Molly & Pim and the Millions of Stars by Martine Murray

Author:Martine Murray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2017-01-17T05:00:00+00:00

Molly sat on the rack on the back of Pim’s bike. It was much less comfortable than the yellow bike and she yelped when they went over the curb.

“Sorry,” Pim said, “I warned you.”

“You don’t have to ride like a maniac, though.”

“I do, actually, if you want to get there on time, and you should go in before me so nothing looks out of the ordinary. Otherwise, everyone at school will start wondering.”

“Not just everyone at school, the authorities too,” said Molly with a shudder as she thought of her chocolate balls crammed in the fridge. “And they’ll take me to an orphanage and whip me if I’m bad.”

“And you’ll probably die of pneumonia too and be buried in a shallow grave and—”

“Not funny,” grouched Molly.

But Molly’s absence hadn’t gone unnoticed. It turned out she was quite late, and when she entered the classroom, things were already under way.

Miss Todd threw her arms in the air. She was holding a pair of scissors in one hand. Her red hair was bundled in an extravagant bun as usual, and her dress, which was a bold lilac-and-purple floral, hugged her large, round body with the air of drama that Miss Todd liked.

“Molly, dear, I was just about to call your mother to find out if you were unwell too.”

Ester Morhigg stood beside Miss Todd and stared at Molly.

“We’re making get-well cards,” Miss Todd explained, taking Molly protectively by the shoulders. “Have you been unwell?”

“No,” said Molly. “My mama was unwell and I had to take care of her.” She tried to keep her explanation as close to truthful as possible. Her mama thought that the truth was important, and somehow the things her mama thought mattered more now than they had before. Before, when her mama talked about things such as truth and kindness, Molly had never paid much attention.

Before Miss Todd could inquire further about her mama’s health, and before Molly would have to entangle herself further in her small dance with the quiet untruth, Molly asked who they were making get-well cards for.

“Why, for Ellen Palmer! She’s gravely ill. Would you like to make a card too?”

Molly gazed around the class to make sure this was true. Ellen was not there.

Miss Todd’s words “gravely ill” boomed in Molly’s head. What did they mean? Was Ellen, her best friend, lying on her bed with her eyes closed, deathly pale? Molly took a piece of colored paper and headed for a desk. And why had life suddenly steered so far off course? First her own mama and now Ellen, her best friend.

“Why is your hair so messy? Looks like a bird’s nest,” said Ester Morhigg. “Look at my card; I drew a horse. Ellen likes horses.” She shoved her card in front of Molly’s face. The horse was running across a field of green.

“I didn’t know Ellen liked horses that much,” Molly said softly. Perhaps she didn’t know Ellen as well as she thought. Perhaps Ester Morhigg knew her better. Ellen was gravely ill and Molly hadn’t even known.

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