Read Online The Wish Pony by Catherine Bateson - Free Book Online

me find and claim the bench seat at lunchtime. Bree and Sarah walked past a few times with Bree making crazy signs but I could ignore that. I propped my feet up on a bit of flowerbed and read about Griselda and the cuckoo, who really becomes her friend even though she’s thrown a book at it. I fingered my bruise. That wasn’t going to happen to Bree and me. No way.
    Bailey walked past with Mrs Stanley. He was carrying the paper stabber. Bailey on yard duty detention! I couldn’t believe it. They stopped so Mrs Stanley could talk to another teacher and Bailey wandered over to me.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ I asked stupidly. It was obvious what he was doing. But he knew what I meant.
    â€˜Detention,’ he said abruptly.
    â€˜But you don’t get detention!’ It was true. Bailey, Joel and Sam were called The Three Geeketeers. They scooped the end of the year awards in all subjects except sport and art. Sam even got the music award. But they were cool with it, kind of, even though they never ever got into trouble.
    â€˜What for?’ I knew I was being rude but I couldn’t help it. I had to know.
    â€˜I hit Joel.’
    â€˜You hit Joel?”
    Bailey shrugged as though it wasn’t the most staggering thing in the world. ‘Not very hard,’ he said, but then smiled at the memory.
    â€˜But he’s your friend!’
    â€˜Sarah was your friend and you tried to cheat from her maths test. That’s hardly friendly.’
    â€˜That’s old news,’ I said, flushing.
    â€˜Anyway, I had to hit him. He was bagging another friend of mine.’
    â€˜Sam?’
    â€˜No, not Sam – he can defend himself. He was bagging Magda. Laughing at her hair and that old green turban she’s wearing.’
    â€˜You don’t know Magda!’
    â€˜Clearly I do,’ he said.
    â€˜Well, then, how come she didn’t know you that day she came and picked me up from school?’
    â€˜Maybe my mother hadn’t found her then.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Magda’s like my great great godmother.’
    â€˜Your what?’
    â€˜Great great godmother. She was missing for a while. Not unusual with godparents. But then Mum found her. So is she your godmother, too?’
    â€˜I don’t think I have one.’
    â€˜Probably missing,’ Bailey said nodding, ‘that’s what happens. You’ll catch up with her one day. So how do you know Magda – nice dye job, by the way – your idea?’
    â€˜No, it was not. I was only responsible for putting it in and taking it out. Magda controlled the how-long bit. I knew it would be too long. She’s our across-the-road neighbour.’
    â€˜Ah. Her book?’
    â€˜Yes. From the book basket.’
    â€˜I’ve got one too. They smell good, don’t they, old books – new books just smell of glue but old books smell of overcoats, sand and time.’
    â€˜Bailey Ferguson, stop loitering about. This is a detention, not a talkfest!’
    â€˜Coming, Mrs Stanley!’ I watched Bailey move off, stabbing at bits of playground rubbish with his paper stabber and then pulling them all off and putting them in the hessian sack he carried. It was too much to take in at once – Bailey on detention, Bailey Magda’s lost great great godson. Bailey hitting Joel to defend Magda’s hair.
    I gave The Cuckoo Clock a surreptitious sniff. I couldn’t smell sand but I got a distinct whiff of overcoat and dried insect. I was worried about the butterfly-gown illustration and checked that page again carefully. It wasn’t terribly secure. I wondered whether Magda would be mad at me if it came completely loose. I tucked the book back under my lunchbox.
    I hung around the bags at the end of school, hoping to catch Bailey. The Three Geeketeers were usually the last out – busy packing up the chess set or shutting down the computers for Ms Wardel. But today Joel and Sam did