Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE Dinner that night was steaming bowls of stew with crusty bread followed by delicious sticky toffee pudding. Aisha was scraping up the last spoonful of toffee sauce when Ms Nettles stood up and clapped her hands for silence. "I'm afraid I have some very bad news. The two hailstorms today smashed most of the equipment in the playpark along with several windows in the school building. The teachers and I have decided that for everyone's safety, Unicorn Academy must close early." Ms Nettles paused as a huge groan went up from the room. "The graduation ceremony will be brought forward. It will now be in five days' time." "Five days!" whispered Aisha in dismay. "That's not much time to find Silver's magic," said Lily anxiously. Aisha bit her lip. "Your parents will be informed," Ms Nettles continued. "Please also check the weather carefully every time you go outside. Luckily, no one was hurt today, but it could have been a very different story. If the sky looks threatening, stay indoors. If you do get caught in a hailstorm then find somewhere safe to shelter. Do not try to make it back to the academy until the storm has passed." As she walked from the hall with the other teachers, the students erupted in noisy chatter. "What am I going to do?" said Aisha. "Five days isn't long enough to

find Silver's magic and bond with him, and I have to complete the music for our display ride." "The music is great. Forget about it and concentrate on you and Silver," said Lily. Aisha felt torn. She wanted to find Silver's magic and bond with him, but she wanted her music for the display ride to be perfect. Then, if she and Silver didn't get to graduate, at least the others would have wonderful music when they performed for the parents. "Five days isn't enough time to do anything!" exclaimed Phoebe. "We need to solve the mystery of the hailstorms," said Zara. "If we do that, we'll still have a whole month here. Let's follow Mr Longnose!" They quickly cleared their plates and left the hall. Mr Longnose and Ms Tulip were talking quietly further down the corridor. Zara nodded to the statue of a unicorn and the four of them ducked behind it. When Mr Longnose and Ms Tulip headed for the staff cloakroom, the girls followed, hiding in an empty classroom as Mr Longnose and Ms Tulip paused to put on coats and wellies. "Why are they always together?" whispered Lily. "I still think she might be in league with him!" Phoebe hissed back. Zara made frantic shh-ing gestures as Mr Longnose glanced in their direction. He stared around for a moment then said something to Ms Tulip and the two of them went out into the frosty night. The girls tiptoed after them across the grass. The pair seemed to be heading for the stables. They were talking, but their heads were close together and their voices were so quiet the girls couldn't catch what they were saying. Aisha felt a flicker of suspicion. What were they whispering about? Could Phoebe be right about Ms Tulip? Suddenly, Phoebe stepped on a frozen puddle and her feet slipped from under her. She shrieked as she fell. Mr Longnose and Ms Tulip swung round.

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"Whatever are you all doing?" demanded Mr Longnose, striding over. "I expect the girls are here to settle their unicorns, Ivor, like they do every night," said Ms Tulip. "Yes, that's right!" said Zara quickly. "We're here for our unicorns." "Hmm." Mr Longnose gave them a suspicious look. "Are you OK, Phoebe?" Ms Tulip asked, as Lily and Aisha helped her up. "I'm fine, miss," said Phoebe. "Good. Let's hurry inside, out of the cold," said Ms Tulip. "Mr Longnose, why are you here?" Zara asked boldly as they all entered the stables. "You don't have a unicorn." The top of Mr Longnose's cheeks flushed red. "I'm… Um…" "Mr Longnose kindly offered to help me with evening stables," Ms Tulip said. "Now, come along, girls. It's getting late." She hurried away to the feed room with Mr Longnose following her. "Suspicious behaviour," Zara hissed to the others. "Very suspicious." Some more pupils arrived and, under the watchful eye of Ms Tulip, everyone set about making sure their unicorns had fluffy straw beds, full hay nets and clean water. Silver nuzzled Aisha as she tied up his hay net. "Maybe tomorrow we could go off together and see if we can find my magic," he said hopefully. "I think I'm very close to discovering it. I stamped my hoof earlier and I'm sure I saw a faint pink spark. That's one of the first signs– Feather told me." "Mmm," said Aisha, not really listening. She was watching Zara and Moonbeam in the next stable. Moonbeam's eyes were half shut, and she was swaying from side to side. Silver stamped a hoof. "Aisha, I'm beginning to think you don't care if I find my—" "Shh," Aisha interrupted, nodding at Moonbeam. Moonbeam's eyelids were fluttering. "The tall figure watches with his telescope. Look to the north. Silver… NO!" Moonbeam's eyes snapped open in alarm. Aisha and Silver hurried to the partition. "Was that another vision, Moonbeam?" asked Silver. Moonbeam nodded. "I saw the cloaked man with a telescope again. I saw you too, Silver, but then you just vanished." She looked worried. "I

had a real feeling of danger!" Silver gulped. "Oh." "How did he vanish?" asked Zara curiously. "He just disappeared!" said Moonbeam. "But where did I go?" Silver said, his voice trembling slightly. For once his confidence seemed to have left him. "I don't know," said Moonbeam. "Sorry." Ms Tulip came down the passage between the stables, whistling. The tune made an idea jump into Aisha's head for her piece of music for the display ride. It was jaunty and fun, just what she needed. She hummed a variation of it to herself. Yes– it was perfect! "Are you done, girls?" Ms Tulip said. "If so, you should be getting back to your dorm." Aisha's fingers were itching to try the tune out on her flute. "I'm finished, Ms Tulip." She dropped a quick kiss on Silver's cheek. "Night, Silver." "Wait, Aisha!" Silver pawed the ground. "We need to talk about Moonbeam's vision. What if I do just disappear?"

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