Molly Moon Stops the World by Georgia Byng Read Free Book Online

the corridor.
    Gerry and Gemma approached sheepishly. From inside the cupboard, they’d heard the last part of Molly and Rocky’s conversation, and now, although embarrassed to have been caught listening, they were burning with curiosity.
    “What vacation? What beaches? Where are you goin’? We wanna come too,” said Gemma.
    “Yes,” said Gerry. “You can’t leave us behind. Last time you left us behind, it was ‘orrid. ‘Member?”
    “You can’t come,” Molly began. Then she stopped. Gemma and Gerry had never been on vacation. She thought of them on a beach with buckets and spades, or in the sea, body surfing, or in a tour bus at one of Los Angeles’s film studios, and her heart melted. They would love it, and she didn’t see how they would get in the way. In fact, it might be an advantage if they came.
    “You know, Rocky, if Mrs. Trinklebury came to look after them, we’d look like a normal family on vacation. And Nockman could help too.” Molly was thinking thatactually Nockman’s criminal knowledge might come in useful. He was particularly good at picking locks.
    “What about the others?” said Rocky. “They’ll all be back from their courses next week.”
    “Why don’t we ask Mrs. Trinklebury’s sister to have them stay on her farm?” suggested Molly. Rocky nodded.
    “I’ll have to have a word with Mr. Struttfield,” said Molly, thinking how she would have to hypnotize their headmaster. “Okay, Gemma, when Mrs. T.’s finished watching her program, I’ll tell her that we’ve all been asked to go to L.A. by the Benefactor.”
    Rocky grinned. “And I’ll find a nice hotel there where we can all stay, and Nockman can organize plane tickets—leaving as soon as possible.”
    “Does that mean we’re going?” asked Gerry, not sure what had been agreed.
    “Sure does,” said Rocky.
    “Whoooooooooo!” shouted Gerry. “Whoooooo!” And not knowing what to do with all his excitement, he started jumping up and down like a coffee-drinking kangaroo. “L.A., L.A., L.A., L.A.!” he shouted, running up the hall and back again. For a moment he stopped.
    “Where is L.A.?” he asked.
    “L.A. stands for Los Angeles,” said Rocky. “It’s in California, in America.”
    “Whoa. America? Wow!” After that Gerry was unstoppable. He bounced down the stairs and around the hall and up the stairs again and down again and up again, shouting, “No more school! NO MORE SCHOOOOOOL!”
    Gemma thanked Molly and Rocky ten times and then rushed into her bedroom to pack.
    “It’s the right decision,” said Molly. “Because if we didn’t take them and something bad happened to us there, then they’d
never
get a vacation.”
    “What might happen to us?” asked Rocky, raising an eyebrow.
    “The same thing as Davina? I don’t know. But this Mr. Cell is a power-crazed maniac. And a brilliant hypnotist. Jeepers, Rocky, what are we letting ourselves in for?”
    “Trouble,” said Rocky matter-of-factly.
    “Yes, ten tons of trouble,” agreed Molly.

Eight
    O ver the next three days, Molly watched Happiness House erupt with anticipation. Mrs. Trinklebury was so delighted about the idea of a vacation that she threw her apron on the fire to celebrate. She was very excited about going to Los Angeles and Hollywood, the movie capital of the world, home of the stars she adored. She harbored hopes that she would meet some of them.
    Nockman wasn’t entirely pleased to be going back to America. That was where he had, until recently, spent his whole life, and he didn’t want to be reminded of his unwholesome past and the crimes he had committed. He worried that he might be tempted to do something bad again, but Mrs. Trinklebury, who was helping him reform, said that it would be good forhim. So he carefully constructed a traveling box for his twenty parakeets. Molly had told him that the Benefactor was managing the flight arrangements for all the pets. Nockman automatically believed her. He always respected