Uniform E-Book

Tommy Donbavand

• Herausgeber: Barrington Stoke Ltd
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 28

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

A brand new edition of the award-winning story of the victim who stands up for himself, and almost becomes a bully too. Matthew has just started at Elm Row School and is struggling to fit in. Well, it's not easy when you can't even afford a new school uniform! But soon Matt has had enough. He starts to stand up to the bullies and for the first time he feels powerful. But can he control the power? What if it starts to change him? Creepy thriller from an ever popular author.With a reading age of 8, it is particularly suitable for reluctant, struggling or dyslexic readers.

Leseprobe

With special thanks to

Everyone at Renaissance Learning

and to

Chris, Heather and everyone at Scottish Book Trust for their continued support.

Contents

Title PageDedication1 Stand Up and Be Counted 2 Big Brother 3 The Uniform 4 A Really Good Day 5 New Rules 6 All Change 7 When Push Comes to Shove Copyright

Chapter 1

Stand Up and Be Counted

“Mr Miller …” the teacher began. He was talking to me. I’m Matthew Miller and I hadn’t been at the school that long.

No, don’t do this. Please … I begged him in my head.

“… would you stand up for me?” the teacher went on.

Please, no! That voice in my head was getting louder.

My chair made a horrible scratching noise across the floor as I stood up. Everyone in class turned to look at me – the kids who’d said hello to me once or twice, the kids who looked at me as if I wasn’t there, and the bully who’d already begun to pick on me. Neil was the only real friend I’d made. He made a weird face because we both knew what was about to happen. He did that a lot when he was worried.

“How long have you been at Elm Road School, now, Mr Miller?” The teacher’s voice rang out around the classroom.

“Three weeks, sir,” I answered. I was trying to keep my voice from cracking.

“And, in that time, have you noticed anything different about yourself when you look at the other people in the school?”

I heard a noise. A sort of snigger and snort. I didn’t need to look round to see who’d made it – there was only one person who made a sound like that. It was Steven Chadwick. He was the bully who thought it was fun to make me his new victim.

“I don’t know what you mean, sir,” I said. My voice began to shake that time.

“Let me make it easy, Mr Miller …” said the teacher. His name was Mr Smith – he was my History teacher. He always called people by their last names as if he was meeting them for the first time. He’d never called me Matthew.

“If you look around the class,” Mr Smith went on, “you’ll see that everyone is dressed the same. They’re all wearing black trousers, white shirts, grey jumpers and yellow and blue ties. In other words, Mr Miller, everyone is wearing correct school uniform. Everyone, but you.”

I felt my cheeks begin to burn. I’d been waiting for this moment and worrying about it. Now it was happening, it was even worse than I’d thought.

“You, Mr Miller, are wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Don’t the school rules apply to you?” Mr Smith grinned.

“Yes, sir,” I squeaked. Steven Chadwick laughed out loud.

Mr Smith wasn’t going to stop. “Then can you tell me why, after three weeks at Elm Road School, you are still not wearing the correct uniform?”

I heard Neil turning about in his seat. I wanted to look down at him and see a friendly face but I couldn’t move. It was as if I was frozen with embarrassment.