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

She was normally so easy-going, but suddenly it was like she’d taken strop-lessons from Primrose.
    â€˜She’s really upset,’ Toby said, with a shrug. He limped off after her. He wasn’t using the crutchesany more, but it didn’t look as if his ankle was completely better.
    â€˜That’s only four facts about friends!’ I called after them, but they didn’t even look back.
    So far, so bad, and things didn’t go any better with Sasha, Tammy and Abina. When I told them I couldn’t go to Tammy’s after school they thought I was upset because their new Chair, Olivia Wyre, was coming.
    â€˜She’s only coming because we need to practise with her,’ Sasha said. ‘We’d much rather have you on our team.’
    â€˜You can do it next year,’ Abina said. ‘One of us will stand down.’
    â€˜Anyway,’ said Tammy, ‘you’ve got to come this afternoon to help with Heavenly Honeybun. We’re going to get her used to being handled for the pet parade, and you’re the expert. We need you!’
    They wouldn’t take no for an answer, so we all went to Tammy’s after school, Sasha, Tammy, Abina, Olivia and me. Abina and I watched the others doing their Young Voices practice and we all said well done to Olivia and told her how good she was.
    After they had run through it several times, we went down to the bottom of the garden to see Heavenly Honeybun. We fed her some grassthrough the mesh on her door while Tammy put on the gardening gloves. As soon as Heavenly Honeybun saw them, she bolted into the bedroom end of her hutch and thumped her feet furiously on the wooden floor.
    Tammy very slowly opened the hutch. Heavenly Honeybun glared at her in a ‘just you dare’ kind of way. After one or two half-hearted tries it became clear that Tammy didn’t really dare, even in the thick leather gloves, so she stood back and looked at me.
    I put on the gloves and offered my hand low to the floor of the hutch so that Heavenly Honeybun could push her nose under it. She tried to bite me. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t at all like Dennis.
    I made a grab for her and lifted her, kicking and wriggling, out of the hutch. I sat down and put her on the shed floor beside me, keeping one hand over her face until she calmed down.
    Sasha, Tammy, Abina and Olivia were impressed. ‘How did you do that?’ they said. Tammy fetched Heavenly Honeybun’s brush and they took turns brushing her sides while I held her.
    â€˜You’re so good with animals,’ said Abina. ‘I can’t wait for you to help me put Pookie through his paces.’
    I said I was really sorry but I wouldn’t be able to go to her house on Saturday.
    â€˜My friend Becky from the kennels is running a stall for the RSPCA at the pet parade,’ I told them. ‘I promised her I’d help. She’s doing a tombola and stuff.’
    They seemed genuinely disappointed, but they said they understood. Sasha asked if Becky had plenty of prizes because if she didn’t she was sure her mum would donate something from the shop. Abina said she could get her parents to give something too, and Tammy went to ask her mum straight away.
    A few minutes later, she came back with a brand new bird-feeder.
    â€˜Mum bought this yesterday but she says she can easily buy another one. She’s going to ask her friends to make a donation too. This is going to be the best tombola ever!’
    By the time I saw Becky on Saturday morning I had two big bags of prizes from Sasha, Tammy and Abina’s parents and their friends. That was some serious amends!
    But saying sorry was difficult because Becky seemed completely normal with me, as if she’d never overheard me saying that she wasn’t my friend. But I knew she had. I remembered the hurt look on her face.
    All morning, as we cleaned out the pens and walked the dogs, I was trying to find the right moment