Chapter 2

Chapter TWO Mirabelle and I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen where Mum, Dad, and my little sister, Baby Honeyblossom, were waiting to start our evening breakfast. There was a big cake with pink icing in the middle of the table, made especially for Mirabelle. 'There you are!' said Mum.

'You look wet,' remarked Dad, glancing worriedly towards the window. 'Is it raining? I do hope not. I can't bear getting my hair messed up when I go for my nightly fly.' 'It's not raining,' said Mum, looking at us questioningly. She waved her wand so that our clothes magically became dry again.

'Thank goodness for that,' said Dad, taking a sip of his red juice. Dad only ever drinks red juice. It's a vampire thing. 'I hope you two haven't been making a mess upstairs, said Mum as she started to cut the cake. 'Um...' I began thinking about the crushed slide and the water that had got sloshed all over my bedroom floor. 'Of course not!' said Mirabelle sweetly as we sat down at the table together. 'The cake looks delicious, Auntie Cordelia.' 'Thank you,' beamed Mum. 'It's carrot cake.'

'Oh, Pink Rabbit's favourite,' said Dad with a wink. Pink Rabbit can't really eat food but he likes to pretend. Where is Pink Rabbit?' asked Mum, looking around suspiciously. 'It's very unlike him to miss cake.' I felt my face go hot.

'He's napping,' said Mirabelle quickly. 'Ah, yes,' nodded Dad knowledgeably. 'He's got a big day coming up tomorrow. He needs his beauty sleep.' 'Tomorrow...' I said. What was happening tomorrow? And then I remembered. It was bring-your-pet-to- school day! 'Don't tell me you've forgotten', said Dad. 'You've been looking forward to it for weeks!' 'Pink Rabbit's been practising tricks to show the class, said Mum to Mirabelle proudly. 'He's been getting very good at juggling.'

'But I thought you took Pink Rabbit to school with you every day anyway?' said Mirabelle, confused. 'Your class will have seen him already.' 'Yes,' I said. 'But I promised him he could come as my special pet, and the class won't have seen his tricks!' 'I see,' said Mirabelle, not seeming like she did at all. Her eyes glittered dangerously as she munched on her sandwich.