Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX "I think I've done it." Freya tightened the last screw then sat back on her heels. "Let's try it out." Matilda, who had a smudge of paint on her nose, stopped painting. Freya faced the robot. "Robot… On," she said, clearly. With a small hum the robot came to life. "Robot… Forward," she added. The robot jerked then trundled forward, rolling across the smooth wooden floor. It went in a perfectly straight line towards the enormous blocked-up fireplace, no spinning or turning. Freya held her breath as it got closer to the fireplace. Was it going to crash? No! It swung round just in time and continued around the room. "It's working!" Freya said in excitement.

"Robot… Stop!" she commanded. The robot came to a standstill. "I did it!" Freya clapped a hand to her mouth. "Hurrah!" Matilda waved her paintbrush in the air. "You're a genius!" She threw her arms round Freya and hugged her. Freya stiffened for a second, but Matilda didn't seem to notice and, after a second, Freya found herself hugging her rather gingerly back. "Is that all the engineering work done?" asked

Matilda. "Can I paint the rest of it now?" "Yes," Freya stood back and squinted at the robot. "Do you think Honey will like it?" "She's going to love, love, LOVE it!" exclaimed Matilda. "All the unicorns are going to want one and…" TAP. TAP. TAP. A noise came from the fireplace. Matilda and Freya froze. "What was that?" whispered Matilda. "I don't know," Freya whispered back. "Could it be a bird? We had one stuck in our chimney once," Matilda said. Freya went over to the fireplace and peered at the wooden board blocking it. She realised something. "This isn't just a piece of wood– there are hinges on one side and a button on the other. It's a door!" She put her hand on it.

Whoooooooooo! A long drawn-out moan echoed out from behind it. Freya sprang back. "It's a ghost!" squeaked Matilda. "I bet it's the ghost of the dead teacher that Himmat told us about! Quick, Freya, let's get out of here!" She raced to the revolving wall. Freya darted beside her and pressed the lever. The wall turned and they found themselves in the dark of the cupboard. Both of them were breathing hard and

their faces were pale. "We heard a g… ghost!" stammered Matilda. "A real ghost!" But now she was out of the room, Freya's panic was dying down and her logical brain was kicking in. "It can't have been," she said, feeling a bit silly for running away like that. "Ghosts don't exist. It must have been a bird." "A bird that says whoooooooo?" said Matilda. She shook her head. "No. I think it was a ghost and we should tell the others." "No!" Freya said sharply. "They'll only want to come to the room and then they'll see the robot. Please, Matilda, don't say anything until after the party– that will also give us a chance to check if we hear anything again. If we tell them it's a ghost and it is just a bird, then we'll look really stupid." "OK," Matilda agreed reluctantly. They hurried downstairs to the dorm. Rosa, Violet and Ariana were sitting on the floor making enormous paper spiders to decorate the barn for the party. With its cosy rug, pink, lilac

and silver duvet covers and sparkling fairy lights the dorm looked wonderfully cosy and safe. Freya felt a rush of relief until the other three looked up with cross expressions. "Where have you two been?" Rosa demanded. "You were supposed to be helping us make decorations tonight." "Whoops, sorry!" Matilda looked contrite. "I completely forgot. I'll help now!" She sat down and quickly picked up some scissors. "It's not fair for you both to let us do all the work for the party," said Rosa, fixing Freya with a look. "There's loads to do." "I know," said Freya. "And I do want to help. It's just, I've got to finish my invention." "Because that's more important than anything, isn't it?" said Rosa. "Freya, have you seen how sad Honey's looking? I guess you can't have done, or you'd have been in the stables, spending time with her this evening rather than with your invention." A guilty blush warmed Freya's cheeks. "Honey understands," she said defensively,