The Fleetwood Gang and the Magic Concert

by Chris Timothy

  Over the last few weeks Mrs. Fleetwood had made some good progress in broom riding. She was now able to ride sidesaddle.

  However for the purpose of the moment she decided to sit astride.

  Then James swung himself behind her, upsetting the precarious balance. Broom jerked and dropped a few inches.

  “Oops!”

  “Be careful James, it’s not a motorbike!”

  They took off slowly, with some bumps and bounces.

  “Oh dear!” complained Mrs. Fleetwood.

  “It’s great!” shouted James.

  Then Broom settled. It did a little loop around some high trees and got into serious speed. James thought it was fantastic. In very little time they were flying above the town hall. The crowd was dense at the theatre front door.

  “Let’s go back stage!” shouted Mrs. Fleetwood.

  Broom flew silently over the theatre roof, and then swooped down towards the back stage door. The people there stopped and stared at the broom in awe.

  Broom dumped his passengers on the concrete and crashed into a rubbish bin.

  “Ouch!” cried James.

  “I say, that was a bit rough!” groaned Mrs. Fleetwood.

  “TERRIFIC!” yelled someone.

  The little crowd at the back stage door was truly impressed.

  “That was a fantastic stunt!” said someone else.

  “Stunt people are very important,” agreed his neighbour.

  James looked at his Mother.

  “Told you!”

  Mrs. Fleetwood picked up her broom and headed back stage.

  “See you at the interval, Mum,” said James. He rushed towards the front door to meet his friends.

  ***

  James entered the foyer. It was packed with people. He made his way to the coffee lounge where he was almost certain to find his friends.

  Sitting at a table, Gladys and Olive were sipping tea, and at the bar counter, Harrison and Richard’s father were drinking beer.

  Mrs. Lopez, Maria and Richard were already in the stalls keeping good seats for everyone.

  “Hi there!” said James happily.

  “Good to see you my boy!” laughed Harrison.

  James started chatting away, and then suddenly stopped.

  “Where’s Grandma?” he asked frowning.

  “She’s not coming,” answered Gladys, “she’s still sulking.”

  “Oh no!” sighed James sadly, “Mum is going to be so disappointed.”

  “Cheer up my boy,” said Harrison ruffling James hair, “she will come.”

  “Do you really think so?” asked James looking up at his friend.

  “Trust me.”

  The bell rang in the foyer.

  “Shall we go then?” asked Olive, “we don’t want to miss the beginning.”

  Richard’s father collected his trumpet and headed back stage. James and his friends trooped into the theatre. Right near the stage Maria was jumping up and down, waving her arms to attract their attention.

  After a few minutes of noisy babbling the room went quiet and the curtain opened.

  Rainbow Kindergarten started the show to the immense delight of Gladys and Olive.

  The children turned and twirled around like fairies. One pink little girl twirled so well that she fell and left the stage crying.

  Then, the play THERE IS A WITCH IN THE GARAGE was a good success. After two more numbers on the program, it was time for the interval. Kids were fidgeting and parents thirsty.

  James, who had been sitting next to Harrison, was now holding his hand. They were going in the hall, followed by the rest of the Fleetwood Gang.

  “Who has got a phone?” asked Harrison.

  “I have,” said Gladys. She extracted a small purple cell phone from her handbag and gave it to Harrison.

  “Splendid!” said Harrison taking the phone. He dialed Grandma’s number and passed the phone to James. “Tell her that Caroline needs her; tell her it’s a question of life or death. You understand James?”

  “Yes, yes, I understand.”

  His friends had made a tight circle around him.

  “Hello? Grandma?” questioned James, “is that you? Yes it’s me… James.”

  Harrison stuck his ear to James’ ear.

  “Keep talking,” he whispered.

  “Grandma… Mummy needs you… yes, yes… she is in great danger… yes … yes… can you come quickly? With the stick please?”

  James covered the phone with his hand.

  “She said she’ll come but she doesn’t know how to come.”

  Gladys snatched the phone from James.

  “TAKE THE SCOOTER!” she yelled over the phone.

  “THAT’S RIGHT, TAKE THE SCOOTER!” yelled Harrison.

  James snatched the phone back.

  “Hello Grandma? Are you there? Yeah… take the scooter… of course you know how to ride it.”

  “YOU CAN DO IT OLD GIRL!” barked Harrison.

  “YES, YOU CAN DO IT!” thundered Mrs. Lopez, frightening everybody in the hall.

  “YOU CAN DO IT!” yelled James, Richard and Maria.

  “YOU CAN DO IT!” the Gang yelled together.

  “YES! She’s on her way!” shouted James half crying, half laughing.

  “Good Lord!” said Harrison wiping his forehead with his hanky, “it’s about time.”

  “Let’s get organized,” said Mrs. Lopez, “I suggest that James and Maria run and meet Grandma. Olive, watch the main entrance; Richard, at the theatre door; Gladys, in the stalls. And I’ll go back stage just to make sure everything is all right. How about coming with me Harrison?”

  “Absolutely,” agreed Harrison.

  At that very moment Emma, a young cellist came running towards the group. She was all flushed and stressed.

  “What now?” asked Mrs. Lopez.

  “Mrs. Fleetwood sent me because the first cellist is spoiling everybody’s spirit,” explained Emma.

  “What did I just say?” snarled Mrs. Lopez, “Let’s go! Presto!”

  ***

  9 THE CONCERT

  It was almost dark and street lamps were turned on. James and Maria were running side by side and speaking.

  “I know a short cut,” said James turning in a narrow street.

  “Grandma must have covered half the way,” said Maria.

  “Yes, they can go pretty fast those scooters,” answered James.

  They stopped running at a small intersection. The area was deserted.

  “Where is she?” asked James worried.

  “I don’t like this street, it’s creepy,” whispered Maria.

  “And what are those guys doing over there?” asked James squinting at three weird looking people.

  “Dunno, can’t see from here.”

  “Oh boy! I know. They are graffiting the walls.”

  “That’s terrible!” said Maria crossly, “we should call the police and…”

  “Shhh I can hear something!” said James.

  They paused and listened.

  “It’s like a buzzing noise,” said Maria.

  “Yes! It is! It’s the scooter!” announced James.

  “LOOK!” shouted Maria pointing at the far end of the street.

  The scooter bobbed up around the corner and flew like a rocket into the street.

  “MOVE AWAY!” yelled Grandma at a pedestrian.

  She was holding the scooter with one hand thank you very much, and waving the stick with the other one.

  Grandma was driving fast and hard into the vandals.

  They saw her. They froze.

  “HOOLIGANS!!” blared out Grandma at the top of her voice.

  The three guys panicked, dropped the spray cans and ran away like rabbits.

  “Excellent!” commented Maria on the other side.

  James and Maria started running on each side of the scooter.

  “This way Grandma, we are almost there!”

  “Faster, faster,” rambled Grandma
, “timing is everything.”

  “HERE IS THE TOWN HALL!” shouted James, “I can see Olive over there, and she is waving at us.”

  They flew the last meters.

  Grandma took the ramp.

  James and Maria climbed the stairs.

  Olive flung the door open.

  They crossed the hall like jets.

  Richard saw them coming.

  He opened the theatre door in the nick of time.

  Grandma dived into the stalls at a grand speed, blowing her horn noisily.

  HONK! HONK!

  “SLOW DOWN GRANDMA!” yelled James.

  Too late!!

  Grandma arrived full blast at the bottom of the stalls crushing the scooter against the stage.

  “Perfect timing old girl!” cheered Harrison who received Grandma in his arms.

  ***

  The concert hadn’t started yet, but it was getting close. The musicians were tuning their instruments.

  “Where is Caroline?” asked Grandma. She gave the conductor-stick to Mrs. Lopez.

  “Still back stage Grandma. Don’t worry, everything is under control.”

  “Right! Right!” cackled Grandma, “you know I didn’t take time to change and…”

  “Still, you are wearing your new slippers,” noticed Olive.

  “Yes, yes, very comfy,” admitted Grandma, “and I took some jelly beans for the ride.”

  James, Richard and Maria were having a conversation with the young cellist Emma. She was one of Miss Fleetwood’s students. She was wearing a pretty hair-band with a plastic sharp glued on it.

  “What’s that thing in your hair?” asked Richard.

  “It’s a sharp of course, can’t you see? I tend to forget it sometimes,” explained Emma.

  “Sometimes!” snorted James, “you mean most of the time, and where is the first cellist anyway?”

  “Mrs. Lopez took care of her,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Mrs. Lopez gave her a lovely blue pill for her migraine and now she is sleeping in the dressing room.”

  “Who is the first cellist then?” asked Maria.

  “Me,” said Emma casually.

  James frowned, scratched his head and looked at her sideways.

  At this point Harrison burst into the group waving his long arms like a giant bat.

  “Children, take your seats quickly, it’s about to start, and keep an eye on Grandma will you, we never know with her.”

  “Hurry, hurry!” growled Mrs. Lopez clapping her hands, “Emma, do you know exactly what you have to do?”

  “Yes Mrs. Lopez.”

  “Gladys, are you ready over there?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Harrison, every thing set?”

  “Affirmative.”

  The light went down. The hubbub stopped. The orchestra rose.

  “Here she comes!” warned Mrs. Lopez.

  Mrs. Fleetwood appeared on stage. She was holding her new conductor-stick. She climbed on the podium and put the stick on her music stand. She bowed and the spectators applauded.

  “Now!” muttered Mrs. Lopez between her teeth.

  Gladys got up promptly and called Mrs. Fleetwood loudly. Mrs. Fleetwood got distracted and turned her head.

  Taking advantage of the diversion, Emma the cellist grabbed the new stick from the music stand and threw it into the stalls!

  Harrison caught it!

  Mrs. Lopez sent the Magic-Stick flying across the stage!

  Emma caught it and flung it on the music-stand!

  “Well done Emma!” whispered Mrs. Lopez.

  Gladys went quickly back to her seat, so did Harrison.

  Grandma who saw everything jumped up and down with excitement. Maria too.

  “QUIET!” barked Mrs. Lopez.

  The spectators stopped clapping. Mrs. Fleetwood turned, faced the orchestra and picked up THE STICK.

  She froze.

  The stick had a hiccup and belched a little crochet note. That was probably the side effect of the bumpy ride on the scooter. The crochet was really tiny, hardly noticeable.

  But Mrs. Fleetwood saw it, of course.

  She turned back, fuming like a dragon.

  “What is this?” she spat, showing the stick to Mrs. Lopez.

  “Nothing, Caroline,” said Mrs. Lopez reassuring, “go on, trust the stick.”

  Meanwhile Grandma who could not contain her joy started clapping again. So did all the spectators.

  Mrs. Fleetwood, frowning and grumping, turned back to the orchestra.

  She tapped the stick briskly on the edge of the music stand.

  This time the poor stick produced a dribble of semiquavers.

  Mrs. Fleetwood raised her hands and pointed at the orchestra.

  A stream of gold dust flashed from the stick and gently fell down on the musicians.

  “Ooooh!” marveled the spectators.

  “Andante,” whispered Mrs. Fleetwood looking at Emma.

  Emma started to play. The deep and beautiful sound of the cello slowly filled the room, the other celli started playing too, releasing little notes who went flying away.

  People smiled and swayed with the melody.

  The stick was still puffing gold dust.

  The sound of the timpani grew louder. A black cloud emerged from the far end of the orchestra.

  Unexpectedly the tempo changed.

  The violins started to play in a very speedy manner. The brass joined in and blared out some splendid minims and semibreves. Hundreds and hundreds of notes filled the room.

  It was like a storm. Spectators stared with eyes as round as lollypops.

  Then, the wind and notes storm calmed down.

  The flute and oboe played a lively tune. Crochets and quavers hovered towards the ceiling and fell gently on people’s head. It was a very charming melody and some spectators started to doze off in their chairs.

  Suddenly, with no warning, the stick let off a big bang and the trumpets fired the notes into the crowd like machine-guns. Some people got brutally woken up.

  The notes exploded like fire-crackers sprinkling the room with stars.

  “OOOH!” gapped the spectators.

  It was a fantastic sight, as if it was snowing in the theatre; multicolor notes, rests, sharps and flats dropping down from every corner, landing on people and on the floor. Some shiny treble clefs had somehow left their score and were drifting here and there. The crazy stick kept wafting enormous amounts of gold dust on the orchestra and on the nearest row of spectators down in the stalls. People sneezed a lot and brushed the gold dust off their shoulders. The general spirit of the crowd was so very high, that half the room was dancing in the aisles. The orchestra finished off in a majestic Tuta Forza supported by the singing crowd. And the room broke into frantic applause!

  The musicians received a standing ovation.

  Grandma was hysterical. She clapped and danced with the crowd.

  Gladys and Olive sobbed with effusion.

  All the children in the theatre stuffed their pockets with notes and anything musical they could collect.

  “BRAVO! BRAAAAAVO!” yelled Harrison.

  “BRAVO!” echoed James.

  “Glorious!” claimed Gladys blowing her nose.

  “What a marvelous night,” sighed Olive.

  The orchestra and the conductor bowed again and again.

  Meanwhile the stick was making funny noises.

  Mrs. Lopez came near the stage, “Give me that stick, Caroline, please,” she said, “I don’t like the way it wheezes.”

  Mrs. Fleetwood sent the crazy stick to her friend and left the stage. The orchestra left the stage too, apart from a few musicians who were emptying gold dust from inside their instruments. Richard’s father was one of them. He was positively glittering like a Christmas tree, with plenty of shiny notes caught in his hair and beard. He walked across the stage and jumped into the stalls where the Gang was.

  “FRIENDS!” sho
uted Harrison, “how about a celebration?”

  “Mighty good idea,” grunted Grandma, “that gold dust is making me thirsty.”

  “I swallowed so much of it, I must be four pounds heavier!” added Olive.

  “Yes, let’s have a drink,” said Gladys who was extracting paraphernalia of musical things from her hand bag.

  “Ah! There you are Caroline,” called Mrs. Lopez.

  “Absolutely fabulous my dear,” said Harrison, taking her hand and bowing in front of her.

  “Golly Caroline!” burst Grandma, pushing Harrison to the side, “you did well my girl.”

  “Thank you Mother for your little help,” laughed Mrs. Fleetwood.

  The room had started to empty slowly.

  “Harrison proposed to have a celebration drink,” said Mrs. Lopez.

  “What a good idea!” replied Mrs. Fleetwood, “are you joining us Peter?”

  “I’d love to,” answered Richard’s father, “if it’s ok with every one?”

  “Of course it is ok, let’s go then,” said Harrison leading the way and pushing the scooter.

  “Yeah, let’s go!” agreed the kids following Harrison.

  “Anything for a cool, nice drink!” said Olive following the kids.

  “Quite right!” said Mrs. Lopez following Olive.

  “Come on Grandma, we’re leaving!” called Gladys following Mrs. Lopez.

  “Don’t rush me!” yapped Grandma, “you know I have wobbly legs.”

  She was between Mrs. Fleetwood and Richard’s father, who supported her by the arms.

  The three of them followed Gladys at a slow speed.

  Before crossing the door, Mrs. Fleetwood had a last look at the huge room. It was almost deserted and the gold dust and the notes were slowly vanishing in the air. She looked at Richard’s father. He had no more notes in his beard.

  Was it real or was it a dream?

  She smiled.

  It had been a wonderful concert anyway.

  ***

  10 THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

  One week after the glorious concert night, James turned ten. Early that Saturday morning, he tidied up his bedroom and helped his mum to organize the food. Mrs. Lopez came early to give a hand.

  Mrs. Fleetwood and Mrs. Lopez had promised a Magical Surprise during the afternoon.

  At four, Maria arrived with Richard and his father. Then, the other children got dropped off at the front gate one by one. Eventually Grandma arrived in a taxi, accompanied by Gladys, Olive and Harrison.

  Mrs. Fleetwood distributed some fruit juices and James started to open his birthday presents.

  Harrison’s gift was definitively his favorite. It was a ticket for a rugby match.

  “Thanks Harrison, that’s really cool,” said James.