Read Online The Bed and Breakfast Star by Jacqueline Wilson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jacqueline Wilson
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enjoy being the centre of attention as a major casualty of war.
The war seemed to have petered out anyway, and the rival gang wandered off down the chip shop because it was nearly lunchtime.
That proved to be a major drawback to bunking off. None of us lot had any lunch. We didn’t have any spare cash either. As DSS kids we were entitled to a free school lunch but they just issued you with a ticket, not actual dosh you could spend. So as we weren’t at school we were stuck. I began to wish I hadn’t been so generous with my toffee chew.
One of the boys found half a Yorkie bar he’d forgotten about right at the bottom of his bomber-jacket pocket. The wrapping paper had disintegrated and the chocolate was liberally sprinkled with little fluffy bits and after he’d passed it round for everyone to nibble it was all slurpy with boy-lick too – but it was food, after all, so I ate a square.
I was still starving all afternoon and getting ever so bored with bunking off. I had to keep an eye on the time so as I knew when to go back to the Oyal Htl as if I’d just been let out of afternoon school. When you keep on looking at the time it doesn’t half go s-l-o-w-l-y. Half a century seemed to plod past but it was only half an hour.
But e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y it was time to be making tracks. And then I found out I’d been wasting my time after all. Mum had decided to trot down to the school with Hank and Pippa to see how I’d got on for my first day. Only I wasn’t there, obviously, so she went into the school to find me and of course the teacher said I hadn’t ever arrived.
Mum was MAAAAAAAAAD.
And then Mack got in on the act and you can guess what he did.
So I stormed off in a huff all by myself.
I sat there and it hurt where Mack had hit me and my tummy rumbled and I felt seriously fed up. But I didn’t cry.
And then I heard footsteps. The clacky-stomp of high heels. It was Mum come to find me. I thought at first she might still be mad, but she sat right down beside me, even though she nearly split her leggings, and she put her arms round me. I did cry a bit then.
‘I’m sorry, sausage,’ she said, nuzzling into my wild lion’s mane. ‘I know he’s too hard on you sometimes.
But it’s just that you won’t do as you’re told. And you’ve got to go to school, Elsa.’
‘It’s not fair. I don’t want to go to that rotten old school where I don’t know anyone.’
‘You know that nice Naomi. She’s your friend! Oh, come on now, Elsa, you’re never shy. You!’ Mum laughed and tweaked my nose.
‘The others all bunk off. The boys.’
‘I don’t care about them. I care about you. My girl. Now listen. You don’t want to go to school. I don’t want you to go to school. I’d much sooner have you round the hotel keeping the kids quiet for me. I’ve missed you something chronic today.’
‘Really?’ I said, cheering up considerably.
‘Yes, but listen . You’ve got to go to school because it’s the law, see, and if you don’t go they can say I’m not looking after you properly. You know the Social are always on to us as it is. We don’t want to give them any excuse whatsoever to whip you into Care.’
She’d got me there. So I had to go the next morning. I set off with all the other kids – and then when we got to the end of the road, Funny-Face and the Famous Five all called to me.
‘Come on then, Elsa.’
‘Come with us, eh?’
‘Come to the camp.’
Little Simon even came and held my hand and asked if I’d come and play ambulances with him. His face fell a mile when I had to say no. So I gave him a packet of Polos and showed him how to poke his pointy little tongue through the hole. That cheered him up no end.
‘Elsa! Why aren’t you coming?’ said Funny-Face. ‘You chicken or something?’
‘Hey, why did the one-eyed chicken cross the road? To get to the Bird’s Eye shop.’
‘That is a fowl joke,’ said Funny-Face.
We both cracked up.
‘Come on. You can be good
The war seemed to have petered out anyway, and the rival gang wandered off down the chip shop because it was nearly lunchtime.
That proved to be a major drawback to bunking off. None of us lot had any lunch. We didn’t have any spare cash either. As DSS kids we were entitled to a free school lunch but they just issued you with a ticket, not actual dosh you could spend. So as we weren’t at school we were stuck. I began to wish I hadn’t been so generous with my toffee chew.
One of the boys found half a Yorkie bar he’d forgotten about right at the bottom of his bomber-jacket pocket. The wrapping paper had disintegrated and the chocolate was liberally sprinkled with little fluffy bits and after he’d passed it round for everyone to nibble it was all slurpy with boy-lick too – but it was food, after all, so I ate a square.
I was still starving all afternoon and getting ever so bored with bunking off. I had to keep an eye on the time so as I knew when to go back to the Oyal Htl as if I’d just been let out of afternoon school. When you keep on looking at the time it doesn’t half go s-l-o-w-l-y. Half a century seemed to plod past but it was only half an hour.
But e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y it was time to be making tracks. And then I found out I’d been wasting my time after all. Mum had decided to trot down to the school with Hank and Pippa to see how I’d got on for my first day. Only I wasn’t there, obviously, so she went into the school to find me and of course the teacher said I hadn’t ever arrived.
Mum was MAAAAAAAAAD.
And then Mack got in on the act and you can guess what he did.
So I stormed off in a huff all by myself.
I sat there and it hurt where Mack had hit me and my tummy rumbled and I felt seriously fed up. But I didn’t cry.
And then I heard footsteps. The clacky-stomp of high heels. It was Mum come to find me. I thought at first she might still be mad, but she sat right down beside me, even though she nearly split her leggings, and she put her arms round me. I did cry a bit then.
‘I’m sorry, sausage,’ she said, nuzzling into my wild lion’s mane. ‘I know he’s too hard on you sometimes.
But it’s just that you won’t do as you’re told. And you’ve got to go to school, Elsa.’
‘It’s not fair. I don’t want to go to that rotten old school where I don’t know anyone.’
‘You know that nice Naomi. She’s your friend! Oh, come on now, Elsa, you’re never shy. You!’ Mum laughed and tweaked my nose.
‘The others all bunk off. The boys.’
‘I don’t care about them. I care about you. My girl. Now listen. You don’t want to go to school. I don’t want you to go to school. I’d much sooner have you round the hotel keeping the kids quiet for me. I’ve missed you something chronic today.’
‘Really?’ I said, cheering up considerably.
‘Yes, but listen . You’ve got to go to school because it’s the law, see, and if you don’t go they can say I’m not looking after you properly. You know the Social are always on to us as it is. We don’t want to give them any excuse whatsoever to whip you into Care.’
She’d got me there. So I had to go the next morning. I set off with all the other kids – and then when we got to the end of the road, Funny-Face and the Famous Five all called to me.
‘Come on then, Elsa.’
‘Come with us, eh?’
‘Come to the camp.’
Little Simon even came and held my hand and asked if I’d come and play ambulances with him. His face fell a mile when I had to say no. So I gave him a packet of Polos and showed him how to poke his pointy little tongue through the hole. That cheered him up no end.
‘Elsa! Why aren’t you coming?’ said Funny-Face. ‘You chicken or something?’
‘Hey, why did the one-eyed chicken cross the road? To get to the Bird’s Eye shop.’
‘That is a fowl joke,’ said Funny-Face.
We both cracked up.
‘Come on. You can be good