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

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  since you have been at the academy, and I

  don’t think you would start now.”

  The headmaster nodded. “We have

  gathered all of the

  PAPERS

  with your

  names on them. Let’s see if we can figure

  out

  what happened.”

  The Thea Sisters carefully

  examined the papers. They

  quickly noticed a very

  important detail.

  “One of these names is in

  my handwriting,” Pam said, “but the rest aren’t. See?”

  Looking at the papers, it was CLEAR that

  someone else had written the names of the

  Thea Sisters on the extra slips of paper.

  The headmaster nodded. “You are

  right. These extra names were added by

  someone else!”

  Pamela

  Pamela

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  The Thea Sisters breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Someone must have played a terrible

  trick on you,” Professor Rattcliff said.

  “We’ll conduct an investigation. Until then,

  I’ll put your names at the bottom of the list.”

  “Thank you!” the friends said.

  When they left the office, Nicky turned to

  the others. “Ruby has her

  paws

  all

  over this!” she said. “We should say

  something. Then she’d be disqualified.”

  “We don’t have proof,” Violet said.

  “Besides, I don’t need to play games like Ruby does. If I get the part, I want it to be because I’m the best — not because someone else got disqualified!”

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  THEATER FEVER

  The Thea Sisters made their way back to the

  auditorium . They passed by Craig as

  they entered.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I

  thought you were

  OFF THE LIST.”

  “That was a mistake,” Violet said.

  “We’re back on it — at the bottom.”

  Craig shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anyway.

  Ruby is so going to get the part of Juliet.”

  “Why is he so sure about that?” Nicky

  wondered, as they walked off.

  When they got inside, they saw that

  Headmaster de Mousus and the rest of the committee had returned as well.

  “QUIET,

  everyone!” the headmaster

  announced. “I need the first five rodents on

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  the list to please line up by the stage.”

  The nervous students QUICKLY lined

  up. The rest of the students sat in the auditorium to watch as they waited to be called.

  The auditions went by at a very fast

  pace. Many boy mice tried out for the part

  of Mouseo, and many girl mice tried out to be Juliet. They were all fine, but there was something missing.

  “We need actors with a little more . . .

  spark!” Professor Rattcliff told the other

  judges.

  But so far, nobody was quite right.

  Then Craig’s turn came. He put so much

  ENERGY into his performance that when

  he declared his love for Juliet, he pounded on the floorboards, breaking one of them.

  Shen gave a sensitive performance, but he

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  My beloved!

  was so nervous that he kept forgetting

  his lines.

  Connie from the Ruby Crew was a little

  too LOUD, and Zoe was a little too quiet.

  At the judges’ table, Professor Marblemouse

  sighed. “I don’t think we’re going to find the

  perfect Mouseo and Juliet in this bunch!”

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  A DREAM

  AUDITION

  Professor Rattcliff looked down at the list.

  “Next up . . . Ruby Flashyfur,”

  she called out.

  The auditorium suddenly went quiet.

  Ruby swept down the aisle in a

  beautiful blue gown, just like Juliet

  would have worn. She looked

  stunning

  .

  Even so, Ruby felt nervous. She

  tried to SHAKE OFF the feeling.

  Why are they wasting time

  listening to these other actors?

  she thought.

  I am the Juliet they’re looking for!

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  59

  Ruby held her head

  high

  as she made her

  grand entrance.

  I was born for the stage, she reminded

  herself. This is the moment I’ve been

  waiting for!

  “COME ON, RUBY

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  , show them you’re

  the best!” Connie yelled from her seat.

  “That’s right!” Alicia called

  out. “Do your BEST, Ruby!

  It doesn’t matter if you get the

  part or not!”

  Ruby stopped and scowled

  at her. The other members of the Ruby Crew shook their heads at Alicia.

  “What did I say that was so wrong?”

  Alicia asked.

  “It does matter if Ruby gets the part,” said

  Zoe. “She has to get the part!”

  Ruby reached the stage and began to read

  her lines. Soon it was clear.

  SHE WAS REALLY GOOD!

  There was no denying it. Her performance

  was filled with real emotion. And she had

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  that “spark” the judges were looking for. They couldn’t take their EYES off her.

  “Now, that’s a Juliet,” said Professor

  Marblemouse.

  Even Professor Rattcliff, who was usually

  very serious, let a tear fall from her eye.

  “Just lovely,” she said.

  Headmaster de Mousus stood up. “Well

  then, we have found our Juliet!”

  Luckily, Professor Sparkle came to the

  rescue of the Thea Sisters.

  What feeling!

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  “To be fair, we should hear from all the students before we decide,” he said.

  The headmaster sighed. “Very well, then.

  Let’s get this over with.”

  Colette was more nervous than ever.

  “There’s no way any of us will beat Ruby!”

  But Violet had a determined look in

  her eyes. “We’ll see about that,” she said.

  “May the best

  mouse win!”

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  a thrilling

  audition

  “Colette! You’re next,” Professor Rattcliff called out.

  Colette NERVOUSLY got onstage.

  “You can do it, Colette!” the Thea Sisters

  cheered.

  Colette took a deep breath.

  Then she recited her lines.

  While she declared her

  feelings for Mouseo, she

  did a pirouette, sighed, and clutched her paws together.

  “Good, but maybe a little

  TOO MUCH feeling,”

  Professor Marblemouse whispered to the others.

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  The rest of the Thea Sisters took their turn. Nicky’s performance was

  ENERGETIC and

  LIVELY.

  Pamela forgot most of her

  lines, so she improvised instead.

  “Hey, Mouseo, let’s forget

  about this cheese and go on a

  TRIP

  around the world,” she

  quipped. But the judges didn’t

  seem to enjoy the new twist

  on the ol
d classic.

  Paulina was so

  shy that she spoke all of her lines in a whisper. She was still good, though,

  and everyone quieted down,

  riveted, so they could

  hear her.

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  “She’s good, but no one

  would be able to

  HEAR

  her in

  the back rows,” remarked

  Professor Sparkle.

  Finally, it was Violet’s turn.

  Any NERVOUSNESS she

  had vanished once she stepped onstage. She briefly closed her eyes and tried to imagine being on

  Juliet’s balcony. She could almost

  feel the cool breeze on her fur and hear

  the leaves rustling in the trees.

  As she recited her lines, she transformed

  herself into Juliet. She took everyone in the

  auditorium with her on a trip to the

  ENCHANTED land created by William

  Squeakspeare.

  When Violet finished, everyone applauded

  like crazy.

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  Wherefore art thou, Mouseo?

  The judging committee began to whisper to one another.

  “Ruby was

  wonderful, but so was

  Violet,” said Headmaster de Mousus.

  Professor Rattcliff nodded. “Yes, they’re

  both perfect for the part!”

  ?

  ?

  ?

  ?

  The professors just couldn’t decide which student to choose!

  ?

  ?

  ?

  Finally, the headmaster stood up and

  addressed the crowd.

  “We are not ready yet to make any final

  ?

  ?

  ?

  ?

  decisions,” he said. “Ruby and Violet, we

  would like to see each of you again here

  tomorrow at one o’clock for a second

  audition. After that, we will decide who will

  play the role of Juliet.”

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  A murmur rose from the crowd. Violet and

  Ruby were both SHOCKED.

  The auditions weren’t over yet!

  69

  an unexpected

  mouseo

  The students in the crowd were about to leave when the headmaster made an

  ANNOUNCEMENT.

  “We almost forgot,” he said. “There is one

  more name on the list: Ryder Flashyfur.”

  Ryder CONFIDENTLY strode onto the

  stage and began to recite his lines.

  “I love you more than CHEDDAR. When

  I’m with you, there’s nothing BETTER.”

  The professors and students all got quiet.

  Ryder was performing the part with his whole heart and soul.

  “wow!

  ”

  exclaimed Craig loudly,

  nudging the rodent next to him. “Who knew

  Ryder had it in him?”

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  “Shhh!” the student hissed. “I want to

  listen!”

  Everyone was

  completely MESMERIZED

  as Ryder finished his

  lines. It was pretty clear

  that he would get the part of Mouseo.

  Headmaster de Mousus

  dismissed everybody. Craig walked up to Ryder.

  “Well, it looks like I won’t be playing

  Mouseo,” he said. “But I hope your sister

  gets the part of Juliet. She was the BEST.”

  Ruby joined them. “Oh, I’ll get the part,”

  she said CONFIDENTLY.

  Ryder raised an eyebrow. “How can you be

  so sure?”

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  “Because I’m the best, of course,” Ruby

  replied with a wicked

  twinkle

  in her eye.

  You’ll see . . .

  a mysterious

  invitation

  Violet woke up early the next morning.

  Now that it was between her and Ruby

  for the part of Juliet, she wanted to get

  in as much practice as possible.

  Instead of waking her friends, she took her copy of Mouseo and Juliet and went to the

  garden to read her lines.

  She wasn’t the only one up early. Violet

  found Ruby near the fountain, wearing workout clothes and doing some stretching exercises.

  Violet walked up to her. “Good luck today,”

  she said.

  Ruby snorted. “I don’t need any luck!”

  Then Craig jogged by. “I’m rooting for

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  you, Ruby!” he called out, and Ruby smiled.

  I suppose a lot of students are rooting for

  Ruby, Violet thought. But I can’t let that distract me. She found a

  quiet spot on a

  bench and began to go over her lines.

  “Hey,

  Violet! You’re

  up early!”

  Violet looked up to see

  Nicky waving at her. Her

  friend wore a tracksuit

  and was headed out for

  her morning RUN.

  Violet left her book

  on the bench and went

  to meet her friend. “I

  wanted to get some

  EXTRA practice in,”

  Violet explained.

  Hey, Violet!

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  “GOOD! ”

  Nicky replied. “But don’t

  overdo it. You were a natural yesterday.

  Meet you in Colette’s room before lunch, okay?”

  Violet nodded. “See you later!”

  She went back to the bench. When she

  picked up her book, a note fell out. She picked it up and read it:

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  Dear Violet,

  I thought maybe we could rehearse the parts of Mouseo and Juliet together. It’s hard to concentrate at the school, so maybe we could meet at the observatory. How about 10?

  I hope to see you there.

  Bye,

  Ryder

  Violet was surprised. The MYSTERIOUS

  Ryder wanted to practice with her? They had

  never really even had a conversation before.

  Still, she liked the idea. It would be easier

  to practice her lines with someone reading

  the lines of Mouseo. And Ryder was so

  good. . . .

  77

  She looked at her watch. It was 9:30.

  Why not? she decided.

  She had plenty of time to

  go to the observatory,

  practice with Ryder, and

  then get back in

  time for lunch with her friends and her audition.

  She picked up her book and started

  walking, reciting lines softly to herself

  as she went.

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  CAUGHT IN

  A TRAP!

  The astronomy observatory was built

  on top of a hill and was the highest

  point on Whale Island. From there, students

  could observe the sky and the stars

  without being disturbed by the lights on the

  island. A large telescope stuck out from the

  dome-shaped building, pointing toward

  the sky.

  Violet walked along the

  that traveled through Hawk Woods and continued up the hill. It felt good to walk

  in the fresh morning air, and the VIEW was beautiful.

  On one side of the path, she could

  see the

  glittering

  blue ocean down below.

  narrow path

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  Green trees and plants grew on the other

  side. She heard wings flapping and turn
ed to

  see a FALCON fly out of the trees.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw a large

  shadow moving in the brush.

  “Ryder?” she called out, but there was

  no answer.

  Suddenly, a sparrow popped out of a

  bush and began to fly in circles around Violet.

  “Oh, it was just you,” she said, LAUGHING

  to herself. “I thought someone was there.”

  When Violet reached the observatory, she

  opened the large front door. On weekends, only the museum inside was open, and it was

  usually quiet and empty — the perfect place to rehearse.

  “Ryder?” Violet called out.

  There was no reply.

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  “I’m here!”

  “HERE HERE

  HERE . . .”

  her echo responded.

  She looked at her watch.

  It was 10:10.

  Ryder should have arrived by now.

  Maybe he’s running late, Violet thought.

  Might as well wait. She stepped toward

  a map of the stars that hung

  on the wall. The map had always fascinated her, and she leaned in for a closer look.

  Violet said.

  A few seconds later, she thought she heard

  a noise outside. She turned just as the door shut loudly behind her.

  SLAM!

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  “Oh no!” Violet cried. She RAN toward

  the door and pulled on the handle, but it wouldn’t OPEN !

  She pulled again, but it didn’t budge.

  She was locked inside!

  But how had the door closed? Violet

  wondered. A sudden GUST OF WIND ?

  But it wasn’t windy outside. . . .

  Oh no!

  It seemed really strange, but there

  was nothing she could do. Violet tried her

  cell phone, but she couldn’t get a signal.

  Her only hope was that Ryder would be

  there soon.

  “Ryder, where are you?”

  she called out.

  84

  THE USUAL

  SUSPECTS . . .

  Back at Mouseford Academy, Connie, Zoe,

  and Alicia were chatting in the garden