“Badgers Class, I have some news to share about Ellie Palmer,” she began.
My stomach twisted. I was so worried about what she was going to say.
“As you know,” Miss Burnell went on, “Ellie has been very poorly over the past year. She has been in and out of hospital and has had to endure some rather nasty treatments to try to get her better again.”
The classroom was so quiet you couldn’t even hear a breath.
“Her treatment has meant that her immune system was badly affected. This meant that she has been at risk of catching an illness and getting seriously unwell. That’s why she used Ellie-bot to join our class.” Miss Burnell turned and pointed to the robot on her shelf. The sight of the robot’s back facing the class made me want to cry. I closed my eyes tightly. This was awful.
“Ellie had an appointment at the hospital yesterday to see how her immune system was coping,” said Miss Burnell.
As she spoke, I heard the classroom door open, but I kept my eyes closed.
“And I’m pleased to say that Ellie’s doctor has said that she can return to school part-time!” Miss Burnell continued.
I opened my eyes and blinked. What?!
I turned my head and saw Mrs Watson and a small girl standing in the doorway. She was wearing school uniform and she had a pale blue scarf tied around her head.
“Ellie?” I whispered.
“Come on in,” said Miss Burnell, smiling. “Come and meet your classmates!”
Ellie looked around at all of our faces. She looked really nervous, but I could tell from a twinkle in her eyes that she was also excited.
Miss Burnell put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “This is your seat right here – next to Anna and Nia,” she said.
Ellie looked at both of us and smiled. “Hi, Nia. Hi, Anna,” she said.
“Hi, Ellie,” I said, smiling back.
Chapter Fourteen
It was lovely having Ellie at school. She still had to take it easy, as it was going to be very tiring to return to school, so at break-time we went to the library. We sat in the corner on some beanbags and the warm sun shone through the window onto our faces.
“Ellie?” I said. “I need to talk to you about what I did and why I lied to you.”
Ellie frowned. “OK,” she said.
“The thing is, when I started talking to you through Ellie-bot, I felt like I didn’t have anything to say,” I said. “All the other girls in the class do so much, but I don’t do anything.”
I felt like I was going to start crying. Ellie just listened.
“That’s why I made it all up,” I went on. “About going to the ice-cream parlour and the ten-pin bowling. And about the ice skating and football training. The truth is, I don’t go to any clubs like everyone else does. My family can’t afford it. I made those things up as I was worried I didn’t have anything interesting to tell you.”
Ellie looked down at the book she was holding, then back at me.
“Why couldn’t you just be honest?” she said. “I don’t care about if you can ice skate or not.”
I frowned. “I guess … I guess I just felt like everyone else was having a good time except for me,” I said. “People like Nia, well … their lives are so … BIG. And I just felt so … small. I’m sorry.”
Ellie took a long breath. She seemed to be thinking. “I think that some of the most important things are small,” she said.
I didn’t understand.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She looked around the library.
“Look at that sun beam coming through the glass over there,” she said, pointing behind me.
I turned. There was a haze of yellow light coming down from the window and making a warm orange glow on the library carpet. The other children in the library were walking through it, not noticing it was there. I looked back at Ellie.
“Or maybe a small thing could be watching a blackbird bathing in a puddle,” Ellie said, “or the delicious smell you get when you mix up the ingredients for a cake, or reading something in a book that is so interesting it makes you smile. That’s what I mean about the small things.”
I thought I understood what she was saying. Ellie had been through a great deal and I guess she now looked at the world in a different way to the rest of us.
“I think I see,” I said.
“Sometimes it’s those small things that are the best,” said Ellie. “We forget to enjoy them.”
“But I am sorry for lying,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ellie said. “Let’s put it behind us and just enjoy today, shall we?”
I grinned as I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me. I suddenly remembered something.
“Wait there a minute!” I said.
I ran back to class. Poking out of the top of my bag was a rolled-up piece of paper. I grabbed it and headed back to the library.
“This is for you,” I said, handing Ellie the piece of paper.
Ellie unrolled the sheet.
“Oh, wow, it’s a heart!” she said. “It’s so beautiful.”
She gently ran her fingers over the collage.
“I love it, Anna,” she said. “I’m going to put it straight on my bedroom wall when I get home. Thank you.”
I smiled. It had been great doing some art again. I’d forgotten how relaxed it made me feel. I was definitely going to do more.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s choose some books, shall we? I think there’s a few about the Titanic in here that you might not have read.”
Ellie smiled at me and she slowly stood up.
“That sounds like a brilliant idea,” she said.
Author’s Note
I am very lucky with my job because I get to visit lots of schools and readers all around the UK.
A few years ago, I was about to speak at an assembly in a primary school when I saw a teacher place a white robot on a seat. She came over to me and explained that this was “Lily-Bot”, and the real Lily was at home, watching the assembly through her tablet.
I was astounded! I’d never seen a robot in a school before!
After my talk, “Lily-Bot” was brought over to me and I got to “meet” the Lily that was at home. It was such a wonderful experience and this encounter inspired The Small Things.
These robots are created by a company called No Isolation, who produce them to help children attend school who cannot be there in person for various reasons.
I want to say a big thank you to Lily and her family for talking with me about their positive experiences with an AV1 robot (the technical name for Ellie-bot!). You have been a true inspiration!
Lisa Thompson x
Our books are tested for children and young people by children and young people.
Thanks to everyone who consulted on a manuscript for their time and effort in helping us to make our books better for our readers.
The Small Things Page 4
