“But what happens when you zap someone?” asked Joe.
“Lots of things,” said Billy. “Anything.”
“Like what?”
“I might make them disappear,” he said matter-of-factly. “I might turn them into a frog or a pig or a—”
Joe’s eyes widened as he remembered what had happened at play time. “Or a mouse!” he shouted.
“Yeah,” said Billy, looking a little strangely at Joe. “Or a mouse.”
“But … but …” stammered Joe. “You can’t go round turning people into mice just because you don’t like them.”
“Why not?” said Billy in a bored voice.
“Why not?” repeated Joe. “Why not?”
“Yeah,” said Billy. “Why not?”
“Because you can’t. That’s why not! And what about Molly Mason’s baby brother? What had little Danny done to annoy you?”
“What are you on about?” asked Billy. “I’ve never even seen her stupid brother.”
“Oh yeah? And I suppose he just vanished on his own!”
“Are you all right?” said Billy. “You seem a bit odd.”
“Me a bit odd?” said Joe. “That’s a good one! If there’s anyone a bit odd round here, it’s you!”
“Well, what are you doing talking to me then?” asked Billy. “Why don’t you go somewhere else?”
“I think I will!” said Joe. “Weirdo!”
“Maybe I ought to change you into something!” Billy lifted up his hands and pointed his fingers at Joe.
“No!” shouted Joe. “Don’t be stupid!”
He dived out of the way, hurling himself onto the tarmac of the playground, with his hands over his head. When he looked up Billy was gone and Neil was standing over him.
“I suppose this must be one of those really cool games you used to play at your old school,” said Neil with a chuckle, and walked off.
Joe got up and dusted himself down.
He did his best to avoid Billy for the rest of the day, but although he avoided talking to him and standing near him, he found it impossible to avoid looking at him.
Joe watched Billy’s every move. He looked like all the other children, except that he seemed more miserable most of the time. But nobody would ever have suspected that he was anything other than an ordinary boy.
Joe couldn’t wait for the end of the school day, but when he walked over to the waiting parents, he got a shock. His mother was chatting and laughing with Billy’s so-called mother, who, Joe now realized, must really be some kind of terrible witch, just like Billy had said.
“Hello, Joe,” said his mum. “How was your day?”
“Er … hi, Mum …” said Joe, looking sideways at Billy’s “mother”.
“Are you OK?” asked his mum.
Joe didn’t answer. He was too busy trying to see if he could see any sign of the witch beneath the disguise.
“Joe?” said his mother. “Are you all right?”
“What? Me?” said Joe finally. “Yeah … I’m all right …”
“Well, I’ve got a little surprise for you,” she said. “Billy’s mother has said you can go back with Billy for a while.” Joe stared open-mouthed. “I’ll pick you up about five thirty.”
“No!”
“Joe?” said his mother. “What’s the matter?”
“No! I can’t!” said Joe, backing away. Joe’s mother looked at Billy’s mother. Billy’s mother looked at Joe’s mother. They both shrugged.
“I’m so sorry,” said Joe’s mother.
“Joe is behaving very oddly.”
“Oh that’s all right,” said Billy’s mother. “Billy behaves oddly all the time. I’m used to it.”
Billy suddenly appeared.
“Why are you always the last to come out?” said his mother.
“Don’t know,” said Billy.
“Well,” said Joe’s mother. “Maybe another time. Thanks for the offer anyway.”
“What was all that about?” she asked, when she and Joe had walked to the end of the street. “That was very rude. Have you and Billy had some sort of fight?”
“No,” said Joe. “Not really. It’s complicated.”
“Try and explain it to me,” said his mum. “I’m quite clever when I want to be.” She smiled at him.
Joe opened his mouth to begin, but could not think what to say. “You’d never believe me,” he said. “I wouldn’t believe me,” he said. “And I am me.”
His mother raised one eyebrow. “I see,” she said, shaking her head.
Joe could not settle when he got home. He couldn’t even concentrate on his favourite TV programme, so he went up to his room and flopped down on the bed. He picked up the book his gran had given him. He looked at the picture of the wizard again: although the wizard had a long white beard, there was something about the eyes that really did look like Billy.
Chapter 6
New Friends
“DO YOU KNOW what happened to Rick yesterday?” said Neil at break time the next morning.
“Well … yeah,” said Joe, a little relieved to be able to share it with someone. “I didn’t think anybody knew—”
“Everybody knows,” said Neil. “Good riddance too.”
“I know you didn’t like him,” said Joe, “but I’m not sure he deserved to be … you know …”
“He deserved a lot worse than that, if you ask me.”
“A lot worse?” said Joe, amazed at how calmly Neil was taking it.
“Doesn’t strike me as so bad.”
“Not so bad?” said Joe. “Are you kidding?”
“Look,” said Neil. “He was horrible. He was a bully and he liked hurting people. He got off lightly.”
“You call being turned into a mouse getting off lightly?”
Neil stared at him. “Being turned into a what?”
“A mouse,” said Joe.
Neil stared at him again. “Er … what are you talking about?”
“Rick,” said Joe. “I’m talking about Rick.”
“Rick has been taken out of our school by his mum and dad,” said Neil. “They’ve been thinking of doing it for ages, but when he threw the firework yesterday and bunked off, that was the last straw.”
“Firework?” said Joe in a daze. “Bunked off?”
“Are you all right?” asked Neil. “Rick’s been sent to a private school by his parents. It’s some tough place where they reckon he’ll be knocked into shape. Serves him right.”
“What’s this about a firework?” said Joe.
“What is the matter with you?” said Neil. “You must be the only one in the school who doesn’t know. Rick threw a banger at playtime. Didn’t you hear the bang? Then he climbed over the fence and ran off.”
“But what about the mouse?” asked Joe.
“What mouse? Oh – you mean Little Danny, Molly Mason’s pet mouse? She brought it into school to show everyone and it escaped. But what’s that got to do with—?”
But Joe was gone.
Joe found Billy on his own in the quiet area of the playground.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” said Billy without looking up from his feet.
“Sorry,” said Joe. “You know, about yesterday and that.”
“That’s OK,” said Billy.
“Rick’s been sent to another school.”
“Good,” said Billy. He looked up at Joe. “Thanks for standing up to him for me.”
“That’s all right,” said Joe, sitting down next to Billy. “I should have done it before, with you being my friend and that.”
“Yeah?” said Billy.
“Definitely,” said Joe.
“I’m not really a wizard, you know,” said Billy.
“Yeah,” said Joe. “I know.”
“I wish I was.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
They sat in silence for a minute or two.
“It’s not nice calling your mum a witch though, is it?” said Joe. “She seems reall
y nice.”
“She is,” said Billy. “I don’t know why I do it.” He sounded as though he was about to cry. “I don’t mean to do it,” he explained. “I got picked on by these older children at my last school and I started to make things up and pretend that I could get back at them. Once I pretended I was an alien from another planet who was in disguise and another time that I had super powers. I made all kinds of stuff up.”
“Like being a wizard?” asked Joe.
Billy nodded. “Mum says I’ve got an over-active imagination. That’s why she moved me to this school – because I told so many lies at my last one. Children called me names and I just got picked on even more. Now I’ve done the same thing here.” He began to sob.
“Only to me and Rick,” said Joe, putting his arm round Billy’s shoulder. “I don’t mind and Rick’s gone.”
Billy smiled weakly. “What about Neil?”
“What about me?” asked Neil, wandering over at just that moment.
“Do you care that Billy’s been saying he’s a wizard?” said Joe.
“Not really,” said Neil, sitting down next to them. “It is a bit crazy though.”
“He’s not going to do it any more,” said Joe. “Are you, Billy?”
“No,” said Billy, smiling.
“People picked on him at his last school,” explained Joe.
“Well, the only person who was ever going to pick on you here was Rick and he’s history,” said Neil.
“Yeah,” said Joe. “There was someone like him at my last school. This boy called Carl.”
“At least you stood up to him,” said Neil. “No one ever stood up to Rick before. You’ll be famous.”
“I will?”
“He kicked that ball straight at you, on purpose,” said Billy. “You know, when you caught it.”
“Why didn’t you say?” said Joe. “I hate football.”
Billy and Neil laughed.
“You’d have hated it even more after a game with Rick,” said Neil. “The last boy they persuaded to be in goal for them ended up with a black eye when he tried to stop Rick scoring.”
Just then Joe noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A little white mouse had appeared between his feet, sniffing the air nervously. Billy and Neil followed his gaze downwards.
“Little Danny!” said all three of them together.
Joe bent down slowly and gently picked up the mouse in his cupped hands. “It looks frightened,” he said.
“Well, so would you be if you were brought to a weird place where you didn’t know anybody,” said Neil.
“Yeah,” said Joe. “I suppose so. Come on, let’s take him back to Molly.”
Molly Mason was overjoyed when Joe appeared with Little Danny. She was so happy, Joe was a bit worried that she was going to kiss him, but luckily she didn’t.
“Where did you find him?” she asked.
“He found us really,” said Joe. “He just kind of appeared like—”
“Like magic,” said Billy.
Joe and Neil and Billy laughed.
“Listen,” said Joe when they were getting their coats to go home. “Do you fancy playing football on Saturday morning?”
“I thought you hated football,” said Billy.
“I do. I did. I mean, I might like it if I give it a go. It’s just that I told my mum I was playing football with you both on Saturday, so we may as well.”
“You mean you lied,” said Billy with a grin.
“No … not exactly … well, yes – kind of,” said Joe, his ears going red. “Well? What do you say?”
“Yeah,” said Neil. “All right.”
“OK,” said Billy. “My mum won’t let me come on my own though. You don’t mind if she sits and watches, do you? She won’t be any trouble.”
“Nah,” said Neil. “Mine will want to come as well.”
“Mine too,” added Joe. “They can all talk to each other. They like that, mothers do.”
“Yeah,” said Neil.
“Great,” said Joe. “That’s settled then.”
“And if you don’t want to play football,” said Neil, “me and Billy can teach you how to play Dog, Cat, Monkey.”
“Cool,” said Joe.
Joe’s dad was at the school gate at the end of the day. He was standing on his own, well back from the rest of the parents. Joe could see that his father’s ears were a bit red. He really is shy, he thought.
“Hi, Joe,” he said. “Good day?”
“Yeah,” said Joe. “It was all right. How about yours?”
“Mine?” said his father. “It wasn’t bad, thanks.”
“Really?” said Joe.
“Really.”
“You’re not just saying that?” asked Joe.
“No.” His dad smiled, his ears turning a little redder. “I’m not just saying that. What’s brought this on?”
“Nothing,” said Joe.
Billy wandered past them on his way to meet his mum. “See you,” he said.
“Yeah,” said Joe. “See you tomorrow.”
“Hello there,” said Joe’s father. “It’s Billy, isn’t it? I was talking to your dad today. He works in the same building as me. Small world, eh?”
“He doesn’t really work there, you know,” said Billy, looking right and left and stepping a little closer. “He’s undercover.”
“Undercover?”
“Yeah, undercover,” repeated Billy. “You know – in disguise. I’m not really supposed to say anything” – he dropped his voice to a whisper – “but he’s really a policeman and he’s there trying to catch a gang of jewel thieves. I can’t say any more …” He looked right and left and then went off to meet his mum.
Joe shook his head. His dad looked baffled.
“Jewel thieves?” he said. “But we work for the council.”
“Don’t mind Billy. His mum says he’s got an over-active imagination,” said Joe.
“Oh,” said his dad with a nod and a smile. “Listen, your mum’s going to the cinema with a couple of people from work. How about we rent a DVD and grab some fish and chips?”
“Cool,” said Joe.
So that is exactly what they did. They drove to the nearest fish and chip shop and sat on a low wall overlooking the sea to eat them. They both agreed that they were not quite the same as the fish and chips they used to get in Gaston.
They were better.
THE END
Other Young Corgi Books to get your teeth into:
THE PROMPTER by Chris d’Lacey
NITERACY HOUR by John Dougherty
THE CAT LADY by Dick King-Smith
DIARY DAYS by Gillian Potts
JOE v. THE FAIRIES by Emily Smith
Young Corgi books are perfect when you are looking for great books to read on your own. They are full of exciting stories and entertaining pictures. There are funny books, scary books, spine-tingling stories and mysterious ones. Whatever your interests you’ll find something in Young Corgi to suit you: from families to football, from animals to ghosts. The books are written by some of the most famous and popular of today’s children’s authors, and by some of the best new talents, too.
Whether you read one chapter a night, or devour the whole book in one sitting, you’ll love Young Corgi Books. The more you read, the more you’ll want to read!
BILLY WIZARD
AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 446 40412 6
Published in Great Britain by RHCB Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
A Random House Group Company
This ebook edition published 2012
Copyright © Chris Priestley, 2005
First Published in Great Britain
Young Corgi 2005
The right of Chris Priestley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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