THE Thursday assembly had a very different feeling from the Evening Howl. Mr Gnawbone began by telling everyone to sit up straight and pay attention. A couple of the very small wolf cubs were giggling, and he snapped at them so sharply they began to cry.
‘Out!’ Mr Gnawbone ordered.
‘Out! Go and stand in the corridor until you’ve learned to behave yourselves!’ And with that, the two little wolf cubs crept away.
‘He’s horrid,’ Lottie whispered, and Wilf put his finger to his lips.
‘Shhh!’ he hissed.
But Mr Gnawbone had heard them. He peered down from the stage, his eyes gleaming. ‘Who spoke?’
Lottie put up her hand. ‘It was me. I’m sorry.’
‘Aha! If it isn’t our very own hero!’ Mr Gnawbone jeered. ‘So you think you’re too special to obey the school rules, do you? Well, Lottie Luna, if you’re hoping to stay here for any length of time, you must learn to do as you’re told!’
Lottie could feel her cheeks flaming as she looked up at him on the stage. ‘Yes, Mr Gnawbone.’
‘And now I have an announcement to make.’ Mr Gnawbone allowed himself a cold smile. ‘As you may know, the wasteland at the back of the school has suffered a second attack by vandals. Madam Grubeloff is bringing the owner here tomorrow to see how things are progressing, but all she will see is bricks and rubbish. That being the case, she will undoubtedly make the sensible decision and sell the land so that a road can be built at the back of the school – a road that will provide easy access to Dracon Hill and the Forest of Murk.’
Sensible decision? Lottie looked up in astonishment. Why would the deputy head teacher not want the school to have a garden? It seemed really strange.
But Mr Gnawbone was still speaking. ‘I have stopped the order for the plants and flowers. The Bloom Garden is cancelled.’
There was a horrified intake of breath from almost everyone at Mr Gnawbone’s final words, and Lottie clenched her fists. As she did so, she realised she was still holding the piece of paper that she’d picked up in the garden, and she gave it a quick glance.
It was a torn bill, dated from the week before. The name was missing, but the slogan caught her eye.
Quietly, Lottie nudged Marjory and handed her the paper. Marjory read it, only just managing to stop herself from gasping. Then – silently – she passed it to Wilf, who looked at it and mouthed, ‘WOW!’
‘And WHAT are you looking at, Wilf and Marjory? Kindly bring whatever it is up here!’ Mr Gnawbone was looking dangerously angry.
Wilf gulped as he began to make his way towards the stage. When he reached the end of the row, he sneezed and pulled a red spotty handkerchief out of his pocket. ‘Sorry!’ he apologised. ‘I think I’ve got a bit of a cold.’ He climbed slowly up the steps, hesitated as if he was nervous, then handed over the paper.
Lottie held her breath as the deputy head read it, but all he said was, ‘I completely fail to see why this shopping list is suddenly of such interest. This is no way to behave in assembly. Go back to your place. And now –’ he continued, turning back to the assembled school – ‘we’ll sing the Forest Song…’
When the dark night sky is pierced with stars
And the wind whispers secrets to the trees…
As the voices rose and fell in the old werewolf anthem, Lottie risked a sideways glance at Wilf. He was looking extremely pleased with himself and when he caught Lottie’s eye he winked. What did he do? she wondered, but she had to wait until they were walking back to class find out.
‘WOW! How did you do that?’
Wilf giggled. ‘An old trick,’ he said. ‘I swapped the bill you found for my grandma’s shopping list, when I pretended to sneeze.’
‘You were BRILLIANT!’ Lottie said.
‘Just lucky I had Gran’s list in my pocket,’ Wilf said modestly.
Marjory was looking thoughtful. ‘So why do you think that bill was in the garden?’
‘I don’t know,’ Wilf said. ‘It must have been in among the bricks and rubbish.’
A horrified expression came over Marjory’s face. ‘Hang on… Aggie’s father’s a builder, isn’t he?’ she said slowly. ‘What if she got the bricks from home? And the rubbish – and that bill was mixed up among the papers?’
‘Yes.’ Lottie nodded. ‘It’s what I’ve been wondering too, although I tried hard not to.’ Her moonstone necklace was gleaming pale green as she rubbed her nose. ‘Do you really think Aggie could hate me that much?’
Wilf and Marjory looked at each other. ‘Yes,’ they said together.
‘Oh –’ Lottie’s stomach lurched at the idea that anyone could be so jealous – ‘that’s awful.’ She was very quiet as they walked on down the corridor. It was only when they reached their classroom door that she suddenly spun round, her eyes sparkling.
‘I’ve just had the most AMAZING idea! We CAN save the Bloom Garden! Can you stay on after school today, for a couple of hours? Mr Gnawbone might have cancelled the flower order, but we can clear a little patch and plant our own. At least that will show the owner tomorrow what it could be like!’
‘Just the three of us?’ Marjory asked, staring at her. ‘But there are LOADS of bricks! And all that rubbish…’
‘And we don’t have ANY plants,’ Wilf added.
Lottie held out her hands to them. ‘Please! I’m sure we can do it. I can shift those bricks. I’m… I’m really strong. And we can get some plants. I’m… I’m… Look, I’ll tell you exactly what I mean tonight – I promise!’
Wilf and Marjory looked at each other, then nodded. ‘Yes, we’ll stay,’ Wilf said.
‘Friends stick together,’ Marjory agreed. ‘But now we’d better get into class. We’re late already!’