“Isla, has your hair seen a brush today? It looks like pixies came in the night and tied it in knots!” called her mum.
Isla shook her bushy head and rolled her eyes.
“C’mon,” said her mum. “You can brush it on the way to school, or we’ll be late.”
Isla grabbed a slice of toast with one hand and her schoolbag with the other, and jumped into the car. The village of Pittendooey was nestled between mountains in the Scottish Highlands. The nearest big town, Strathdooey, was a half-hour drive away. That’s where Isla’s mum worked as a nurse in the big health centre. Isla’s dad lived in Strathdooey too and she spent every second weekend with him.
“Mum, is it OK if I put some food out in the garden?” Isla asked cautiously.
“What is it for this time? Or who is it for?” Isla’s mum asked.
“Sorry, I thought I’d mentioned it,” said Isla, nibbling her toast. “There’s a fox in the garden. I saw paw prints, so I waited and spotted a fox and her cub.”
Isla’s mum sighed. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I wouldn’t know what to feed them.” She glanced over at Isla. “And stop biting your nails,” she added.
Isla sat on her fingers. “Foxes eat dog food,” she said. “I’ve looked it up already.”
“But is it safe to leave food for foxes, Isla?”
“It has a cub to feed, Mum! And it’s really cute. Look, I’ve drawn a picture of it.” She rummaged around in her bag for her journal. “Well, I tried to. I’m not very good at drawing.”
“Oh, Isla,” her mum said as they pulled up to the school gate. “It’s just more animals to feed. You’ve already got your pet mice, and the bird feeders, and the bug hotel by the shed!”
“Mum, the bug hotel is hardly ‘feeding animals’,” said Isla, folding her arms tightly.
“Let’s talk about it later,” said her mum. “I’ll pick you up from the reserve this evening.”
“OK,” said Isla, trying to keep her voice bright. She planted a buttery kiss on her mum’s cheek and clambered out of the car.
“TGIF!” shouted her mum.
Isla looked blank.
“Thank goodnesss it’s Friday!” laughed her mum. “Get it?”
Isla’s face broke into a beaming smile. “TGIF!” she shouted back. She gave her mum a cheery wave and ambled across the playground towards the P6 lines.
“Hey Isla!” shouted a voice behind her. It was Buzz, running up and munching an apple. “Your stuff’s about to fall out of your bag,” he said, reaching to pull up the zip.
“Oops,” said Isla. “Could you grab my journal actually? I want to show you something.”
Buzz handed it to her and she flicked it open to the picture she’d drawn of the fawn.
“Hi guys!” Gracie ran up to them and peered at Isla’s journal. “Nice picture, Isla,” she said. “You’re not as bad at drawing as you make out, you know.” She looked Isla in the eye. “And you shouldn’t be shy about your other talent either.”
“Other talent? What do you mean?” asked Isla.
“You know, for calming animals, like you did with the fawn yesterday.”
Isla blushed a little.
“You’re an animal whisperer, Isla,” said Buzz, his eyes wide.
The two girls looked at each other for a second before they burst out laughing.
“She doesn’t have magic powers, Buzz!” snorted Gracie.
Isla giggled. “I just decided that it was best to keep still and quiet. Anyone could do it.”
“Well, it really worked,” said Buzz. “And I’m not sure just anyone could do it.”
Isla stopped laughing and smiled. “Thanks, Buzz.”
“I wonder how the baby deer is doing now?” asked Buzz.
“You mean fawn,” corrected Gracie with a cheeky grin and Buzz laughed.
“Lisa said she’d look out for it, but maybe we should go back through Craggy Woods again this afternoon,” said Isla, flicking through her journal. “We can have a look around and double check the fawn isn’t lying injured somewhere.”
“I’m in,” said Gracie.
“Me too,” added Buzz, and they all leaned in for an Animal Adventure Club fist bump.
“Is that a picture of a rabbit?” said a loud voice behind them. “Not bad, Isla. I like drawing as well, you know. I’ll let you see some of mine sometime.”
They all swung round to see new girl Lexi Budge. She had only been at the school for a few weeks but was already sticking her nose into everybody’s business.
“It’s a fawn, actually,” said Isla quietly.
“Is it?” Lexi laughed. “Try making its legs longer. It looks a bit stumpy.”
“Well, I think it’s brilliant,” said Gracie, folding her arms.
“Were you talking about going up to the reserve?” Lexi rambled on. “I go there all the time. My aunt Lisa is a ranger and she knows absolutely everything there is to know about animals. So do I actually,” she added, sticking her nose in the air.
“We know Lisa too, Lexi,” Gracie said.
“Oh yeah, your wee club!” Lexi said. “What’s it called again? The Fluffy Bunny Gang?”
“It’s the Animal Adventure Club,” said Buzz, taking an angry bite out of his apple.
“Yeah, that’s what I meant. Well, I’ll see you at the reserve later. Lisa says you’d love to have me in your club. I’ll come and help you look for the… What was it? A baby deer?” Lexi babbled. “Aw, they’re so cute and cuddly. Like Bambi! When we find it, I’ll give it a big squeeze!” She hugged herself and squealed.
Buzz’s mouth opened wide. “Lexi, you can’t cuddle a fawn. It’d be scared,” he explained.
“And if you want to track one, you need to be very quiet,” said Gracie crossly.
“No problem! Ssh!” Lexi whispered, raising a finger to her lips. Just then, she saw someone she knew across the playground. She put her thumb and finger into her mouth and let out a deafening whistle. Isla, Buzz and Gracie covered their ears. Lexi winked and ran off. “See you later!”
“She’s so loud!” groaned Gracie.
“And she doesn’t know anything about animals,” muttered Buzz. “She’s not joining!”
“Remember our club code?” said Isla. “We will always welcome new members.”
Buzz and Gracie sighed.
“OK, let’s give her a chance,” said Gracie.
“I suppose her whistling might come in handy,” said Buzz.
“Yeah, if we need to round up some lost sheep!” laughed Isla.
