Alice-Miranda in Japan 9 by Jacqueline Harvey Page B

watched as he pointed at Jacinta and then ran his finger across his throat.
    Millie’s heart thumped. ‘You little brat!’ she called and shook her fist back at him.
    â€˜What did he do?’ Jacinta whispered, still not wanting to turn around.
    Millie was about to tell her when she spotted Alice-Miranda shaking her head.
    â€˜Nothing. He’s just horrible,’ said Millie, still staring at the boy.
    â€˜Come on, let’s go.’ Alice-Miranda grabbed Jacinta’s hand and pulled her away.
    â€˜He wouldn’t have recognised me in this outfit anyway,’ Jacinta said.
    Alice-Miranda wondered about that too. He certainly wouldn’t have known it was Millie. Perhaps he was rude to everyone.
    The boy shut the curtains just as the adults caught up to them.
    â€˜What were you looking at, girls?’ Hugh asked.
    â€˜It was the boy from the shop near the temple,’ Alice-Miranda explained.
    â€˜The one who upset Jacinta?’ her father quizzed.
    She nodded.
    â€˜Well, I might pay him and his father a visit after all.’
    â€˜ Who upset Jacinta?’ Ambrosia asked. It was the first she’d heard about it.
    â€˜Perhaps we should talk about it later, Daddy,’ Alice-Miranda said pointedly.
    Hugh looked from his daughter to Ambrosia and back. ‘Okay, darling.’
    The group arrived at the inn. ‘Oh my goodness, look at you,’ Aki exclaimed as the children flooded into the foyer. ‘Kawaii.’
    â€˜I think we’ve heard that about five thousand times between Harajuku and here,’ Millie said. ‘Itoshii Squirrel really is popular.’
    â€˜That’s because he is so cute,’ Aki grinned.
    â€˜What are we doing for dinner, then?’ Hugh looked at Cecelia.
    â€˜I think we should stay in tonight,’ Cecelia said. ‘The children are tired and I’m afraid Ambrosia and I have more meetings tomorrow.’
    â€˜Here it is, then,’ said Hugh. He turned to the girls. ‘In the meantime, what would you three like to do until dinner?’
    â€˜Can we play a game?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
    â€˜I can explain how to play one of the Japanese board games,’ Aki suggested. ‘You could take it up to your room.’
    Alice-Miranda and Jacinta nodded.
    â€˜That would be great,’ Millie said, ‘except I’ll have to get changed first. I don’t think squirrel paws will be very helpful at moving board pieces.’
    Cecelia nodded. ‘That sounds absolutely perfect. I think your father and I might have a rest, Alice-Miranda – I’m afraid we oldies don’t have as much energy as you girls.’
    â€˜And I’m going to get a start on today’s article,’ Ambrosia said. ‘How about we meet here at six-thirty for dinner?’
    It was agreed. The adults wandered off, and Millie and Jacinta set about choosing a board game with Aki’s help. Alice-Miranda was happy to let them decide – she was too distracted thinking about the boy next door.
    Â 
    In the girls’ room, Millie scratched at her fur, eager to get out of the squirrel costume. She pulled off the head and took a deep breath.
    â€˜Remind me that I never want to get a job as a character at Disneyland,’ she sighed.
    â€˜What did that boy next door do when I looked away?’ Jacinta asked as she unfurled her futon.
    â€˜Um, he shook his fist,’ Millie lied. She glanced over at Alice-Miranda, who nodded.
    â€˜So why do you think they have a surveillance camera over there?’ Jacinta plonked down on the floor and took the lid off the game box.
    â€˜Who knows?’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘Maybe they have a lot of money from the Itoshii Squirrel shop.’
    â€˜Yes, that’s probably it,’ Jacinta agreed as she set up the board.
    Alice-Miranda wondered too. She had a strange feeling about that boy and the house across the alleyway.

 
    The next morning, Kiko