The next morning, everything was in a bit of a rush. Dude had stayed true to his word, and managed to convince everyone to go up into the attic with him. They brought brooms, dusters and a few cleaning cloths. Even if they don't look through everything, the most that they could do was give the room a rushed cleaning job. They were limited for time, Dude even skipped out on his usual morning run just to get started. They only had roughly an hour and a half until they had to open the park and the staff would be arriving soon to get started on food prep and safety checks on the rides. Sooner or later a member of staff might interrupt to check things over or ask for an extra hand. So the faster they look through the attic and give it a quick sweep, the sooner they can get on with their own usual routine.
No one had been up in this place for quite some time. The only evidence that someone was up there recently was Dude's footprints in the dust from the night before. Boxes had been stacked haphazardly, leaving some of the Gang to move the boxes to prevent them from toppling over. It was quite stuffy from previous summers and the sun shining through the windows, catching the dust floating in the air. It was quite a large space. Aside from the spare bedroom, it could be an ideal storage space too. Or even a workshop for Bud as it would give him more room to invent things. Either way, no one was going to be occupying this attic until it was given a proper clear out. It could take a few days with how much limited free time everyone had.
"EW! Dude, why are we doing this again?" Mimi grimaced as she looked at her hands. They were almost completely grey from the dust after touching one of the boxes.
"We need to clear this place out Mimi." Dude responded, rolling his eyes. "Two months and we haven't even looked around this attic properly. Now before the park opens is a good a time as any to get started."
"You are so cleaning my outfit for this!" Mimi whined, brushing the dust off of her as best that she could.
"Don't get your tights in a tangle Mimi! It's not the end of the world!" Pip exasperated a long sigh. Mimi scoffed but decided to not complain any longer. She was outnumbered her, and no matter how much she whined, she knows that she won't get out of this. As she was sweeping the floor, Candi scanned everything carefully. She wanted to find out what was making those noises from the night before. She was still paranoid that she heard something that frightened her. Rainbow stayed close to her, sensing all of her distress. He found a bit difficult to manoeuvre for a bit. So far, they hadn't found anything. Just boxes of objects that were left to collect dust. The windows are closed, so nothing could've gotten in or out. Aside from Dude's footprints before everyone started their work, nothing was disturbed at all. There was nothing to be worried about.
"Ohhhh! What's this?" Sprout asked, pulling away some boxes. He then let out a loud grin. It caught everyone's attention. "Bonkers!"
"What is it?" Mimi asked, forgetting her previous complaints.
"A magic cart! Look at this!" Sprout declared. Everyone gathered around him. He was hurriedly inspecting a small metal cart. Both shelves of it had a large box that was stuffed with various magic tricks. Cards, hankies, feathers, even matchboxes could be made out from the top of both boxes. There was even a top hat, which Sprout was quick to swap his hat for. He hurriedly rummaged through the cart, grinning like the Mad Hatter. "A wand, cards, books! This is the best find ever! I claim this as mine!"
"So, what? You want us to do a magic show for our first show?" Pip asked, feeling a little excited herself.
"Why not?! I love magic!" Sprout grinned. "And kids love magic!"
"You do realise that we're going to have to practice magic as well, and that could take quite a bit of time." Bud brought up, picking up a deck of cards to inspect.
"The magician that I was trained under taught me for a few months. It's not as hard as you think, Bud." Sprout smiled with extreme confidence. It wasn't a big deal. He can teach everyone else what he knows (or at least the bare minimum for the time being) and they'll be okay to self learn in no time. As everyone else started to ask Sprout a few more questions, Candi's attention was suddenly on something else. Pressed up against the cart was an old book. Only Candi spotted it. It was covered with dust, hiding the dark colour of the cover. The pages, once pure white, had gone yellow with age. It was a bit odd that it would just be left there like that. It had this enticing feeling to it. It was like anyone who had looked at it, would be drawn to it like a moth to a flame. No one else seemed to have noticed it.
"What's this book?" Candi asked, picking up the book. The enticing spell that it had on her, had made it impossible to resist. The air felt static around her, her fingertips feeling tingly. Propping the book with one arm, she flicked through the pages. There was a musty smell from the yellowed pages. Dust flew from it with each turn of a page. Someone hasn't looked at this book for a very long time. Candi scanned each page a little, her actions seemingly ignored. There were poems in them. Each one unique to the other. Candi found herself grinning at a few of them. This poem was quite funny sounding. The air continued to feel static as she silently read it. There was this conciseness within her, urging her to read it out loud. She wasn't sure if she should fight it or not. Maybe speaking it quietly won't harm anyone?
"Yang and Yin,
Yin, and Yang,
Watch this cupboard open with a bang!
Yin and Yang,
Yang and Yin,
May my opposite be within!"