Matthew and the Chimney Sweeps: Book One (Completed, Editing)

Chapter Seventeen: The Name on the Piano Bench

Simon won.

For the second time that night, as shrills and shrieks of pure bliss from the Westies broke out, Matthew couldn't breathe. Beside him, John collapsed to his knees and started to sob, drool pouring out of his mouth. The rest of the Free Territory children were as upset. Slink was so distraught he nearly smashed Blue Thunder into a park bench.

***

Wretched.

That was still the mood several days later. A mood that not even the best show by the best choir in the world, let alone an amateur choir, could change. Not even if the Petersons' choir were all holding puppies as they sang would have helped, but Matthew and the others had promised to attend the show.

'We're going to be late,' said Matthew, as he, Norman, John and Slink stood on the beach with the rest of the boys. He wiped sand off both his new neon shirt and new neon pair of pants. All the boys were wearing the same thing.

'Well, that's not our fault, is it?' growled Norman. He threw a pebble into the water and watched it skip.

'This green is disgusting,' said John. 'We look absolutely awful. It's as if a radioactive turtle puked all over us.'

'It's not that bad,' said Matthew, somewhat honest. Their new clothes had been made from an array of material Aldo and Jeff had given them as a thank you. The material had included eye-pleasing colors and patterns, but the girls got to use those first to make clothes for themselves, leaving the boys with what was left.

John shook his head and replied, exaggerating, 'Matthew, we're glowing in the dark. I bet you right now out there –' he pointed out to sea '– ship captains are wondering if a lighthouse has just been built here. Why couldn't we have the good material and the girls use this stuff?'

'Do you really need someone to answer that?' said Matthew.

As John just grunted in response, Matthew looked up at the moon in the night sky. It was full, large and as bright as it could be. Before the race he would have been astonished by it, but tonight he couldn't find its magic. The others had said the awful feeling of losing would slowly go, but he felt the same as he did right after Simon had crossed the finish line before Slink.

'Here they come,' Slink blurted out. Two rowboats full of girls, all of whom had their hair done up nicely, were gliding over the smooth water toward the beach.

Once there, they all departed for the theatre.

'We don't look half bad,' said Chloe, entering the storm drain. She had glanced around at everyone before admiring her dress. It was yellow and covered with daisies.

'Shame we don't have new shoes to go,' said Jennifer.

It did look a bit strange to see everyone wearing their old and ragged shoes with their new clothes, thought Matthew. The copious amounts of soot from the wood stove used for shoe polish did not help at all.

'Speaking of which,' said Matthew, jumping over a rat eating a rotting dead pigeon. 'I think we need to find some for Ramon, pronto.'

Ramon was plodding along in front of him. The soles of his shoes were flapping all over the place.

Matthew heard John sulking. 'Again, they're not that bad, John.'

With a sullen face, John was dragging his feet. 'It's not the clothes.'