Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN The following morning, Zara, Phoebe, Aisha and Lily went straight to the hall. "Here are our things," said Lily, seeing a pile of tents, rolled sleeping bags and rucksacks. "How come we seem to have more than everyone else?" "That's because your dormitory will be going twice as far as everyone else." Mr Longnose came up behind them, making them all jump. "Ms Nettles seems to think you are trustworthy enough to be the group that goes furthest from the academy. I insisted that we take sufficient food and water in case we get stuck there for some reason." His words had a sinister ring. Goosebumps ran down Zara's arms but she made herself give him a cool look. She was with her friends, their unicorns and Ms Tulip. They were more than a match for him! She turned her back on Mr Longnose. "Are you

ready, Phoebs? Give me a hand with our tent." "How long do you think we'll have to ride for in order to get to our bit of the river?" said Phoebe. "No time at all," Mr Longnose smiled thinly. "Ms Nettles has agreed that our group may use the magical map so that we do not waste time travelling." "The map! Awesome!" breathed Phoebe. The magical map was a perfect model of Unicorn Island. It stood in the centre of the hall and could take you anywhere on the island. All you had to do was touch your hand to where you wanted to go and the map would transport you there. Students were only allowed to use it with permission. "Go and get your unicorns, then meet me and Ms Tulip beside the map," Mr Longnose instructed. They raced to the stables to collect their unicorns. Moonbeam hardly said a word as they rode back to the school. She was obviously still upset from the previous day. Zara hated the fact they had fallen out. She hoped being on the camping trip would change things. At last the girls and their unicorns assembled in the hall, weighed down by their camping gear. All the other students and teachers had left for their part of the river. There was just Ms Tulip and Mr

Longnose waiting by the map. Ms Tulip was on her unicorn, Rocket, and Mr Longnose was sitting behind her, clutching her tightly. "I think Mr Longnose still needs some more riding lessons," whispered Lily with a grin. Zara giggled. Mr Longnose did look very wobbly. "Toes up!" said Ms Tulip sternly, pointing to his feet. Zara hid her grin. "Gather round and hold hands, everyone," said Ms Tulip, riding Rocket closer to the map "Isn't it beautiful?" whispered Phoebe, gazing at the miniature island. "It is," answered Zara as she took her hand. "But look at how much damage the heatwave has caused." Tiny palm trees waved in patches along the coastline but the rest of the island looked parched and the streams and rivers had nearly disappeared. "Ready for the Rushing River?" Ms Tulip touched a long thin river that snaked through the dry landscape. Zara gasped as the world started to spin and a wind blew up around them. Suddenly they were turning and tumbling through the air.

Moonbeam's hooves touched solid ground and Zara blinked in the bright sunlight. They were standing on the bank of an exposed riverbed that was cracked and dusty. A thin stream of water flowed slowly down the middle of what should have been a wide, fast river. Zara looked round and saw all her friends and their unicorns had arrived safely. Mr Longnose was hanging on to

Rocket's side, his face pale. Looking embarrassed, he hastily sat up and straightened his tie. Ms Tulip opened up her hand to reveal a small model of the academy. "This will allow us to return to the academy whenever we want," she said with a smile. "I'll put it in my tent to keep it safe until we have finished our studies." A little way beyond the riverbed was a small copse of dry, spindly trees. The unicorns trotted over to it to shelter from the sun with Moonbeam trailing dreamily behind. The girls and teachers pitched their tents next to them. Mr Longnose called for everyone to gather round. "We need to start collecting soil samples from the riverbed. Each sample you take should be put into a test tube and labelled with its exact location. You may work in pairs. Now, off you go!" They collected their equipment from Ms Tulip and walked along the dried-up riverbed. The work wasn't hard but it was repetitive and the sun bore down on them from a cloudless sky. By midday, everyone was hot, sticky and tired. "Lunch!" called Ms Tulip, appearing from her tent with flasks of cold fruit juice. "Thank goodness." Phoebe flapped her sun hat

in front of her face to cool herself down. "I think I'm going to die of thirst." While they ate their lunch, Ms Tulip chattered to the girls while Mr Longnose sat slightly off to one side. "I'm looking forward to this evening when it'll be cooler," Aisha said to Ms Tulip. "Can we light a fire and toast marshmallows?" Mr Longnose sniffed with disapproval. "You will not. It's far too dangerous to start a fire in these conditions." "This trip isn't going to be any fun at all," Phoebe grumbled quietly to Zara. "I think I'll take a walk before we get started again. Does anyone want to join me?" said Ms Tulip. "I'll come." Mr Longnose was on his feet in an instant. "Anyone else?" Ms Tulip asked, and Mr Longnose looked relieved when everyone shook their heads. "We won't be long," Ms Tulip said as the pair set off. Zara watched them walk along the riverbank and once they were out of sight, she jumped up. "This is our chance to investigate Mr Longnose!