Pony Passion. Harriet Castor

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СКАЧАТЬ At the end of term each group will give a presentation to the rest of the class. So, right from the beginning, I want you to be thinking up ways to communicate the things you find out.

      “But first we have to allocate the topics. Who’s going to do…”

      She turned round to look at the board. My bum was on the edge of my seat. There’s always such a massive scramble when things get shared out, and I’m wicked at shooting my hand up faster than anyone else. I was ready.

      Mrs Weaver pointed to the pony. “…Transport?”

      “Yes!” I shouted, my hand blasting into the air like a space rocket.

      There was a short silence. I could hear the M&Ms sniggering softly and I looked round.

      I’d been the fastest to put my hand up, all right. Because I’d been the only one. What’s more, Fliss was looking at me like I’d just pulled the head off her Barbie, and Kenny was flapping her hands and shaking her head.

      “Excellent,” said Mrs Weaver, writing my name down. “Lyndsey’s group can do Transport. Now, Sports and Pastimes? Ryan, you were first…”

      By now Kenny had flung her hands up in the air and was bashing her head on her desk in despair. Even Rosie was looking at me like I’d made a horrid smell.

      Marooned at my front row desk, I felt like the biggest durr-brain on the planet. I knew exactly what I’d done.

      “Why, Lyndz? Why??”

      “Did your brain turn to gloop?”

      The bell had gone and we’d all piled out into the playground for break. It had stopped raining, but there were big puddles everywhere. I felt like a puddle myself. The others were giving me a seriously hard time.

      “I messed up,” I admitted. “I’m sorry, OK?”

      “I wanted to do Costume!” Fliss whispered accusingly. Her eyes were all watery, like she was about to cry.

      “You only went and chose THE most boring topic on the list!” wailed Frankie. “What were you thinking of?”

      “I – I don’t know,” I stuttered. “It was that picture, I guess…”

      Kenny slapped her forehead. “I might have known it! A picture of a horse and Lyndz loses all control. Not to mention all her brain-power!”

      “We could’ve done loads on horses in Animals,” Rosie pointed out.

      Kenny groaned, clutching her stomach like she had tummy-ache. “And we could’ve done stupid horse-racing in Sports…”

      Usually with the Sleepover Club, things blow over really quickly. If one of us is feeling a bit cross about something, the others tease them out of it. But not this time. This time it really felt like four against one.

      “We know you’re horse-mad, Lyndz,” said Frankie. “But this is ridiculous.”

      “And you’ve been spending so much time down at those smelly stables recently,” sniffed Fliss, wrinkling her nose. “You never do anything we want to do.”

      “That’s not true!” I said. “I never miss our sleepovers!”

      “No, but what about that Saturday when my mum took us to the shopping centre?” said Fliss.

      It was true. I had missed that.

      “And you never came to see Shrek with us!” said Frankie.

      “That was years ago!”

      “What about when I wanted to build that treehouse?” said Kenny.

      “But I would’ve been no use at that,” I said.

      “It doesn’t matter. It’s the principle,” said Fliss haughtily. For a moment she sounded just like her mum. “The Sleepover Club should be the most important thing.”

      “It is!” I protested.

      Fliss shrugged huffily. “Anyone would think you prefer those ponies to your friends!”

      “Well, if you’re all going to be so completely mean, then maybe I do!” I shouted, and stomped off across the playground. I could feel my cheeks burning beetroot red, and my eyes were all prickly, like I was about to cry.

      What made it a million times worse was that I stomped straight past the M&Ms, who were doing some silly clapping game. They stopped in mid-clap and stood whispering together with horrible smug smiles on their faces.

      So I stalked off round the corner where the big school bins are kept. It was pongy there, but at least I was out of sight. I was so cross I pulled three of the gruesomest faces I could think of, which usually makes me feel better.

      Not this time. I couldn’t get over how unfair it was. Just this morning we’d been talking about undying friendship and making those bracelets. And now my four best mates in the world had turned on me. All because of some stupid project. Suddenly I was struck by the most terrible thought:

      Was this the end of the Sleepover Club?

      

      The next lesson was maths, and it was the longest lesson of my entire life.

      Does that ever happen to you too? Does time seem to whizz by when you’re having a laugh and really drag when you’re miserable? To me, two weeks of holiday can go five billion times quicker than two weeks of school. What a bummer.

      Well, this maths lesson was exactly like that. I thought the clock had broken, its hands were moving so slowly.

      I was back at my old desk, next to Rosie and slap bang in front of Frankie and Kenny. Of course I was ignoring them. But ignoring people is such hard work! You have to concentrate on them all the time, to make sure you don’t do something normal by mistake, like look at them or ask to borrow a pen.

      Mrs Weaver had written up a load of sums on the board. We were supposed to be working quietly on our own, but I could hear rustling and whispering around me, so I knew the rest of the Sleepover Club were doing something. Saying mean things about me probably, I thought.

      But then Rosie slipped a folded piece of paper on to my desk. I opened it, and this is what I saw:

      I was so relieved, it felt like the sun had just come out inside my head. “Oh, guys!” I said, turning round to them with the biggest grin on my face. “I’m sorry too!”

      We tried to have a group hug, but it was tricky because Fliss was sitting on the other side of the aisle. And then Mrs Weaver spotted us – “I said no conferring, you girls!” – so we had to turn back to our desks. But I mouthed, “See you at lunch!” and the others all nodded.

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