Tales From The Wyrd Museum 2: The Raven's Knot by Robin Jarvis Page B

Son of Man—"the Lord of the Dance".’
    With that he punched the button down and the tune to that hymn began to blare from the speakers.
    In one practised movement, Peter ripped open his cassock to reveal a full length black leotard and at once he began to leap about the stage in time to the music.
    Waving his long arms in the air, he capered around in a wide circle, waggling his head from side to side and tapping his feet upon the floor as the hymn played on.
    For a whole minute both the children and the members of staff could only gape at the zealous young man as he endeavoured to illustrate the overwhelming joy that so consumed his spirit.
    No one could quite believe what they were witnessing. The sight of the Reverend Galloway cavorting about the stage, twisting and gyrating to the music, was the strangest spectacle most of them had ever seen and they were frozen with astonishment.
    To and fro he gambolled and the expression on his face was one of perfect serenity. In his mind's eye he was as graceful as a swan, exquisitely conveying in the poetry of his movements all that he could not form into words. In reality however, in that black leotard and with his wild haystack of hair, he looked more like a member of some bizarre circus launching into a peculiar and ungainly mime. Blissfully unaware of the effect this unexpected performance was having, he danced on—but it did not last for long.
    As the tape recorder continued to thump out the tune, gradually the general amazement thawed, and the pupils began to stir and look at one another. Quickly the shock subsided and, in one great united voice, the entire theatre erupted with a terrific peal of laughter.
    Totally unprepared for this explosive reaction, when the shrieks and hoots of ridicule came, Peter's steps faltered and he stared about him—bewildered and dismayed.
    ‘No,’ he protested. ‘You don't understand. All I'm trying to do... it's the beauty of God's love... please. I just wanted to show how wonderful it makes me feel... can't you see that? Listen to me. Children, listen.’
    But it was no use. The respect he had commanded only a few minutes ago when he appealed to their bloodthirsty natures was gone. There was no way he could reclaim it and, to his horror, he saw that the teachers too were sniggering behind their hands. Staring at them, with the children's derisive laughter trumpeting in his ears, the colour rose in his face as a bitter coldness gripped the pit of his stomach and he realised the full extent of his humiliation.
    Just as the audience had begun to harken to his words and think about what he was trying to communicate to them, he had thrown it all away by his own misjudgment. How could he have been so blind not to consider the preposterous exhibition he was going to make of himself?
    His hopes and spirits crushed, the Reverend Galloway walked over to the tape recorder and turned it off. Then, retrieving his cassock, he left the theatre with the laughter still resounding in his ears and branded upon his heart.
    ‘All right, all right,’ Mrs Stride called. That's enough, the fun's over—we'll have The Lord’s Prayer.’
    Still tittering, the children bowed their heads and began to chant. ‘Our Father...’ Murmuring along with them, Neil wondered if the world outside The Wyrd Museum had always been this strange and he just hadn't noticed before, whilst at his side the bespectacled boy uttered, ‘Dear Alien, up in your spaceship...’
    So Neil's first day at his new school commenced. But when the assembly was over and he trailed off to his first lesson, he found himself longing once more for the excitement of The Wyrd Museum.
    Already he missed the dark, shadowy corners of its lonely galleries and the display cabinets with their unusual exhibits. Yet as he sat at his desk, the time when the Webster sisters would need his help again was already drawing near.

Chapter 5 - Jam and Pancakes

    Ever since her outburst in the Chamber of Nirinel,