by Holly Webb
For George
HW
~
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
About Holly Webb
Copyright
“It’s beautiful,” Lola said, looking up at the house. She set Alfie’s cat basket down carefully on the weedy gravel and heard him mew crossly. He’d hated being shut up for the journey, even though it hadn’t been that long.
“You really like it?” her mum asked anxiously. “I mean, I know we’ve seen it before but it seems different today. Now it’s actually ours. Our house.” She smiled and Lola saw her shoulders relax. Mum had looked worried and hunched up the whole time she’d been driving. It was as if the house was making her feel better.
“I love it,” she said and leaned over to give her mum a hug. And it was sort of true. She would have a big new bedroom and there was the huge garden to explore. It really would be exploring too – the grass was so overgrown that Mum said they would need a map and a compass and maybe even satnav to get to the end of it. Plus the new house was really close to where Lola’s uncle Chris lived.
It was only the things that came with moving house that Lola wasn’t sure about. Leaving Dad behind for a start. She was going to stay with him for lots of the weekends, and that wasn’t much less than when his flat was ten minutes away. But still – it was going to be so weird, not living in the same town any more.
The other big thing was starting a new school. Her old school was just too far to get to every day. Mum had sat her down and talked about it, when she found out she’d got her new job. It was perfect, she explained. She’d be working as a school receptionist, so she’d only be working during term time, and she’d be around to look after Lola in the holidays. There was a place for Lola at the same school too.
But Lola had been at her old school since Reception – she knew everyone, even the teachers. Now she was going to have to start all over again. Mum had said that Amie and Eloise, her two best friends, could come and stay, but that wasn’t the same as seeing them every day at school. Who was she going to mess about with? Who would she talk to at lunch? Lola wasn’t very good at talking to new people and each time she thought about it her stomach hurt. She was trying not to let Mum see how worried she was but she had a feeling her mum knew anyway.
Lola shook her hair out of her eyes. There were a few more days before school started and she wasn’t going to think about it until then. That’s what she kept telling herself anyway. “Do you think we can let Alfie out?” she asked. “He’s so cross about being in the cat carrier.”
Her mum nodded. “Let’s get inside. He can have a quick explore before the removal men turn up, then we might have to shut him in one of the rooms. He’ll need a bit of time to get used to the house before we let him out into the garden, just in case he decides to wander.” She pulled the shiny new key out of her pocket and smiled excitedly at Lola as she put it into the door. Lola picked up Alfie’s carrier and he butted his nose against the wire door, nudging at her fingers.
“You can come out in a minute,” she promised. “You’re going to love it here, Alfie. Did you see how big the garden is? It goes all round the house.” She turned the cat carrier to let him see but he only stuck a clawed paw between the wires. He wanted to get out now.
“It’s going to take a lot of clearing,” her mum said, looking round at the long grass and overgrown bushes. “Still, Uncle Chris promised he’d help. He’s coming over later on.” She gave the front door a little push and stepped inside. Lola followed her.
It was a blazing-hot day for April, and the house felt beautifully cool after being outside. It smelled a little dry and dusty, as though the windows hadn’t been opened for a long time – they probably hadn’t. When they’d first looked round the house a few months before, the estate agent told them it had been empty for a while.
Lola put down Alfie’s carrier and crouched next to it to undo the door. The black and white cat stepped out cautiously, his whiskers twitching. He rubbed his face against her knees while he eyed up his new home.
“We’ll unpack your basket in a minute,” Lola said. “It’s in the car.”
Alfie strolled away to investigate further, and Lola and Mum exchanged a relieved glance. At least Alfie didn’t look too worried about moving house. Lola watched him peer into the living room, and then he marched into the kitchen and sat down on the floor. He glared meaningfully at Lola and she snorted with laughter. “Did you want a special new house second breakfast?”
“Actually, that’s a good idea,” Mum said, following Alfie into the kitchen. “We want him to think that the new house is somewhere he wants to stay.”
“Extra meals are definitely going to help with that,” Lola agreed. “I’ll get the cat food and his bowls out of the car.” She jogged back along the hallway and went to burrow through the bags and boxes piled up on the back seat of the car. She was just shutting the car door when a flicker of movement caught her eye – something in the bushes of the overgrown garden. Lola blinked and looked again but everything was still now.
“Probably another cat,” she whispered to herself, hoping that didn’t mean Alfie would get into a fight. As the garden was so big, their new neighbours weren’t very close – there should be enough space for Alfie and any cats who already lived in the street. The garden backed on to an old cemetery as well, so there would be loads for Alfie to explore once he’d got used to the house.
She heard an engine rumbling down the road and peered around the car – the removal van was coming! Lola shifted the bag of cat food, which was slipping out of her arms, and hurried back inside.
“Mum! The removal van, I can see it!”
Her mum appeared at the front door, looking pleased. “They were quick! Can you go and feed Alfie and shut him in the kitchen?” She dropped a kiss on Lola’s hair as she came out into the garden. “I know there’s loads of unpacking to do but just think how nice it’ll be to have all our things in the new house.”
Lola nodded. She was looking forward to having all her stuff in her new room. But as she poured cat food into Alfie’s bowl and he purred lovingly and nudged at her hand, that cold, worried feeling was still churning inside her.
The removal men had put the garden table and chairs from their old house by the side door from the kitchen, where there was a little paved area. Mum and Lola sat out there in the late-afternoon sun, worn out from shifting boxes, and watched Alfie stalking through the long grass. He hadn’t approved of being shut in the kitchen and he’d darted out past Mum’s legs while she was carrying a box of dishes. He didn’t seem to be wandering too far, though.
“We should explore the rest of the garden,” Mum suggested, but she didn’t sound very enthusiastic about it. “There’s a shed down there somewhere and a greenhouse.”
“Where?” Lola peered at the jungly lawn. “I suppose they could be past that big tree.” She stood up to look better. “Actually, I can see the greenhouse. And Mum, that tree – is there a ladder in it?”
Her mum frowned. “Yes, a rope ladder, I think. Oh, Lola, is that a tree house?”
“I’m going to look!” Lola jumped up excitedly.
“Better not climb it until we’ve checked the ladder’s still in one piece,” Mum said, going after her. “I think we’re going to need a bigger lawnmower,” she added as they swished through the long grass.
“There’s a football goal as well,” Lola said, pointing further down the garden. She wasn’t mu
ch good at football, but she quite fancied kicking a ball around this big lawn – once the grass was cut. Right now she’d just lose the ball.
“It’s going to be an amazing garden,” Mum said, tugging gently on the rope ladder to see if it was safe. “This feels OK, Lola. You can climb up it, but be careful when you reach the top. You need to make sure the floor’s stable. It must be years old.”
The tree house was old and weathered, and it was built right around the tree. They hadn’t noticed it when they’d come to view the house – they’d been paying more attention to the house itself than the garden, and the tree house was half hidden by the branches, which were all just coming into leaf.
“This is a horse chestnut tree,” Mum said. “I bet it has loads of conkers in the autumn. It’s massive.”
The trunk of the tree was so big that Lola was pretty sure that even she and Mum together wouldn’t be able to reach all the way round it. There were thick wooden struts bolted on to the trunk to support the floor of the tree house – it looked quite solid. Lola heaved her elbows up on to it and pushed, trying to see if it wobbled. It didn’t but she swung about on the ladder.
“It’s OK,” she called down as she heard Mum catch her breath. “It’s just the ladder swinging. The floor doesn’t even creak.” She wriggled on to the platform and pushed open the door of the little house. “It’s a bit spidery, though!”
The floor was covered in dead leaves and dirt but Lola could see how cosy the tree house could be once she swept it out. There were even some faded curtains at the window. It was surprisingly big too. Definitely room for a sleeping bag, Lola reckoned, if she wanted to camp out. Or maybe two sleeping bags, if she had a friend to stay. She thought of Amie and Eloise, and her stomach churned again. She gave herself a little shake. Maybe they could both sleep in the tree house with her when they visited? There would be room for three if they squashed up.
“I need to clear it out but it’s great,” she called down to her mum, popping her head out of the window. “And it doesn’t shake about at all, I promise. You should come up – you can see the whole garden, if you look between the branches. I can even see a bit of the graveyard. Did you know the fence was broken? There’s a big hole in it over there.”
“Is it?” Mum gave a sighing sort of laugh. “We’d better add that to the list of things to do. Come on down now, Lola. Uncle Chris is going to be here soon and he’s bringing dinner. You could show him the tree house afterwards, if you like.”
Dinner! Lola’s stomach wriggled again, but with hunger this time. It seemed ages since their picnic lunch in the middle of all the boxes.
Uncle Chris arrived with a huge paper bag tucked under each arm, and then he tried to hug Mum and Lola while he was still carrying them and nearly dropped chips all over the floor. “Lola, I got you fish, is that OK?” he asked as they unpacked the fish and chips into the spaces between the piles of stuff on the kitchen table. “I wasn’t sure, but I remembered you liked fish fingers at your gran’s house.”
Lola nodded shyly. She’d met Uncle Chris before of course, loads of times, but she hadn’t seen him in a while. Not since Christmas, she realized, when they’d all gone to stay at her gran’s. Somehow she’d never talked to him that much, although Mum had told her funny stories about all the animals he’d adopted when they were growing up. He was a vet now and he worked for a wildlife charity. It was one of the things that made Mum so happy about moving here, that she’d get to spend more time with her brother.
Lola watched as Alfie wound himself adoringly around Uncle Chris’s legs. He never even did that to her and he was her cat!
Uncle Chris smiled. “Don’t be jealous, Lola. It’s only because he knows I’m the one with the fish.”
“I-I’m not,” Lola stammered, turning pink. She grabbed a stray chip to nibble on, to cover up that she was embarrassed, and listened to Mum and Uncle Chris joking with each other as they unpacked the food. Uncle Chris was one of those people who could always make everyone laugh but it made him a bit scary to talk to. Lola picked at her fish, which she wasn’t all that keen on, but there was no way she was telling Uncle Chris that. She could feed some of it to Alfie when no one was looking…
A few days later, almost all the boxes were gone. Lola’s bedroom had new bookshelves that she’d helped Mum put up, and her books and little china animals were all unpacked. Her new green and grey school uniform was hanging in the wardrobe they’d brought with them from the old house. Everything was ready – except for Lola. If only they’d moved house at the beginning of the Easter holidays, instead of near the end. But it had taken ages for the people who wanted to buy Lola and Mum’s house to sell theirs, then it had all happened just in time. It seemed such a mad rush. If she’d had a bit longer to get used to the new house, maybe she wouldn’t be so worried about school…
“That isn’t true,” Lola muttered to Alfie, who was curled up in a puddle of black and white fur at the end of her bed. “It wouldn’t have made any difference if I’d been here since the holidays started. I’d still be panicking.” She wriggled her feet out from under Alfie, and he rolled over and yawned and stretched. He opened one yellow-green eye and peered suspiciously at her, and then he went back to sleep. Cats didn’t have to get up.
“Lola! Are you dressed?” Mum called from downstairs and Lola hopped out of bed.
“Yes!”
“Toast’s on!”
Lola sighed. Mum was going to want her to eat a proper breakfast and she really didn’t feel like it. She could manage juice, maybe, but at the thought of toast her throat seemed to close up.
She put on her uniform and grabbed her backpack, and then dawdled down the stairs. Alfie decided he’d had enough sleep and it was his breakfast time too. He lolloped after her, purring hopefully as they came into the kitchen.
“Oh, you look smart!” Mum smiled at her. “Sorry we have to go so early, sweetheart, but I’ve got to be there before all the children start arriving. Do you want me to plait your hair? We’ve got time if you want Dutch braids.”
Lola nodded. She could plait her own hair but it was much quicker if Mum did it. Dutch braids would look nice for her first day. And fussing about with her hair would use up the time until they had to leave. She wondered if Mum was nervous about her first day too. Except it wasn’t really the first day for her – she had gone into school for a couple of days at the end of last term, while Lola was staying at her dad’s. She’d told Lola the school was lovely and so was her teacher.
“Here, eat this.” Mum put a plate of toast in front of her. “I’ll do your hair while you’re eating.”
Lola nibbled at the toast and felt the brush tugging gently through her hair. She closed her eyes as Mum started to plait, pulling the long strands under each other. It was soothing, feeling her mum’s hands busy in her hair. “I could plait yours tonight,” she murmured. Mum’s hair was just as long as hers, dark and wavy, but she’d put it up in a bun for work.
“That would be nice.” Mum leaned round to look at Lola. “It’s going to be OK, you know.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t!” Lola said indignantly. “I didn’t say anything!”
“Mmmm…” Mum tied a band round the end of Lola’s second plait. “OK. Done. Stick your plate in the sink, sweetheart, we’d better go.”
Lola got up and grabbed her bag, gave Alfie a goodbye stroke, which he ignored entirely, and headed out to the car. Lola peered round the back of the house for a look at the horse chestnut tree and the tree house. She’d been up there a lot over the last few days. Mum had let her take the beanbag from her room, and she’d given Lola a faded set of picnic plates and cups to keep. It was like having two bedrooms, only the tree house one was secret and safe and special.
“Mum…”
“What is it, sweetie? Come on, we need to get going.”
“Mum, look…”
There, just under her tree house, was a pale golden creature – and then another, leaning down to nibble on th
e grass, and another, and another.
“Deer!” Mum whispered. “Oh, Lola – aren’t they beautiful!”
“We’ve got deer at the end of our garden?” Lola leaned against her mum, the weird churning feeling in her stomach forgotten. How could something so beautiful be in their own garden?
The deer felt like a good sign. Mum and Lola couldn’t stop talking about them all the way to school – wondering whether they often came into the garden and where they slept and what kind of deer they were. Mum said she was pretty sure they were roe deer – she’d seen them at the rescue centre where Uncle Chris worked.
Mum and Lola were in the car park before Lola’s wobbly tummy feeling came back.
“You can come and sit in the office with me for a bit,” Mum suggested. “There won’t be many people around yet.”
Lola sat on a spare chair, listening to her mum answering the phone and chatting with the other receptionist, and thought how settled she sounded and how happy. As though she were in the right place. Maybe I am too? she wondered hopefully. But when her mum smiled at a friendly looking woman laden with bags and a bunch of plastic hockey sticks, Lola felt her heart suddenly thump inside her chest.
“Lola, this is Miss Addison – your Year Five teacher.”
“Hi, Lola. Do you want to come along and see the classroom?” Miss Addison smiled at her, and Lola nodded shyly and came out into the corridor.
“Do you want me to take those?” she asked, catching the hockey sticks as they slid out of Miss Addison’s grip.
“Oh, thank you – I probably shouldn’t have tried to bring everything in one go. Your mum said you were feeling a bit worried about moving schools?” She looked down at Lola over a bulging bag of books and Lola gaped back at her, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject.