Drama at Mouseford (Thea Stilton Mouseford Academy #1)
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time while we’re
waiting
for them to
arrive,” Nicky
said with a sigh.
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The Thea Sisters sadly went back to
Nicky and Paulina’s room to figure some- thing out.
“There’s got to be a solution,” Colette said.
“I’m sure we could find someone to share their copy with us.”
“That’s just the thing,” Nicky said. “I’ve
texted everybody we know, and nobody
has a copy.”
Violet frowned. “That’s
strange.
Then who took
out all those books?”
Suddenly, the friends heard
voices in the hall.
“That
sounds like
Ruby!” Pam exclaimed.
“I think we should see what
she’s up to,” Paulina said. “I
have a feeling it’s nothing good.”
Oh, Mouseo!
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The Thea Sisters went into the hallway and
found Ruby and her friends — the Ruby
Crew — there. Each one of them held a
copy of Mouseo and Juliet.
“Really, Ruby?” Nicky asked, folding her
arms. “We should have known.”
Ruby’s eyes widened innocently. “What
do you mean?”
Pam nodded toward the book in her paws.
“How did you all get a copy of the play?
The library has been out of books for two
days — since before the play was even announced.”
Ruby sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”
“I think you must have found out about
the play early somehow,” Paulina said
quietly. “That’s why yesterday you said you were ‘inthe know.’”
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Ruby shrugged. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted.
“That’s not fair,” Nicky said. “We should —”
Violet put a paw on her shoulder. “Don’t
WORRY about it. I think I have an idea.”
They all went outside. Pam shook her head.
“That Ruby!”
“Forget her,” Violet said. “I was thinking—
Headmaster de Mousus said the auditions
were open to everyone. So I’m sure Professor
Rattcliff has more books somewhere.”
“Great idea!” Pam agreed.
They went right to the professor’s office,
and Violet explained that the library was out
of books. (She left out their suspicions about
Ruby. Focusing on the auditions was much more important.)
As she predicted, Professor Rattcliff was
very helpful.
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“DON’T WORRY,” she assured them.
“I had a feeling that Headmaster de Mousus would love the idea of doing the play, so I ordered enough copies for everyone last week. They should be here tomorrow.”
“AWESOME!” said Nicky.
Then Professor Rattcliff opened a drawer
in her desk. “Since I can see you are
especially eager to practice, you
may borrow my personal copy,”
she said, handing a book
to Paulina.
“Thank you so much!” Violet exclaimed.
“We’ll take good care of it.”
“Prepare yourselves well,” the professor
said. “A combination of DEDICATION and talent will get you far.”
The friends thanked her and left her office.
“Can you believe that?” Pam asked. “I
always thought she was the strictest
professor. But she’s being super-nice.”
“I’ve always liked her,” Paulina remarked.
“She loves books as much as I do.”
Nicky broke into a run. “Come on!” she
yelled. “We need to tell everybody the good
news!”
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the geckos
The Thea Sisters and the Ruby Crew weren’t the only ones excited about trying out for the play. So were the members of
the Geckos, the school’s club for boy
mice. They gathered in their meeting
room
on the second floor of the
academy to practice.
Most students thought that
CRAIG would get the part of
Mouseo. He was handsome and
charming, and he loved being the
center of attention.
“That Romeo was a real tough guy,
Craig
like me,” Craig said, puffing
out his chest. “I would be
perfect for the part.”
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But Shen, the shyest rodent
in the club, didn’t agree. He
knew the play well and thought
that Mouseo was sweet and
sensitive — a dreamer, just
like him.
Shen thought he was perfect for
the part. And he knew who would
be his perfect Juliet —
Pamela!
if he and pamela got the lead
roles, he would finally have
a chance to talk to her. . . .
“Shen? Wake up Shen!”
Shen awoke from his
daydream
to find
Craig shaking his arm.
“Sorry, what?”
asked, almost
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dropping the books he was carrying.
“I was just saying that I should be the
OFFICIAL member of the Geckos who
tries out for Mouseo,” Craig said. “Don’t you
agree, sleepyhead?”
Shen saw his dreams dissolve in front of
What do you think?
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him. He wouldn’t even get a chance to try out!
Then a rodent in the back of the room
spoke up.
“You’re not the only one with a chance,
Craig,” said Ryder Flashyfur.
All of the club members turned to look at
him. Ryder, Ruby’s brother, had the same red
hair as his sister, but that’s about as much as
they had in common.
MYSTERIOUS
and quiet, Ryder mostly kept to himself. But
whenever he spoke up, his magnetic
personality got a lot of attention.
“Who else could play Mouseo?” Craig
asked. “Not Shen, that’s for sure.”
Shen looked down at his feet.
“Well, you never know,” Ryder said
smoothly. “And I know
I’ll be trying out.”
“You?” Craig asked with a snicker. “Up
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on a stage? I thought you preferred hanging
out in dark corners.”
Ryder ignored him. “It’s a really good play,”
he said with a shrug. “And that Mouseo is
pretty cool.”
“Ha! I don’t believe you’ve even read the
play,” Craig said.
Ryder strode into the center of the room
and began to recite lines from the play.
Shen recognized them. They were from the
famous balcony scene. In it, Mouseo tries to
get Juliet to run away with him so they can
start their own CHEESE SHOP.
The rodents in the room were quiet as
Ryder said the lines. He was perfect!
When he finished, Ryder left the room
without a word.
“Wow,” one of the club members said. “He
was GREAT, wasn’t he?”
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the Geckos
Craig shrugged. “He was all right, I guess,”
he said. But to himself, he thought, I hope he
doesn’t get the part. I want to play Mouseo,
and I want Ruby to be my Juliet!
Shen, on the other hand, couldn’t help
ADMIRING Ryder.
Now, that is the perfect Mouseo! Shen thought.
What’s in a name?
That which we call cheddar
by any other name
would taste as yummy!
THE BIG DAY!
On the day of the auditions, the sun looked
like a big wheel of cheddar in the sky.
Almost every student in the academy was in
the hallway outside the auditorium, waiting
to try out. Some were ANXIOUSLY pacing
back and forth, and others were reciting lines
out loud.
Paulina looked around. “There are quite a
few roles in the play. A lot of students will get parts.”
“But everyone wants to be either Mouseo
or Juliet,” Nicky pointed out.
Pamela grinned.
“You can say that again!
They’ve all got the theater bug!”
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“I am so NERVOUS,” Colette said as she tapped her paw impatiently. “Waiting is the worst!”
Pamela, Paulina, and Violet were quietly
reciting Juliet’s lines. Ruby walked past them with her snout in the air, as always.
“I bet she’s surprised to see that
everybody has a copy of the play,” Nicky whispered to Colette.
At that moment, the big clock in the hallway
chimed three times.
BONG!
BONG!
“The auditions are starting!” someone
shouted, and everyone RUSHED into the auditorium.
Inside, the CELEBRATION committee
sat behind a large table, ready to hear
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BONG!
the auditions. Professor Rattcliff, Professor Marblemouse, and Professor Sparkle would make the decisions, led by Headmaster de Mousus.
The students crowded into the auditorium,
and a nervous SILENCE filled the room. The headmaster stood up.
“Dearest students of Mouseford Academy,
I now declare the
auditions
for the
performance of Mouseo and Juliet officially open!” he announced, and the students broke into applause.
He pointed to a large vase on the table. “If
you wish to audition, write your name on a piece of paper and place it in here,” he instructed.
As the students began to scribble, he
continued. “We will pull out the names from the vase one at a time,” he explained. “That will determine the order of auditions and who goes FIRST.”
“This seems more like a lottery than an
audition,” Pam whispered, and her friends all giggled.
“But it is a very honest method,” Violet
pointed out. “After all, whoever goes first will have an advantage. After hearing the same lines recited again and again, the judges will get tired by the end.”
Colette gasped. “Oh no! What if I’m
last? That would be terrible.”
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“Don’t worry,” Paulina soothed her. “After all, if you’re the BEST, the judges will notice — even if you do go last.”
Colette sighed. “Right! I just need a little
CONFIDENCE, that’s all.” She scribbled her
name on a piece of paper with her pink pen.
When they finished, the Thea Sisters walked up to the vase and dropped their
names inside. Each one was thinking the same thing. I hope I get the part of Juliet!
But if I don’t, I hope one of my friends gets it!
it smells like
sabotage!
“One piece of paper per candidate,”
Headmaster de Mousus said loudly, as the
students came up to drop their names
in the vase. “Anyone discovered putting their name in more than once will be
disqualified.”
Ruby’s ears perked up
when she heard this.
A few minutes later,
Alicia, a member of the
Ruby Crew, spotted Ruby
filling out several pieces
of paper.
“What are you doing?”
she asked loudly.
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“
Sssh!
”
Ruby warned. “Do you want
them to find out?”
“But the headmaster said you can’t put in
your name more than once,” Alicia said.
The rest of the Ruby Crew, Zoe and
Connie, approached them.
“What’s going on?” they asked.
“Don’t you get it?” Ruby said.
“We can use this to our
advantage.”
“No, I don’t get it,” Alicia
said, shaking her head.
“I’m not writing our names
on the paper,” Ruby explained impatiently.
“I’m writing down the names of the Thea
Sisters! So they’ll be
disqualified!”
Alicia’s eyes lit up. “Genius!”
Connie grinned. “That is some impressive
SABOTAGE.”
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The Ruby Crew QUICKLY got to work
filling out as many fake sheets of paper as
they could.
“Now none of the Thea Sisters will get to
play Juliet,” Ruby said. “In fact, none of them will get any part.”
Then she and her crew snuck every piece
of paper into the vase without anyone noticing.
WHO WILL PLAY
MOUSEO?
While they waited for the audition schedule
to be announced, the Thea Sisters went
outside to get some fresh air in the
school’s garden. The warm sun felt good on
their fur, and the air smelled of flowers.
Nicky
ST RETCHED.
“I’m getting stiff
from sitting around waiting!”
Paulina nodded. “Me, too. Let’s take a
walk.”
“Good idea. I need to shake off some
nervous ENERGY,” Colette agreed.
Violet held back. “I’m going to stay here
and go over my lines again.”
Colette looked surprised. “But, Violet,
you’ve repeated your lines a million times.
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Plus, you’re AMAZING!”
“Thanks,” Violet said with a shy smile.
Her friends nodded in agreement. Violet
was EXPRESSIVE and sensitive
when she read Juliet’s lines.
“I’ll stay here and give you a paw, Vi,”
Pamela offered.
So Pamela and Violet stayed in the
garden while Colette, Nicky, and Paulina
took a walk in the courtyard. Nicky
noticed Ryder Flashyfur leaning against
a column. She had always been a little
curious about Ruby’s shy brother.
“Let’s go say hi,” Nicky suggested.
As they approached Ryder, they noticed
that he seemed to be talking to himself.
Then Paulina figured it out.
“He’s reciting lines,” she said. “For
Mouseo’s part!”
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“Interesting,” Colette said thoughtfully.
“I thought for sure that Craig would be the
only member of the Geckos t
rying out.”
“Craig?” asked Nicky.
“Well, he’s the most OUTGOING,” Colette
said. “And Ryder usually likes to stay
in the shadows, you know?”
Come
on!
Just then, Violet and
Pamela caught up with
them. Panting, Violet
announced, “The list
is up!
Come on!”
The Thea Sisters
QUICKLY ran back
to the building to find
out where they were on
the audition schedule.
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Pamela
DISQUALIFIED?
A large group of curious heads bobbed
up and down in front of the list. The Thea
Sisters waited their turn. But when they got
to the list, they discovered that their
names weren’t on it!
They read it again and again in disbelief.
“HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?”
exclaimed Nicky, who couldn’t
believe her eyes. “Not a
single one of us is
on here!”
They were all
speechless
for a moment. What
could have happened? Then Professor Rattcliff walked up to them.
“Come with me,” she said in a whisper.
“I’m afraid there is a problem.”
The Thea Sisters looked at one another as
they followed the professor up to the second
floor. Something terrible was going on!
Professor Rattcliff led them to Headmaster
de Mousus’s OFFICE. He looked them up
and down, and he seemed to be very annoyed.
“I am very disappointed in you students,”
he said. “When we counted up all the names,
we discovered that your names appeared
many times. The rules about this were very
CLEAR!”
This news startled the Thea Sisters. Violet
stepped forward to object.
“THAT CAN’T BE TRUE!
WE DIDN’T DO IT!”
“That’s not possible,” whispered Paulina
quietly.
“We followed the rules,” protested Pam.
Professor Rattcliff interrupted. “I believe
you,” she said. “You have never misbehaved