Alice to the Rescue E-Book

Judi Curtin

• Herausgeber: The O'Brien Press
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Winning is a good thing, isn't it? Everyone in first year is really excited about the big prize in the English essay competition – four months in France – and Alice has a good chance of winning. Megan loves writing essays, but she doesn't want to win – go away for four months alone, no way! She doesn't want Alice to go either – why would anyone want to go abroad without her best friend? But Alice seems determined to win … How much should you give up for your best friend? The seventh book in Judi Curtin's bestselling series.

Leseprobe

Reviews

Praise for Alice to the Rescue

‘Always charming, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, this book about two best friends is a treat’ Irish Independent

‘A touching story about the ways friendship can fix even the most seemingly difficult problems’ CBI Bookfest Guide 2009

Alice to the Rescue

Judi Curtin

Illustrations: Woody Fox

For Mum and Dad

Acknowledgements

Many, many thanks to everyone who helped with this book. If you don’t know who you are by now, I give up. (But just in case, thanks to: Dan, Annie, Ellen, Brian, Helen, Brenda, Ruth, Emma, Michael, Ivan, Kunak, Sarah and Woody.)

I really appreciate it when people take the trouble to let me know that they are enjoying the ‘Alice & Megan’ books. Special mention has to go to the enthusiastic letter-writers from Tiermohan NS and the eager e-mailers from The Heath NS. Thank You!

Contents

Reviews

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Chapter ten

Chapter eleven

Chapter twelve

Chapter thirteen

Chapter fourteen

Chapter fifteen

Chapter sixteen

Chapter seventeen

Chapter eighteen

Chapter nineteen

Chapter twenty

Chapter twenty-one

Chapter twenty-two

Chapter twenty-three

Chapter twenty-four

Chapter twenty-five

Chapter twenty-six

Chapter twenty-seven

Chapter twenty-eight

Chapter twenty-nine

Chapter thirty

Chapter thirty-one

Chapter thirty-two

About the Author

Copyright

Other Books

Chapter one

I ate the last spoonful of porridge, and got up from the table to put my bowl into the dishwasher. Mum gave a big long sigh, making her straggly, curly fringe rise up into the air, almost as if it was getting ready to fly off into outer space.

‘I’m going to miss you, Megan,’ she said.

I gave an even bigger sigh.

‘Mum, that is soooo pathetic,’ I said. ‘It’s not like I’m going to America for six months. I’m only going to school. It’s just up the road, and I’ll be home at half past three.’

Mum shook her head impatiently.

‘That’s not the point, Megan,’ she said. ‘I’ve got used to you being around the house during the Christmas holidays. It will be so quiet here when you’re gone.’

I didn’t answer. Even when I was there, the house was too quiet for me.

I love Christmas. I love opening presents (even home-made ones from my mum). I love the smell of the Christmas tree (but I hate being the one who has to plant it in the garden again when Christmas is over). I love eating the chocolate bars from the selection box my aunt Linda sends me every year (even though she knows it drives my mum crazy). I love being able to stay in my pyjamas for half the day. I love … well, I just love every single thing about Christmas.

But after two weeks of Christmas with my family, I was ready to go back to school. I was ready to go back out into the real world.

‘Your second term at secondary school,’ Mum was saying in a dreamy kind of voice. ‘How did that happen so quickly? I remember when––’

Just then the doorbell rang. I grinned. It’s like Alice has some kind of radar that lets her know when I’m in trouble. She always manages to come to the rescue justin time.

‘Sorry, Mum,’ I said. ‘I’d really love to hear what you remember, but some other time, OK?’

‘Don’t be cheeky, young lady,’ said Mum, but she was smiling, so I knew she wasn’t cross.

Just then my little sister Rosie appeared in the kitchen. She looked totally sweet in her fleecy pyjamas, with her hair all damp and curly. I felt a bit sorry for her – she just gets to go to playschool in the mornings and then she’s stuck at home with Mum all afternoon, eating healthy food and playing educational games.

I bent down and kissed her.

‘See you later,’ I said.

Then I gave Mum a quick kiss, grabbed my coat and my school-bag and ran out to meet Alice.

* * *

Alice and I hugged each other. Then I bent down to stroke Domino, my pet kitten, who had just appeared and was rubbing against my leg with her soft fur. Domino had only strayed into my life a few months earlier, but already it felt like she’d been mine forever.

‘Bye, Domino,’ I said. ‘Be a good girl until I gethome.’

Alice rolled her eyes.

‘Still talking to animals, I see. Know what, Megan? You badly need to get back to school.’

I laughed.

‘Tell me about it,’ I said.

I picked Domino up and she wriggled until she was comfortable in my arms.

‘Isn’t she the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen?’ I asked.

Alice backed away. I keep forgetting that Alice doesn’t like cats very much. I think she’s even a bit afraid of Domino, but she’s too proud to admit it.

‘We’re going to be late if we don’t get a move on,’ said Alice, not answering my question.

I put Domino down, and Alice backed even further away as the little cat slunk past her.

Then Alice and I set off down the road towards school.

‘I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone again,’ said Alice. ‘I think I’m even looking forward to seeing Miss Leonard.’

I giggled. Miss Leonard is our Home Economics teacher, and I’m fairly sure she wasn’t looking forward to seeingAlice.

‘At least that awful Marcus won’t be around to scare you any more,’ said Alice.

I didn’t answer. Marcus had been in my class until just before Christmas, and he had started off being really scary, but in the end I felt sorry for him. Even though he did some bad things, he was nice underneath. I’d never found the right time to tell Alice that, in a funny kind of way, Marcus had been my friend.

‘At least you’re never going to hear from him again,’ said Alice.

Once again I didn’t reply.

What would Alice say if she knew that Marcus had texted me from his new boarding school only half an hour earlier?

Sometimes things are just too complicated to put into words.

* * *

Before long we were at the usual corner where our friends Grace and Louise were waiting for us. We all hugged, and then continued on our walk, chattingabout the Christmas holidays. Grace had been on a skiing holiday, and made us all laugh as she told us stories about the crazy, but very good-looking, German boy in her skiing class.

Just before we got to school, we met my friend Kellie, and the five of us walked through the school gates together. I wasn’t scared like I had been back in September.

I felt brave and happy and ready for a whole new year.

Chapter two

We had assembly first thing, so we all made our way to the big hall. It was kind of fun, waving at people I hadn’t seen over the holidays. Everyone was chatting and laughing. The girls were hugging each other, and the boys were pretending to think that was gross. Then the principal, Mrs Kingston, stepped on to the stage, and everyone stood quietly.

‘Bet this is going to be totally boring,’ whispered Alice with a big sigh. ‘What do you think, Meg?’

I didn’t reply. Mrs Kingston was really strict about talking in assembly. Why was Alice whispering? Did she want to get in trouble on the very first morning?

As usual, Alice was right, though. There was about twenty minutes of boring stuff, and then, at last, Mrs Kingston said something interesting.

‘This year, we’ve decided to try something new,’ she began. ‘There’s a very large range of abilities in your English classes, so we have decided to divide you up based on the results of your Christmas exams. This means that, for English lessons only, you will no longer be taught in your usual class groups, but in the new ones, which are on the lists at the back of the room.’

Everyone immediately turned to look, but turned back again just as quickly when Mrs Kingston let out a sudden loud cry.

‘PATIENCE!’ she shouted, so loudly that almost everyone, including me, jumped. ‘You can all see the lists on your way out, and not before then.’

Mrs Kingston went on with loads more boring stuff after that, but I couldn’t pay any attention. I loveEnglish and had done really well in my Christmas exam, but I couldn’t remember how Alice or any of my other friends had done. If they had done well we could all be together for English, which would be totally great. I was too afraid to ask them though, as Mrs Kingston was wearing her very cross face. There was no way I was doing anything that might make her shout at me in front of everyone.

At last Mrs Kingston showed signs of winding up, and we were allowed to walk very slowly towards the back of the hall. There was a bit of pushing and shoving as everyone tried to find their name. Louise got there first and reported back.

‘I’m with Kellie,’ she said. ‘Grace is on her own again, and Alice and Megan are together.’

I turned to Alice and we jumped up and down and hugged each other.

This was so great! Now I was going to be with Alice for English and Home Ec, and I had Kellie in all of my other classes.

This was going to be a totally fun term – I just knew it.

Chapter three

The first few weeks went by very quickly. Then one day, our new English teacher, Mr Dunne, came in to class rubbing his hands, and saying,

‘Listen carefully, class, because I have some very big news.’

Alice nudged me.

‘He’s probably going to tell us that he got a new car, or something boring like that,’ she said.

I giggled.

‘No,’ I whispered back. ‘I bet he wants to tell us that he’s discovered an exciting new book, all about full stops and commas and quotation marks.’

Alice giggled too, but stopped when she saw that Mr Dunne was staring at us.

‘When Megan and Alice are ready,’ he said, ‘I’ll tellyou the news.’

We all sat up straight, and when the room was perfectly silent he continued.

‘It’s a competition,’ he said.

Now everyone listened carefully. Competitions are usually a lot more fun than regular school work and they are much less likely to involve stupid grammar rules.

Mr Dunne continued.

‘It’s an essay competition.’

I started to smile. I love writing essays, and Mr Dunne nearly always gives me top marks when we have to do one. Maybe I could win. Maybe, for the first time since starting secondary school, I could stand out as someone special.

Sophie put her hand up.

‘What kind of an essay do we have to write?’ she asked. ‘Can we write about disco dancing?’

A few of the boys laughed, and everyone else groaned. Sophie is a disco-dancing champion, and she’s also a champion at boring everyone to death by talking about disco dancing.

Mr Dunne sighed.

‘No, Sophie,’ he said. ‘You can’t write about discodancing.’

Sophie put on a sulky face.

Then lots of hands went up together.

‘What do we have to write about?’

‘How much do we have to write?’

‘Can we do it on the computer?

‘What’s the prize?’

Mr Dunne smiled.

‘It’s nice to see you’re all so enthusiastic,’ he said, ignoring Sophie who was muttering under her breath.

Then he continued.

‘The essay has to be around three to four hundred words long.’

There were a few groans from the kids who are always in trouble for not finishing their homework.