16 Farewell to Grimwood

CHAPTER SIXTEEN Farewell to Grimwood After the events of the previous day, Titus and Ingrid had agreed to have another Big Show, seeing as they never quite finished the proper one. 'Mint humbug?' said Titus, offering a paper bag to Nancy. 'No thanks, Titus.' She grinned. 'I'm on the beef jerky. Don't wanna mix sweet and savoury, you know?' 'Thank you, everybody, thank you,' said Ingrid from the stage. 'Now for our next act, we welcome two talented young scamps who've been a marvellous addition to the Grimwood Players this season.' 'Ooh, this is them!' said Wiggy, nudging Nancy. 'And I know I speak for many of us,' continued Ingrid, 'when I say I will be very sad to see one of these youngsters go.' She clutched a handkerchief to her beak. 'But life moves on… ceaselessly… like waves beating against the shoreline of existence…' Tamara coughed. 'Sorry, yes, anyway, please give a great big Grimwood hooray for TED AND WILLOWWWWWWW!'

Ted and Willow skipped onto the stage. The lights dimmed. 'Ready?' whispered Willow. Ted nodded. The dance began slowly, with Ted and Willow creeping around each other like burglars in an art gallery. Ted appeared to be dressed as a tree, and Willow danced gracefully, pretending to be the wind, the wind, THE WIND, bending Ted's branches. 'Ooh, it's terribly poetic,' remarked Wiggy. But then the music suddenly EXPLODED into frantic joyful disco, and out of nowhere Willow was wearing a multi-coloured ballgown and Ted was spinning her above his head. One of the efficient beavers was frantically switching a bedside lamp on and off to create exciting lighting. The audience clapped and stamped their paws in time.

该页暂无翻译

Nancy's jaw hit the floor. She had no idea Ted could do all this stuff. 'The youngster's talented, eh?' Frank nodded. Ted was now doing an elaborate tap dance with two dustbin lids strapped to his feet. Then, for the grand finale, Willow swooped across the stage holding a flaming pineapple, which she threw dramatically onto the floor while screaming, 'THE FUTURE IS OURS!' The crowd went wild. 'That was perfect, Ted!' said Willow. 'You were amazing!' Ted's heart was in his mouth. It had been the most intense five minutes of his life, and he had loved every second.

Eventually, the crowd stopped cheering. Ted just stood there, looking out into the crowd. He could see Nancy, Titus and Frank. The badgers, the rabbits, the squirrels. Even Pamela was perched on the back row, though Frank had insisted on her wearing a muzzle in case she got carried away and ate someone. 'Everyone? C-can I have your attention, please? I just wanted to say something,' Ted stammered. A hush fell over the audience. 'I just wanna say… I've had the most amazing time here in Grimwood. An awful lot has happened. But you guys have all been such good friends to me and Nancy.' 'WAHEY!' cheered Frank and Wiggy. 'Shurrup,' said Nancy, trying to hide a smile. 'I wanted to say thank you,' said Ted. 'Thank you for being so welcoming and for looking out for us when it mattered the most. As you know, me and Nancy are heading back to the Big City after the show.' There were a few 'boos' and Titus honked into Frank's armpit. 'I promise I will never forget you,' said Ted. 'I will miss you all SO much– especially you, Willow. You're the best friend I've ever had.' Big fat tears rolled down Willow's cheeks.

'But I also need to say thank you to my big sister, Nancy. Firstly, for letting us stay on so I could do the show. But also because without her, I wouldn't be here. She's looked after me for as long as I can remember. So even though I'm sad to leave Grimwood, I'm also happy. Because I'll be with her. And wherever she goes, I go. Because she's my home.' Willow and Ted hugged, and he sobbed into his adorable friend's neck. In fact, everyone sobbed into everyone else's neck, because it was the cutest and saddest thing ever, and that was a fact. WAAAAAH! While everyone was bawling, Nancy quietly trotted up to the stage.