by Pip Bird
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Table of Contents
About the Author
Copyright Page
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For Justin —RLO
For Pip and Lori —LB
For Tilda —David O’Connell
CHAPTER ONE
Back to Unicorn School!
It was a cloudy Tuesday afternoon and Mira was dancing around the kitchen with her cat, Pickles. Mira’s older sister, Rani, rolled her eyes as she finished the after-dinner dishwashing (her chore for that week), and flicked water at Mira and Pickles as they twirled past the sink.
“Bleurgh!” spluttered Mira as a soap bubble landed in her mouth.
Rani dried her hands on a dish towel and snatched Pickles off Mira. “My turn! Okay, Pickles, you can be my unicorn,” she said. “I need to practice my moves for the school dance.”
As Rani and Pickles swept past her, Mira had to admit that Rani was an annoyingly good dancer. Rani and her unicorn, Angelica, were annoyingly good at lots of things. The trophy shelf in their living room was full of Rani’s medals and trophies from winning tons of Unicorn School quests and competitions. Mira had just two medals so far.
Mira and Rani both went to Unicorn School. It was a magical place where students were matched with their Unicorn Best Friend Forever (UBFF) and had all kinds of brilliant quests and adventures!
It was almost time to go back to Unicorn School, and Mira was BEYOND EXCITED to see her UBFF, Dave. He wasn’t exactly how she’d imagined her perfect unicorn to be … He could be a little stubborn. And greedy. And he fell asleep in all their lessons. But they had so much fun together. And the school dance was going to be the most fun EVER. She couldn’t imagine anything better in the entire world than spinning around the dance floor with Dave!
* * *
Later that night Mira lay in bed, too excited to sleep. She took out her diary from her bedside table and started thinking about all the awesome things she was going to do with Dave. And with Darcy and Raheem—her two human best friends at Unicorn School.
Thinking about Dave made Mira smile. He always made everything super fun, often in unexpected ways. Sure, he sometimes had to be bribed with snacks to do things. And sometimes he caused a teeny, tiny bit of havoc. And he held the Unicorn School record for most farts in class. But he didn’t mean to misbehave. Dave was Mira’s UBFF, and she loved him.
Mira tucked her diary back in the drawer and fell asleep
* * *
Mom usually took Mira and Rani to the Magic Portal, where they could travel to Unicorn School— but today Dad was driving them, and they had to explain everything to him. He even nearly forgot to take them to the supermarket to buy treats for their unicorns! (Most unicorns liked carrots and hay, but Dave liked doughnuts best of all.)
“Stop, Dad!” yelled Mira. They were about to drive right past the Magic Portal in the rec center parking lot! Dad made an emergency stop as Mira hung out of the car, waving to her friend Raheem.
Rani refused to be seen dead (her words) with Mira at Unicorn School, so Mira had arranged to go through the portal with Raheem. He was just finishing the “Rules of Keeping Safe” song with his dad, but he did wave back.
Dad was under strict instruction to take a picture of them before they went through the portal. Rani would only pose for a fraction of a second, but the photo of the back of her head would have to do.
“Bye, Dad!” Mira blew him a kiss through the car window and made sure she had her bag of unicorn treats. “Ready, Raheem? Why do you have your eyes closed?”
“I always feel sick going through the portal,” Raheem said. “So I’m doing my calming breathing.”
Mira grabbed his hand and pulled them both through the bushes. No matter how many times she went through the portal, it never stopped being absolutely, completely magical.
First, her toes started to tingle, then her legs and arms, and then rainbow light burst all around them and they were WHOOSHING through the air before landing with a soft thump on the Landing Haystack in the middle of the Grand Paddock at Unicorn School.
“Wow,” breathed Mira as she looked around. It was autumn, and all the leaves in the Fearsome Forest were turning gorgeous shades of red and gold. Children were arriving in a steady stream on the Landing Haystack and running to find their UBFFs. The unicorns were grazing and playing in the paddocks and fields around Unicorn School. Mira could see their breath puffing in the chilly air as she searched for Dave.
“Ta-daaaa!” a voice sang out behind them on the haystack. Their friend Darcy launched off the haystack and did a spectacular spin in her wheelchair with her arms in the air. “Did you miss me?”
Mira laughed and ran over for a hug. “Of course I missed you. That was awesome!”
Darcy flicked her fluffy blond hair back over her shoulder. “I know,” she said. “I’ve been practicing my moves for the school dance. I started a feet-and-wheels dance troupe at my other school because I was kicked off the murderball team. They said I was too aggressive or something. Anyway, dance is WAY more my thing.”
“What’s murderball?” asked Raheem cautiously.
“It’s like rugby but in wheelchairs. And more dangerous,” Darcy replied, looking around for her unicorn, Star.
Raheem looked a little bit lost for words. “Shall we go find our unicorns?” he said.
Star and Brave were grazing in the Grand Paddock and cantered over as soon as they spotted Darcy and Raheem. Mira couldn’t see Dave.
“Is that him?” asked Darcy, pointing to a giant pile of straw by the side of the fence. Some of the Unicorn School teachers were standing around it, poking something on the top of the straw pile with a stick. Mira looked closer and saw that it was a small unicorn curled up, fast asleep.
“Wake up!” yelled the PE teacher, Miss Hind.
“How is he still asleep?” muttered another teacher, shaking his head.
“He’s been up there for sixteen hours!” said their class teacher, Miss Glitterhorn.
Dave farted loudly in his sleep.
Mira gave a huge smile. There was her UBFF. And she knew JUST how to wake him up!
Mira reached into her pocket. “Dave!” she called. “I’ve got a super-special treat for you!” Mira pulled out a strawberry licorice and waved it in the air.
Up on the straw pile, she was sure she could see Dave’s nostrils twitching. Then he gave a loud snort and sat bolt upright. His ears pricked up, his nose twitched, and he looked down at Mira.
Dave launched himself off the top of the straw pile, bounced off Miss Hind’s head, and landed in a heap just in front of Mira. Miss Hind muttered angrily to herself, but the other teachers just seemed relieved that Dave was finally awake.
Dave swallowed the strawberry licorice and licked Mira’s face. She giggled and pulled another candy string out of her pocket.
Dave slurped up the treat, then farted happily. Just then, the school bell rang, calling the students and unicorns inside. It was time for Unicorn School to begin!
CHAPTER TWO
The School Dance Committee
Madame Shetland, the Unicorn School principal, waited as everyone gathered in the hall.
“Welcome back to Unicorn School, my dear students, unicorns, and teachers,” said Madame Shetland. “Today, I have two very special announcements. Firstly, this week Class Red has a very important quest. Students will be traveling to the Crystal Maze Mine to search for Warming Crystals. These crystals heat the school and keep us all warm as the weather turns colder.”
Mira’s classmates in Class Red started chatting excitedly. It took three teachers to shush them. Mira high-fived Darcy, who whispered loudly, “Great, but when can we talk about the dance?”
“And secondly,” continued Madame Shetland, raising her voice over the noise, “as you know, we will also have a school dance. This will take place in two days’ time.”
Whoops and squeals of excitement echoed around the hall. Mira grinned happily. A dance AND a super important quest. Amazing!
Two loud taps came over the loudspeakers. Everyone stopped and looked around, wondering what was going on. Darcy had wheeled up to Madame Shetland’s podium and taken hold of the microphone.
“Attention please! My fellow students, unicorns, and teachers,” Darcy said. Madame Shetland looked confused, and Miss Glitterhorn hurried toward the podium to stop Darcy.
“I have an announcement to make!” Darcy continued. “I would like to volunteer as Chief Organizer of the School Dance Committee. Together, we can make this a super-sensational school dance!”
The students burst into applause, as Miss Glitterhorn made it to the podium. “Er, is there a Dance Committee?” Miss Glitterhorn asked Madame Shetland, who shrugged.
“No…,” she said thoughtfully, “but why not? Might make things easier for us teachers. That’s enough now, Darcy, no need to make everyone do the wave.”
“Shall I just do a stage dive and crowd-surf to finish?” Darcy asked the head teacher.
“No, thank you, Darcy.” Madame Shetland paused for a moment to think. “Each class shall look after one part of the dance preparations. Darcy, you may oversee all the arrangements.”
As the morning bell rang for lessons, Mira led Dave out of the hall to their classroom and gave him a massive hug. It was so wonderful that Darcy was going to be Chief Organizer of the school dance … even if it was a job she’d just made up!
* * *
Darcy didn’t waste any time. At morning break, she gathered the first meeting of the Super-Sensational School Dance Committee in the gym. Madame Shetland and Miss Glitterhorn had decided that Class Red would select the music and be in charge of the lighting, and Darcy had decided she would create a super-awesome first dance to get the party started!
Mira and Dave were rushing to the meeting because they were a little late—they’d had to stop for snacks on the way. They passed Jake and his unicorn, Pegasus, doing some cool break-dancing moves down the hallway.
“Let’s try that, Dave,” Mira said, attempting a wiggle that started in her head and went down to her feet.
Dave watched her, and then did a massive burp. “We can work on your moves,” Mira said, pushing the door open.
Inside the gym, Darcy and Star had pushed all the crash mats and benches to the side except for one piece of gym equipment, which Darcy sat behind like it was a desk. Rainbow-colored climbing ropes hung from the ceiling behind her like a curtain. Star counted the children and unicorns coming into the gym and showed them where to sit.
Darcy banged on her makeshift table and signaled for quiet. Freya whispered, “Where did she get the hammer?”
“It’s called a gavel,” said Raheem.
Mia realized that Darcy was taking the role of Chief Organizer very seriously.
“Order, order!” called Darcy. “I declare the first meeting of the Super-Sensational School Dance Committee open!” She paused. “You may applaud.”
Everyone quickly started clapping.
“You’re welcome,” Darcy continued. “The first thing we have to do is—yes, Jake?”
Jake was standing up with his hand raised. “How come YOU’RE committee leader? I think we should have a vote on who should be in charge.”
Everyone groaned. Jake ALWAYS wanted to be leader!
“Sit down, Jake. This isn’t a quest,” called Freya.
Jake went red and started to talk back, but Darcy just spoke over him. “As I was saying! The first order of business is … the theme for the dance. Star—are you taking minutes?”
Star blushed and trotted back to Darcy. She took out a notepad and a sparkly gel pen.
Zara from Class Indigo put up her hand. “What about Unicorns from History as a theme?” she said.
“That’s fun!” said Mira. “Ooh! Or what about Fireworks? Or Cats?”
“Those are … ideas,” said Darcy. “I was thinking—Star, drumroll, please—Glitter Fever!” Darcy flung her arms out in a big “ta-da” move.
“What about Under the Sea?” said Seb.
Then children started shouting out their ideas all at once:
“Stars!”
“Space!”
“SLOTHS!” Everyone turned to Flo, Freya’s twin sister, and she shrugged. “What? I like sloths.”
Darcy shook her head. “Stop just saying things that begin with S!” She tried to continue but was interrupted by more theme ideas.
“Unicycles!”
“Umbrellas!”
“Uranium!”
Darcy banged her gavel and looked angry. “Now you’re just saying things that begin with U. STOP IT! We’re having a vote!”
Everyone sat back down, and Darcy smiled. Mira thought it looked a little forced. Darcy continued, “Okay, we’ll have a vote on the top three ideas. Everybody close your eyes and raise your hand or hoof for the theme you like best. Star will count the votes. Close your eyes now!”
Darcy called out the three theme ideas in order: Space, Umbrellas, and Glitter Fever. Mira frowned as she realized that Darcy had decided which three ideas were the best.
“Do you think she’s taking this a bit too seriously?” Mira whispered to Raheem, opening one eye.
Raheem shrugged and kept his eyes tightly shut.
“Keep those hands up, please!” said Darcy sternly.
Mira thought Star was taking a long time to count the votes. She realized that Star was frantically crossing things out on her notepad, then looking up to count the raised hands and hooves again. Mira felt bad for the unicorn. She found counting hard, too, especially under pressure. Sometimes Mira skipped right from twenty-nine to forty if she wasn’t thinking carefully.
Dave grunted and shuffled out of the line. Mira guessed he was hungry.
Darcy banged her gavel again and told everyone to open their eyes. Mira could see Dave sniffing around near Darcy. He’s probably searching for snacks, thought Mira.
“I am thrilled to announce,” said Darcy, “that the winner by LOTS of votes is … GLITTER FEVER!”
Raheem and Mira clapped, and a few other students joined in, too. No one looked quite as excited as Darcy. Freya whispered to Mira, “That was totally fixed. Darcy just made up the result.”
Mira frowned. She did agree with Freya that the vote didn’t quite seem fair … but she knew Darcy just wanted every part of the dance to be perfect, and she certainly had lots of great ideas!
Just then, there was a huge crash behind Darcy. Raheem screamed and hid behind his chair, and the other students and unicorns started running around in a panic. When the dust settled, Mira saw Dave, thoughtfully chewing the red climbing rope, with the other ropes in a heap all over Darcy’s desk. Darcy sat angrily amid the rubble, covered in dust.
Mira ran over to see if her friend was okay.
Darcy was bright red in the face and did not look happy.
“Darcy, I’m so sorry!” Mira said. “I think Dave thought the red climbing rope was a giant strawberry licorice.”
“It’s fine!” said Darcy, coughing up some dus
t. Star trotted around, picking up her notes, which had fallen all over the floor.
Mira kept asking if Darcy was okay as they cleaned up, and Darcy kept saying she was fine, but Mira was sure she heard Darcy muttering “nightmare unicorn” and “super greedy.”
The bell rang to end morning break, and Darcy and Star left the gym quickly, with Darcy still muttering under her breath.
Dave nudged Mira’s elbow. She pulled out a real strawberry candy from her pocket for him, and he gave a happy fart in return.
CHAPTER THREE
Glitter Fever …
Later that day, after lunch, it was time for PE.
Miss Hind, the PE teacher, blew her whistle and called Class Red together. Mira headed to the back of the group, tugging Dave along with her.
“Now, Class Red, we have a change of lesson plan today,” barked Miss Hind. “As you know, Class Red will be opening the school dance with a special routine, which Darcy has created. I am thrilled to be helping you learn your special dance.” (Mira couldn’t help thinking that Miss Hind didn’t look very thrilled.)
Miss Hind pressed play on the speaker. “Here is the song you will be dancing to, written by none other than … Darcy. It’s called ‘Glitter Fever’s Gonna Get You.’”
The room suddenly filled with very loud music. Raheem clamped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. Darcy whooped and started spinning around in circles in her wheelchair, rainbow wheel rims flashing as she sang along. Flo and her unicorn ran around and around the hall. Even Dave woke up from his nap and flicked his ears back and forth to the music as it filled the air.
Mira felt a little thrill as she tapped her feet.
