Drama at Mouseford (Thea Stilton Mouseford Academy #1) Read online

  time while we’re

  waiting

  for them to

  arrive,” Nicky

  said with a sigh.

  24

  The Thea Sisters sadly went back to

  Nicky and Paulina’s room to figure some- thing out.

  “There’s got to be a solution,” Colette said.

  “I’m sure we could find someone to share their copy with us.”

  “That’s just the thing,” Nicky said. “I’ve

  texted everybody we know, and nobody

  has a copy.”

  Violet frowned. “That’s

  strange.

  Then who took

  out all those books?”

  Suddenly, the friends heard

  voices in the hall.

  “That

  sounds like

  Ruby!” Pam exclaimed.

  “I think we should see what

  she’s up to,” Paulina said. “I

  have a feeling it’s nothing good.”

  Oh, Mouseo!

  25

  The Thea Sisters went into the hallway and

  found Ruby and her friends — the Ruby

  Crew — there. Each one of them held a

  copy of Mouseo and Juliet.

  “Really, Ruby?” Nicky asked, folding her

  arms. “We should have known.”

  Ruby’s eyes widened innocently. “What

  do you mean?”

  Pam nodded toward the book in her paws.

  “How did you all get a copy of the play?

  The library has been out of books for two

  days — since before the play was even announced.”

  Ruby sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re

  talking about.”

  “I think you must have found out about

  the play early somehow,” Paulina said

  quietly. “That’s why yesterday you said you were ‘inthe know.’”

  26

  Ruby shrugged. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted.

  “That’s not fair,” Nicky said. “We should —”

  Violet put a paw on her shoulder. “Don’t

  WORRY about it. I think I have an idea.”

  They all went outside. Pam shook her head.

  “That Ruby!”

  “Forget her,” Violet said. “I was thinking—

  Headmaster de Mousus said the auditions

  were open to everyone. So I’m sure Professor

  Rattcliff has more books somewhere.”

  “Great idea!” Pam agreed.

  They went right to the professor’s office,

  and Violet explained that the library was out

  of books. (She left out their suspicions about

  Ruby. Focusing on the auditions was much more important.)

  As she predicted, Professor Rattcliff was

  very helpful.

  27

  “DON’T WORRY,” she assured them.

  “I had a feeling that Headmaster de Mousus would love the idea of doing the play, so I ordered enough copies for everyone last week. They should be here tomorrow.”

  “AWESOME!” said Nicky.

  Then Professor Rattcliff opened a drawer

  in her desk. “Since I can see you are

  especially eager to practice, you

  may borrow my personal copy,”

  she said, handing a book

  to Paulina.

  “Thank you so much!” Violet exclaimed.

  “We’ll take good care of it.”

  “Prepare yourselves well,” the professor

  said. “A combination of DEDICATION and talent will get you far.”

  The friends thanked her and left her office.

  “Can you believe that?” Pam asked. “I

  always thought she was the strictest

  professor. But she’s being super-nice.”

  “I’ve always liked her,” Paulina remarked.

  “She loves books as much as I do.”

  Nicky broke into a run. “Come on!” she

  yelled. “We need to tell everybody the good

  news!”

  29

  the geckos

  The Thea Sisters and the Ruby Crew weren’t the only ones excited about trying out for the play. So were the members of

  the Geckos, the school’s club for boy

  mice. They gathered in their meeting

  room

  on the second floor of the

  academy to practice.

  Most students thought that

  CRAIG would get the part of

  Mouseo. He was handsome and

  charming, and he loved being the

  center of attention.

  “That Romeo was a real tough guy,

  Craig

  like me,” Craig said, puffing

  out his chest. “I would be

  perfect for the part.”

  30

  But Shen, the shyest rodent

  in the club, didn’t agree. He

  knew the play well and thought

  that Mouseo was sweet and

  sensitive — a dreamer, just

  like him.

  Shen thought he was perfect for

  the part. And he knew who would

  be his perfect Juliet —

  Pamela!

  if he and pamela got the lead

  roles, he would finally have

  a chance to talk to her. . . .

  “Shen? Wake up Shen!”

  Shen awoke from his

  daydream

  to find

  Craig shaking his arm.

  “Sorry, what?”

  asked, almost

  31

  dropping the books he was carrying.

  “I was just saying that I should be the

  OFFICIAL member of the Geckos who

  tries out for Mouseo,” Craig said. “Don’t you

  agree, sleepyhead?”

  Shen saw his dreams dissolve in front of

  What do you think?

  32

  him. He wouldn’t even get a chance to try out!

  Then a rodent in the back of the room

  spoke up.

  “You’re not the only one with a chance,

  Craig,” said Ryder Flashyfur.

  All of the club members turned to look at

  him. Ryder, Ruby’s brother, had the same red

  hair as his sister, but that’s about as much as

  they had in common.

  MYSTERIOUS

  and quiet, Ryder mostly kept to himself. But

  whenever he spoke up, his magnetic

  personality got a lot of attention.

  “Who else could play Mouseo?” Craig

  asked. “Not Shen, that’s for sure.”

  Shen looked down at his feet.

  “Well, you never know,” Ryder said

  smoothly. “And I know

  I’ll be trying out.”

  “You?” Craig asked with a snicker. “Up

  33

  on a stage? I thought you preferred hanging

  out in dark corners.”

  Ryder ignored him. “It’s a really good play,”

  he said with a shrug. “And that Mouseo is

  pretty cool.”

  “Ha! I don’t believe you’ve even read the

  play,” Craig said.

  Ryder strode into the center of the room

  and began to recite lines from the play.

  Shen recognized them. They were from the

  famous balcony scene. In it, Mouseo tries to

  get Juliet to run away with him so they can

  start their own CHEESE SHOP.

  The rodents in the room were quiet as

  Ryder said the lines. He was perfect!

  When he finished, Ryder left the room

  without a word.

  “Wow,” one of the club members said. “He

 
was GREAT, wasn’t he?”

  34

  the Geckos

  Craig shrugged. “He was all right, I guess,”

  he said. But to himself, he thought, I hope he

  doesn’t get the part. I want to play Mouseo,

  and I want Ruby to be my Juliet!

  Shen, on the other hand, couldn’t help

  ADMIRING Ryder.

  Now, that is the perfect Mouseo! Shen thought.

  What’s in a name?

  That which we call cheddar

  by any other name

  would taste as yummy!

  THE BIG DAY!

  On the day of the auditions, the sun looked

  like a big wheel of cheddar in the sky.

  Almost every student in the academy was in

  the hallway outside the auditorium, waiting

  to try out. Some were ANXIOUSLY pacing

  back and forth, and others were reciting lines

  out loud.

  Paulina looked around. “There are quite a

  few roles in the play. A lot of students will get parts.”

  “But everyone wants to be either Mouseo

  or Juliet,” Nicky pointed out.

  Pamela grinned.

  “You can say that again!

  They’ve all got the theater bug!”

  36

  “I am so NERVOUS,” Colette said as she tapped her paw impatiently. “Waiting is the worst!”

  Pamela, Paulina, and Violet were quietly

  reciting Juliet’s lines. Ruby walked past them with her snout in the air, as always.

  “I bet she’s surprised to see that

  everybody has a copy of the play,” Nicky whispered to Colette.

  At that moment, the big clock in the hallway

  chimed three times.

  BONG!

  BONG!

  “The auditions are starting!” someone

  shouted, and everyone RUSHED into the auditorium.

  Inside, the CELEBRATION committee

  sat behind a large table, ready to hear

  38

  BONG!

  the auditions. Professor Rattcliff, Professor Marblemouse, and Professor Sparkle would make the decisions, led by Headmaster de Mousus.

  The students crowded into the auditorium,

  and a nervous SILENCE filled the room. The headmaster stood up.

  “Dearest students of Mouseford Academy,

  I now declare the

  auditions

  for the

  performance of Mouseo and Juliet officially open!” he announced, and the students broke into applause.

  He pointed to a large vase on the table. “If

  you wish to audition, write your name on a piece of paper and place it in here,” he instructed.

  As the students began to scribble, he

  continued. “We will pull out the names from the vase one at a time,” he explained. “That will determine the order of auditions and who goes FIRST.”

  “This seems more like a lottery than an

  audition,” Pam whispered, and her friends all giggled.

  “But it is a very honest method,” Violet

  pointed out. “After all, whoever goes first will have an advantage. After hearing the same lines recited again and again, the judges will get tired by the end.”

  Colette gasped. “Oh no! What if I’m

  last? That would be terrible.”

  40

  “Don’t worry,” Paulina soothed her. “After all, if you’re the BEST, the judges will notice — even if you do go last.”

  Colette sighed. “Right! I just need a little

  CONFIDENCE, that’s all.” She scribbled her

  name on a piece of paper with her pink pen.

  When they finished, the Thea Sisters walked up to the vase and dropped their

  names inside. Each one was thinking the same thing. I hope I get the part of Juliet!

  But if I don’t, I hope one of my friends gets it!

  it smells like

  sabotage!

  “One piece of paper per candidate,”

  Headmaster de Mousus said loudly, as the

  students came up to drop their names

  in the vase. “Anyone discovered putting their name in more than once will be

  disqualified.”

  Ruby’s ears perked up

  when she heard this.

  A few minutes later,

  Alicia, a member of the

  Ruby Crew, spotted Ruby

  filling out several pieces

  of paper.

  “What are you doing?”

  she asked loudly.

  42

  “

  Sssh!

  ”

  Ruby warned. “Do you want

  them to find out?”

  “But the headmaster said you can’t put in

  your name more than once,” Alicia said.

  The rest of the Ruby Crew, Zoe and

  Connie, approached them.

  “What’s going on?” they asked.

  “Don’t you get it?” Ruby said.

  “We can use this to our

  advantage.”

  “No, I don’t get it,” Alicia

  said, shaking her head.

  “I’m not writing our names

  on the paper,” Ruby explained impatiently.

  “I’m writing down the names of the Thea

  Sisters! So they’ll be

  disqualified!”

  Alicia’s eyes lit up. “Genius!”

  Connie grinned. “That is some impressive

  SABOTAGE.”

  43

  The Ruby Crew QUICKLY got to work

  filling out as many fake sheets of paper as

  they could.

  “Now none of the Thea Sisters will get to

  play Juliet,” Ruby said. “In fact, none of them will get any part.”

  Then she and her crew snuck every piece

  of paper into the vase without anyone noticing.

  WHO WILL PLAY

  MOUSEO?

  While they waited for the audition schedule

  to be announced, the Thea Sisters went

  outside to get some fresh air in the

  school’s garden. The warm sun felt good on

  their fur, and the air smelled of flowers.

  Nicky

  ST RETCHED.

  “I’m getting stiff

  from sitting around waiting!”

  Paulina nodded. “Me, too. Let’s take a

  walk.”

  “Good idea. I need to shake off some

  nervous ENERGY,” Colette agreed.

  Violet held back. “I’m going to stay here

  and go over my lines again.”

  Colette looked surprised. “But, Violet,

  you’ve repeated your lines a million times.

  45

  Plus, you’re AMAZING!”

  “Thanks,” Violet said with a shy smile.

  Her friends nodded in agreement. Violet

  was EXPRESSIVE and sensitive

  when she read Juliet’s lines.

  “I’ll stay here and give you a paw, Vi,”

  Pamela offered.

  So Pamela and Violet stayed in the

  garden while Colette, Nicky, and Paulina

  took a walk in the courtyard. Nicky

  noticed Ryder Flashyfur leaning against

  a column. She had always been a little

  curious about Ruby’s shy brother.

  “Let’s go say hi,” Nicky suggested.

  As they approached Ryder, they noticed

  that he seemed to be talking to himself.

  Then Paulina figured it out.

  “He’s reciting lines,” she said. “For

  Mouseo’s part!”

  46

  “Interesting,” Colette said thoughtfully.

  “I thought for sure that Craig would be the

  only member of the Geckos t
rying out.”

  “Craig?” asked Nicky.

  “Well, he’s the most OUTGOING,” Colette

  said. “And Ryder usually likes to stay

  in the shadows, you know?”

  Come

  on!

  Just then, Violet and

  Pamela caught up with

  them. Panting, Violet

  announced, “The list

  is up!

  Come on!”

  The Thea Sisters

  QUICKLY ran back

  to the building to find

  out where they were on

  the audition schedule.

  48

  Pamela

  DISQUALIFIED?

  A large group of curious heads bobbed

  up and down in front of the list. The Thea

  Sisters waited their turn. But when they got

  to the list, they discovered that their

  names weren’t on it!

  They read it again and again in disbelief.

  “HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?”

  exclaimed Nicky, who couldn’t

  believe her eyes. “Not a

  single one of us is

  on here!”

  They were all

  speechless

  for a moment. What

  could have happened? Then Professor Rattcliff walked up to them.

  “Come with me,” she said in a whisper.

  “I’m afraid there is a problem.”

  The Thea Sisters looked at one another as

  they followed the professor up to the second

  floor. Something terrible was going on!

  Professor Rattcliff led them to Headmaster

  de Mousus’s OFFICE. He looked them up

  and down, and he seemed to be very annoyed.

  “I am very disappointed in you students,”

  he said. “When we counted up all the names,

  we discovered that your names appeared

  many times. The rules about this were very

  CLEAR!”

  This news startled the Thea Sisters. Violet

  stepped forward to object.

  “THAT CAN’T BE TRUE!

  WE DIDN’T DO IT!”

  “That’s not possible,” whispered Paulina

  quietly.

  “We followed the rules,” protested Pam.

  Professor Rattcliff interrupted. “I believe

  you,” she said. “You have never misbehaved