Alex bounded up to me in his hip-hop outfit of baggy black pants and a back-to-front cap. He did a little dance skip, waving his arms back and forth and jerking his head.
‘Hey, Pippa,’ he said in a funny voice. ‘Where’s your mic?’
He pretended to throw me something, then mimed fumbling it and turned it into an exaggerated dance move. He looked like a crazy, black-and-white robot.
‘What are you doing, Alex?’ I asked sharply.
Alex stopped dancing.
‘You know,’ he said, grinning at me. ‘Dropping the mic on stage. That was pretty funny.’
I glared at him, my face burning with shame. ‘It wasn’t funny at all, Alex.’
I spun on my heel and stormed off.
‘Pippa,’ Alex called after me. ‘I was only joking.’
Alex’s ‘joke’ really stung. I wondered if everyone was laughing at me. It made me feel even worse.
By the time I arrived in the classroom, everyone had gone.
When I’d packed my backpack, I went to meet my brother and sister to walk them back to the cafe. For once I had no trouble dragging Bella out of the playground. She was sitting quietly on a seat by herself. Her dinosaur suit was in a bag beside her. I was glad to see that she’d finally changed out of it. Harry came up to join us.
While I felt totally humiliated every time I thought about my own performance, I was super-proud of Harry’s success.
‘Congratulations, Harry,’ I said, giving my brother a high five. ‘You did a brilliant job with your magic show. You really deserved to be one of the winners.’
Bella gave a loud sniff.
‘Thanks, Pippa,’ said Harry. ‘I’m pretty happy.’
‘You didn’t look nervous at all,’ I said, feeling envious. ‘You were really professional. Unlike me. I felt ill up there.’
Harry grinned back at me, his dark hair standing on end. He paused as though thinking whether to say more.
‘Yeah. Dad told me a secret trick,’ Harry blurted out. ‘He said you look out at the audience and imagine that everyone is sitting there in their underwear. Then you don’t feel so scared.’
I couldn’t help but smile at the idea of a whole audience without clothes. But the mention of Dad threw me. ‘Really? When did Dad tell you that?
Harry looked a bit uncomfortable. ‘On Saturday, when you and Mum were at the cafe. He rang on Mimi and Papa’s phone and I told him about my tricks. But don’t tell Mum. I don’t want her to be sad that I talked to Dad.’
‘Mum wouldn’t be sad…’ I began to object. But Harry and I both knew that everyone in the family acted a bit weird and awkward whenever Dad called. Last time he rang, I couldn’t think of anything to say at all and Bella had cried for an hour afterwards.
‘Okay,’ I promised.
‘You too, Bella,’ said Harry. ‘Don’t tell Mum.’
Bella gave a strangled sob. She dragged her dinosaur onesie out of its bag and hugged its green furry head tightly to her chest.
‘Are you all right, Bella?’ I asked suspiciously. I’d never once had Bella waiting quietly for me. And come to think of it, her eyes were all red and puffy as though she’d been crying.
Bella sniffed again.
‘I… I… wanted to do my dinosaur song at the special performance because Dad would come to see it,’ said Bella. ‘He always came to our end of year concerts in London.’
Then Bella burst into loud, noisy sobs. I didn’t know what to do. There was no way Dad would be coming all the way from Switzerland to see a talent quest on tiny Kira Island. Bella wiped her eyes on the dinosaur head. I sat down next to her and gave her a hug.
‘It’s okay, Bella-boo.’ I said soothingly. ‘Not everyone can perform. Charlie’s really sad that we didn’t make it through too. But maybe we just didn’t have the right acts this time?’
Bella nodded and hiccupped.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Let’s go back to the cafe and I’ll make you a Mango Madness smoothie for a special treat.’
Bella jumped up, carrying her dinosaur suit in her arms like a teddy bear. She smeared away the tears streaking her face.
Bella’s disappointment reminded me of Charlie’s reaction. I had the terrible feeling that it was my fault we hadn’t done a better job. The other girls had tried really hard, but I’d been against the idea from the start. I realised I hadn’t tried my best at all. I was too busy worrying about what everyone would think. Now I’d let my closest friends down. The thought made me feel sick with shame. Whatever could I do to fix this mess?
Back at the cafe, Harry and I tried our best to cheer up Bella. Mum was upstairs checking on the builders and Zoe was busy making drinks for a big group of businesspeople who were having a meeting out on the jetty. We sat Bella down at my favourite table in the corner by the window seat.
Harry and I made Bella’s special Mango Madness smoothie. This smoothie is an amazing blend of mango, pineapple and frozen banana with creamy yoghurt, milk and loads of ice. Harry and I invented it when we were experimenting one day.
I even brought her a dinosaur cupcake to cheer her up. These were the latest addition to the cupcake menu. Mini vanilla cupcakes with whipped vanilla cream and a green jelly dinosaur perched on top. Cici had created them especially for Bella because she was so besotted with dinosaurs.
Bella picked the dinosaur off the top and nibbled at that. She took a few sips of her smoothie then pushed it aside.
Harry tried to coax a smile out of Bella by making his silver ball appear from behind her ear and then disappear into thin air. Bella just sniffed back a sob. It looked like our plan to cheer Bella up with Mango Madness had been a complete failure.
Then, as I was rinsing the blender in the kitchen, I saw Harry whispering something in her ear. Bella grinned up at him. She took a quick gulp of her smoothie and then the two of them disappeared upstairs to our empty apartment. I wondered what on earth they could be up to.
Bella had left her smoothie cup and her cupcake on the table. I put the milk and yoghurt back in the fridge. Suddenly, I heard a terrible crash and spun around. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark shadow dart under the tables.
I soon realised the cause of the crash. Someone or something had knocked over Bella’s smoothie cup. Maybe it was a gust of wind? Mango, banana and pineapple smoothie had pooled all over the table.
‘Bella!’ I cried. There was no answer.
Why couldn’t she clean up after herself? Now I’d have to do it.
I grabbed a cloth to clean up yet another mess. It was then I noticed that there were funny little mango smudges all over the table. I took a closer look. They weren’t smudges. They were tiny paw prints. It looked like some kind of animal had knocked over Bella’s smoothie while trying to drink it. But what? I quickly mopped up the mess, my mind ticking over different explanations.
There was a mystery behind those paw prints and I was going to solve it. I was just about to head upstairs to recruit Harry and Bella to help me with the search, when the cafe phone rang.
Mum was still upstairs and Zoe was carrying a heavy tray of drinks outside. Mum had taught us how to answer the cafe phone if we needed to.
‘Hello? The Beach Shack Cafe,’ I said in my most professional voice. ‘Pippa speaking. Can I help you?’
There was a silent pause. ‘Hello?’ I said again.
‘Pippa, sweetheart. Is that you?’ came a terribly familiar voice. My heart lurched. It was my dad. He sounded like he could be standing right beside me in the kitchen. I blinked back sudden hot tears.
‘Are you there, Pippa? It’s me, Dad – calling from Switzerland.’
A tumult of emotions welled up inside me. Joy at hearing his voice again. Sorrow at missing him. Anger at him for leaving us. Confusion at how I felt about Mum. Was I being disloyal to her by talking to Dad when he had hurt us all so badly?
‘Pippa? Talk to me, please?’ begged Dad. ‘How are you?’
‘Fine,’ I said with gritted teeth. But
I wasn’t fine at all.
I thought about my family and how hard it had been since Dad left us – losing our home, moving to the other side of the world, starting a new life, having no money, working so hard to start the cafe. I thought about Bella crying because Dad wouldn’t be there to see her perform her dino romp. I thought about Harry practising and practising his magic tricks because it reminded him of Dad and the fun times they’d shared together. I thought of Mum and how tired and sad she looked sometimes when she thought no one was looking.
‘How’s everything going?’ asked Dad. ‘How’s Bella? How’s Harry? How’s Mum?’
It was anger that won. I wanted to shout and scream and cry at Dad and ask him why he’d left. All my frustration at this terrible day overcame me.
‘How do you think we’re going?’ I blurted out. ‘It’s been terrible. Harry doesn’t say anything but he misses you so much. Bella’s upset because she thought you’d come to our school concert. And Mum’s working day and night to make the cafe a success and as hard as she tries to be cheerful, I know she’s really, really sad sometimes.’
I could hear Dad take in a sharp breath.
‘I’m sorry, Pippa,’ said Dad. ‘I know it’s been difficult. I miss you all so much.’
‘If you missed us, you’d be here with us,’ I cried. ‘I don’t understand why you left.’
‘I know you’re angry and upset,’ said Dad. ‘And that’s okay. It will take a little while to get used to everything being different.’
I didn’t say anything – I was just trying my hardest not to cry. I glanced around the cafe to see if anyone had noticed my outburst.
‘I’ve moved into a nice little apartment in the centre of Geneva,’ gabbled Dad, sounding desperate. ‘It’s just a short walk from work. It has lovely views of the lake and the mountains. I was hoping you three kids could come and stay with me in the holidays. Maybe we could go skiing in January.’
‘Dad, I can’t really talk now,’ I said quietly. I didn’t want to go to Switzerland. I didn’t want to see Dad’s new life that he’d made without us.
‘I’ve tried ringing a few times but there’s been no answer on your mum’s phone,’ said Dad. ‘I even rang your grandparents’ home phone last weekend and spoke to Harry.’
I thought of the couple of times Mum’s phone had rung and she hadn’t taken the call. I remembered Mum had looked upset. It must have been Dad ringing.
‘We’ve been kind of busy,’ I said awkwardly. Mum’s voice came from above, talking to the builders. I could hear the four of them clumping down the stairs. I didn’t want Mum to find me talking to Dad in case it upset her. ‘Sorry, Dad. I have to go.’
I hung up and scurried off. Dad’s call seemed to be the final straw in a day that had gone from bad to worse. My bad mood reminded me of how upset Bella had been this afternoon, so I thought I’d better check on her.
Bella and Harry were upstairs in the partly finished living room of the apartment. Harry had hung up an old tablecloth between two stepladders to create a makeshift curtain. Bella was hiding behind it. Harry pulled back the curtain and Bella jumped out, roaring and snarling, her fingers clenched into claws.
‘Tada!’ cried Harry. ‘And here she is, magically reappeared.’
Bella took a bow.
‘Are you all right, Bella?’ I asked.
‘Yes, of course,’ replied Bella, looking at me as though I was crazy.
‘I wondered if you were still feeling sad?’ I asked. ‘About not performing in the concert?’
Bella beamed at me
‘But I am performing in the concert,’ she announced. ‘I’m going to be Harry the Marvellous Magician’s assistant and chief victim.’
‘Victim?’ I asked in astonishment.
‘Harry’s going to make me magically disappear,’ said Bella.
‘What do you mean?’ I cried, staring at Harry. ‘You can’t be serious?’
‘He says he can bring me back, just like the mobile phone,’ insisted Bella.
Harry laughed. ‘I’m not really going to make her disappear. I’m just going to create the illusion of Bella disappearing. Papa is helping me build a magic box that’s big enough for a person.’
I couldn’t possibly imagine how Harry could create the illusion of Bella disappearing on stage. But that was the beauty of Harry’s magic tricks. I didn’t know how he did any of them.
‘That sounds brilliant,’ I said. ‘But why didn’t you do the act today?’
‘We haven’t finished making the box yet,’ said Harry. ‘It took longer than I thought and I need to test that it works. But Papa and I should finish it tonight. Then Bella and I can try doing it properly.’
‘And I get to wear a really cool costume,’ said Bella. She was skipping with excitement.
‘Let me guess? A dinosaur?’ I asked. ‘Or a magician?’
‘No, silly. A tiger,’ replied Bella.
I looked at Harry with admiration. Half an hour ago Bella was miserable and now she was delirious with happiness.
‘That’s a fantastic idea,’ I said. ‘I can’t wait to see you perform this trick!’
‘Wouldn’t Dad love to see us?’ said Bella. ‘I bet he’ll come and surprise us at the concert.’
Harry and I exchanged a wordless glance. Well, there’s no way that would be happening.
I suddenly thought of an idea to distract Bella from talk of Dad.
‘You know, I think I’ve solved the mystery of the disappearing cafe food,’ I said.
‘Is it magic?’ asked Bella, with round eyes. ‘Like Harry does?’
‘What disappearing cafe food?’ asked Harry.
‘For the last few days food has been disappearing from the cafe,’ I explained. ‘First it was Zoe’s ham sandwich, then Bella’s toastie and just now something knocked over Bella’s smoothie.’
Bella pouted. ‘I hadn’t finished with that.’
‘Well, whoever knocked over your smoothie left tiny mango paw prints,’ I said.
‘Could it be a rat?’ asked Harry.
I shook my head. ‘The paws were too big for a rat. But why don’t we go and see if we can find it?’
The three of us clattered down the stairs to the cafe, keen to begin our search for the food burglar. Much to my astonishment, there was someone waiting for me by the counter. Zoe raised an eyebrow at me and smiled. ‘You have a visitor.’
It was Alex. He had changed out of his hip-hop outfit and was wearing an everyday T-shirt and board shorts.
‘Hi, Pippa,’ he said, looking very sheepish. ‘Um…’
I wasn’t in the mood for Alex and his not-so-funny jokes. Zoe hustled Harry and Bella away to help her clear some messy tables.
‘Yes?’ I asked, putting on my best polite, for-customers voice. ‘Can I get you something?’
‘No, um, thanks,’ said Alex. ‘Actually, I brought you something.’
He pulled a big block of milk chocolate from his backpack. ‘It’s for you… I just wanted to say sorry for upsetting you today. I didn’t mean to make fun of you dropping the microphone. I was just trying to make you laugh.’
I looked at the block of chocolate in absolute astonishment. Alex was here with a present for me, to say sorry for upsetting me.
‘Pippa?’ asked Alex. ‘Are you all right? I really am sorry.’
Alex’s apology suddenly made me feel a whole lot better. I knew how hard it was to say sorry when you had accidentally hurt someone’s feelings. Alex pushed the chocolate into my hand.
‘Thanks, Alex,’ I said. ‘That’s really nice of you.’
‘No problem,’ he said. ‘By the way, I liked the song you guys sang.’
‘It was the others,’ I admitted. ‘I didn’t really sing at all. I was too embarrassed about throwing the microphone all over the stage.’
Alex laughed. ‘You weren’t that bad.’
I shrugged, pulling a face of disbelief. He looked awkward for a moment.
‘Anyway, I have to h
ead home now,’ he said. ‘I just didn’t want you to be upset about me being an idiot…’
‘I’m okay,’ I said. ‘Thanks.’
He waved as he headed out the front door.
‘Bye, Alex,’ I called.
What a surprise, I thought to myself. Who’d have thought that Alex would come and make such a thoughtful apology? But this wasn’t the last mystery of the afternoon. Today was turning out to be full of surprises.
‘We’ve just been robbed again,’ said Zoe, as I walked over to join them. ‘That poltergeist is back to its old tricks.’
‘What’s happened?’ I asked, looking around.
‘We were clearing this table and I noticed that the customer had left a scrap of sliced cheese on their plate,’ said Zoe. ‘I turned around to load Harry up with plates and when I turned back, the scrap of cheese had disappeared, right off the plate.’
‘What’s a polta guy?’ asked Bella.
‘A poltergeist,’ said Zoe. ‘It’s a naughty spirit or ghost that causes mayhem by making loud noises or throwing things around. Or in this case stealing food.’
Bella looked worried.
‘It’s not really a ghost,’ I said. ‘I think it’s some sort of animal.’ I told Zoe about the smudgy paw prints in Bella’s spilt smoothie.
‘Let’s see if we can track it down,’ said Harry. ‘There must be some clues somewhere.’
‘Well, let me know when you find the thief,’ said Zoe. ‘I have some harsh words to say to whoever or whatever has been stealing our food.’
So Harry, Bella and I crept around the cafe looking for clues to find the mysterious cafe thief. We searched between the tables, looking for something that might have been dropped – some crust, some abandoned scraps or some paw prints. We checked the tables to see if anything else had been knocked over and smashed. We went out the back onto the jetty overlooking the cove to see if there was a strange animal lurking in the shadows.
We didn’t find anything.
We went out the front of the cafe but all there was to be found was the old rowboat filled with pots of lush herbs and vegetables. The gnarled frangipani, hung with silver lanterns, swayed and jingled in the breeze.
Kira Dreaming Page 6