Demon Dentist. David Walliams

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      “Stop poking your nose where it doesn’t belong!” he barked. “I love my dad and I look after him better than anyone else could. Better than you. Better than anyone. So why don’t you just walk out that door and never come back? Just leave us alone!”

      Winnie looked at Alfie, waiting for his white-hot anger to cool. Slowly, her head tilted to one side. In her job as a social worker she had met many troubled children over the years, but none quite as spirited as this boy. She took a breath, before saying, “Please, Alfred, believe me, I am here to help you and your dad. I know it’s not going to be easy for you to accept that. I know you probably hate me right now…”

      The boy’s silence was telling.

      “But who knows, Alfred, in time you may come to like me. One day we might even be friends…”

      Alfie scoffed at the thought.

      “Now, young man, why don’t we sit down and have a little talk…?”

      The boy couldn’t control his rage at this woman any longer.

      “There is nothing to talk to YOU about!” he shouted, before pushing past her out of the cramped kitchen.

      As he dashed along the hallway to his bedroom, Winnie called after him.

      “Please, Alfred…” she implored.

      But the boy simply ignored her, slammed his bedroom door shut behind him and locked it. Alfie slumped down on his bed. He shut his eyes tight in frustration. Just then he heard a gentle tapping on the door.

      TAP TAP TAP.

      Even the way she knocked on the door was annoying to him.

      “Alfred?” she whispered. “It’s Winnie!”

      Alfie said nothing.

      “Just to say, I am off now,” said Winnie, pretending nothing was wrong. “But I will call the dentist first thing tomorrow morning about your teet. I’ve heard a very nice lady has just taken over, by the name of Miss Root. Bub-bye!”

      Alfie gulped. Not Miss Root. Anyone but Miss Root…

9

       Tell No One

      The next morning at school Alfie opened his locker to find a note that had been slipped under the door. It had been made from letters cut out of a newspaper, and there was no name at the bottom.

      The boiler room was deep within the vaults of the school. It was strictly out of bounds to all children. Alfie looked behind him to check no one saw him, as he sneaked down the spiral staircase that led to it from the playground.

       …read the sign. Slowly Alfie turned the handle and pushed open the heavy door. It creaked. It was dark inside, and the hiss and gurgle of the giant boiler was so loud no one upstairs could hear you. Not even if you screamed. Realising this suddenly, Alfie felt a shadow of fear passing over him. He was afraid. Perhaps being lured down here was some kind of trap. From behind the boiler, out stepped a figure. A short figure with dreadlocks.

      “Gabz!” said Alfie, as he breathed a sigh of relief. “Why are we meeting down here? We could get into big trouble if a teacher found us.”

      “Keep your voice down!” hushed the girl. “You don’t know who could be listening. Now, quickly, wedge that old blackboard up against the door so no one can come in…”

      Alfie did what he was told. Gabz double-checked the door was secure, and then rolled out a huge piece of paper she was carrying on the damp and dirty floor. They knelt down to study it. Soon Alfie realised this was a giant map of the town. Gabz had drawn it in some detail, and had written notes in coloured pens by certain homes. Urgently she pointed out places on the map as she spoke:

      “Two weeks ago. November 10^th. Jack Brown, a wasps’ nest. November 12^th. Lily Candy, cat poo. Same night. Eddie Larter, a dirty old verruca sock…”

      Alfie was bemused. “What is all this…?” he asked.

      “November 13^th. A Friday. That was a busy night. Criss-crossed all over town. Rian Skinner, a dead adder.

      Twin sisters Jessie and Nell Godwin, a giant scab. Origin unknown. Might not have been human.

      Hardeep Singh, flying ants’ eggs. Woke up to his bedroom buzzing with thousands of them…”

      “I don’t understand,” said Alfie.

      “And СКАЧАТЬ