Little Celeste by Dawn McNiff

Author:Dawn McNiff
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471402432
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Published: 2014-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Suddenly I had a brainwave. I picked up a small stone and showed it to Winnie.

‘Look … good boy, fetch!’ I whispered, and rolled it gently away from me. Winnie leapt after it, nearly doing a double-triple somersault in his rush, yapping his woolly head off. I peeped out of our leafy den, and saw him grab the stone, run across the playground and out the gate.

‘There you are!’ said Chicken Boy. The wet grass squeaked under his trainers as he sprinted after him. I breathed a big sigh of relief. But then there was a screech of bike brakes from the street. And footsteps. Coming back towards me. And then Chicken Boy dived behind our bush, nearly squashing us flat. He looked shock-horrified to see me, but he stayed where he was.

‘Oi, Jay!’ came a voice. It was Slugface! Chicken Boy looked at me. He shook his head and put his finger to his lips. SSHHHH!

Chicken Boy is hiding from his new bezzie mate?

‘Where are you, Jay-jay, you big girlie-wuss?’ jeered Slugface. ‘Come and get your baby tricycle!’

Oh dear – perhaps not so bezzie-matey after all.

Of course our hiding place was rubbish. So in about one and a half seconds Slugface’s fat head appeared behind the tree. He roared with delight when he saw us both there. He threw the Wasp Bike down into some nettles and grabbed us both by the wrists. He was so strong I didn’t have a chance of wriggling free. I nearly dropped Celeste, who started crying.

‘Hiding from me?’ he hissed in Chicken Boy’s face.

Then he twisted my wrist so tightly it burnt. ‘And I want a word with you, fat Belly … about the other day,’ he spat.

He swung us together roughly. ‘Kissy kissy,’ he said.

I held on tight to Celeste and stuck out my elbows to stop her from being crushed between us. Chicken Boy’s head smashed into mine. A sharp pain cut across my eyes.

Celeste howled.

And grew … into a great big toddler again, just like that.

She clung round my waist with her baby footballer thighs and squawked with rage at Slugface, her face beetroot and streaming with tears.

Chicken Boy fell back on the grass, holding his forehead. I wondered if he was properly hurt.

I looked at Slugface’s big, laughing ugly mug. I heard Celeste’s screaming in my ears, in my head. Heat crept up my neck and into my face, and then I just flipped. I heard myself bellow along with Celeste.

‘GET LOST!’ I ran and shoved Slugface hard in his chest. Really hard.

I took him by surprise. Or maybe it was the weight of me and Celeste together. He fell down, flat on his back, with a thud.

I toppled and fell backwards too. Celeste landed on me, winding me. She was panting and red. She rolled off me and threw herself face down on the ground, screeching and tearing up tiny fistfuls of grass.

It was some tantrum.

I sat there stupidly – feeling faint.

What is happening to me, fighting with Slugface? I’m normally so quiet and scaredy.

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