Nicola sat up straighter, wondering if she was going to make the right impression on Enrico. It was almost a pity Mully had said he was so charming. It was sometimes easier to be confident and friendly when you met very shy people.
They could see a big brick wall in the distance. It seemed to stretch on for ages in either direction.
'It's like the Great Wall of China,' commented Greta, sounding so knowledgeable you would think she'd built the Great Wall herself.
Straight ahead of them was a set of tall iron gates. There was a cluster of people in front of it. Some of them were obviously miners or drillers, while others were dressed in more ordinary patched clothes. They all carried little notebooks and pens. As the sleigh got closer, they jostled about, craning their necks to see who was in the sleigh. Suddenly they began pointing and jumping about excitedly.
'I think they're pointing at Katie,' said Shimlara.
Katie, who was removing her hat, looked up in surprise. 'Me? Why me?'
Silent Fred turned around to look at them. His eyes widened when he saw Katie.
'What? What is it? Am I turning green?' Katie was panic-stricken. She hated being the centre of attention.
'You look perfectly normal to me,' Nicola reassured her.
Silent Fred pointed a finger at Katie's long, straight brown hair, which had fallen out over her shoulders when she took off her hat.
'Her hair?' said Nicola in confusion. 'What about it?'
Silent Fred wrote quickly on his board and handed it to Katie.
I'm sorry. I did not realise you were a hairity until you took off your hat. It is an honour.
'Oh!' Shimlara slapped her hand against her forehead. 'I remember now. Most people on Shobble have short fuzzy hair and it's either blond, red or black. They call people with long, straight brown hair "hairities" and they treat them like celebrities.'
'Well, I don't see what's so special about long, straight brown hair,' huffed Greta, who had short wavy hair cut in a fashionable bob. She turned to Silent Fred. 'It's actually considered quite boring on our planet.'
'Maybe I should grow mine,' said Sean. 'I could be a hairity too.'
Silent Fred held out his board again.
Could I have your signograph, please?
'I think he must mean "autograph",' said Shimlara.
'Oh, but this is awful! It's so embarrassing!' said Katie. She wrote her name on Silent Fred's board and handed it back to him. Next thing the people outside the sleigh were all thrusting notepads and pieces of paper into her hands, shouting, 'Signograph! Signograph!'
Katie signed each one as quickly as she could. Within seconds the whole crowd seemed to know her name.
'We love you, Katie Hobbs!' they called out. 'Over here, Katie!' Cameras flashed.
'This is crazy!' Katie's face was bright pink.
'Maybe we should get going,' suggested Nicola to Silent Fred, as two young girls tried to climb into the sleigh to have their photo taken with Katie.
Silent Fred, who had been staring dreamily at Katie's signograph, put aside his board and nodded. He stood up in the sleigh and reached for a control box high on the gates. He pressed his fingertip against a panel. After a few seconds a red light changed to green and the gates began to swing open.
'Fingerprint recognition.' Sean was impressed.
Silent Fred waved his feather-whip gently at the crowd of people and they obediently stepped away from the sleigh.
As the sleigh moved ahead through the gates, the crowd called out mournful goodbyes to Katie. 'Come back soon, Katie!' 'We'll never forget you, Katie!'
'Oh, Katie,' mimicked Sean, as the gates closed behind them, 'can I have your signograph? Can I touch your long brown hair?'
Katie kicked him in the shin, and then said guiltily, 'Sorry, did that hurt?'
Sean bent over, pretending to be in agony, but then something caught his eye and he sat up straight.
'Wow!'
9
'I thought the sign said the Commander-in-Chief's cottage,' murmured Sean.
Everyone twisted around in their seats to look.
The sleigh was heading up a winding driveway towards a grand mansion. It was lit up by thousands of tiny sparkling fairy lights, and Nicola could see flickering fireplaces through large windows. After the ramshackle wooden houses in the villages they'd passed, this three-storey building looked especially warm and comfortable.
The word 'opulent' popped into Nicola's head. It was the perfect plump, sleek sort of word to describe this place.
'I wonder,' said Katie, who had hidden her hair beneath her hat once more, 'if they deliberately describe it as a cottage so the people of Shobble won't feel jealous.'
The sleigh came to a stop at an imposing entrance, with wide red-carpeted stairs leading up to huge oak doors. Instantly the doors were flung open and a man appeared, followed by three smiling fluffy-haired Shobblings.
The man was wearing a long, royal blue velvet jacket with gold trimming. He had a thin, white face and his hair was long, straight and shining brown, falling to his waist in a thick ponytail. It was like a beautiful horse's tail.
Shimlara nudged Katie. 'Another "hairity" like you.'
'The wonderful . . . the extraordinary . . . Space Brigade!' cried the man, and Nicola immediately recognised his deep, honeyed voice. 'What a pleasure! What an honour!'
Silent Fred passed his board to Nicola. It said, Enrico Aloisio, our wonderful, extraordinary Commander-in-Chief. Nicola noticed he'd carefully drawn a little box and smiley faces around Katie's signograph.
As Enrico hurried forward to meet them, Silent Fred helped them out of the sleigh. Nicola's feet had pins and needles from the long journey. She tried to get rid of them by discreetly stamping her feet.
Enrico stopped and stamped his own feet in imitation of Nicola. 'This is the way you greet people on your planet, is it? How charming!'
'Um,' began Nicola, but Sean - grinning widely - was already enthusiastically stomping his feet, so all the other members of the Space Brigade had no choice but to do the same. 'For heaven's sake!' muttered Greta.
As Enrico neared them his smile faded slightly. 'My goodness. You're all a lot more . . . youthful . . . than I expected.'
'What we lack in age we more than make up for in experience,' said Nicola. This was a line she'd read once in a book, so it rolled smoothly off her tongue.
Shimlara began to giggle but had to pretend she was having a coughing fit when Enrico looked at her with kind concern. 'I hope you haven't caught colds on your journey. Quickly! Please! Come inside and you can freshen up in your rooms.' They all turned to pick up their bags. 'Oh, no, don't concern yourselves - my people will take care of your luggage!' Enrico snapped his fingers and two of the Shobblings who had been hovering behind him immediately ran towards the bags.
The Space Brigade followed Enrico into a magnificent entrance hall where they were enveloped in such a delicious warmth they all sighed with relief. Nicola looked up and saw dozens of glittering chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Along the walls were oil paintings in heavy gold frames. Many were portraits of Enrico, wearing various elegant outfits and tossing back his hair, while others showed him with a woman and two children, all three of whom were smiling at him adoringly. There were also pictures of Enrico with larger groups of people: dancing at balls, laughing at picnics, ice-skating on the frozen sea. Every man, woman and child depicted had long brown hair.
At that moment, Katie took off her hat and Enrico caught sight of her hair. He arched his eyebrows. 'A fellow hairity, I see,' he said, taking her hand and kissing it. 'No doubt the fans waiting outside my gates were delighted to catch a glimpse of you. I hope they weren't a bother. All the fuss can be tiresome.'
Katie looked uncomfortable. 'Why do people think long brown hair is so special?' she asked.
'People think that anything so rare is precious. Every time I do an interview I try to explain that I'm just a normal man who likes doing normal things, but they neve
r believe it! What can you do?' Enrico shrugged charmingly and sighed.
He gestured to the lady standing respectfully beside him. 'This is my butler, Joy. She'll show you to your rooms. I'll look forward to seeing you at dinner time, when we can discuss the somewhat challenging little task I need you to attend to - although I'm sure it won't be a challenge for professionals like yourselves!'
'Thank you, Enrico,' said Nicola. She watched him leave the room, his velvet jacket swirling elegantly.
'Please follow me,' said Joy. She had fluffy yellow hair like a baby chick and the sweetest smile Nicola had ever seen.
As they followed her up the stairs Joy lowered her voice and said, 'I think Silent Fred picked you up from the SpacePort? How did he seem to you? Healthy?'
'He seemed fine,' said Nicola. 'Is he a friend of yours?'
'He's my husband.' Joy's eyes darted about nervously as if she didn't want anyone to hear. 'I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you notice if he was coughing? He gets such a bad cough this time of year and he refuses to take his vitamins!'
'He didn't cough once,' Nicola assured her.
As they reached the top of the staircase, Shimlara said, 'Has Silent Fred always been, um, silent?'
'Oh!' Joy suddenly looked flustered. 'I'm so sorry, I shouldn't be wasting your time talking about such trivial matters! Now if you'll just step this way, you'll see there is a room for each of you.'
It seemed Silent Fred's silence was going to remain a mystery.
Joy led them along a corridor with a series of opened doors. Their bags had been carefully placed just inside each door.
'Dinner will be served at 6 pm. You'll hear the bells,' said Joy. 'So that gives you plenty of time to have a warm bubble bath if you choose. Would any of you like me to run your bath?'
They all stared at her. They were perfectly capable of running their own baths.
'Oh, that's okay,' said Nicola uncomfortably. She wondered whether this was the sort of thing servants usually did.
'I should tell you that the Commander and his family normally dress for dinner,' said Joy.
'Doesn't everybody?' chortled Sean.
Now it was Joy's turn to stare. 'Oh, I'm sorry, sir, I mean, they dress up for dinner. Quite formal clothes. If you don't have anything appropriate you'll find a well-stocked wardrobe in your room. The Commander wishes you to help yourself to any of the clothes with his compliments. They're all new, of course.'
'Goodness,' murmured Katie.
'Naturally, there is a bowl of ShobbleChoc in each room, which we will keep filled for you,' said Joy. 'If there is anything else you need, just dial nine on your phone and a staff member will attend to you in exactly 4.5763 seconds. Please feel free to time us.'
'I'm sure that won't be necessary,' said Nicola, giving Sean a warning look. It was the sort of thing he'd take pleasure in trying.
'Then I'll leave you to relax,' said Joy. 'I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs at six o'clock so I can lead you to the dining room. It's an honour to welcome you to Shobble.'
She bowed slightly and turned to go. The Space Brigade looked at each other solemnly for a few seconds until Joy was safely down the stairs, then they all said at the same time, 'ShobbleChoc!' and went running in different directions down the corridor, bumping into each other as they looked for their rooms.
Nicola found her bag in a room right at the end of the corridor.
The room was warm, thanks to a crackling fire. (Imagine that - her very own fireplace!) Nicola put her old rucksack down on the soft white carpet; it looked completely out of place in such plush surroundings. There was a huge four-poster bed with a gold satin bedspread and about twelve fat pillows. She opened a door leading to a marble bathroom with gold taps and a bath that seemed as big as a small swimming pool. She'd never had her own bathroom either. This was starting to seem more like a luxurious holiday than a scary mission.
As Nicola came out of the bathroom, she saw a crystal bowl on a low coffee table. It was filled with chunky chocolate squares. ShobbleChoc! She took a piece and walked over to the window. She wanted to savour her first taste of 'real' chocolate rather than just cramming it straight in her mouth, which she was one hundred per cent sure was exactly what Sean was doing right at this moment.
Even though the room was warm, the window was cold to touch. Outside, it was snowing more heavily than before. It had grown so dark she couldn't see the permanent rainbows anymore.
Nicola watched the snowflakes drift softly by the window and wondered just how 'challenging' Enrico's 'little task' was going to be. She put the piece of ShobbleChoc in her mouth and slowly bit down.
The taste of the chocolate exploded through her mouth, while marshmallow dissolved tenderly on her tongue.
The word 'delicious' wasn't good enough.
The word 'divine' wasn't good enough.
The word 'scrumptious' wasn't good enough.
ShobbleChoc deserved a whole new word made up especially to describe it.
It was simply . . . divinascrumptiolicious.
10
A musical sound like church bells filled the entire mansion. Nicola took a last nervous look at herself in the full-length mirror. She had followed Joy's advice and chosen one of the dresses she'd discovered hanging in the wardrobe in her room.
The dress was like something Nicola could imagine seeing in a history book. It was made of heavy red velvet, soft and smooth to touch, with long flowing sleeves and a full-length skirt. Looking at herself, Nicola couldn't decide if she looked extremely beautiful or extremely silly.
Before dressing, she'd taken a hot bath using a frothy bubble bath that smelled like raspberries.
The only thing about taking a bath was that the steam had made Nicola's hair even wilder and curlier than usual. Oh well. The bells were getting louder. It was time to go.
Nicola stepped out into the corridor and saw the others coming out of their rooms. The boys had changed into high-collared shirts and long jackets. The other girls were wearing long dresses like Nicola, and they all spent ages twirling around, paying each other compliments and adjusting sashes and sleeves. Meanwhile, Sean and Tyler fiddled uncomfortably with their collars and sighed impatiently.
'How many bowls of ShobbleChoc did you guys have?' asked Sean.
'There was only one bowl there!' said Greta.
'I called on the phone and asked them to bring another one,' said Sean. 'It was great. Someone was knocking at my door exactly 4.5763 seconds after I put down the phone. I wonder how they do that.'
'Oh, Sean,' said Shimlara.
'What?' Sean shrugged. 'They're servants. That's their job. So they must like serving.'
'And how do you know that?'
'Why else would they choose that as a job?'
'Maybe that's the only job they could get!'
'They could get a job in the marshmallow mines. That's what I'd do.'
'Come on,' interrupted Nicola. 'We don't want to be late.'
Joy was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.
'You all look absolutely lovely,' she said generously. Then she turned to Katie and held out a small, worn-looking book. 'Please say no if you think I'm rude, but would you mind signing my granddaughter's signograph book? I wouldn't bother you, it's just that she'd be so thrilled and you seem - well, you seem to have a much kinder face than most hairities.'
Katie blushed. 'Of course I don't mind.' She took Joy's pen and then paused. 'What is your granddaughter's name?'
Joy looked confused and a little scared. 'It's Polly.'
Nicola watched over Katie's shoulder as she wrote:
Dear Polly,
with love from Katie Hobbs xx
PS You have a very nice grandmother!
'Oh!' Joy's face was ecstatic. 'Oh! She'll think that is just out of this galaxy!'
She stood there for a few seconds looking at Katie's message and shaking her head in wonder, before collecting herself.
'Please follow me
and I'll take you to the dining room.'
She led them briskly through what seemed like a maze of endless marble corridors. Shimlara, with her longer legs, kept up easily, but the others had to jog along.
Finally they got to a pair of imposing doors. Joy opened them then stood to one side to let the Space Brigade pass. 'Enjoy your dinner,' she said quietly.
They walked into a room with a long dining table set with flickering candles, silver goblets and huge gold dinner plates.
'Ah, the Space Brigade!' Enrico came forward to greet them, smiling broadly. He had changed into a white ruffled shirt and high-waisted black pants. His long brown hair was brushed out and fell to his waist. A woman and two children a few years younger than the members of the Space Brigade followed in his wake. The woman seemed to be covered in diamonds. She wore a chunky diamond necklace, diamond bracelets and diamond clips in her thick brown hair, which was so long it hovered only a few inches above the floor. The children, with the same long brown hair falling sleekly over their shoulders, seemed virtually identical, except that one was a girl in a pink satin dress, while the other was a boy in a tuxedo. 'My wife, Carmelita,' said Enrico. 'And my twin children, Josie and Joseph.'
They all smiled identical white-toothed smiles.
'This is the way they greet each other on Earth,' said Enrico to his family, and he pounded his feet on the floor. His wife and children copied him obediently. This is getting ridiculous, thought Nicola, as she and the rest of the Space Brigade stamped their own feet halfheartedly - except for Sean, of course, who stamped his feet so enthusiastically you would have thought he'd been greeting people that way for years.
'I do hope we've made you comfortable,' Carmelita said graciously as she shook each of them by the hand. She stopped at Katie and held her hand for a few seconds longer. 'Ah. Do let me know if any of the staff has bothered you for signographs. It is expressly against the rules!'
'The staff have been wonderful,' said Katie carefully.
'Please,' said Enrico. 'Sit! You must be famished!'
They all sat down. Nicola noticed that Josie and Joseph made sure they were sitting on either side of Katie.
Enrico clinked his knife once against his goblet and suddenly the room was filled with scurrying servants carrying large trays above their heads. Nicola barely had time to say thank you as her glass was filled with something sparkling and her plate was covered with all types of strange, exotic food.