Molly Moon & the Monster Music Read Online Free PDF

of brown paper and began folding it. Molly watched his fingers move dextrously. “They signed contract with him. We sing and our parents and our family have better life because of contract. Mr. Proila manage us—make sure we rehearse, book our tours, get our CDs in shops. He deaf, you know. He mean. But he also very rich and powerful. Very successful.” He paused as he finished the little origami sculpture. “This is shishi lion. See open mouth? That to scare off evil spirits.” At an incredible speed he made another. “This his twin. This shishi have closed mouth to keep good spirits safe.” He put the lions together. “So, what you doing here?”
    Molly wondered whether to tell Hiroyuki about what they’d been doing in Ecuador. “We’re on a break, a mini-holiday.” Molly sipped some more of her tea.
    â€œSo now you go home?”
    â€œYes, but I really don’t want to!” Molly confided.
    â€œCome to Japan with us! Plenty of room on plane.”
    Molly nodded. “Wow. Wish I could. But I can’t.”
    The rest of the evening was spent in the adjoining game room. There was a mini shooting gallery, a Ping-Pong table, and a roulette wheel. The hours rolled by. Fueled with sugary fizzy drinks and snacks, they played past midnight.
    â€œI can hardly keep my eyes open, and no wonder—it’s one o’clock,” said Molly, looking at her watch.
    Micky yawned. “I suppose we should go.”
    â€œThat was the best fun,” said Gerry, giving Toka a friendly slap on the shoulder. “I could play all night.”
    â€œHave a good trip home,” Chokichi said as everyone gathered their things.
    â€œAnd remember,” said Hiroyuki at the door, “you’re welcome to join us and come to Japan. We have private plane, so it really easy. All you need do”—he handed Molly a piece of paper with a name and number on it—“is call this number. Speak to Miss Yjuko. She air hostess of plane. She tell you where plane leaves and what time.”
    Molly smiled. “I think we’ll more likely see you when you come on tour to London. But thanks, Hiroyuki. A nice idea.”
    Back at the hotel, Micky and Gerry went to bed.
    â€œDo you think baku really eats the bad dreams?” Molly heard Gerry asking as the door shut.
    Molly stayed up for a bit. She walked out onto the balcony and sat down. She put the black pouch on the table and absentmindedly pulled out her gold coin. She wound it between her fingers. Then shelooked at the card Hiroyuki had given her. It would be really fun to go to Tokyo in a private jet with him and his brothers. Instead she had to go back to England, to school.
    She looked out across the city square. The old buildings of Quito stood before her, their facades lit up. They looked like an audience waiting for something.
    In her pocket was the harmonica that Gerry had given her. Molly pulled it out and put it to her lips. She was surprised to find that the sound she made wasn’t bad at all. Amazingly she found that she was playing a tune that she didn’t even realize she knew.
    Below, a tramp in the square pulled his blanket around himself and listened to Molly’s music. He took his woolly hat off to hear better. When the music finished, he clapped. “Bravo! Bravo!” he shouted enthusiastically.
    Molly stood up and nodded to him and waved. The music she’d played had been remarkable, she thought, for a beginner. Then she noticed an even older man in a tweed suit who had appeared suddenly beside the tramp on the bench. She wondered who he was and where he’d come from. His clothes were strange for the city he was in, and old-fashioned, too. Not wanting an audience, Molly satback down out of sight.
    She rolled her golden coin between her thumb and forefinger. The musical note engraved on it stared back at her. Molly had the peculiar sensation that the coin was actually