The World of David Walliams: 7 Book Collection. David Walliams

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      Let’s get back to the story…

      “It’s cold outside, Chloe,” said Mother, when Chloe came downstairs in the horrible Quality Street dress. “You’ll need a coat. How about that tangerine-coloured coat your grandmother made you last Christmas?”

      Chloe reached into the room under the stairs. This was where everyone in the family kept their coats and wellington boots. She heard a rustle in the darkness. Had Elizabeth the cat got shut in there by mistake? Or had Mr Stink moved indoors? She switched on the light. Peeking out from behind the bottom of an old fur coat was a frightened face.

      “Dad?”

      “Shush!”

      “What are you hiding in here for?” Chloe whispered. “You are meant to be at work.”

      “No, I’m not. I lost my job at the factory,” said Dad sorrowfully.

      “What?”

      “A whole load of us got made redundant two weeks ago. No one is buying new cars right now. It’s the recession, I suppose.”

      “Yes, but why are you hiding?”

      “I’m too frightened to tell your mother. She’ll divorce me if she finds out. Please, I beg you, don’t tell her.”

      “I’m not sure she’d div—”

      “Please, Chloe. I’ll sort all this out soon. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll get another job if I can.”

      He leaned forward so that the hem of the fur coat was draped over his head, the thick fur looking like a mess of curly hair.

      “So that’s what you look like with hair!” Chloe whispered.

      “What?”

      It was definitely Dad on that CD cover. With the fur over his head, he looked just like he did in the photo, with that astonishing perm!

      “If you need a job, you could always go back to playing guitar with the Serpents of Doom,” said Chloe.

      Dad looked startled. “Who told you I was in a band?”

      “I saw your CD and I asked Mother, but she—”

      “Shh!” said Dad. “Keep it down. Wait…where did you see this CD?”

      “Er…I was…um…looking for my old hamster cage in the shed and it was in a box with a load of old junk. There was a burnt guitar with it.”

      Dad opened his mouth to say something, but just at that moment, a door slammed upstairs.

      “Come along, Chloe!” boomed Mother.

      “Promise you won’t say anything about me losing my job,” whispered Dad.

      “I promise.”

      Chloe shut the door, leaving her dad on all fours in the darkness. Now she had two fully grown men hiding around the house. What’s next? she thought. Am I going to find Grandad in the tumble dryer?!

       10 Slightly Chewed

      Being on the political campaign trail meant Chloe knocking on what seemed like everybody’s front door in the town and Mother asking people if she could “rely on their vote”. Those who said they were going to vote for Mother were instantly rewarded with a big smile and an even bigger sticker to put in their window proclaiming ‘Vote Crumb’. Those who said they weren’t voting for her were going to miss an awful lot of daytime telly. Mother was the kind of person who wouldn’t give up without a fight.

      They passed the newsagent’s shop. “I wonder if Raj would put one of my posters up in his window,” said Mother, as she strode towards the store. Chloe clomped behind in her uncomfortable Sunday-best shoes, struggling to keep up. Her mind had been elsewhere all day. Now she was carrying around two hot-air balloon-sized secrets in her head—Mr Stink hiding in the garden shed and her dad hiding in the cupboard under the stairs!

      “Ah, my two favourite customers!” exclaimed Raj as they entered the shop. “The beautiful Mrs Crumb and her charming daughter, Chloe!”

      “It’s Croooome!” corrected Mother. “So, Raj, can I rely on your vote?”

      “Are you on The X-Factor?!” said Raj excitedly. “Yes, yes, of course I will vote for you. What are you singing on Saturday?”

      “No, she’s not doing The X-Factor, Raj,” interjected Chloe, trying not to laugh at the thought.

      “Britain’s Got Talent perhaps? You are maybe doing a ventriloquist act with a naughty otter puppet called Jeremy? That would be most amusing!”

      “No, she’s not doing Britain’s Got Talent either.” Chloe smirked.

      “How do you solve any dream will I’d do anything or whatever it’s called with Graham thingy?”

      “It’s the election, Raj,” interrupted Mother. “You know, the local election? I am standing to be our local MP.”

      “And when is this election thing happening then?”

      “Next Friday. I can’t believe you’ve missed it! It’s all over these newspapers, Raj!” Mother gestured at the piles and piles of newspapers in the shop.

      “Oh, I only read Nuts and Zoo,” said Raj. “I get all the news I need from them.”

      Mother looked at him disapprovingly, even though Chloe suspected she wasn’t sure what either Nuts or Zoo were. Chloe had once seen a copy of Nuts that one of the older boys had brought into school, and knew it was rude.

      “What do you think are the important issues facing Britain today, Raj?” asked Mother, delighted with the cleverocity and inteligentness of her own question.

      Raj pondered for a moment, then shouted over at some boys who were loitering by the pick ‘n’ mix. “Don’t put the liquorice in your mouth unless you are going to buy it, young man! Oh dear, I will have to put that liquorice on special offer now!”

      Raj grabbed a pen and a piece of card. He wrote ‘slightly chewed’, and put it on the liquorice box. “Sorry, what was the question again?”

      Note to self, thought Chloe. Never buy liquorice from this shop again.

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