Feline Charm

by Kitty Wells

  He leaped onto her hand with a flourish of his tail. “Did you see how quickly I changed back to ceramic?” he bragged, rubbing against her thumb. “Lightning reflexes! I’ve never been caught yet.”

  Maddy didn’t think the other two cats had ever been caught either, but she didn’t point this out. “Where would you like to sleep?” she asked. “Greykin slept in my jewellery box, and Nibs—”

  Ollie stopped rubbing and looked surprised. “Why, with you, of course.”

  “Me?” echoed Maddy. “But—”

  Ollie’s voice was firm. “Yes – where else? I only sleep on pillows; anything else musses up my fur. Besides, I want to be close to you.”

  A delicious warmth spread through Maddy at the thought of the tiny cat curling up next to her – but then she realized there was a problem. “But, Ollie, what if I roll over onto you during the night?” she whispered. “I’d squash you flat!”

  “You won’t,” Ollie assured her. “My magic comes in very helpful at times like these.”

  “What is your magic?” whispered Maddy eagerly as she carried Ollie over to the bed. Each of the cats had a different magical power, which they could also give to her. So far, Maddy had enjoyed a cat’s physical prowess and the ability to become almost invisible – she couldn’t imagine what Ollie’s power might be!

  But Ollie shook his striped head. “I couldn’t possibly tell you yet. Haven’t you ever heard of dramatic exposition? One must always hold back until the perfect moment.”

  Though Maddy wasn’t sure what “dramatic exposition” was, Ollie’s meaning was clear enough: he wasn’t going to tell her until he was good and ready. “Just a hint?” she suggested as she slipped back under the covers.

  The tiny tabby leaped onto the pillow beside her head. “A hint …” he purred thoughtfully. “Yes, that could even add to the drama, couldn’t it? All right, then – it’s not what people think it is!”

  “But that could mean anything at all,” protested Maddy.

  Ollie didn’t answer. Settling down beside Maddy’s ear, he carefully arranged himself into a perfect fluffy circle. “This is a lovely pillow,” he murmured.

  “It shows off my markings beautifully.”

  “Well, at least tell me more about the Aladdin Theatre,” whispered Maddy. “Was it in London? What were you and the other cats doing there?”

  The only answer was a faint feline snore in her ear. Maddy sighed, though she wasn’t really surprised. She knew from experience that the cats never told her anything unless they felt like it!

  Stroking Ollie’s silky back with one finger, Maddy closed her eyes and drifted into a lovely daydream. She was on stage at the Civic Auditorium with Snow Bradley, and the audience was cheering them wildly, stamping and shouting, “Encore! Encore!”

  Then the famous ballerina held up her hands for silence. “Please, everyone, I must say thank you to Maddy Lloyd … without her help, I could not have danced the Sugarplum Fairy the way this part truly deserves … ”

  Maddy smiled as she floated off to sleep, one finger still on Ollie’s softly rising sides. She could hardly wait for the auditions tomorrow. She just knew she was going to dance better than she’d ever danced before!

  Chapter Three

  The next afternoon Maddy’s mum dropped her off in front of the Dumont Ballet Studio. “Break a leg, sweetie,” she said as Maddy got out of the car.

  “Break a leg?” hooted Jack from the back seat. “Then she’d be on crutches and couldn’t dance!”

  Mum laughed. “It’s just theatre people’s way of saying ‘good luck’,” she explained. “Bye, Maddy – we’re going to the library, and then I’ll be back for you around four o’clock.”

  Maddy waved as her mother drove away, with Jack pulling faces at her from the back window. She didn’t make a face back. Girls who hoped to dance in The Nutcracker with Snow Bradley were far too grown up to do such a thing!

  Most of the other girls were already in the changing room, putting on their ballet slippers or adjusting their leotards.

  “Oh, Maddy, I’m so glad you’re here,” moaned Rachel. She was sitting on the bench, looking pale. “I’m so nervous – I just know I’m going to be terrible.”

  “You won’t be,” Maddy assured her. She carefully put down her bag. Ollie was snuggled into one of its side pockets, on a pillow she’d made for him out of a silk handkerchief, and she was dying to tell Rachel about him.

  “Oh yes I will,” said Rachel gloomily. She slumped, with her chin in her hands. “I’m fine on my own, but whenever I try to dance in front of someone else I go all stiff and clumsy. It’s awful. I don’t even know why I bothered coming.”

  Quickly pulling on her ballet things, Maddy drew her friend to one side. “Rachel, listen,” she whispered. “It’s happened again!”

  Rachel’s eyes widened. “The tabby!” she cried. “Oh, brilliant! What’s he called?”

  But before Maddy could answer, Madame Dumont appeared at the door. “Time to get started, girls.”

  Suddenly Maddy remembered that Ollie had asked to be near the auditions, in case the problem had something to do with them. But they weren’t supposed to take their bags into the studio – and her ballet outfit was tights and a leotard, with no pockets in sight.

  The other girls were already filing out. “Madame, may I bring my cat figurine along, for luck?” blurted Maddy.

  She took the ceramic Ollie out of her bag, and then bit back a smile. The little cat had frozen in a dance pose, up on his hind legs with his nose in the air!

  Madame Dumont chuckled. “A ballet cat! Yes, I suppose so. He can sit on the piano – perhaps he will bring good luck to the other girls too.”

  Following Madame into the studio, Maddy carefully placed Ollie on the gleaming black surface of the grand piano. It was so shiny that she could see a second Ollie reflected at his feet. She hurried to join the other girls at the barre.

  “You brought the cat!” whispered Rachel.

  Before Maddy could respond, Madame clapped her hands for attention. “We shall begin with some warm-up exercises,” she told them.

  Once they’d done the warm-ups, their teacher divided them into smaller groups. “Now, I shall just teach you the first part of Clara’s dance. Arms out like this …”

  Miss Henry began to play the piano, and Maddy almost forgot that she was in the old familiar studio surrounded by other girls in leotards. Just like before in her bedroom, she was Clara again, dancing at an exciting Christmas party.

  Thump! The noise echoed around the studio as Rachel tripped over her own feet. Everyone turned to stare at her. “Sorry,” she muttered, red-faced.

  “All right, let me see each of you on your own,” said Madame Dumont after a while. “Rachel, would you go first, please?”

  Slowly Rachel walked to the front of the studio and took up the position. Her mouth was tight, as if she were concentrating hard. Maddy watched anxiously, willing her friend to do well.

  The music began and Rachel started to dance, moving jerkily. Though she knew all the steps, she was so rigid she looked like a robot. The class held back giggles as Rachel’s arms flapped instead of fluttered, and Maddy bit her lip. Oh, poor Rachel!

  Madame Dumont motioned for Miss Henry to stop. Putting a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, she said, “Relax, ma petite! It’s not a maths problem – you need to let go and feel.”

  Rachel scowled so ferociously that Maddy knew she was struggling against tears. “Yes, Madame,” she mumbled.

  But her dancing was no better when she started again. In fact, Maddy thought, it was even worse! Rachel knew it too. Her face was bright red as she moved stiffly through the steps.

  “All right, thank you, Rachel,” said Madame gently. “Let me see someone else now. Sue, would you do the dance for us?”

  Rachel slunk back to the other girls as Sue went to the front. “I wish I’d never come,” she whispered in Maddy’s ear. “I must have looked like an idiot!”

 
Maddy didn’t know what to say. “You weren’t all that bad,” she murmured back weakly as the music began. Rachel made a face and didn’t answer.

  Finally it was Maddy’s turn. Though she was worried about Rachel, her heartbeat quickened as she went to the front of the studio. Sliding her feet into fifth position, she stood up straight, with one arm curved in front of her and the other arching above her head.

  The music began, and Maddy plunged into the Christmas dance, skipping lightly about the room. Distantly she was aware of the other girls, and of Ollie still sitting on top of the piano – but mostly she was just Clara, dancing at her parents’ party.

  “Very good, Maddy. With a bit of work, that would be excellent,” said Madame when the music ended. “Poppy, would you go now?”

  Still tingling with excitement, Maddy joined the other girls.

  “You looked wonderful, Maddy,” whispered Rachel, trying to smile. “I just know you’re going to be Clara.”

  When the auditions were over, it was almost four o’clock. As the other girls headed for the changing room, Maddy went to the piano to collect Ollie – and stopped short with a gasp. The little cat had come to life again, and was sitting up on the piano, waving his tail to catch her attention!

  Miss Henry was busy putting away her sheet music and hadn’t seen him. Maddy quickly scooped Ollie up, and then bit back a startled squawk as he leaped onto her shoulder in a white and brown blur, clinging to her leotard with his claws.

  “I know what the problem is!” he hissed in her ear. “It’s that friend of yours, the tall blonde girl – we have to—”

  “Maddy? What are you doing?” asked Miss Henry, looking up.

  “Er – nothing,” stammered Maddy. Ollie had turned into a ceramic cat again, and she only just managed to grab him before he tumbled off her shoulder onto the polished wooden floor.

  Her pulse pounded as she hurried into the changing room with Ollie cupped safely in her hands. The problem was Rachel? But what on earth was wrong?

  Rachel had already changed into her jeans, and was sitting on the bench tying her trainers. To Maddy’s relief, she didn’t ask about Ollie again. In fact, she still looked rather glum.

  “I’ve got to go,” she said, picking up her bag. “Mum said she’d be here at four o’clock on the dot.”

  “Oh,” said Maddy in surprise. “Well, if you just wait a second, I’ll be ready too—”

  Rachel took a step back. “No, I’d better hurry. See you at school, Maddy. And – and you did really well, you know!” Ducking her head down, she rushed out of the room.

  Poppy raised her eyebrows knowingly. “She’s in a strop because she did so badly.”

  “Rachel doesn’t get into strops,” protested Maddy. “She’s just upset, that’s all.”

  “I’d be upset too,” put in a girl called Freya. “She was really awful, wasn’t she? It’s weird that she’s so bad when she practises so much.”

  Maddy wanted to say something sharp, but Freya wasn’t being nasty – in fact, she looked as if she felt sorry for Rachel.

  “Anyway, you were great, Maddy,” said Poppy. “You’re going to be Clara for sure, I just know it!”

  “Thanks,” she muttered. For some reason, this didn’t make her feel very good. Tucking Ollie back into her bag, Maddy quickly got changed and rushed outside, hoping to catch her friend – but Rachel’s mum’s car was just driving away.

  As Maddy stood staring after it, her own mother pulled up. “How did you do?” she asked cheerfully as Maddy got in.

  “Oh – OK, I think,” said Maddy.

  In the back seat, Jack was wearing a mask made of bright green paper. “There was a spaceship day at the library!” he cried. “Look, Maddy, we all made alien masks.”

  “Great,” said Maddy. Her bag sat nestled against her feet. She felt cold as she gazed down at it. She couldn’t imagine what the problem with Rachel might be.

  What was Ollie going to tell her when she managed to get him alone?

  Chapter Four

  The moment Maddy got home, she rushed up to her room and took Ollie out of her bag. He came to life immediately, sitting on her palm and swishing his long bushy tail back and forth.

  “Ollie, what’s wrong with Rachel?” whispered Maddy. “I thought you said the problem was to do with Snow Bradley!”

  He shook his head. “Not directly – though Snow Bradley is somehow involved. No, the problem is that your friend’s about to give up ballet.”

  “Oh, no!” cried Maddy. She sat down on her bed with a thump. “But Rachel loves ballet! She mustn’t stop, she really mustn’t.”

  “Yes, it would be a terrible mistake,” said the little cat. “Fortunately there is a solution!” He drew himself up proudly. “Rachel needs to perform in The Nutcracker so that she realizes how good she can be.”

  “Rachel?” repeated Maddy dumbly. “But – we’ve already had the auditions! And besides, Ollie, you saw her. She was really, really bad.”

  “She was nervous,” corrected Ollie, leaping across to her bedside table. He perched on top of her clock and twitched his whiskers knowingly. “Stage fright; I’ve seen it a hundred times. But your power should do the trick – and I’m sure it can arrange another audition for her, as well.”

  “What is my power?” asked Maddy, leaning forward.

  Ollie didn’t answer. He sat up straight, his amber eyes fixed upon her. They seemed to grow larger and larger, and all at once a thought popped into her head – Ollie’s brush! He had asked her to get him one, and she still hadn’t done it.

  Suddenly it seemed very urgent. Maddy jumped to her feet. “I’ll be right back,” she said in a rush. “I’ve got to go and find—”

  “Sit down,” Ollie laughed. “I was merely giving you a demonstration. That is your power – a bit of feline persuasion! Haven’t you ever wondered why humans are always opening doors for us cats, or letting us sleep on the best part of the bed?”

  Maddy’s jaw dropped open. “You mean – cats have mind control?”

  “More like mind suggestion,” said Ollie smugly. “We can’t get someone to do something against their will, or something that they believe is wrong. But we can put an idea in someone’s head that they’ll assume is their own – and more often than not, they’ll act on it!”

  “Wow,” whispered Maddy. And now this was her power too. The thought of being able to plant ideas in people’s heads was quite dizzying. Imagine what she could do with such a power at school!

  “That’s what my hint meant, you see,” explained Ollie. “It’s not what people think it is – they might think they’re having their own thoughts, but they’re not! Wasn’t that clever of me?”

  Privately Maddy didn’t think it had been a very good clue at all, but she didn’t say so. “So I can make Rachel feel more confident, and then she’ll dance better?” she asked eagerly.

  “Well, that’s the plan.” Ollie began washing his tail, attacking it with long strokes of his tongue. “But it’s not an exact science, I’m afraid – you humans aren’t always very predictable.”

  “Oh,” said Maddy. She bit her thumb. “How can we be sure it’s going to work, then?”

  Ollie looked up and smiled. “Simple,” he purred. “Practise!”

  “Pow!” cried Jack, leaping off the sofa. “I’m an alien from planet Murgatroyd!” His paper mask had tentacles drawn on it, and fangs hanging from its mouth.

  Maddy sat curled up on an armchair in the lounge, pretending to read a book as she watched her little brother charge about the room, waving his plastic light sabre. He had brought all his space toys down from his bedroom, and the lounge was littered with them.

  “Calm down, Jack!” called Mum from the kitchen. “It’s almost time for dinner.”

  Dad appeared in his study doorway. “Yes, let’s pick up some of this mess now, Jack.”

  “I’m not Jack!” he bellowed, leaping onto the sofa again. “I’m an alien!”

  Maddy grinned to herself
. Her little brother got into these wild moods sometimes, and talking reasonably to him never helped – though her parents never gave up!

  Reaching into her pocket, Maddy felt Ollie’s ceramic coolness and remembered what he had told her.

  First, feel the cat magic flowing through you. Then look at the person you’re giving the suggestion to and think it loudly at them, like shouting in your head!

  “That’s enough, Jack,” snapped Dad, snatching him off the sofa. “Come on, let’s tidy this mess.”

  “No!” Jack wriggled like a fish, kicking his legs.

  “Jack …” said Dad warningly.

  “I’m an alien! I’ll zap you!”

  With a shiver, Ollie came to life in Maddy’s pocket and nudged her finger. Shutting her eyes briefly, she felt the feline magic sweep through her, like electricity tickling every pore. Then she opened her eyes and looked right at Jack, still squirming in Dad’s grasp.

  DO WHAT MUM AND DAD TELL YOU! she shouted in her mind. BE REALLY, REALLY GOOD! THAT’S AN ORDER!

  Abruptly Jack went limp, his eyes wide.

  “Jack?” Dad put him on the ground again.

  Jack stood with his mouth hanging open. Maddy watched him nervously. Had she overdone it?

  Then, all at once, Jack shook his head and came to life. “Come on, Dad, it’s time to tidy up now,” he said, pulling off his alien mask. “Would you put this somewhere safe for me, please? I wouldn’t want to mess it up.”

  “Er … all right,” said Dad, accepting the mask. “Are you feeling OK, Jack? You didn’t hit your head on anything when you were jumping about, did you?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Jack marched about the room, picking up his toys. “Do you think I have time to get the hoover out before dinner? I wouldn’t want Mum to have to do it later.”

  Wiping her hands on a tea towel, Mum came into the lounge and stared at her son as he passed by, carrying his toys. “Why, Jack, thank you,” she said in surprise.