish too?”

  Shakira, Callum and Nora were the next to perform. They walked out onto the stage wearing baseball caps. Shakira’s was sticking out to one side. Nora’s was sticking out to the other side. Callum was wearing his back to front. They folded their arms and stared at the audience. They were trying to act cool, so they didn’t smile.

  “One, two, three, four!” yelled Shakira.

  Marty pressed a button. Some loud music started blasting out. Shakira, Callum and Nora began to dance. Sometimes they all did the same dance move. Sometimes they did different things. Shakira spun around on her back. Nora moved like a robot. Callum did a backflip!

  “Whoa!” said Lou.

  “Awesome!” said Sol.

  Then Marty pressed a button. The music stopped. But Shakira, Callum and Nora didn’t bow. They just stared at the audience and folded their arms again. But it didn’t matter. Everyone still clapped and cheered.

  And now there was just one more act to go.

  CHAPTER 8

  Noodle Steals the Show

  Mr Reed walked onto the stage again. He took the microphone from its stand and spoke into it.

  “Well, everybody,” he said. “I think we can all agree. Wigley most definitely has got talent!”

  The audience clapped. They cheered. They stamped their feet.

  “What a show it’s been!” said Mr Reed. “But it’s not over yet. Because we still have one more act to go!”