Alfie Far From Home

Chapter 5

I heard soft footsteps. Luckily my hearing is amazing, being a cat. I got up from where I’d been sleeping and spotted a shadowy figure: Stanley. He was quietly gathering food, putting it in a bag. What was he up to? No one else woke. Mr Clover was snoring – he sounded like a very noisy train, and if Mrs Clover and Viola could sleep through that, nothing would wake them. I crept out of the van after Stanley; I had a bad feeling.

He made his way through the dark, using his torch, to the edge of the woods. I was surprised to see the rest of the children already there. They were wearing jumpers over their pyjamas as they laid out a rug and piled up snacks.

‘Our midnight feast,’ Nathan announced.

‘With ghost stories,’ Stanley added.

‘It’s going to be sooo cool!’ Jack said excitedly.

‘I know a really good story,’ Poppy said in her bossy voice.

‘Where’s Viola?’ Emily asked.

‘Oh. Oh dear, I forgot to tell her, what with so much going on,’ Stanley said. He hung his head.

‘Can’t you go and get her?’ Poppy suggested.

‘No way – if I go back, I might wake everyone up and then we’ll be in trouble. I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to forget her.’

‘Right, I’m going to tell the first story,Nathan said, as he shone a torch at his face.

‘You look spooky,’ Jack said, snuggling closer to his sister.

‘Once there was this old house in the middle of a forest—’ Nathan started.

‘What was that?’ Jack almost jumped on to Emily’s lap.

‘I think it came from the wood; what is it?’ Poppy asked.

‘You don’t think it’s a bear?’ Jack asked.

‘Can I get on with my story?’ Nathan said, but a bright torch shone in the distance.

‘It’s Mr Green!’ Stanley exclaimed.

‘RUN!’ Nathan shouted.

I wasn’t sure who to follow as they all ran off in different directions. I went after Stanley, who had followed Poppy. Mr Green was getting nearer, and I heard an almighty scream. Poppy was lying on the ground on top of a tent which she had managed to pull down. The people staying in the tent were trying to crawl out.

‘What on earth is going on?’ they screeched. Poppy burst into tears. Stanley went to help her and Mr Green appeared in his stripy pyjamas. Mrs Green ran up behind him.

‘What is happening?’ he bellowed. The commotion from the tent had woken the whole campsite and when I saw everyone coming out of their caravans, tents and vans, I knew we were in big trouble.

‘What on earth is going on, Stanley?’ Mrs Clover shouted as she, Mr Clover and Viola approached.

‘We thought we’d have a midnight feast,’ Stanley started.

‘It was my idea,’ Nathan admitted.

‘I got scared,’ Jack piped up. Emily was holding his hand. ‘I think there’s a grizzly bear in the wood.’

‘Midnight feasts are against the rules. Rule 378 to be precise,’ Mr Green stated.

The adults looked sleepy and cross.

‘Stanley, I despair of you. At least Viola was sensible and didn’t go,’ Mrs Clover said.

‘I wasn’t invited,’ Viola shouted. She turned and ran back to the van.

‘Right, well, I have to help these poor people put their tent back up,’ Mrs Green said, holding a mallet.

‘Nathan, you go straight to bed, and as for the rest of you, I’ve a good mind to throw you out,’ Mr Green shouted.

‘Mr Green,’ Mrs Clover said. ‘I really am sorry and I promise that I’ll punish Stanley, and I’m sure the other parents will tell their children off too, but please let us stay – we are having such a wonderful holiday.’

‘Yes, it’s the nicest campsite we’ve ever been to,’ Poppy’s dad added. Soon all the adults were begging Mr Green for another chance.

‘I shall sleep on it tonight and we’ll see,’ Mr Green huffed.

As the children were taken off to bed and the adults returned to where they were sleeping, I was wondering how a holiday could be so exhausting …

My triumph with Viola and the piano-playing was short-lived. The following morning, everyone was tired and grumpy with each other.

‘Vi, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you out but I just forgot.’

‘Great, so you can forget I exist. What am, the invisible sister? I know why I’ll never make any friends in my new school – no one ever even remembers me.’ She had tears in her eyes.

‘That’s not—’

‘Stop talking to me, Stan.’ I had never heard Viola so cross.

I went to see the rest of the children, but they were all miserable and being kept a close eye on so I sought out Humphrey who was lying beside the clubhouse, in a sunny spot.

‘Hello,’ I said.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ he asked.

‘The kids are in trouble again. Everyone’s miserable and I’m back to square one.’

‘Yes, I heard. Mr Green was raging about it this morning. Mrs Green had to give him four sausages to calm him down!’

‘He threatened to throw us out.’

‘He won’t, though, Mrs Green will see to that.’

‘I just don’t know what to do. I thought I’d helped Viola but now, with her being left out, she’s upset again!’

‘Humans aren’t as clever as us cats, which is the problem. Look, why don’t I give you a tour of my favourite spots? Maybe it’ll help you come up with ideas.’ I was startled. Was Humphrey actually being nice to me?

‘But don’t get any ideas. I’m only doing what any decent cat would do,’ he added.

We sat under one of the fattest bushes I’d ever seen. As I swiped at a fly and pulled on some leaves, I did start to feel better. We’d been almost round the whole campsite, and very pleasant it had been too.

‘The thing is, Alfie, that Viola is worried about her new school and making friends, and this holiday is making it worse because she hasn’t been able to join in,’ said Humphrey.

‘Yeah, the piano practice. Her parents make her do it when the others are having fun. If she practised early in the morning then she’s free all day, but no one seems to have thought of that.’

‘It’s a bit late now. You’ve only got a even at this late couple of days left. But if she could be more involved with the other children, stage, she might feel better about starting school.’

‘Exactly. Which is why I thought last night was such a good idea. Emily reached out to her but the midnight feast ruined everything.’

‘Hmmm, it’s not an easy one. Let’s go to the playground, I’ll show you my favourite tree. It’s not too high, before you start getting funny.’

I sat on a low branch; Humphrey was above me. It was such a lovely day and we could see much of the campsite. The Clovers were sitting outside the van; they didn’t look happy, even from here.

‘Look,’ Humphrey said. ‘I think you’re right – we need to get Viola and Emily to be friends.’

‘But how?’ I asked.

‘We’ve got the rest of today to come up with something. Let’s meet in the morning. Right now I need something to eat.’ He ran down the tree with ease and I followed him, a little more slowly.

‘It’s been a great tour; thanks for agreeing to help.’

‘I told you, it’s for the girl, not you.’

I went back to the van to be met by an angry Mrs Clover.

‘Where have you been? Don’t you think I’ve got enough to worry about without losing you? Goodness, Alfie, you’re almost as bad as Stanley.’

As I slunk inside in disgrace, I joined Stanley and Viola, who were sulking, and I sulked right along with them.

That evening, Mr and Mrs Clover took the children to the clubhouse as usual.

‘I thought we had to stay in,’ Stanley said.

‘Mr Green wants everyone there to watch his puppet show,’ Mr Clover explained. ‘And after what happened, it’s the very least we can do.’ Ah, Humphrey said he’d found the puppets. ‘Now come along.’

It seemed that the puppet show was going to be our punishment, as Stanley plonked me on his lap to watch.

The stage was set up with what Stanley explained was a puppet theatre. Mr Green was behind it and we could see two puppets covered by a curtain. I wasn’t sure if this was how it was supposed to be but I could see the strings and Mr Green’s sleeves flapping away.

‘Hello,’ a high-pitched voice which seemed to belong to a girl puppet said. Ah, I got it, Mr Green was doing the voices. The girl puppet moved across the stage. ‘I’m Little Red Riding Hood and I’m visiting my grandma with a basket of fruit.’

THUD. A basket appeared through the curtain and fell on the floor.

‘Oops,’ Mr Green’s voice said before he remembered himself. ‘Oops,’ he said again in the girl’s voice. Mrs Green rushed on to the stage and handed the basket back through to her husband. The girl disappeared and in her place came something that looked like an ugly dog.

‘Hello, children.’ The voice wasn’t that dissimilar to the little girl, although a bit meaner. ‘I am the Big Bad Wolf, I am going to Grandma’s house and I’m going to eat her up.’

I snuggled into Stanley’s lap. I was a bit scared.

‘Oh boy,’ Nathan said as the wolf then got tangled in the curtain and clattered to the floor. Mrs Green ran on to the stage again, picked him up and quickly gave him to Mr Green.

Things went properly wrong when the wolf met Grandma, an old lady puppet.

‘Hello, I am here to eat you up,’ the wolf said as the wolf puppet collided with Grandma.

CRASH. BANG.

‘Ouch,’ Mr Green’s voice said as the puppets disappeared. We all watched in horror as the wooden puppet theatre slowly tipped backwards and fell.

‘Ahhhhh, help,’ Mr Green cried.

Mrs Green rushed forward, as did Mr and Mrs Clover. As they lifted the puppet theatre, we saw Mr Green tangled up in the puppets’ string. Mrs Green pulled off her tool belt and set to work, finally freeing Mr Green.

The room was silent. No one knew whether to laugh or cry; even the children looked shocked. Mr Green shook his head and walked off and Mrs Green was left standing there.

‘Sorry, folks, things do go wrong sometimes, but I hope you all had a good evening, and goodnight.’

It was a glum end to a glum day and the children weren’t allowed to play together as they were all marched off to bed.