“I’ve remembered that I like Halloween after all,” Meep whispered to Zoe as he nibbled a treat, which made her giggle.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying the Spooktacular. There was a raffle set up outside the penguin enclosure, an apple-bobbing stall by the rhinos, and face-painting a little bit further along. Zoe saw some of the zookeepers walking around with trays of hot apple juice in black and orange cups, and some others handing out biscuits in the shape of spiders and bats, and the special Halloween-themed cupcakes Zoe had made with her mum. Spooky orange pumpkins lined the path, lighting up the whole zoo, but Zoe thought it all felt very fun and friendly, rather than scary.
Even Mr Pinch seemed to be enjoying himself, despite having been so grumpy the other day about all the mess the Spooktacular would make. He was munching a toffee apple as he queued up to buy a raffle ticket. Zoe nudged Meep and pointed to the zoo manager.
“Look, Mr Pinch is actually having fun!” she whispered.
When they turned the corner and arrived at the café, Zoe saw that almost her whole class was already there. “Everyone looks brilliant!” she said. “Look, Mum – Miss Hawkins has dressed up as a witch too!”
Miss Hawkins wore a tall pointy hat like Lucy’s, but hers was purple with gold stars, and instead of a broomstick she held a furry toy cat under her arm. “Hello!” she called. “I love your costumes. I think I recognise yours from the photograph you brought to school, Zoe. You’ve come as Shadow the wolf!”
Zoe grinned. “That’s right!” she said. “I like your costume too, Miss Hawkins.”
Jack and Nicola arrived together. Jack was dressed as a scary pirate, with a black eyepatch, a hook over his right hand and scars drawn in red pen all over his face. Nicola was a zombie ballerina, wearing a pink tutu and ballet shoes, and lots of spooky make-up.
“You two look amazing!” Zoe told them.
“So do you! I can’t wait to meet the real Shadow,” Nicola replied.
“Yes, can we go and meet him now?” asked Jack hopefully.
“Not just yet!” said Miss Hawkins, overhearing them. “First we’re all going to take part in the costume parade.”
“My Great-Uncle Horace is the judge!” Zoe explained.
Just then, Great-Uncle Horace’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
“Hello, everybody! Happy Halloween to you all! The costume parade is about to begin, so please could you all follow the path that has been lined with special silver balloons. It will take you past the zebras, the flamingos and the grizzly bears, and then finish outside the gift shop. I will be watching carefully to judge the best costume and I will announce the winner after the concert, which will come next!”
Jack looked very excited, and Nicola jumped up and down, clapping her hands and squealing eagerly. “I can’t wait!” she said.
But Zoe bit her lip, suddenly feeling very nervous. She had managed to put the concert out of her mind for most of the evening, but now it was almost here, she felt more scared than ever before. She tried her best to smile at Jack and Nicola as they started walking in the costume parade, not wanting them to guess that anything was wrong.
Stephanie and Will, two of the Rescue Zoo keepers, were handing out bars of chocolate and lollies along the path, so they all helped themselves. A little bit further along, another keeper called Frankie was snapping photographs to put on the zoo’s website, and called out, “You three look fantastic! Can I have a photo of you together, please?”
Jack held up his hook and growled like a pirate, while Nicola held her arms high above her head and arranged her feet like a ballerina, and Zoe put her head back and howled like a real wolf.
Suddenly Meep’s ears pricked up. “Zoe, listen!” he squeaked. “Can you hear that? I think it’s Shadow!”
Zoe listened and realised she could hear another howl over the cheery chatter of the crowd – but this one sounded very sad.
“We’ve got a few minutes before the concert,” she whispered to Meep. “Let’s see if we can slip away and go to check that he’s OK. His enclosure is only round the corner.” She turned to her friends. “Back in a minute!” she said to Jack and Nicola. “I just, um, forgot something I need for the concert.”
“OK, Zoe. Don’t be long or you’ll miss it!” said Nicola.
Zoe and Meep squeezed through the crowd and ducked down an empty pathway that they knew would take them straight to Shadow. When they reached the enclosure, Zoe used her special necklace to open the gate and slip inside. As soon as the little wolf saw them, he bounded straight over to Zoe and Meep, barking happily.
“Hi, Shadow!” said Zoe, kneeling down to hug him. “I’m really sorry we couldn’t stay yesterday.
What do you think of my costume?”