Finally her eyes fell on Nicola, still crouched down beside her, and her scaly skin turned a purplish red, as if she'd been placed in a vat of boiling water.
"Who are you and what is going on here?"
CHAPTER 32
Nicola had never seen anyone so angry in her entire life. She backed quickly away from Mrs. Mania's chair and joined the others, her eyes fixed on the furious president.
"I think her head is about to explode," said Sean with interest.
"She doesn't have any control over her emotions," commented Great-aunt Annie disapprovingly.
"You might find it useful to take a few deep breaths and count to ten!" called out Georgio.
Mrs. Mania's eyes flashed fire. She snarled like a wild animal. Her chair skidded across the raised platform as she tried to escape from the ropes, jerking her body this way and that as though she were trying to win some kind of demented dancing competition.
"Told you we needed to tie her up good and tight," said one of the Volcomanian prisoners with satisfaction.
"Whoever is responsible for this will pay the price!" screamed Mrs. Mania.
Everyone instinctively took a step backward.
"Perhaps we should surrender now?" murmured Henry Sweet.
"Don't be silly," said Nicola, trying to sound braver than she felt. "You must never give in to bullies."
"Really?" said Henry. "Why not?"
Nicola marched up to Mrs. Mania, clenching her teeth hard to stop her head from wobbling with fright. (It wobbled when she was nervous.)
Whenever I feel intimidated by someone, I try to imagine what they were like as a baby, Nicola's mother had once told her.
Nicola tried to imagine Mrs. Mania as a red-faced baby kicking her legs and banging her fists in a high chair, but actually, she still seemed scary, even as a baby.
Or if that doesn't work, I pretend I'm an Academy Award-winning actress playing the role of a courageous heroine, Nicola's mother had continued.
Nicola imagined herself on a big movie screen wearing a shiny, black, leather outfit and striding across a battlefield. Mmmm, that was better.
"Mrs. Mania," she began. "My name is Nicola Berry and I--"
"I know who you are! You're nothing more than an Earthling child!"
Nicola's ears rang. "My age isn't relevant--"
"You're playing with fire
this time, girlie, and you're going to get hurt! "
"Please don't call me girlie," said Nicola. She couldn't stand that word.
"Stay out of this war and get back on your own piddling planet!"
Nicola decided not to say anything else. She just crossed her arms and stared at Mrs. Mania, her eyebrows raised in a superior fashion. After all, Mrs. Mania was the one tied to a chair.
It seemed to work.
Mrs. Mania stared back at her for a while, grinding her teeth like a tiger about to pounce. Finally she snarled, "What do you want?"
"We'd like you to order the withdrawal of your troops from this planet," said Nicola, knowing full well that wasn't going to happen.