Tara and the Friendship Theorem by Chitra Soundar

Author:Chitra Soundar [Soundar, Chitra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789354925221
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2022-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

197 is the sum of the first twelve prime

numbers and the smallest prime that is the

sum of seven consecutive primes.

Everyone looked around.

‘There!’ shouted Kapil, pointing at a shadow disappearing rapidly into the woods.

‘Bailey!’ Toby called loudly. But Toby didn’t bark in answer or return.

‘I shouldn’t have left Bailey on his own,’ said Millie. ‘Not even when you all started fighting.’

Tara stared at Oakwood Glade, as Bailey leapt up between two tree stumps, chasing a squirrel. According to Katie, the woods were out of bounds. How would they get Bailey back if they weren’t allowed to go in there?

‘Didn’t Katie say we shouldn’t go into the woods?’ asked Tara in a nervous voice. ‘It’s against the rules.’

‘Do you always follow rules?’ asked Millie. ‘It won’t be dark for another couple of hours. Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.’

Tara tried to remember. How long was the longest day of the year? She quickly scrolled through her mind. This year it was three hours, seventeen minutes longer than a normal day. That was 197 minutes in total.

She glanced at Toby. He had his hands over his face. Kapil stood next to him, whispering something.

‘Toby!’ Tara yelled. ‘Do you want to go with Millie to find Bailey?’

Toby shook his head and looked at Kapil. Millie and Tara went closer.

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Millie. ‘We must go now before he goes too far.’

Chloe and Violet heard the conversation and stepped out of the yurt.

‘You’re still standing here and talking when the dog has gone missing in the woods?’ Chloe ranted. ‘Don’t you remember what I said about the foxes?’

Toby made a noise like he was a mouse stuck under a cupboard.

‘We have to find the dog now!’ she said. ‘Otherwise, Violet will be upset all night.’

Tara stared at Chloe as though she had grown three horns. Was this the same girl who bossed Violet around?

Kapil turned to Tara. ‘Tara, stay with Toby. I’ll go with Millie and Chloe to find Bailey.’

Tara nodded. That was the best. She wasn’t good at finding things in the woods. She was more of a finding-X-in-an-equation kind of person.

Toby squealed and pulled Kapil back. ‘No! Don’t go!’

Chloe stepped in and took charge. ‘Right, Kapil, stay with Toby,’ she said with authority. ‘In case you need help, take him into the building and find Katie. Violet, come with me.’

‘Hey, I’m going too,’ said Millie. ‘Coming, Tara?’

Tara waited. If Chloe was supporting her yurt-mate, should she be doing the same?

She nodded. ‘Yes, I’ll come too,’ she said at last. ‘But I warn you, I’m quite useless inside the woods.’

Kapil gave her a thumbs up. ‘You’ll be fine, Champ. It’s an adventure.’

‘We’re going east, Millie!’ Chloe shouted. ‘You go west.’

Millie rolled her eyes, but she didn’t complain. At least there was a plan. She ran to their yurts and fetched the high-vis jackets and wellies. ‘Let’s go,’ she said.

‘Which way is west?’ asked Tara.

‘Opposite of east?’

‘No, I mean in the woods. How do you find it?’

‘Don’t worry, come with me,’ said Millie.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.