Terror at the Talent Show

by Marcus Emerson

  First published by Allen & Unwin in 2017

  Copyright © Text, Marcus Emerson 2013

  Copyright © Illustrations, David Lee 2013

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.

  Allen & Unwin

  83 Alexander Street

  Crows Nest NSW 2065

  Australia

  Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

  Email: info@allenandunwin.com

  Web: www.allenandunwin.com

  A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the National Library of Australia

  www.trove.nla.gov.au

  ISBN 9781760295592

  eISBN 9781925575057

  Cover design by Marcus Emerson and Sandra Nobes

  Text design by Sandra Nobes

  Cover and internal illustrations by David Lee

  Set by Sandra Nobes

  www.marcusemerson.com

  This one’s for Elijah…

  Contents

  Being Reading

  Monday. The cafeteria.

  Monday. Gym class.

  Monday. Lunch.

  Monday. Lunch.

  Tuesday. The cafeteria.

  Tuesday. Gym class.

  Tuesday. Lunch.

  Tuesday. The library.

  Wednesday. The cafeteria.

  Wednesday. Gym class.

  Wednesday. Lunch.

  Thursday. The cafeteria.

  Thursday. Gym class.

  Thursday. Lunch.

  Friday. The talent show.

  My name is Chase Cooper, and I’m a sixth grader at Buchanan School. That’s a photo of me up there studying for a big test – wait, no. That’s a penguin. My photo is on the next page.

  If you’re reading this then you probably know who I am, but for those of you who don’t, allow me to give you the super-jacked, turbo version.

  My favourite foods are cheese pizza, cheese toasties, and nachos with extra cheese.

  I love watching awful horror movies from the ’90s, corny action movies from the ’80s, and the absolute worst science-fiction movies from the ’70s. And I mean the worst of the worst – spaceships on strings and alien costumes where you can see the zipper.

  What else do I do? Well, I spend most of my free time playing video games and reading comics, y’know, typical sixth grader things. Sometimes I’ll throw a book or two into the mix, just to make things interesting. It’s a personal goal of mine to read at least fifty books this year. Why? Why not? Smart is the new cool.

  I also like riding my bike through trails in the woods, swimming, climbing things, eating biscuits and orange soft drink, tormenting my little sister, and leading a ninja clan to defend my school against evil…

  Oh, right. There’s also that.

  I’m a ninja.

  I was the new kid at the beginning of year and was recruited by a secret ninja clan that I met during gym class. My first baby ninja steps were pretty wobbly, but I think I handled myself alright. After saving the day by uncovering a shady plot to frame my cousin for theft, the ninja clan thought it’d be a good idea if I became their new leader.

  I’ve been struggling to be a good leader, and I’m the first to admit that I’ve failed more than a few times. But life lessons were dished out and I learned a lot, which hopefully makes me a more experienced leader now. I don’t know. I’m still just doing my best to make it to the end of the year without a broken face.

  It’s only been two weeks since Jovial Noise tried messing up the science fair. Her real name is Olivia Jones, but she calls herself Jovial Noise – I think it has something to do with being a villain or something. She left notes in my locker every day, challenging me to play along in her sinister game. In the end, good won out over evil, and the science fair was saved.

  Normally, Buchanan School gives me month-long breaks between disasters, but I had a feeling that was starting to change. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off the second I shut the door to my dad’s car.

  My dad had dropped me off by the side doors of the school a little earlier than normal. I needed to get to my locker and pay a visit to Zoe before seeing her in homeroom because I had to …well, to be honest, I wanted to apologise to her.

  Let me explain – the school talent show was coming up on Friday, and she was put in charge of it. Yep, the entire thing. Buchanan wasn’t even going to have a talent show until Zoe begged Principal Davis for one. He said the only way he would even consider it would be if one of the students took charge and planned it on their own. Obviously Zoe jumped at the chance to do it. I’m pretty sure she knew how much work she’d have to put in, but she’s the kind of kid that likes that sort of work. The coolest part about the whole thing is that Principal Davis moved some funding around and has offered a thousand-dollar grand prize for the winner.

  On Saturday, she called and asked me to help.

  ‘Hey, Chase. Wanna come help set up the cafeteria for the talent show? We’re meeting at noon. Faaaaaaaith will be there.’

  ‘Yeah?’ I held my phone between my ear and shoulder so both my hands would be free to keep playing my video game.

  ‘Yep! Gavin’ll be there too. You can call Brayden if you want.’

  I sighed. It sounded alright until she said Gavin was going to be there. That’s just how I wanted to spend my Saturday - sitting around at school watching Zoe and Gavin giggle at each other. Sick.

  ‘Sorry, Zoe,’ I said. ‘I totally would, but did you say noon? Yeeeeeah, that’s actually right in the middle of my nap, so I’m gonna have to say no. Maybe next time.’

  Zoe paused. ‘But the stage needs some work and Gavin said it’d be easy to set up with a few extra kids there. Can’t you skip your nap to help?’

  ‘Nope,’ I said flatly.

  ‘But you’re like eleven years old,’ Zoe said. ‘Didn’t you stop taking naps in kindergarten?’

  ‘You know I gotta take advantage of Saturday naps while I can!’

  ‘…serious?’ Zoe asked, shocked.

  ‘Mmhmm,’ I hummed. The line clicked as she hung up on me.

  I’ve felt guilty ever since.

  After my nap, I texted her but she never replied. I thought I’d get a chance to say sorry at Sunday brunch but she skipped to keep setting up for the talent show. And that’s the reason I was early to school on a Monday morning.

  I opened the side doors to the school and stepped into the hallway. It was pretty early, and homeroom wasn’t for another fifteen minutes. I wanted to get to my locker before going to the cafeteria to talk to Zoe, but I’m not a morning person so I was really dragging.

  As soon as the doors shut, I felt a chill dance down my spine, as if Buchanan School was teasing at the fact that I was going to face some serious trials this week. I knew the actual fifteenth president of the United States of America wasn’t a ghost out to get me, but I still balled my fist and hissed, ‘James Buchanan!’

  Shaking the chills off my back, I shuffled across the carpet, feeling the weight of my drowsiness settling in on my eyelids. Man, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get my blood pumping! I was tired, but not just a little tired. Like, tired tired.

  Like, the kind of tired where my head
bobs up and down until my whole body jerks awake and then I realise everyone in maths is staring at me, wondering how an eleven-year-old kid could possibly produce the amount of drool that was pooled on my desk and … never mind. Let’s just say I felt like a zombie.

  As I approached my locker, I clenched my jaw and gulped. Every time I opened it, my heart raced at the thought of finding another sticky note with a chess piece. Olivia’s notes had stopped after she got busted, but I still couldn’t help but worry.

  Spinning the combination into the lock, I pulled up on the handle and flipped the door wide open, flinching as if a clown on a spring was going to jump at me.

  But it was all clear. I smiled, finally able to breathe again as I stared at the pile of rubbish that was collecting in my locker. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary about any of it, except for the few spots of mould that looked like they had started growing hair and teeth.

  I stuffed my textbooks into my book bag and zipped it up. As I slung the strap over my shoulder, I heard some commotion down the hall. It was hard to make out what they were saying from where I was standing, but one sentence came through crystal clear.

  ‘That penguin got out of its cage!’

  Penguin? Shutting my locker, I leaned back, making that ‘huh?’ face of total confusion. You know the one – you’ve probably made it when you’ve smelled something nasty but couldn’t figure out what it was. Yeah, that face.

  I followed the other students as they ran to the tinted glass walls of the cafeteria. The sound of excited shouts bounced down the hallway, growing louder as I walked closer.

  ‘Look at them chase after the penguin!’

  The penguin! I had no idea what was happening, but a sudden rush of excitement poured over me, completely shocking my body out of its drowsy state.

  I made my way through the swarm of kids in the school lobby. Another chill ran down my spine, but I wasn’t sure whether to be worried or not because only half of the kids around me looked frightened; the other half were laughing.

  As I approached the cafeteria doors, I saw a line of boys and girls with their faces pressed against the glass, trying their best to see what was going on.

  I glanced at the clock. In my gut, I knew it was way early, and I knew that Zoe would be in the cafeteria setting up for the talent show, but part of me hoped that maybe more time had passed and she would be out of the cafeteria already, safe from the ruckus. No such luck.

  I pressed my face against the door of the lunchroom and squinted to see through the thin pane of glass while students beside chatted excitedly with each other.

  ‘What happened to the penguin? Does anybody see the penguin anymore?’

  ‘I think it went under the stage!’

  ‘Who’s Zoe chasing after? Is that dude gliding on the floor? It looks like he’s flying!’

  And then there was a loud crash from inside the cafeteria. Everyone in the lobby gasped.

  ‘Watch out! He’s coming at the door!’ a girl right next to me shouted.

  I tried to dive out of the way, but it was too late. The cafeteria doors burst open and I was knocked clear across the lobby. Rolling across the floor, I felt the carpet burn my elbows until I finally stopped against the wall.

  ‘Outta my way!’ shouted a voice.

  I glanced up just in time to see a boy skid along the carpet on a scooter. He was wearing a white hockey mask so no one could see his face.

  ‘Chase!’ shouted a familiar voice by the cafeteria doors.

  I jumped to my feet, baffled by what was happening. Gavin was running out of the cafeteria with two folded-up scooters, one in each hand. Other students down the hallway were screaming at the boy in the hockey mask. Because of the crowded corridor, he hadn’t got far.

  Gavin chucked one of the folded scooters at my feet, and then flipped open the locked hinge on his scooter, shooting the wheels out from under it.

  ‘There’s no time to explain!’ he shouted. ‘Come on!’

  I kicked at the end of my scooter, popping the whole thing off the ground. I grabbed the handlebar with my right hand and hopped into air, using my foot to open the locked hinge. The scooter twisted open like a set of nunchaku and snapped into shape as I nailed the landing on the carpet of the lobby. I laughed so hard that I snorted, amazed by my crazy good luck. ‘Ha!’ I barked, looking around. ‘Did anyone else see that?’

  All the students in the lobby were too watching Gavin chase after the boy in the hockey mask. Not a single one of them was looking in my direction.

  ‘Seriously?’ I said, grinding my teeth. ‘One of the sickest stunts I’ve ever done in front of dozens of people, and nobody saw it!’

  Kicking the carpet, I shot forward, weaving through the crowd of students. Gavin was about six metres ahead of me, and I could see the boy in the hockey mask just a little bit in front of him.

  As kids dove out of the way, I kept kicking at the floor, making my sweet ride roll faster. Finally, I caught up to Gavin.

  ‘What’s the deal?’ I yelled, gripping my handlebars tighter.

  Gavin kept his eyes on the kid in the hockey mask. ‘That doofus set a penguin loose in the cafeteria!’

  ‘What’s a penguin even doing in school?’ I asked, leaning to my left and barely missing a girl. She spun in a circle, dropping a few of her textbooks as I passed her.

  ‘Watch it!’ she shouted, annoyed.

  ‘Sorry!’ I hollered.

  Gavin stomped his foot harder on the carpet, getting his scooter up to epic speeds. ‘The penguin was part of some kid’s talent show performance or something! Zoe had all the acts show up early today so we could test out the stage and make sure it was solid!’

  ‘Someone’s got a penguin in the talent show?’ I asked.

  ‘I guess it dances with them or something,’ Gavin replied. ‘Whoever this kid is we’re chasin’ after is the one that popped open the cage and set it free!’

  Staring ahead of us, I saw that the kid had turned down another hallway. ‘Why would he do that?’

  As Gavin neared the corner, he jumped off his scooter and started sprinting after the masked kid. Once a couple of students were out of the way, he rolled the scooter on the floor and hopped back on at full speed. I’m not gonna lie – it was awesome.

  I followed his lead and tried to the do the exact same thing, except my moves weren’t as slick. Instead, I took the corner too fast and bounced off the lockers like a ragdoll. I regained my balance and jumped back on my scooter, hoping no one saw my goof. It took a few good kicks to catch up with Gavin again.

  The new hallway wasn’t carpeted, so our rubber wheels picked up even more speed. Our scooters glided like they didn’t have wheels at all.

  The kid in the hockey mask was still far ahead of us. He must’ve had some pretty strong legs because he had no problem maintaining the gap between us.

  ‘Right after everyone freaked out that the penguin was loose, one of the corners on the stage collapsed. Luckily the thing’s only half a metre off the floor or it could’ve done some damage,’ said Gavin.

  ‘You think this kid had something to do with the stage?’ I asked, kicking the polished floor beneath my shoe.

  ‘Definitely!’ Gavin said confidently. ‘Once that penguin got loose, the stage collapsed, and as soon as the stage collapsed, that kid grabbed a scooter and bolted out the door.’

  ‘Where’d these scooters come fr—’ I started to ask, but a hand grabbed at the collar of my shirt, yanking me off my scooter. It didn’t hurt, but it stopped me in my tracks. I looked up and saw Principal Davis looking rather disappointed at me. Mrs Olsen, the science teacher, was standing in front of Gavin, blocking his path with her hands on her hips.

  ‘These scooters are from the drama department,’ Principal Davis grunted.

  I looked down the hall but there was no sign of the kid in the hockey mask. ‘He’s getting away!’ I shouted. ‘We almost had him!’

  Principal Davis furrowed his brow. ‘Catching him
isn’t your job. You do understand that, right?’

  I sighed, staring at the floor and nodding.

  Gavin fell silent and stared at the same spot on the floor.

  The principal folded his arms and chewed his lip. ‘Look, I get it. I know you just want to help Zoe, but this is better left to the adults, alright? You could’ve hurt someone tearing through the hallways on these things, you know that?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Gavin and I both whispered at the same time.

  Mrs Olsen huffed as she pressed her lips together, but she didn’t say anything.

  ‘Why don’t the two of you head back to the cafeteria,’ Principal Davis said. ‘Mrs Olsen and I will handle things from here.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Gavin and I whispered again, shuffling our feet.

  ‘You will both be excused from class this morning. I’ll have a hall monitor let your homeroom teachers know you two are helping with the talent show.’

  ‘One of Wyatt’s hall monitors?’ Gavin sneered.

  Principal Davis nodded.

  I swallowed hard, feeling a lump travel all the way down my throat, but I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t the time or place to mention my feud with Wyatt, the leader of the red ninja clan.

  After I became the leader of Wyatt’s old ninja clan, he was quick to create another one of his own. My ninjas are honourable and strive to do the right thing, but his ninjas are another story. They exist to wreak havoc and create chaos wherever they are. Gavin and I were instructed to leave our scooters behind. Principal Davis said he’d personally return them to the drama club, but I’m pretty sure it was because he didn’t trust that Gavin and I wouldn’t ride them in the halls again. I don’t blame him for thinking that, though, because we totally would’ve.

  ‘I can’t believe that kid got away,’ Gavin mumbled. ‘That’s the sorta thing that really grinds my gears, y’know?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I sighed. ‘And I’m not sure that Principal Davis is gonna be able to catch him.’

  ‘What he’ll likely do is assign the case to the hall monitors,’ Gavin said. ‘Which normally woulda been a good idea, but ever since Wyatt took over, I’m not sure how much help they are anymore.’