Read Online How to Get the Friends You Want by Jenny Alexander - Free Book Online

told us,’ she said sarcastically, ‘the vote of thanks is sooo easy, there really isn’t any need to practise.’
    Toby looked unhappy but he didn’t stick up for me.
    Trudging home down the zig-zag path after school, I still felt like that donkey, only worse. Besides the silent treatment from Toby and Jess, I was beginning to feel bad about Becky.
    When I reached the last bend before our house, I stopped to look over the stile. The sea was flat calm, not like my brain. A little way along the coastal footpath, Nash House stood looking gloomy behind its high wall.
    There was a pale smudgy line like a pencil mark rising straight up from the garden. It was only a few hundred metres away, so I went to investigate. I found Gran and Jane from the Happy Haddock standing either side of a shiny new burning-bin, having an argument.
    â€˜I’m telling you, it isn’t going to work!’ said Jane.
    â€˜And I’m telling you it is!’
    They both peered into the burning-bin, which was like a metal dustbin on feet, with little holesround the bottom. The smudgy line of smoke streamed up into the air from somewhere deep inside it.
    Gran glanced up and, catching sight of me, said, ‘What do you think, Peony?’
    I picked my way between a heap of fallen leaves gathered up ready for burning and a mountain of branches Mum and Stella had cut down when they were clearing the garden on Sunday.
    â€˜Don’t put your granddaughter in a tight spot like that,’ Jane said to Gran. ‘Anyone can see this fire is a non-starter.’
    Gran stuck her garden fork into the burning-bin and hauled out a big bunch of smoky sticks and leaves.
    â€˜Nonsense,’ she said. ‘You just put too much in. You were deliberately trying to put it out!’
    Jane rolled her eyes.
    â€˜Your gran and her great ideas,’ she said. ‘You know what this reminds me of?’
    â€˜That was your fault too,’ said Gran. ‘It would have worked fine if you’d done it properly.’
    â€˜What?’ I asked. ‘What are you talking about?’
    They both turned to look at me, as if they’d momentarily forgotten I was there.
    â€˜When your gran and I were at school, we found a box of matches in the playground.’
    â€˜All the teachers smoked in those days,’ Gran said. ‘It probably fell out of one of their pockets.’
    â€˜I wanted to hand it in,’ said Jane. ‘Only madam here had a better idea. “Let’s do smoke signals like cowboys and Indians,” she says.’
    â€˜All the films were about cowboys and Indians when we were young,’ said Gran.
    â€˜We went into the gap behind the play-sheds, where lots of leaves had got blown, and we pulled them into a heap. It was a warm dry day, not a damp drizzly one like today. If it had been a day like today we’d have been fine, because nothing’s going to burn on a day like this, is it?’
    Gran muttered something. Jane took no notice.
    â€˜So we strike a match and put it under the leaves, and they start to smoulder, little bits of smoke at first, and then a steady stream. Your gran says, “Use your sweater to make the signals. Lay it over to stop the smoke, then pull it away. I’ll go to the other side of the playground and count the puffs.” I think you can guess what happened next.’
    â€˜You were only supposed to lay your sweater over it for a second,’ Gran said.
    â€˜I did, but it happened to be the second the flames broke through, and it was bye-bye school sweater, hello Headmaster’s Office.’
    â€˜I got detention too.’
    â€˜Yes, but you didn’t ruin your sweater. I got grounded for a fortnight because of that.’
    â€˜Getting grounded wasn’t really too much of a punishment for you though, was it?’ Gran said.
    â€˜Not really,’ agreed Jane. ‘Living in the sticks doesn’t do much for someone’s social