Carnival Caper

by Alex Milway

  ‘I think I have things under control,’ said Anna, ‘but I’d love to have you as back-up!’

  ‘Always, miss,’ said T. Bear.

  When Mr Sweet arrived Anna was sitting at her desk with T. Bear looming tall behind her.

  ‘How dare you talk to me like that!’ barked Mr Sweet, his claws pointing menacingly at Anna. ‘You do realise how powerful I am?’

  ‘Sir,’ said Anna, ‘you can act as strong and mean as you like, but this is my hotel. I deserve respect. As do all our other guests.’

  ‘I manage the biggest band in the world,’ he replied. ‘You manage this pokey hotel. I should take my stars elsewhere.’

  ‘You could try, but there will be no spare rooms available at the Glitz,’ said Anna. ‘Not in carnival week.’

  Mr Sweet seemed taken aback. Anna wondered if he wasn’t used to having people question him. There was a knock on the office door. It opened and Suzi Suzi walked in, her guitar strapped over her back.

  ‘Hey, man,’ she said calmly to Mr Sweet. ‘What’s all this fuss?’

  ‘Stay out of this,’ said Mr Sweet. ‘I’ve got it under control. This little hotel thinks it can mess us about.’

  ‘No way, man,’ said Suzi. ‘That’s not the way I see it. That lemur dude, he’s just been telling me we woke the whole place up? Who wants that on their mind, man? We can practise somewhere else.’

  Mr Sweet growled angrily. ‘That lemur spoke to you?’ he said.

  ‘Yeah, dude,’ said Suzi.

  Mr Sweet turned to Anna. ‘I told you there was no speaking to my band!’

  ‘No wonder everyone’s treating us weird, man,’ said Suzi. ‘Dude, chill out.’

  ‘You know I could ruin you in a heartbeat!’ Mr Sweet barked in rage. He stomped out of the room, leaving Suzi with Anna and T. Bear.

  ‘That guy’s out of order,’ said Suzi. ‘Hey, I’m sorry.’

  Anna smiled, happy that Suzi was actually a nice fox. And in that moment Anna had a brilliant idea.

  ‘I’ve got the perfect practice room, if that’s what you want?’ she said. ‘And it’s so far from the guests you won’t bother a soul.’

  ‘Yeah, man,’ she said, nodding in a leisurely way. ‘That would be awesome!’

  ‘Mr Sweet won’t mind?’ asked Anna.

  ‘He won’t have a choice,’ said Suzi. ‘I’ve had enough of his negative energy anyway.’

  ‘OK then,’ said Anna.

  Anna asked T. Bear to help the band move all their equipment into the ballroom, and she walked out into the lobby to find Lemmy totally entranced. His cheeks were pink.

  ‘Sh-she spoke to me,’ he stuttered, staring off into space. ‘Suzi Suzi spoke to me …’

  10

  The Bust-up

  T. Bear waited in the ballroom as the band tuned their instruments and tightened their drum skins. Anji Wax looped her bass guitar over her back and sat back in a stink. T. Bear could tell she was feeling down. Something wasn’t right within the band.

  ‘Can I get you anything?’ asked T. Bear, trying to be helpful.

  Anji shook her head, her sharp fringe wobbling across her face.

  ‘Right!’ shouted Mr Sweet, marching into the ballroom. ‘Band meeting, now!’

  ‘Dude,’ said Suzi Suzi, ‘we need to practise.’

  ‘Do as I tell you,’ threatened Mr Sweet. ‘I am your manager!’

  T. Bear shrank back against the ballroom wall so as not to be seen. There were very few people T. Bear didn’t like, but he’d quickly realised Mr Sweet was one of them.

  Suzi put her guitar down and crossed her arms. ‘No,’ she said. ‘You’re not the boss of me.’

  Kool Bananas hammered his sticks on to a tom-tom. ‘Nor me,’ he said.

  ‘I think you’ll find I am,’ growled Mr Sweet. ‘Without me you’re nothing.’

  Kool leant forward, pointing his sticks at Mr Sweet. ‘Without us you’re nothing,’ he said.

  ‘Is that so?’ said Mr Sweet. ‘And what have you got to say about this, Anji?’

  Anji snarled and threw her bass guitar to the floor.

  ‘Like I thought,’ said Mr Sweet. ‘Nothing. So this is it then?’

  ‘If that’s how you want it, dude,’ said Suzi. ‘You’ve got a bad thing going on. It’s bringing me – heck, it’s bringing all of us – down.’

  An angry Honey Badger is a terrifying sight. Mr Sweet looked as though he was about to explode.

  ‘Then we are done,’ he snarled. ‘And so is the band. And I’m taking the roadies with me. Good luck being a bunch of nothings for the rest of your miserable lives.’

  Mr Sweet powered out of the ballroom, throwing a chair against a wall as he went.

  T. Bear stepped out of the shadows.

  ‘Sorry you had to see that, dude,’ said Suzi. ‘He is just one big bad vibe.’

  ‘I’ve seen his type before,’ said T. Bear, knowing he wasn’t much different to Mr Ruffian of the Glitz. ‘You’re better off without him.’

  Anji Wax nodded in agreement and T. Bear was certain he caught a glimpse of a smile on her face. She picked up her bass guitar and checked it over.

  ‘I hope so, dude,’ said Suzi. ‘This is the biggest gig of our lives coming up. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, yeah?’

  Kool Bananas tapped a two-four beat on his drum, and just like magic the band powered up and blasted out the most ferocious, loud and brilliant tune T. Bear had ever heard.

  11

  Demolition Day

  The next day, Anna battled to keep her eyes open. ‘All these night shifts are taking their toll,’ she said.

  Lemmy was used to working the front desk at night, so he was also used to feeling tired.

  ‘Power naps, that’s how I cope,’ he said. He pulled his hat slightly over his eyes and leant forward on the desk. ‘Like this. No one ever knows.’

  Anna smiled knowingly.

  ‘Quite brilliant,’ she replied.

  The lobby was bustling with guests, but everyone seemed quiet and tired after being woken during the night. To apologise Anna had decided that all teas and coffees would be free for the day. That met with some cheer, particularly from Mrs and Mr Kunkworth, who were enjoying an early-morning nightcap before bed.

  ‘Morning,’ squawked Mac Macaw, dancing from one leg to the other. ‘Any chance of another coffee?

  Anna wondered if he’d already had a few, judging by how fidgety he was. Still, the customer is always right, she thought.

  ‘I’ll get you one now,’ she said.

  As she left the desk she was halted by the ominous sound of banging on the wall behind her.

  ‘Wow!’ said Mac. ‘You’ve got some big woodpeckers staying here.’

  ‘We don’t have any woodpeckers staying here,’ she said.

  Lemmy had set off to investigate. He touched the walls, moving along as he tried to find the source of the noise. The banging continued, and he held his paw to a patch of wall near a bookcase. It shook with each thump.

  ‘The noise is coming from behind here,’ he said.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Anna.

  ‘Giant moles?’ said Mac excitedly.

  ‘It’s getting stronger!’ said Lemmy, stepping away.

  ‘And louder,’ said Anna.

  A rip suddenly shot through the wallpaper from floor to ceiling.

  ‘Get back!’ cried Anna.

  Lemmy screamed and leapt backwards as lumps of brick and plaster fell from the wall. A dark and dusty hole appeared.

  The banging stopped, and Mac clutched Anna’s arm with fear. Lemmy looked at Anna, Anna looked at Mac, then they all stared back at the dusty hole.

  Stella’s head poked through. ‘Morning!’ she said, blinking in the light.

  Mac howled with laughter while Anna breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  ‘What have you done to the wall?’ asked Lemmy.

  ‘It’s not a wall; it’s a doorway,’ said Stella. ‘And that’s the first item ticked off my list. Watc
h out!’

  She disappeared again, only for more of the wall to crumble and tumble out into the lobby. Before long there was a proper doorway. It was dirty, and needed a bit of tidying, but the once glamorous entrance to the ballroom was now open.

  ‘How’s that?’ Stella asked.

  ‘Brilliant, though Hilary won’t be happy with the mess,’ said Anna.

  ‘No pain, no gain,’ said Stella.

  Mac’s wing crept over his beak. ‘Oh no,’ he said.

  ‘What now?’ said Anna.

  ‘The smell’s back,’ he said.

  Anna turned to see Mrs Kunkworth leading her husband out of the lobby. The shock of the wall disappearing had been too much for him.

  ‘Hilary!’ shouted Anna. ‘I need you!’

  12

  The Night Shift

  Anna spent the rest of the day in a daze, trying to be helpful, but not getting very far. She watched happily as Stella fixed the ballroom doorframe in the lobby and hung new glass doors.

  ‘Next time, make a mess tidily!’ said Hilary, distinctly unimpressed at having to vacuum the carpet again.

  But by the time they had finished, the lobby looked as good as new.

  ‘It’s like the hotel was always missing it, and yet I never knew!’ said Anna.

  ‘Another room for me to clean,’ grumbled Hilary.

  Anna hadn’t considered the extra workload for Hilary. ‘Yes. Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ll help you with that.’

  ‘As long as you dust properly,’ said Hilary.

  ‘How hard can it be?’ teased Anna with a smile.

  ‘Cleaning is not a laughing matter,’ said Hilary.

  The day passed without any further excitement. Anna followed Hilary’s directions, and by the late evening the ballroom was looking fabulously spick and span. But once most creatures had gone to bed Anna realised she was too tired to stay up to cater for her nocturnal guests.

  ‘Go to bed, miss,’ said Lemmy, recharged after a power nap. He could see she was struggling. ‘I’ve got the night shift covered. All meals have been prepared, and they’re ready for the guests.’

  ‘Thanks, Lemmy,’ said Anna, drifting downstairs as her eyelids threatened to shut. ‘Any trouble from Mr Sweet, come and get me.’

  ‘I think he’s long gone, miss,’ said T. Bear, who was also heading off to bed.

  ‘Really?’ said Anna.

  ‘The band had a big bust-up last night,’ he replied.

  ‘Well, I can’t say I’m sad about seeing the back of Mr Sweet,’ said Anna. ‘He was a nasty piece of work.’

  ‘That honey badger put Mr Ruffian in the shade,’ said T. Bear.

  Anna turned to Lemmy. ‘Looks like it might be a quiet one,’ she said.

  ‘Exactly how I like it!’ he replied.

  •

  As Lemmy tidied some papers on a table in the lobby the lift bell chimed. Kool Bananas walked out, rattling his drumsticks against a tall vase – rat-a-tat-a-tat!

  ‘Goodnight!’ said Lemmy. ‘Or is it good morning for you?’

  ‘Hey, Lem!’ said Kool. ‘Any chance of some food?’

  ‘You bet!’ said Lemmy, trying to sound relaxed. ‘I’ll get some now. Still no sign of your manager?’

  ‘He’s vanished,’ said Kool, clacking his sticks above his head happily.

  ‘But what about your gig?’ asked Lemmy.

  ‘We don’t need him,’ said Kool. ‘You’ll be coming, right? I’ll get you in on the guest list.’

  Lemmy felt the tummy rumblings of being star-struck again. ‘You’d do that for me?’

  ‘No trouble,’ said Kool, drumming lightly on Lemmy’s shoulders.

  They went into the restaurant and found Wilbur asleep at one of the tables. The sheepdog was still struggling to get used to having a roof over his head.

  ‘What’s the deal with him?’ asked Kool. ‘I love his hair. Think I could rock that look?’

  ‘That’s Wilbur,’ said Lemmy. ‘He’s not had a home for years, so he tends to forget that he can go to bed.’

  ‘I know how that feels,’ said Kool. ‘We’ve been on the road non-stop for two years. I don’t even know where I live any more.’

  Lemmy went to the sheepdog and rubbed his shoulder, gently waking him up. ‘It’s getting late, sir,’ said Lemmy.

  ‘Is it?’ said Wilbur, yawning. ‘Day and night, ain’t much different to me.’

  ‘Hey!’ said Kool. ‘You’re a nocturnal animal, like us!’

  ‘I s’pose I am,’ said the sheepdog.

  ‘And great hair,’ said Kool.

  ‘You like it?’ said Wilbur.

  ‘Yeah, it’s massive!’

  Wilbur smiled and held out his paw. ‘Nice to meet you,’ he said.

  Wilbur was at least five times the size of the bushbaby, but the two animals shook paws.

  ‘If you’re about later,’ said Kool, ‘we’re practising in the ballroom. Stop by.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Wilbur. ‘I will.’

  Lemmy’s eyes and mouth opened wide. There was nothing he’d like more than to watch the band play.

  ‘Oh, Lem,’ said Kool. ‘You too! You’re always welcome.’

  Kool slipped his sticks in his pocket and sat at a table. ‘Now for some food, yeah?’ he said, smiling.

  ‘Right away!’ said Lemmy.

  13

  The Flurry of Flamingos

  The next few days were full of industry. The band practised every night, watched by Wilbur and Lemmy, and throughout the day Stella worked solidly on the carnival float. There were piles of pink wood, pink metal and pink feathers everywhere on the terrace, and the guests quickly got used to the sound of drilling and hammering from the shed. But no one – not even Anna – was allowed to see what she was doing.

  ‘Can I have a look?’ asked Anna.

  ‘I want it to be a surprise!’ said Stella, slamming the shed door.

  Anna crossed the terrace and watched Jojo dredge the pool for fallen leaves with the help of her pups. Despite the turn in seasons, the pool was still in great demand. Furry animals, as well as those with thick, blubbery skin, seemed very happy in the cooler temperatures.

  As Anna ventured into the lobby she was cheered by the arrival of Ms Fragranti, the wildly theatrical flamingo.

  ‘Darling!’ Ms Fragranti cried, swooping into the hotel lobby, followed by her dance students. ‘We are here!’

  Anna skipped up and down. ‘So nice to see you again!’ she said.

  ‘No flamingo needs to be asked twice to join the carnival, darling!’ said Ms Fragranti.

  Anna laughed. It was always wonderful to have Ms Fragranti stay. ‘Did you have a good flight?’ she asked.

  ‘The winds blew us along at almost twice our normal speed!’ she declared. ‘I fear a storm is brewing. But the show must go on, whatever the weather!’

  ‘It must!’ agreed Anna.

  ‘And is your costume ready?’ asked the flamingo. ‘I take it you are wearing more than that?’

  ‘I hadn’t thought about a costume,’ said Anna.

  Ms Fragranti tutted. ‘Darling,’ she said, ‘if you’re leading the carnival, you must BE the carnival.

  Bright colours, feathers, outrageous headgear! You must wear the brightest outfit you can find!’

  Anna looked herself up and down, unsure. ‘Maybe a big hat?’ she said.

  ‘Oh, please, darling! At the very least!’ said Ms Fragranti. She gave Anna a wonderfully big smile.

  ‘What?’ said Anna, noticing a naughty twinkle in the flamingo’s eye.

  ‘I have packed for this very problem,’ said Ms Fragranti, throwing her wings up into the air. ‘For we have brought the carnival with us!’

  •

  ‘Is it not a bit much?’ said Anna.

  Anna was clothed in a magnificently bright, feathered outfit, with a headdress to match. So too was T. Bear and Lemmy. Ms Fragranti had prepared enough costumes for everyone.

  ‘It’s certainly a change from our unifor
m,’ said T. Bear.

  ‘I love it!’ said Lemmy, flapping his new wings.

  Ms Fragranti handed Lemmy a pair of maracas, and passed T. Bear a giant bass drum to strap on to his chest.

  ‘I take it you can keep a beat?’ said Ms Fragranti.

  T. Bear’s smile widened to fill his face. He pulled the drum straps over his shoulders then started to bang a rhythm.

  ‘You bet,’ he growled, wiggling his body to the groove.

  ‘Then I think you are ready!’ announced Ms Fragranti.

  14

  The Emergency Meeting

  On the morning of the carnival, Anna received a phone call from Mrs Toadly, the carnival organiser. There was a meeting of the utmost importance and she had to attend. She left the hotel in Lemmy’s capable hands, and set off to the Artists’ Quarter.

  Anna had never been to that side of town before, and in a colourful office tucked away off an ancient cobbled street she sat awaiting Mrs Toadly’s arrival. There was barely any room to breathe inside, as everyone who was entering a float was present, including Mr Ruffian, owner of the Glitz. He didn’t look very happy, thought Anna. But then, when did he ever?

  Eventually Mrs Toadly skipped into the room, but without her usual broad smile.

  ‘It would seem,’ she said, ‘that there is a mighty fine storm circling a few hundred miles off the coast. It may hit us this afternoon or it may not, but I fear we must cancel the carnival.’

  ‘Ridiculous,’ snapped Mr Ruffian. ‘We never have storms here. This is the Sunset Isle after all!’

  ‘The weather report was very sure,’ said Mrs Toadly. ‘Storm of the century, they said.’

  ‘Weather reports are always wrong,’ said Mr Ruffian. ‘Besides, my hotel is booked full of guests! They’re here because of the carnival.’

  ‘As is mine,’ said Anna. Mr Ruffian growled at Anna under furrowed brows. He was still incredibly angry about Hotel Flamingo’s success. He stood up and towered over Mrs Toadly. ‘You cannot cancel the carnival!’ he said, bearing down on her.