'Oh, um, I can't think of one.'
'Okay, how's this?' said Katie. 'When we were in kindergarten, Tyler, Nicola and I made a really embarrassing secret pact we've never told anyone -'
'QUIET!' shouted Tyler and Nicola at the same time. 'It's the real Katie!'
Nicola introduced Katie to Topaz, Serena and Joshua. '
I'm impressed that you managed to escape from Enrico's hostage room,' said Topaz.
'Oh, well, I had a lot of help,' said Katie.
'Have some hizza and tell us about it,' offered Joshua.
'Hizza!' said Katie. 'I was just thinking I could smell hizza!'
Gosh, thought Nicola. She sounds as if she's been living on Shobble for years. It gave her a sad, almost jealous feeling thinking of all the things Katie had experienced without her. Would their friendship be different now?
'Katie, your hair looks great!' said Shimlara. 'We were so upset when we heard Enrico had cut it off but it really suits you.'
'He didn't cut if off,' said Katie with a mouth full of hizza. 'That's how all this started. I was just so sick of the whole "hairity" business, I asked Joy to cut it off for me. You see, I found out there was a Katie Hobbs fan club and that was just too much. Can you think of anything worse - a fan club just for me!' She took another huge bite of hizza.
'I'm pretty sure the girls at school have a secret Sean Berry fan club,' said Sean. He ran his fingers through his hair like a rock star. 'It doesn't worry me.'
'Well, I didn't like it. After it was cut I felt great. Then that article appeared in the newspaper and the fan club started holding candlelit vigils outside Enrico's mansion. They were chanting poems all about "letting Katie go" and how I should be free like a bird or something. Anyway, it was driving Enrico nuts. So after I cut my hair he paraded me in front of them, saying, "Look! She's not even a hairity!" He thought that would be the end of my fan club. The funny thing was . . .'
Katie stopped, looking shy.
'What?' prompted Nicola.
'Well,' said Katie, 'they still liked me. Actually, they seemed to like me even more. Enrico couldn't believe it. The problem was that it sent Enrico into a jealous rage. He kept saying to them, "But why? Why do you like her? Look at her hair! Do you like her more than me? Why don't you start a fan club for me?" And when he said that, someone laughed. Well, that was it. Enrico decided to starve me.'
'Oh, no!' said Nicola. 'I knew you looked thinner!'
'No, no,' said Katie. 'Joy and Silent Fred were sneaking plenty of food in to me. Lots of hizza. Also, I'd made friends with some of the Security Thugs because of our Scrabble games, so they were bringing me food to eat too. But then Enrico started visiting me to see how much I was suffering and it infuriated him the way I was still smiling. He kept saying to the Thugs, "I want to see her miserable! Why doesn't she look sadder? She looks happier than my own children!" (Well, it wasn't my fault. Those twins are such whiners.) Anyway, Enrico decided the only solution was to reduce my oxygen intake -'
'WHAT?' said Sean. 'He tried to suffocate you?'
'Well, that's when Joy and Silent Fred and the Katie Hobbs Fan Club and the nice Security Thugs all got together and came up with this plan to smuggle me out. They distracted the nasty Security Thugs with a fake fire and then I had to climb down this rope ladder from my window in the middle of the night . . .'
'You must have been terrified,' said Nicola.
'I was - but it was better than suffocating. They had the most beautiful ShobGobble waiting for me. I had to learn how to ride pretty fast! You have to be really light with your feather-whip, don't you?'
'So you rode all the way here on a ShobGobble?' said Greta. 'All on your own?'
'Yes,' said Katie. She smiled tiredly at them. 'I didn't think I could do it but I guess I did. Of course, when I came through the Valley of High Hopes I thought I could do anything! Oh, and when I was in the valley I came upon this huge family reunion. They said it was all thanks to the Space Brigade! This old man called Horatio Banks couldn't stop talking about how wonderful you all were. Oh, and a girl called Barbie said she hoped your arm was okay, Nicola. What happened to your arm?'
'A Biter,' explained Nicola, and then she said, 'Hey, does that mean you crossed the Raging River on your own? You had to fight off the Biters all by yourself?'
'Yes,' said Katie. 'But I crossed it at night. Apparently, the Biters can't see as well at night, so you're less likely to be bitten.'
'You crossed that river on your own at night!' said Tyler. He shook his head. 'You are - you are -'
'A legend,' completed Sean.
'My hero,' completed Shimlara.
'Stop it,' said Katie. 'That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was when I was crossing the Sweet Dream Swamplands during the hurricane. Although I shouldn't complain. I looked up at one point and saw a hot-air balloon. Can you believe it? It looked like it was going to smash into the mountain. I felt so sorry for those people!'