Ava didn’t know much about Year Seven either, but whatever they had there must be even better than your own proper desk and overnight camping trips. There had to be something that would make these Year Six girls want to move up.
“Lottie,” said Ava. “Is there anything in your notebook about Year Seven?”
Lottie took her notebook out of her pocket. She flipped through the pages. Her cousin was going into Year Seven, and she’d written something about it in there somewhere. But it was hard to read anything because of all the scribbles.
Ava tried to think of the most grown-up thing possible. Doing things on your own is very grown-up.
“Maybe in Year Seven, you can walk to school all by yourself,” she said to Jessica. “Without your mum!”
Jessica had stopped crying. “I already do that,” she told Ava. “I have done since Year Five.”
Year Five was only two years on from Year Three. Suddenly Ava wasn’t sure she liked the sound of walking to school all by yourself. It sounded scary. And lonely.
“Lunch,” muttered Lottie, still looking through her notebook. “It was something to do with lunch in Year Seven.”
“Girls,” said Mrs Peabody to Jessica and Elizabeth. “You see, you’re already so grown-up. And despite Elizabeth’s best efforts, going backwards doesn’t work: I think Jessica found out this morning that being a baby is no fun!”
Jessica nodded in agreement. It wasn’t fun.
“Onwards!” Colonel Crunch shouted from outside the window. “You have to keep marching on, girls. You can’t stay in one place forever!”
There was silence in the office. Jessica and Elizabeth were thinking. The only sound was Lottie turning the pages of her notebook.
“I found it!!!” shrieked Lottie. “My cousin says that in Year Seven, after lunch you are allowed to do WHATEVER YOU WANT during break time.”
Elizabeth and Jessica already knew that. But there was more.
Lottie drew a huge breath. “AND THEN,” she said dramatically, “when you get to Year Twelve, you can even go out to a café for lunch. BY YOURSELF. WITHOUT ANY GROWN-UPS.”
Lunch with your friends sounded much better to Ava than walking to school all alone. You could walk to the café together. You could have a table to yourself, and order chocolate cake and chips followed by apple crumble for pudding. You could have secret meetings and plan sleepovers and… Ava was daydreaming. And she was doing it out loud: everyone in the office was listening to her.
After a short while, Ava remembered that she was standing in the window of the headmistress’s office and not in a café. She stopped talking. But looking around, she saw that she was not the only one daydreaming. Jessica and Elizabeth were too. For the first time, they were picturing something beyond Crabtree School.
The best part was that this daydream could become true life, if they were brave enough to let it.
Jessica and Elizabeth looked at each other the way that best friends do when they need to talk without words. Without having to say anything, they came to a decision. They had got past even the most grown-up things that a seven-year-old can think of, and it was time to find out what else was out there.
When they agreed to go, Mrs Peabody said that she was very proud of them all, and offered everyone a biscuit. The headmistress had tears in her eyes, and Ava wondered if her own tears would make Mrs Peabody’s eyes extra googly and her hair stand up and maybe even her head spin round. Lady Lovelypaws seemed worried about this as well and rubbed up against Mrs Peabody’s legs to calm her down. Then Lady Lovelypaws rubbed up against Elizabeth and Jessica’s legs too, as if she were saying goodbye.
“Ava,” said Jessica before she left Mrs Peabody’s office, “maybe some days I can meet you by the gate after school and walk you home. I’ll get my mum to ask your mum.”
Ava couldn’t think of anything she’d like more. She leaned in through the window to give Jessica a hug. When Jessica raised her arms to hug Ava back, there was a loud tearing sound as the back of the lost property uniform dress ripped open at the seams. The Year Sixes had well and truly outgrown Crabtree School.
It was quite easy for Jessica and Elizabeth to convince the rest of their class that it was time to leave Crabtree School. Zoe thought it was the bit about having lunch without grown-ups that had done it. Lottie said it was because eleven-year-olds always wanted to do whatever their friends did. Probably they were both right.
Colonel Crunch had given the Year Six girls a final salute as they marched out of the school gates. They promised to come and visit often and to bring back news of Year Seven.
By just after nine o’clock the next morning, Crabtree School was almost back to normal. The front windows were shiny and sparkling and Baron Biscuit was strokeable again. Mrs Peabody was in her office having hot chocolate and biscuits with Lady Lovelypaws, who now had a new bed made of bubble wrap. Colonel Crunch was busy hanging the fairy lights back up in the Rainbow Room. There were delicious smells coming from the kitchen.
The new Reception girls were happily settled into their proper Reception classroom. They were making collages out of the extra beans from the beanbag chairs. Not a single one of them was crying.
Ava was once again at her desk in the Year Three classroom, looking out over the park. She was thinking about the big girls in Year Seven, and about what secondary school must be like. Wouldn’t it be brilliant to walk across the park to a café? Or maybe not a café. Maybe a fancy restaurant, like the one her mum and dad went to for their anniversary. Zoe, Isabel and Lottie could come too. They could all wear high heels and lipstick with their uniforms. Or maybe they could bring fancy dresses to change into. And they could have perfume. Grown-up ladies always wore perfume when they went out to dinner. They could all sit at a big table with fancy plates and lots of crystal glasses for clinking, and maybe there would be music and dancing, maybe some violins or a piano and ice creams with loads of cherries on top.
“Ava,” said Miss Moody. The whole class was staring at Ava. “Ava, are you here with us this morning? We are in Year Three at Crabtree School, where might you be?”
“Sorry, Miss Moody,” said Ava. “I’m here now!” She turned her attention back to her teacher. Year Three began again, really and for real this time, and Ava knew that she was exactly where she belonged.
Turn the page for lots more Crabtree School fun!
TWENTY-FIVE THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT CRABTREE SCHOOL
BY YEAR THREE (NOT TWO!!!!)
1) Mrs Crunch’s Apple Crumble
2) Watching films and eating popcorn in the Rainbow Room
3) Baron Biscuit
4) Lady Lovelypaws
5) Hot chocolate and biscuits with Mrs Peabody
6) Face-painting at the School Summer Fair
7) Miss Cheeky
8) Extra-cheesy pizza lunches on Friday
9) PE lessons with Mrs Yards, esp. dancing!!!
10) Music lessons with Mr Rockanroll
11) Father Christmas visiting in December
12) The smell of the roses that grow along the back fence in the playground
13) The squishy clay in the art room
14) All-school teddy bear picnics in Crabtree Park
15) Pretending to ice-skate on the floor in the school foyer
16) Colonel Crunch teaching chess on the giant chessboard in the playground
17) The all-school Halloween parade
18) Mrs Peabody
19) Class trips to ice-skate on the pond in Crabtree Park
20) The gazillions of books in the school library
21) The Crabtree School tree house
22) Sports Day
23) The caterpillar house in the playground
24) The Spring Pet Parade
25) The last day of school running-through-the-sprinklers party
ALL ABOUT ME
MY FULL NAME: Ava Alexandra Hughes.
WHERE I LIVE: 77 Crabtree Lane. My house is probably haunted!! There are fairies in the gard
en too.
WHAT MY ROOM LOOKS LIKE: My room is in the tower at the top of our house! It is pink and has a big doll’s house.
WHO IS IN MY FAMILY: Mummy, Daddy and my brother, Johnny.
MY PETS: I have a cat called Marden. He looks like an alien.
MY BEST FRIEND(S): Zoe, Lottie and Isabel.
WHAT I LOVE TO DO: Make up stories, play dressing up, hunt for fairies in the garden.
WHAT MAKES ME CROSS: When people tell me to stop daydreaming!!!
WHAT I AM MOST AFRAID OF: The dark.
WHAT I COLLECT: Snow globes.
MY SECRET HIDING PLACE: I have two!!! The secret drawer in the top of my dresser, and a little hole in a tree in the garden.
ALL ABOUT ME
MY FULL NAME:
WHERE I LIVE:
WHAT MY ROOM LOOKS LIKE:
WHO IS IN MY FAMILY:
MY PETS:
MY BEST FRIEND(S):
WHAT I LOVE TO DO:
WHAT MAKES ME CROSS:
WHAT I AM MOST AFRAID OF:
WHAT I COLLECT:
MY SECRET HIDING PLACE:
LOTTIE’S JOURNAL - KEEP OUT!!
PLAY DATE NUMBER: 95
SLEEPOVER??? (TICK ONE)
YES NO
WHOSE HOUSE? Isabel’s House
WHO CAME?
Lottie
Ava
Isabel
Zoe
BROTHERS AND SISTERS?
Johnny
Rafe
Scarlett
Ruby
Lola
DID THEY BOTHER US? (TICK ONE)
YES NO
TREATS WE HAD TO EAT:
NONE
WHAT WE PLAYED:
No playing!!!! Made plan to save Crabtree School from Year Sixes!
Then dug in garden for 10,000 hours.
LEVEL OF FUN (CIRCLE ONE):
MOST FUN EVER REALLY FUN QUITE FUN NOT FUN
OTHER THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THIS PLAY DATE:
Never let the Reds near my notebook!!!!!
They are EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLAY DATE NUMBER:
SLEEPOVER??? (TICK ONE)
YES NO
WHOSE HOUSE?
WHO CAME?
BROTHERS AND SISTERS?
DID THEY BOTHER US? (TICK ONE)
YES NO
TREATS WE HAD TO EAT:
WHAT WE PLAYED:
LEVEL OF FUN (CIRCLE ONE):
MOST FUN EVER REALLY FUN QUITE FUN NOT FUN WORST PLAY DATE EVER
OTHER THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THIS PLAY DATE:
MRS PEABODY LOVES TO HAND OUT BISCUITS TO THE CRABTREE GIRLS. WHICH TYPE OF BISCUIT ARE YOU? TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT!
1. What’s your favourite subject at school?
a. Maths (like Zoe!)
b. Music
c. PE
d. Humanities
2. What would you most like to do on a play date?
a. Play make-believe
b. Put on a play
c. Play hide-and-seek
d. Make something crafty (Isabel would choose this answer!)
3. What’s your favourite pet?
a. Cat (maybe a white fluffy one, like Lady Lovelypaws?)
b. Hamster
c. Dog (a real one, not a statue like Baron Biscuit!)
d. Rabbit (Isabel has three of these!)
4. Which magical creature would you most like to meet?
a. Unicorn
b. Mermaid
c. Elf
d. Fairy (Ava would choose this answer!)
5. What would your dream holiday be?
a. Camping
b. Disney World
c. Adventure holiday
d. Tropical island with a sandy beach
6. What’s the most fun thing about a sleepover?
a. Making a den for all the sleeping bags
b. Midnight feasts
c. Staying up late
d. Telling stories and sharing secrets
7. What’s your favourite colour?
a. Red
b. Pink
c. Blue
d. Green
8. What word best describes you?
a. Curious (Lottie would choose this answer, because she is so nosy!)
b. Fun
c. Energetic
d. Dreamer (Ava would choose this answer!)
9. What’s your favourite food?
a. Chocolate
b. Burger (Zoe would choose this answer! You can read all about Zoe in Book 2!)
c. Pizza
d. Crisps
Mostly As:
You’re a piece of shortbread
You love solving puzzles and you love learning new things – you’re first to put your hands up in class, and you often help friends when they have problems. You also really love animals and if you don’t have a family pet, you really want one!
Mostly Bs:
You’re a party ring
You’re the life of the party! You find it really easy to make friends and you want to have as much fun as possible. You love dressing up – the more colours the better! You’re always the first person to come up with a new game or an exciting adventure.
Mostly Cs:
You’re a chocolate chip cookie
You’re a real-life adventurer. You love sports and running around, and one day you’d love to be a famous explorer or an Olympic athlete. You have so many after-school activities to fit in, but you always manage to see your friends too.
Mostly Ds:
You’re a pink wafer biscuit
You love daydreaming and imagining yourself in all sort of wonderful fairylands and magical adventures. You love making up stories and playing make-believe games, and you love drawing and painting and making things. Sometimes you’re shy but you love your best friends.
Scholastic Children’s Books
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SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2015
This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd, 2015
Text copyright © Lauren Pearson, 2015
Illustration copyright © Becka Moor, 2015
The right of Lauren Pearson and Becka Moor to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them.
eISBN 978 1407 16725 1
A CIP catalogue record for this work is available from the British Library.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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