Ruby's Star

by Maria Farrer

  Copyright © 2018 by Maria Farrer

  Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Daniel Rieley

  Published by arrangement with Oxford University Press.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  Me and Mister P: Ruby’s Star was originally published in the United Kingdom in 2018.

  This paperback edition published by Sky Pony Press, 2018.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are from the author’s imagination, and used fictitiously.

  Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

  Sky Pony® is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

  Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Cover design by Kate Gartner

  Cover illustration by Daniel Rieley

  Print ISBN: 978-1-51073-910-9

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-51073-912-3

  Printed in the United States of America

  Chapter 1

  Sky and Stars

  Ruby slipped out of the door onto the small balcony of her flat. Sitting with her back against the wall, she stared out across the rooftops and chewed the end of her pencil.

  Dear Dad,

  I hope you are fine. Here at home things are all good. Leo is growing fast and Mom is well. It’s my birthday soon if you haven’t remembered. But I expect you have. I am going to be 11, but of course you know that too! I think this year you may be planning the biggest surprise EVER. Can’t wait to see what it is!

  Love, Ruby

  XOXO

  She searched the sky until she found her special star—the one that she and Dad used to wish on. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished that Dad really could read this letter and that she really would get a surprise. She held the letter to the sky, then folded the paper and put it in a brown envelope. She wrote “Dad” in big letters and drew a star where the stamp should go. She lifted the lid off her box and looked at the photo she’d stuck inside. It was a picture of Dad with a skateboard under his arm and a trophy in his hand. He’d always told Ruby that one day she’d become a champion skateboarder, just like him, and he’d promised, PROMISED, to give her a skateboard when she was older. She’d hoped to get one for her birthday last year, but NO. So maybe this year would be it. She certainly hoped so. She put her letter in the box with all her other letters and replaced the lid. She wasn’t exactly sure where Dad was, but he must be somewhere out there.

  CHAPTER 2

  Air and Water

  Saturday was going to be hot—

  the weather lady on the TV said. Hotter than Greece, she said, but Ruby knew nothing about Greece so that didn’t mean much. She kicked off her blanket.

  She could hear her brother grizzling in his crib beside Mom’s bed. A police car screamed past on the street way below, the sound of the sirens rolling up the gray walls of her tower block. Ruby wasn’t ready to wake up, but she forced her eyes open. She wondered if she’d ever get to sleep in again.

  Mom appeared at the door, her face pale and her eyes downcast. “Sorry Ruby,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper, “I didn’t get a wink of sleep. Could you look after Leo for a while? I just need to try and catch up.” When Mom was like this it was hard for Ruby to know what to do. It was as if all the light had gone out of Mom’s eyes and it made Ruby sad.

  Mom handed Leo to Ruby and Ruby sat him on her bed. She picked up his favorite fluffy duck and made quacking sounds as she bobbed it backwards and forwards. Mom hadn’t been great for a few weeks now and when Mom was like this it meant Ruby had to step in and take her place. She didn’t mind helping out with her little brother, but sometimes it was tough trying to look after Leo and Mom at the same time.

  “Quack,” she said, wiggling the duck in front of Leo. She’d been trying to teach Leo to say quack for days—without any success at all. “Quack, quack.”

  Leo had lost interest in the duck and wanted his breakfast. Ruby sighed, hauled herself off the bed, pulled on some shorts and a T-shirt, and took Leo through to the kitchen. She gave him some food and then carried him to the window where something caught her eye … something in the sky. They went over to the window to get a better look.

  She pointed up and laughed with excitement. “Look, Leo! Up there.” She’d never seen anything like it before—not in real life, not here in the city. Floating high above the rooftops was a

  Ruby screwed up her eyes to try to see better. She watched it drift across the cloudless blue and wondered who was in it. She imagined herself up there looking down on the world below and for a moment she felt as free as a bird. “Come on,” she said, giving Leo a squeeze, “Let’s go out. I’m sick of being caged up in here.”

  She dressed Leo, checked in on Mom, who was fast asleep, then took the lift to the ground floor and set off towards the park. The High Street was always busy at this time of day. Crowded pavements and exhaust fumes added to the heat. She crossed the road and took the path which led around the outside of the park. This meant she’d go past the new skatepark, which was her favorite place in the whole world. She kept close to the graffiti wall, with all its patterns and color, so she could blend into the background and no one would notice her. Before long she heard the rumble and clatter of wheels on concrete and out of the corner of her eye she caught flashes of color as the skateboarders hurtled backwards and forwards, jumping, sliding, whooping, and laughing.

  Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Ruby slowed her steps, but didn’t stop. She recognized one of the boys from her year at school so she quickly put her head down and hurried on. Being seen pushing your baby brother around was definitely not cool.

  She headed down the hill towards the pond. The sunshine had brought lots of families into the park and it made Ruby feel even more alone.

  As they neared the water, Leo stuck out his hand and said “ACK.” Ruby laughed and crouched down beside his pushchair.

  “You did it, Leo. You said ‘Quack.’ High five!” She lifted his little hand and bumped it against her own and he laughed. “Ack, ack, ack,” he said over and over, rocking himself backwards and forwards in his seat.

  Ruby pulled a crust of stale bread out of a bag. A raft of ducks raced towards the crumbs, stabbing the water with their beaks, and swimming to and fro as they waited for more. Then suddenly everything went still and silent. Ruby frowned. A huge shadow was creeping across the pond, turning the water dark. The ducks took off in a fearful flap of feathers, squawking as they went.

  Ruby looked up and gasped. Floating towards the pond was the hot-air balloon, but this time it wasn’t high in the sky at all, it was barely above the trees. Close-up it was massive and she could clearly see the basket. She shielded her eyes from the sun and wondered if the light was playing tricks on her. It looked as though there was something huge and white and furry in the basket.

  Leo started to cry. Ruby rubbed her eyes and looked again. She must be imagining things.

  The balloon was getting lower and lower. A loud roar came from the burner as a burst of flame shot upwards. The balloon slowed and dropped gently towards the ground. It’s going to land, thought Ruby, In
the park! Ruby crouched down, as the basket of the balloon skimmed overhead, almost knocking her head off.

  “Watch what you’re doing,” she shouted, trying to protect Leo and shaking her fist at the occupant of the balloon.

  Now everyone in the park was looking. Shouts of panic rang in Ruby’s ears as people tried to clear out of the way. With a bump and a bounce, the basket touched down on the grass and fell on its side, the giant canopy of the balloon collapsing in folds around it. Then there was SILENCE.

  Everyone stood and waited.

  There was some rustling and then a roar, this time not from the balloon.

  People gasped. What was in there?

  Something underneath the material of the balloon moved. It started as a shiver and shake, then a large lump lifted the material closest to the basket and slid slowly in Ruby’s direction. Everyone else took a step back, but Ruby stood her ground. Right in front of where she was standing, the lump stopped. Five long black claws emerged, followed by a huge white paw. Then a second paw. And then a long, furry snout and finally an entire polar bear. Ruby was too shocked to move.

  The bear retrieved a tattered brown suitcase from under the material, then stood up on its hind legs and sniffed the air. Kids and grown-ups stumbled and ran and screamed. Ruby looked up at the animal and put her hands on her hips. She knew it couldn’t be a real polar bear because:

  (a) polar bears don’t live in these parts

  (b) polar bears do not fly around in hot-air balloons

  (c) polar bears do not carry suitcases

  Ruby decided this must be some stupid joke and she wasn’t falling for it. She glanced at the suitcase and noticed the label.

  it said in frosty blue writing. She looked at the bear again. “Are you Mister P?” she asked.

  The bear took a step forwards and, before she’d had a chance to move, it had pushed its wet, black nose right into her face.

  CHAPTER 3

  Backwards and Forwards

  Ruby arched her back, pulling her own nose as far away as possible from the bear’s. She had to admit, joke or no joke, the breath coming out of that mouth was pretty fishy.

  Leo squealed and pointed at the bear. “Ack, ack,” he repeated over and over.

  “Shut up, Leo,” said Ruby, not taking her eyes off the bear for a single moment. In truth, Ruby wasn’t feeling quite as confident as she looked and there was something rather unsettling about the way the bear was staring at her. She tipped Leo’s pushchair onto its back wheels and spun it around. “Come on, Leo, time for us to get out of here.”

  Ruby was certain this must be some kind of set-up. There was probably a hidden TV camera filming it all and she didn’t want to be the one looking stupid. She reached the edge of the park and glanced back over her shoulder to check what was happening. To her surprise, the animal wasn’t far behind her and seemed to be following in her direction. It really did look very real. She hurried on, walking quite a bit faster, heading straight for the main road. Luckily the traffic lights turned red just as she reached the crossing and the traffic came to a stop. Ruby jogged quickly across the four lanes of cars and stepped onto the pavement on the far side. This time when she looked back, the bear had just arrived at the same crossing point, but the lights were turning from red to green and the traffic was beginning to move. Ruby smiled. Now she’d get rid of him.

  Horns blared, brakes screeched, and there was a metallic THUNK as one car ran into the back of another. Ruby clapped her hand over her mouth and watched in horror. What was the crazy animal doing? Didn’t he realize you couldn’t just wander across a busy main road? As she continued to stare, the bear leaped and jumped around, trying to dodge oncoming cars. Finally, as a double-decker bus thundered towards him, the bear lay down flat on its stomach with the suitcase covering his head. Ruby hid Leo’s eyes with her hand as the bus skidded to a stop, JUST in time. The bear stayed absolutely still.

  Ruby cupped her hands and shouted at the bear, “Get back off the road. You have to wait for the lights! Go on! Get BACK!” But the bear seemed too shocked to move.

  Finally, the lights went red again and Ruby watched as a very confused bear staggered across the road, dragging his suitcase with him. She couldn’t help thinking that the bear looked a bit like she felt—totally stunned!

  She set off again, pushing Leo as quickly as she could. As she marched along the street, everyone stood aside to let her through. This was weird! And she didn’t much like the way they were looking at her either. Then a strange, tingling feeling started in her neck. Was it her they were looking at or something CLOSE BEHIND her …

  She stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around. The bear jumped back and widened its black eyes. It must have been RIGHT on her heels. Up close for the second time, she had to admit that it really was very large and very scary. She frowned and wondered why nobody was bothering to stop and help her—they just walked in a wide arc around Ruby as if they couldn’t see the bear at all. There was only one thing for it … she’d have to deal with him by herself.

  “Look, I don’t know what you want,” she said in her sternest voice, “but I have to tell you, you are beginning to freak me out. Now stop following me and go back to where you belong.” She pointed roughly in the direction of where she thought the Arctic might be.

  The bear shook himself, but didn’t move.

  “Or, if it’s the zoo you’re after, you’d better go and ask Mr. Jay in the corner shop for directions. He knows all about that kind of thing. You’ll find him very helpful. Go on, off you go. SHOVE OFF!”

  The bear wrinkled his nose, but showed no sign of shoving off.

  Ruby shrugged. “Look, I’m sorry, but whatever it is you’re here for, I can’t help you. It’s been interesting meeting you, but I need to get home.”

  This time Ruby walked her very fastest. The sound of polar bear paws

  on the pavement behind her was unmistakable. If this really was a joke, it wasn’t funny anymore. The closer she got to home, the more uneasy Ruby became. She made the final turn into the Hazeldown Farm Estate and broke into a run, racing towards her block of apartments as fast as she could. She got through the main door and pressed the button for the elevator over and over. “Come on, come on!” she shouted at the metal doors. She wondered about using the stairs, but there was no way she could carry Leo and the stroller up 22 flights.

  Finally the ground floor light lit up and the lift door whooshed open, just as Ruby saw the bear pushing his way in through the main entrance. She dragged the stroller into the elevator and pressed the button for Floor 22. With a split second to spare, the door slid closed, putting a strong metal barrier between herself and the animal.

  Ruby leaned against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. The elevator cranked into action and clunked its way up 22 floors where it ground to a stop. Ruby hoped Mom would be feeling better after her sleep. She wasn’t sure whether or not to tell her anything about the bear. Perhaps it was better to keep it to herself. She didn’t want to worry Mom unnecessarily.

  The lift doors slid open. Ruby got her key ready, looked towards her door, and FROZE.

  CHAPTER 4

  In and Out

  The bear was right outside her apartment, collapsed against her door, puffing and panting! He must have run up the stairs very quickly. Ruby wasn’t sure what to do. In her opinion this was now turning into a major situation. When a polar bear is blocking the door to your home, you can’t ignore it.

  “Listen to me,” she said pointing her finger at the end of the bear’s nose. “Bears are not allowed in here. You are trespassing on private property. If anyone finds out you will be in BIG trouble.”

  Mister P stared at the label on his suitcase.

  “It doesn’t matter who you are, Mister P. No bears. None at all. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I need to get in.” Ruby tried to barge past the bear, kicking his suitcase out of the way. As the case fell on its side, the label flipped over.

  Ruby’s mouth
went dry as she took hold of the label and read it.

  The writing was as clear as day. Now Ruby realized why the bear was here. He must have got confused with her address. She crouched down and pointed at the writing on the label.

  “You’ve come to the wrong place, mister. This is the Hazeldown Farm Estate. You’re looking for a farm farm. You know, with fields and cows and sheep and stuff.”

  The bear looked all around him and stood his suitcase back up, but he still didn’t budge.

  “OK, suit yourself. Sit here if you want, but someone will soon have you taken away. To be honest, I’d leave now, if I were you, before you’re caught. You never know what they might do with you then.”

  Ruby gave Mister P a hard shove and he shuffled along just enough to let her get to the door. She wasted no time in getting the key in the lock and pulling Leo into the safety of the apartment. She kicked the door closed behind her, but instead of the loud slam she was expecting, the door made a soft thud and bounced back open. Wedged in the gap was one enormous hairy paw.

  Now Ruby had a fight on her hands. She pushed the paw as hard as she could, trying to move it out of the way, but the bear pushed back. Ruby was nowhere near strong enough and her feet started to slide slowly across the slippery floor as the bear applied more pressure. There was nothing she could do. Before long, the bear had managed to get his huge head into her apartment and after that it wasn’t long before the rest of him arrived too.

  Crikey! Ruby pushed her fists against her cheeks and tried not to panic. Mom hated anyone coming to visit and Ruby had no idea how she’d explain the arrival of a polar bear. As far as she could see, there was no way of removing him, or even hiding him. The apartment was tiny—with barely enough room for the three humans, let alone a bear.