“And the Head of Rotwood!”
“Have a seat,” said her great-aunt. “I’ll explain.”
Maud sat down on an antique wooden chair that was covered in claw marks.
“You know, Maud, I’ve been watching you this week, and I’ve been very impressed.”
Maud beamed with pride. A black cat brushed against her leg, and she stroked its back.
“The way that you scared Mr Von Bat this morning was very clever indeed.”
“You saw that?”
The Head grinned. “Didn’t the others tell you? I see most things.”
“It was nothing, really.”
“Every fright counts, that’s what we say here,” said the Head. “That’s the reason I founded this school, you know. To give young monsters a place where they could learn to scare before they go out into the world.”
Maud felt very proud to be related to the founder of Rotwood. No wonder she loved it here! And now she knew why she’d never fitted in at Primrose Towers.
“So I must have some monster blood!” she said.
Her great-aunt grinned. “We’ve all got a few drops of monster in us,” she said. “Some just choose to ignore it. I never liked school much when I was a girl. It all seemed so serious and stuffy. I wanted to create the kind of school I’d like to have gone to.”
“And you’ve done a brilliant job,” said Maud. “This is the best school I’ve ever seen.”
“Well, thank you for saying so. And let me just say how delighted I am to have my great-niece here at Rotwood. I think you’ll fit in very well. You, Maud Montague, are going to be a truly monstrous monster.”
Maud was so happy about being allowed to stay that she wanted to jump up and hug Great-aunt Ethel. But then she remembered that her arms would pass right through her, so she just thanked her great-aunt and left the room.
That evening Maud went to Primrose Towers with her parents to watch Milly’s dance class perform their ballet recital in the school hall. The show was every bit as dull as Maud had imagined. Just lots of girls prancing around, looking very serious, in front of a painting of a lake. But Maud was so pleased about being allowed to stay at Rotwood that she didn’t mind.
Even when her sister took centre stage to perform the pirouette she’d been practising all week, and then frowned at the audience until they applauded, Maud didn’t get annoyed. She just thought about how she’d be seeing her friends Wilf and Paprika again on Monday.
Milly had protested for ages about Maud coming along, of course. She’d said that Maud would find some way to wreck it as usual. But she was wrong. Maud managed to sit peacefully and quietly through the whole thing, and even forced herself to clap at the right moments.
Mrs Montague leaned over to Maud and gave her a tight hug. “I bet you’re glad you’re not still at Primrose Towers, cupcake,” she said. “Tutus aren’t really your thing, are they?”
“Oh, they’re not that bad,” said Maud.
On stage, the dancing seemed to have taken an unexpected turn. One of the girls was pointing at the floor and screaming, while the others clustered at the back of the stage, peering nervously around their feet.
Maud checked her blazer pocket. Quentin had escaped again – probably because all the camera flashes had startled him. Suzie Singh’s dancing had become frantic as she hopped across the stage as if it were red hot. With a squeal, she jumped into the arms of her mum, who was sitting in the front row. The rest of the girls were trying to run off the side of the stage, while Miss Bloom was attempting desperately to push them back on. There was no sign of Quentin.
Only Milly was making an effort to go on with the show, performing her pirouette over and over again as the others panicked all around her. In the middle of one of her spins, she knocked into Poppy Simpkins and sent her crashing through the lake backdrop, ripping it in half.
Maud looked down the aisle and was relieved to see Quentin scuttling back towards her. She scooped him back into her pocket, glad that he was safe.
“I thought I told you not to run away like that,” she said, stroking his nose.
Quentin gave a toothy grin and nuzzled her finger.
As Maud settled back to watch the chaos, she thought of her first week at Rotwood. She’d met some nice people and some who were not so nice, but they were all more interesting than the Primrose Towers girls.
Great-aunt Ethel was right, she thought. I’m going to be a truly monstrous monster.
Other titles by A. B. Saddlewick:
ISBN: 978-1-78055-073-2
Available in August 2012:
Freaky Sleepover
ISBN: 978-1-78055-074-9
School Scare
ISBN: 978-1-78055-075-6
Monstrous Maud: Big Fright Page 6
