“And that’s exactly why you need to go back today,” Mom said sternly. “Your cold has gone and your temperature is back to normal.There’s really no reason to keep you home from school a moment longer.”
I coughed dramatically, but Mom just rolled her eyes.
“Have a nice day!” she said. She jumped back into the car and drove away.
I do like school, but I’d gotten used to sitting in bed watching TV and being waited on by Mom. It was also nice to have a break from being a secret agent and saving the world. I consoled myself with the fact that my first class of the day was music—something nice and relaxing to ease me back in.
Or so I thought!
In the week I’d been away, our old music teacher had retired and had been replaced by someone called Ms. Piper. In my experience, new teachers always spell trouble.They’re usually quite clever and therefore prone to thoughts of world domination.
Admittedly, the tricky ones are mostly chemistry teachers or biology teachers. Even the odd math teacher can be found calculating mathematical formulas to take over the world.
I’d never actually heard of a music teacher being a criminal mastermind or an evil genius, but I decided to keep an eye on Ms. Piper just in case.
In class, I peered over my sunglasses as the new music teacher took off her coat and arranged books on her desk, which wasn’t at all suspicious. Then, after taking attendance, she frowned. She ran her finger back down the list of names.
“Amelia Kidd?” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“Here!” I said, just in case she was taking attendance again.
“Yes, I know you’re here,” snapped Ms. Piper.“But it seems you were not here for my first lesson last week.”
“I was sick,” I said.“But I’m pretty sure I’ll catch up.”
“I’m absolutely certain you will catch up!” said Ms. Piper firmly. “Because when you return to this classroom at lunchtime, I will repeat the entire lesson to ensure you catch up!”
“Er…” I said, but she cut me off before I could come up with a decent excuse.
“Now, who can remind me of the wonderful tune we learned last week?” Ms. Piper demanded. She closed the attendance book and turned her attention to the rest of the class.
Everybody else’s hand shot into the air and waved enthusiastically.
“Good,” she said. She placed a long black case on her desk, flicked the clasp, and pulled out a funny-looking recorder. “Then you will have no trouble accompanying me on my medieval pipe.”
Ms. Piper played three notes, and the class sang,“La! La! La!”
Not knowing the tune or the point of the lesson, all I could do was watch and listen, which was much more difficult than it sounds.The class sang the same three notes over and over again like a skipping CD.The sound of the weird wooden instrument made my brain itch.
With each chorus of “La! La! La!” my secret-agent instincts told me something strange was going on in the classroom. I just couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was.
To begin with, everyone was very enthusiastic about the “La! La! La!” No one was fidgeting or getting bored.Also, everyone sang exactly in time with the pipe, which never happens with a bunch of kids singing together—unless they’re in a choir, and even then. . . .
I turned my attention to Ms. Piper. She pursed her lips and shifted her fingers quickly on the pipe.Then I looked at the instrument itself. It was intricately carved and looked very old. It was probably an antique. . . .
An antique!
“Aha!” In my experience, antiques are always trouble. Whether they’re cursed or enchanted or have spirits trapped in them, you can’t trust antiques.
But could the whole class really be under the influence of the pipe?
The “La! La! La!” ended abruptly, and every head turned in my direction.
“Amelia Kidd!” snapped the teacher.“Will you be joining in, or do you plan to continue gazing around the room like a clueless frog?”
Being a secret agent means you have to think fast, and my fast thoughts told me I could now find out for certain if the class was under the spell of the strange antique pipe.
I glanced over to Trudy Hart.
Having just been singled out by the teacher and called a clueless frog, I knew Trudy couldn’t resist a sneer or a snigger.
Trudy looked back and gave me a friendly smile, but it wasn’t a sarcastic friendly smile. It was a genuine friendly smile that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The class was definitely under the spell of the pipe!
Ms. Piper played the same tune once again, and the whole class sang it back with perfect timing. She gave a satisfied nod and then turned to me with a raised eyebrow.
“La? La? La?” I mumbled, uncertainly.
Ms. Piper nodded again and was about to resume playing when the bell sounded. Immediately, the whole class began shifting and fidgeting in their chairs. It seemed the bell had broken the trance. For confirmation of this, I turned to Trudy Hart.
She immediately wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at me.
At recess I was sitting on a bench, trying to work out how to get a closer look at Ms. Piper’s peculiar pipe. Suddenly, the noise from the playground was replaced by an eerie silence.
I looked around over my sunglasses.
All the kids had mysteriously stopped playing, running, and screaming.They stood perfectly still like statues.Then I heard a familiar tune coming from the window of the music room. I saw the silhouette of Ms. Piper and her pipe.
Singing the song of the distant pipe, the whole playground turned to face me. Everyone began walking in my direction, and not just the kids from my music class. It was every kid in the school.
Everyone except me was under Ms. Piper’s spell!
Realizing the music teacher was on to me, I grabbed my backpack and was about to run, when another sound echoed through the playground—the bell signaling the end of recess.
All the kids stopped, looked around, and began scratching their heads.
The bell had broken the spell again, but it was too close for comfort. Pulling on my backpack, I hurried back into school. I ran straight to the next class on my schedule.
It was computer studies, and I had some research to do!
After a week away from school, I knew I’d be a bit behind on most of my subjects, but computer studies wasn’t one of them. Secret agents have to be super quick on computers, so I’m always ahead of everyone else. I planned to use that time to find out about medieval pipes and the mysterious Ms. Piper.
It took me a while, but after a lot of digging, I found a picture of Ms. Piper’s pipe. It was called the Perilous Pipe, and loads of historical documents mentioned it.As I suspected, the instrument was enchanted.That meant a spell had been cast on it back in the days when people cast spells.
The Perilous Pipe had been enchanted nearly three hundred years ago—or rather the reed that makes the sound inside the pipe had been enchanted. What was interesting was that it had originally belonged to someone called The Piper!
Which was all a bit too much of a coincidence if you ask me.
I made another search.
There were lots of different references to The Piper. Some were stories, and others were real historical accounts from old newspapers and journals.The one thing they all had in common was what The Piper was famous for.
He was famous for leading children away using the Perilous Pipe!
I even found an old-fashioned drawing of The Piper, and the resemblance made me gasp out loud.
I glanced up from the screen to make sure no one had heard me. I was just in time to see Ms. Piper creeping past the window with a large pair of bolt cutters!
This made me gasp even louder! “Amelia?” said Mr. Moore.“Are you feeling well?”
The tech teacher looked concerned and started weaving through the computer desks toward me. Thinking fast, I quickly cleared the screen and pulled a big wad o
f tissues out of my backpack. I wiped my nose and peered helplessly up at him.
“Just a few sniffles!” I sighed, glancing sideways at the clock.
It was ten minutes to lunchtime, and I decided I could use those ten minutes to snoop around Ms. Piper’s classroom.Taking a deep breath, I launched an enormous coughing fit into my tissues.
“Oh, dear!” said Mr. Moore.“I think you should take yourself to see the nurse immediately.”
Pulling on my backpack, I nodded bravely and headed for the door, throwing in a couple of sniffs for good measure. Once out of sight, I pocketed the tissues and bolted.
Backing along the wall of the corridor, I peered through the door of the music room.There were no lessons going on inside, but Ms. Piper had already returned. She was standing at the window looking out into the playground where I’d seen her at break time.
On her desk lay the Perilous Pipe.
Opening the door quietly, I crept into the classroom. I tiptoed toward the desk, but I’d only made it halfway before Ms. Piper spoke. She startled me, and I froze to the spot.
“The mark of a truly gifted musician is excellent hearing,” said Ms. Piper. She turned around dramatically and glanced at her watch. “You’re early!”
I smiled innocently and shrugged.
Ms. Piper narrowed her eyes.
“Why are you early?” she added suspiciously.
Our eyes met over the Perilous Pipe.The expression on Ms. Piper’s face changed, and I realized she was on to me.We both ran for the pipe at the same time. Ms. Piper was much taller, so I knew she’d get there first.
I reached into my pocket, hoping I’d left a small gadget there or something I could use to even the odds. All I found was the wad of tissues. Not ideal, but I threw them at her anyway.
“URRRRGGGH!” she shrieked. She batted the air angrily as the tissue storm surrounded her.The tissues were actually clean, but Ms. Piper didn’t know that. I quickly scrabbled onto the desk and searched for the pipe. But as the last of the tissues fluttered down, I saw that it was gone.
“Looking for this?” smiled Ms. Piper. She was waving the weird wooden instrument in the air triumphantly.
“You won’t get away with it!” I said angrily.
“Oh, don’t bother trying to get me to rant about my plans,” she said dismissively. “I’m going to steal all the children away with my pipe and then hold them for ransom. It’s that simple really.”
I’d never met any evil geniuses or a criminal masterminds who didn’t like ranting about their evil plans, so this took me by surprise. The taking-over-the-world rant usually gives me time to come up with a strategy, but Ms. Piper didn’t waste time.
She lifted the pipe to her lips and began playing.
I still hadn’t been brainwashed by the tune, but the sound filtered out of the classroom. I heard chairs scraping across the floor all over the school, followed by the sound of footsteps marching toward the music room.
Soon the corridor outside filled with kids.Trudy Hart was right at the front wearing that creepy, friendly smile.
My only chance for escape was the lunchtime bell breaking the spell. I looked at the clock and saw more than ten minutes had passed since leaving the computer room.
The bell should have sounded already!
“Ring! Ring! It’s lunchtime!” sang Ms. Piper.“And now I think it’s time for you to catch up with the rest of your class,” she added, shifting her fingers along the pipe and pursing her lips.
Now I knew what Ms. Piper had been doing with the bolt cutters! Seeing the flaw in her plan at recess, she’d crept around the school and disconnected all the bells.
I looked around frantically for an escape route, but the kids were blocking the door and the windows were too high up. I tried to remember our last fire drill. I thought there was an emergency exit somewhere nearby. . . .
Fire drill! I tipped my sunglasses and smiled at Ms. Piper.
My smile obviously took her by surprise because she paused for a moment. In that moment, I snatched the Perilous Pipe and whacked it against the fire alarm. Then I sprinted for the door.
As the sound of the fire alarm bell filled the hallway, the kids began scratching their heads.As I barged past Trudy, I was relieved to see her sticking her tongue out at me.
Confused teachers were flapping their arms amid the sea of equally confused kids.They were trying to organize the fire drill. In all the chaos, no one noticed as I ducked down and rummaged in my backpack. Tucking my hair up inside a baseball cap, I quickly blended back into the crowd.We were led outside to form orderly lines.
I kept my head down and the pipe behind my back as Ms. Piper stalked the lines of kids. She walked straight past me twice, thinking I was just one of many boys in baseball caps.
When the fire alarm stopped, the teachers spread out and took attendance. Peering under the brim of my cap, I saw Ms. Piper abandon her search and smile to herself as the names were called.
As K for Kidd drew nearer, I racked my brain, thinking about the research and the stories and the enchantment. . . . Aha! I thought, blindly fiddling with the pipe behind my back.
“Amelia Kidd?” called Mr. Moore.
“Here!” I said, slipping off the baseball cap.
Ms. Piper leaped forward, shoved Mr. Moore out of the way, and snatched the pipe from behind my back.
“You fool!” she yelled, jabbing the antique instrument in my direction like a sword.“You thought you could prevent me from taking over the world?”
“Excuse me?” said Mr. Moore, frowning at Ms. Piper.
“Yes, you heard me correctly,” snapped the music teacher.“I plan to take over the world. It is a genius plan involving my enchanted pipe. . . .”
It seemed Ms. Piper couldn’t resist a rant after all. She ranted on and on and on, revealing every part of her plot for world domination. It was actually one of the longest rants I’ve ever heard from an evil genius or criminal mastermind.
Of course everyone was looking at Ms. Piper as though she’d gone mad, especially when she lifted the pipe to her lips, positioned her hands over the appropriate holes, and blew. . . and no sound came out.
There was a scuffle when Ms. Piper lunged for me, but she was quickly restrained. She was taken away yelling about interfering little hooligans and magical pipes and stolen enchanted reeds.
A few kids giggled.The teachers shook their heads sadly.
When Mom picked me up, she asked if I’d missed anything interesting during my week off sick. Pulling the enchanted reed from my back pocket, I tipped my glasses and studied it closely. It was obviously harmless without the pipe. I snapped the reed in half and flicked the pieces out of the window.
“Not really,” I said, smiling to myself. “But it’s definitely good to be back.”
On Saturdays, Mom takes me to the bakery around the corner and we treat ourselves to a jelly donut or a fresh cupcake.We’ve done it for as long as I can remember. I always look forward to it.
Or at least I used to look forward to it. . . .
In the week since our last visit, the bakery had mysteriously closed down and reopened. It was now called The Beauty Sisters’ Cake Emporium. It was a bit of a flashy name for a bakery if you ask me.
But the shop wasn’t the only thing that was different.
“Look at the size of those donuts!” Mom squealed as we passed the window of the shop.
“They must be twice the size of the old ones.They’re half the price too!” she gasped.
I tipped my glasses and peered at the selection of cakes.
It was true, the donuts were massive—in fact, all the cakes in the window were freakishly huge.There were enormous eclairs, colossal cupcakes, mammoth meringues—and all at half the regular price.
My first instinct was to get excited like Mom had, but then my secret-agent instincts kicked in. I viewed the cakes with suspicion. I wanted to know why the cakes were so big, why they were so cheap, and who were the strangely generous Bea
uty Sisters?
Because evil geniuses and criminal masterminds don’t usually hang out in bakeries, I hadn’t brought my backpack full of gadgets. But I still had my sunglasses. I adjusted them carefully to conceal my identity and slipped into the shop.
Any hope of going unnoticed while carrying out preliminary surveillance was foiled when Mom entered the shop behind me. She clapped her hands together loudly.
“I THINK I’VE JUST DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN!” she shrieked. She gazed with wide eyes at shelves stuffed with every kind of sweet known to man.
Behind the counter, the heads of two thin figures snapped in our direction. For a fraction of a second, the elderly pair narrowed their eyes. Then they quickly stretched their mouths into wide, friendly smiles.
“Welcome to The Beauty Sisters’ Cake Emporium!” they sang, ignoring me to focus their greeting on Mom. I took my chance to size them up without drawing attention to myself.
The first remarkable thing about the Beauty Sisters was that they were identical twins. Everything about them was a mirror image and probably had been for about a hundred years.They both looked ancient.
The second remarkable thing was how they were dressed.
As they stepped out from behind the counter, the pair were both unbelievably glamorous. But it wasn’t the usual funky-grandma kind of glamour.This was full-on catwalk glamour, complete with crazy clothes, huge hairdos, and tons of bright makeup.
#2 Zombie Cows! (Agent Amelia) Page 2