“No,” agreed Laura. “When we have News Time you should put up your hand.”
“And say something interesting,” added Maisie.
Molly looked doubtful. “What would I say?” she asked.
“Anything!” said Angela. “Just make it up – Tiffany does it all the time!”
After lunch they gathered on the carpet for News Time. Molly looked around nervously. Angela sat next to her in case she needed prompting.
“Right, who’s got any news this week?” asked Miss Darling.
Angela’s hand shot up. “Molly has!” she cried.
“Lovely, Molly, and what’s your news then?” asked Miss Darling.
Molly turned bright red. She stared at the carpet.
“Um… I might go swimming,” she mumbled.
“How nice! And who’s going swimming with you?” asked Miss Darling.
Molly blushed even deeper. “I … I don’t know yet,” she stammered.
“Well … I hope you have fun,” smiled Miss Darling. “So who else has got some news? Tiffany!”
Angela groaned. That hadn’t worked at all! No one had shown the slightest interest in Molly’s news. She should have said she was swimming with dolphins – that would have got everyone’s attention! Besides, how was Molly going to get people’s attention if she mumbled all the time? Angela never mumbled – in fact teachers often asked her to keep her voice down.
They were obviously going to have to think again. Maybe Molly could come top of the class, thought Angela. But that wouldn’t work because Tiffany Charmers always came top at everything. Angela frowned. Suddenly an idea came to her. What if Molly did something daring, something that everyone would talk about for weeks? That would get her noticed! But what?
Angela waited till they were back in their seats. “I’ve got it,” she whispered. “Molly’s got to do something really daring.”
“You mean like eating a worm?” asked Laura.
“No, that’ll just make her sick. I meansomething like playing a trick on someone,” said Angela.
“What about Tiffany?” said Maisie. “Or a teacher?”
“Yes, a teacher!” said Angela. “But not Miss Darling, it ought to be the meanest, scariest teacher in the school.”
Maisie and Laura stared. “You don’t mean … MISS BOOT?” they gasped.
Angela nodded. Miss Boot was the obvious choice. No one ever dared to play a trick on her. If Molly succeeded she would be a legend throughout the school.
At first Molly thought they were joking. “You want me to play a trick on Miss Boot?” she said.
Angela nodded. “You wanted my advice – this is it,” she said.
“But how will it help me make friends?” asked Molly.
“Because it’s really daring,” said Angela. “Everyone will say, ‘Look, there’s Molly, the girl who played a trick on Miss Boot’.”
“I wouldn’t do it, I’d be terrified,” said Laura.
“Then why have I got to do it?” asked Molly.
“Because it will work,” argued Angela. “Once everyone’s talking about you they’ll all want to be your friend. You’ll see.”
Molly wasn’t so sure. Besides she’d seen Miss Boot in assembly and she looked like a fire-breathing dragon.
“But I’ll get into trouble,” she moaned.
“Only if you get caught,” said Angela. “All you have to do is sneak up and stick a sign on her back.”
“What sort of sign?” asked Molly.
Angela had written two words on a piece of card. The others burst out laughing when they saw it.
“I CAN’T DO THAT!” moaned Molly. “What if she sees it?”
“She won’t,” said Angela. “But everyone else will and that’s the joke.”
Molly shook her head. “Couldn’t you do it?” she begged.
“There’s no point in ME doing it!” said Angela. “I’ve already got hundreds of friends!”
At lunchtime they all trooped outside. Miss Boot was on playground duty with Mr Weakly.
“Now’s your chance,” said Angela. “Sneak over while she’s busy chatting.”
Molly reluctantly took the sign. “I don’t think I can,” she whimpered.
“Of course you can,” said Angela. “We’ll be right here watching you.”
Molly took a deep breath. She circled round the playground until she was behind the teachers. No one paid her any attention. Molly looked back at Angela, who gave her a thumbs up.
“You just have to show who’s in charge,” Miss Boot was saying.
“I do try,” sighed Mr Weakly. “I’ve been practising my angry face in the mirror.”
Angela watched, holding her breath as Molly crept closer. If Miss Boot turned round now, Molly was in deep doo-doo. Molly reached out a trembling hand and stuck the sign on Miss Boot’s back.
“Please DON’T do that!” snapped Miss Boot.
“Do what?” asked Mr Weakly, blinking.
“Tap me on the back – it’s very annoying,” said Miss Boot.
“But I didn’t!” bleated Mr Weakly.
“Well, someone did, I felt it,” said Miss Boot. She turned round but there was no one to be seen.
“I did it!” panted Molly, racing back. “I don’t think she saw me.”
“Well done, Molly,” said Angela. “Now we wait for the fun to start.”
Soon after the bell rang for the end of lunch break.
“LINE UP! NO TALKING!” barked Miss Boot.
Molly and Angela joined the line with everyone else. Miss Boot faced them with her arms folded. Angela wished she would turn round so that everyone could see the sign on her back.
“SILENCE! I SAID NO TALKING!” boomed Miss Boot.
Mr Weakly was gaping at her like a short-sighted fish. He seemed to be trying to say something.
“What’s the matter with you?” demanded Miss Boot. “Are you sick?”
Mr Weakly shook his head. He dropped his voice.
“Ah … um … Miss Boot,” he said. “There’s, er, something on your back.”
“ON MY BACK?” repeated Miss Boot. “What are you babbling about?”
She spun round revealing Angela’s sign stuck to her back.
A wave of giggling broke out among the children.
“STOP THAT AT ONCE!” barked Miss Boot. “What’s so funny?”
She twisted round and round, trying to see what was on her back. The giggling grew louder. Angela, Laura and Maisie were almost helpless. In the end Mr Weakly put an end to the joke by removing the sign and handing it to Miss Boot. Her eyes bulged. She shook with rage.
“WHO…DID… THIS?” she thundered.
There was a long silence. Angela’s hand waved in the air.
“Please, Miss Boot, it was Molly,” she said proudly.
“ANGELA!” hissed Laura.
“What?” said Angela. What was the use of Molly’s daring act if she didn’t take the credit for it?
“Molly Johnson!” barked Miss Boot. “Come here!”
Molly glared at Angela and trailed out to the front.
“I am surprised at you, Molly,” said Miss Boot. “Perhaps you think this kind of thing is funny? Did you write this?”
Molly shook her head.
“Then who did?”
“Angela,” said Molly truthfully.
Angela sunk her head in her hands.
“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere,” said Miss Boot grimly. “Angela Nicely, come here! You can both go and stand outside the Head’s office. I’m sure she’ll be very interested to hear your explanation.”
Five minutes later Angela and Molly stood outside Miss Skinner’s office. Their classmates filed past on the way to class.
“You’re bonkers, Molly!” said Amanda Thribb in awe.
“I thought she was going to kill you!” said Kelly.
“It was funny, though,” grinned Sean.
“You see?” said Angela, when they’d gone. “I told you it would work – eve
ryone’s talking about you.”
Molly smiled shyly but just then the office door swung open and Miss Skinner appeared.
“Right, inside, both of you,” she snapped.
They crept in.
“What do we say?” whispered Molly.
Angela gulped. She knew lots of good advice but, right now, nothing that would save them.
Copyright
STRIPES PUBLISHING
An imprint of Little Tiger Press
1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,
London SW6 6AW
First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2014.
Text copyright © Alan MacDonald, 2017
Illustrations copyright © David Roberts, 2017
eISBN: 978–1–84715–842–0
The right of author and illustrator to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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