Molly Moon & the Monster Music by Georgia Byng Read Free Book Online Page B

and down. When she reached Molly’s jacket pocket, the old woman pulled back sharply. Her eyesopened in shock, and with a swift jerk of her wheelchair she moved away. Molly reached into her pocket and clutched her coin.
    â€œAieee!” the old lady exclaimed. With horror on her face, she continued reversing across the room, back to the dark corner where she had been before.
    Just then Hiroyuki looked over the platform ledge. “You want to see room, Molly?” He came down the stairs and saw the old woman’s socked feet sticking out from the shadows. “Oh, and this is Sobo, our grandmother. She probably too shy to say hello to you. She deaf and can’t see well, but she very sweet. She like to hang out under stairs. Small spaces make her feel safe.” The old woman glared from the shadows, silent and wary.
    Hiroyuki went toward her and bent into the darkness to give her a kiss. She said something to him in a low rasping voice. Molly felt sure it was something nasty about her. Why had the old woman turned against her? She didn’t like it at all. She put her hand into her pocket again and began turning her coin over and over. It was time to change the subject.
    â€œWhy don’t you live with your parents?” she asked Hiroyuki.
    â€œWe want to, but Mr. Proila say we have to live with him for band to work. He allow Sobo to comehere but not our mother and father. My parents sign contract—so now it cannot change.”
    Molly stroked her gold coin. Instead of concentrating on what Hiroyuki was saying, she found herself wondering how much money Zagger made a year.
    â€œOne day we will all live together again,” Hiroyuki said. He placed the origami bird that he had made on the table.
    Molly didn’t hear him. She was totally absorbed in her thoughts. Her eyes fell on a building a couple of blocks away. It had a roller coaster on its roof.
    â€œWow! I’d love a ride on that! It must be awesome.”
    If Molly had been her usual self, she would have been as shocked as Hiroyuki was by her lack of care for his troubles. But she wasn’t her usual self. Thanks to the coin, she was growing into something else.
    The phone rang. It was Miss Sny.
    â€œWhat time?” Hiroyuki, who had answered it, asked. “Fine. Thank you, and can you remind him we’ve got two guests?” He replaced the receiver. “Dinner tonight at a restaurant called Mizu,” he explained. “We have to go whether we like or not. Mr. Proila wants to talk to us about big showtomorrow.”
    â€œTomorrow?”
    â€œYes, he works us. But we like it . . . or at least Chokichi and I do.”
    Petula padded into the room and peered at her mistress warily. The odd smell was back. A thin, sour lemon odor permeated the air about Molly, pungent as steam from a hot sulfurous pool. Petula shrank back.
    Chokichi and Toka and Gerry came out onto the mezzanine. Gerry was holding three mice. “Look, Molly! Titch has got new friends!”
    Toka laughed beside him, his own arms filled with well-behaved mice, too.
    Molly barely smiled back. She wasn’t interested in small talk right now. Instead, what made her feel good was that tonight she was going to meet one of the most powerful men in Japan. Since arriving she had become more and more keen on getting a place to live in Tokyo. Mr. Proila would be able to help her.
    It was a long time since she had used hypnotism to get things for herself. Most people used their skills for their own ends. Hypnotism was her skill. So why shouldn’t she use it to get what she wanted?

Ten
    A s they were all jet-lagged, everyone grabbed a few hours’ sleep.
    When Molly wandered out of her room, Chokichi was already up, practicing his karate. Molly watched as he went through his routine. He moved elegantlyback and forth in front of the large apartment windows, cutting shapes with his body. When he had finished he bowed solemnly to Molly before