Clementine walked towards the box of toys in the corner. She could hear her mother and the lady talking but she didn’t want to listen.
Dr Everingham’s door opened and a tall man with a thick head of grey hair appeared at the entrance.
‘Good morning, Lady Clarissa.’ He walked into the reception area and looked around. ‘Hello Clementine.’
Clemmie looked up from where she was examining a rather dog-eared book.
‘You’d better come through so we can see what the matter is,’ the doctor said with a friendly smile.
Clementine dropped the book back in the box and stood beside Clarissa. She slipped her hand into her mother’s.
Inside the doctor’s office was an examination table with a small stool to climb up on, a giant desk and three chairs – one for the doctor and two for patients.
Lady Clarissa and Clementine walked in and sat down.
Dr Everingham closed the door and sat down heavily in his leather office chair. He pushed back and swivelled around to face Clementine. He looked at her intently.
‘Now tell me, what seems to be the matter?’
‘My tummy hurts,’ Clementine replied.
‘I see. Can you show me where?’
Clementine touched her stomach in the middle and then on the side and further up.
‘Is anything else the matter?’ he said as he studied her face for clues.
Clementine shook her head.
‘And when did it start to hurt?’ he asked.
‘At school,’ she replied.
‘And you only started school yesterday, isn’t that right?’ he asked.
Clementine nodded.
‘I’m afraid, Dr Everingham, that I hardly recognised the little girl I picked up yesterday afternoon,’ said Lady Clarissa, frowning.
‘Ah, I see,’ said the doctor.
Clementine knew that he would understand.
‘So, what was school like, Clementine?’ he asked. ‘Did you have a good day?’
Clementine thought about what she would say. There was a long silence.
‘Dr Everingham asked you a question, sweetheart. It’s polite to answer,’ her mother said encouragingly.
Clementine gulped. She knew that if she told Dr Everingham, he would understand. She had known him since she was a baby – although she couldn’t remember all that way back. He’d always been kind. When she had to have needles he was very gentle and always gave her a lolly at the end for being brave.
‘It was terrible,’ Clementine blurted. ‘I hate it and I’m not going back again.’ A tear started to form in the corner of Clementine’s eye. She brushed it away.
‘Oh dear,’ the doctor replied. ‘That doesn’t sound good. Can you tell me what happened?’
Clementine took a deep breath. She started at the very beginning with Angus saying mean things about her father and Uncle Digby. She told him about Mrs Brown Bottomley and all that silly lining up. Then there was the scribble on the bottom of her stencil and how she hadn’t learned how to read or tell the time. It was as if someone had opened a floodgate: once Clementine started she couldn’t stop.
Her mother sat beside her taking it all in. Now everything made perfect sense.
‘Oh dear, that’s no good at all, Clementine,’ the doctor said when she finally paused. ‘And do you think that’s why you have a tummy ache?’
Clementine nodded. ‘So you need to write a letter to the school telling them that I’m not coming back and I’m going to stay at home and Mummy and Uncle Digby are going to teach me everything instead,’ she said firmly.
The two adults exchanged a secret look.
‘I’m afraid, Clementine, I can’t do that,’ the doctor said seriously. ‘You have to go to school. It’s the law. And besides, I’m sure that things will get better. I’ll bet you’ll be reading and writing in no time flat. And as for that Angus, he’ll have to start behaving himself. His grandmother can’t be that silly. Sooner or later he’ll do something really revolting and she won’t be able to ignore it.’
‘But he wiped snot on my uniform!’ Clementine wondered how much more revolting he could be. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Dr Everingham could fix everything. Why wouldn’t he just write a note and let her stay home forever?
‘I can give you something to help your tummy settle down,’ he said. ‘But you know the best way to feel better is to go back to school.’ He looked at his watch. ‘If you hurry, you could still get there in time.’
‘But I don’t want to go,’ Clementine said.
‘What about we talk to Miss Critchley and see if she can help?’ her mother suggested.
Clementine Rose now knew what that mouse Pharaoh had cornered in the kitchen last week must have felt like. Her mother was on Dr Everingham’s side too.
‘Clementine, I’m sure that your mother is right. Miss Critchley is a very sensible woman. I should know. She’s going to marry my son later this year.’ The doctor’s eyes twinkled.
‘Oh.’ Clementine’s eyes lit up. She liked the idea of Miss Critchley as a bride. ‘Do you think she can really help?’ Clementine asked.
‘I’m sure she can,’ Lady Clarissa agreed. The doctor nodded too.
‘What about my uniform?’ Clementine asked her mother.
‘I packed it into the car just in case,’ Lady Clarissa replied.
There was no getting out of it.
‘Would you like a jellybean?’ The doctor popped the lid off the jar and held it out to Clementine.
She looked at her mother.
‘Go on, Clemmie, it might make you feel better,’ her mother said.
‘And how’s that pig of yours?’ Dr Everingham asked.
‘She’s good. But she’ll be sad because I told her that I wasn’t going back to school any more and that we could stay at home and play. And now she’ll just have Pharaoh and he doesn’t like playing all that much,’ Clementine replied.
‘Can you keep a secret, Clementine?’ asked the doctor.
‘What sort of a secret?’ she asked.
‘Miss Critchley came to dinner with Mrs Everingham and our son Markus last night and she was telling us about something very special that she’s planning for the school,’ the doctor explained.
‘What is it?’ Clementine asked.
‘She’s going to make the announcement to the students this afternoon,’ he said. ‘I can’t tell you all the details but I think it has something to do with pets and a very important lady.’
‘Pets? At school?’ Clementine’s blue eyes widened. ‘So Angus really was telling the truth. He said that we were having a pet competition. But then he wouldn’t tell me any more.’
‘Something like that,’ the doctor said. ‘But you won’t find out if you don’t go to school.’
Surely Dr Everingham wouldn’t be playing a trick on her, Clementine thought. Doctors knew everything. And Angus probably knew too because Mrs Bottomley was his granny and she would have told him.
‘How about I get your uniform, Clementine, and you get changed in Dr Everingham’s spare room?’ her mother suggested.
Clementine looked from her mother to the doctor. The older man nodded. ‘I think that’s a very good idea.’
Clementine took a deep breath.
‘All right, but only if we can go and talk to Miss Critchley straight away,’ she replied.
‘And you have to promise not to tell her what I told you.’ Dr Everingham winked at Clementine. ‘I don’t want to get into trouble with my future daughter-in-law.’
Clementine slipped down from her chair and stood in front of the old man. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I won’t tell.’
Dr Everingham was right. About a lot of things. Clementine and her mother went straight to the office for a chat with Miss Critchley. The young woman listened and nodded and seemed to understand exactly what Clemmie was upset about. Miss Critchley asked Clementine and Lady Clarissa to wait a few minutes before they walked over to the classroom. She went ahead of th
em and by the time they arrived, the children were all sitting in different spots and there was an empty chair next to Sophie. Angus was beside another boy called Lester, who was the tallest in the class and seemed to wear a permanent frown on his face.
‘Good morning, Clementine,’ Miss Critchley greeted her at the door. ‘I hear you’ve been to the doctor. I do hope you’re feeling better.’
Clementine wondered why she said that when they had talked about it just a little while ago.
Mrs Bottomley strode over to where Clementine and her mother were standing. ‘Well, I hope you’re not sick. Kindergarten children are terribly good at spreading germs.’ She frowned and a deep line ran down the middle of her forehead. ‘I can tell you now that I am not in the mood for a bug.’
‘Hello Mrs Bottomley, I’m Clemmie’s mother, Clarissa Appleby.’ She offered her hand.
The old woman smiled thinly and reluctantly reached out to take Clarissa’s hand in hers.
‘I can assure you that Clemmie’s fine,’ Lady Clarissa said as she looked at the teacher, who was dressed head to toe in beige.
‘Good morning, Mrs Bottomley. That’s a good suit. It would look nice with a red scarf,’ Clementine suggested.
Mrs Bottomley didn’t take kindly to the child’s advice. ‘I beg your pardon, young lady. I can’t imagine ruining my beige with something as ghastly as red.’
‘Oh, I think Clementine’s absolutely right, Mrs Bottomley. A splash of red would look lovely,’ Miss Critchley said, and winked at Clementine.
The teacher rolled her eyes.
‘Look, Clementine, there’s a spare spot next to Sophie,’ said Miss Critchley, nodding at the empty desk. ‘Would you like to sit there?’
Sophie was beaming and Clementine smiled back. ‘Yes, please!’
‘Bye bye, Clemmie, I’ll see you after school.’ Her mother gave her a quick hug and the girl ran to sit next to her friend.
‘I’ll walk you out,’ Miss Critchley said to Lady Clarissa. ‘And by the way, kindergarten, I have a lovely surprise for you later on at assembly.’ The class began to talk at once. ‘Have a good day, Mrs Bottomley,’ the head teacher said with a smile at the older woman.
Mrs Bottomley pursed her lips and nodded at Miss Critchley. ‘All right, kindergarten, we need to focus.’
That morning, Clementine was astonished to realise that she had learned several words since the day before. When Mrs Bottomley asked for someone to read the sentence the class had written together on the board, Clemmie raised her hand. Of course Astrid raised hers first but this time Mrs Bottomley asked Clementine instead.
Clementine studied the squiggles carefully. ‘It says . . .’ She paused and concentrated hard, then read each word separately. ‘“I can play at school.”’
‘No, it says . . .’ Mrs Bottomley looked at the board. ‘Oh yes, I think you’re actually right, Clementine.’
Sophie raised her hand. ‘Is Clementine getting a sticker?’ she asked.
Mrs Bottomley had just given Astrid three and then one to Angus because he recognised the word ‘a’.
‘Yes, I suppose so.’ The teacher marched over to Clementine and placed a sticker on the collar of her uniform. It had a picture of a star on it and, Mrs Bottomley told her, the words said ‘Well done’.
At morning tea time, Clemmie, Sophie and Poppy joined a game of chasings with half the class. Miss Critchley had called by their classroom just before they went out and asked Angus and Joshua if they could help her with some special jobs. They didn’t come back to the classroom until after the bell had gone.
Lunchtime was better too. Miss Critchley came along to supervise and said that the children could sit with their friends. Clementine ate every last bite of her spaghetti bolognaise and the iceblock they were given for dessert.
After lunch they had assembly. Clementine was amazed to realise that she’d been so busy all day, she’d forgotten about Miss Critchley’s surprise.
The smallest students were sitting on the floor at the front of the hall and the older children sat in rows behind them. The teachers perched on chairs around the edge of the room. Most of them were smiling, except Mrs Bottomley, who was trying to get Angus and the other boys at the end of her row to sit quietly.
Miss Critchley stood at the microphone. ‘Good afternoon, everyone.’
‘Goo-oodafternoo-ooonMissCritch-ley,’ the group chorused in an echoey sing-song, which kindergarten struggled to keep up with.
‘I hope you are all enjoying the new school term.’
Lots of children were nodding and smiling. Clementine noticed that most of the teachers were too.
‘And I hope that you’ve settled in and are looking forward to the year ahead. Now, I have a very exciting announcement about a special day we’re going to have next week.’ Miss Critchley smiled at the group. ‘I wonder if anyone would like to guess what we’re doing.’
A sea of hands rose into the air.
‘Yes, Jemima.’ Miss Critchley pointed to a girl with brown plaits at the back of the room.
‘Is it a kite day?’ the child asked.
‘I have a kite. It’s blue,’ a little boy in the front row called out. Everyone laughed.
Miss Critchley shook her head. ‘That’s a lovely idea, Jemima, but no, it’s not a kite day.’
Hands shot back up again.
‘Yes, Dougald.’ She pointed at a boy in the middle of the group.
‘Is it a cake stall?’ he asked.
‘My daddy makes cakes,’ Sophie called and then put her hand over her mouth and giggled.
‘He certainly does, Sophie,’ Miss Critchley said. ‘And they’re delicious. But it’s not a cake stall, although I think there might be some cakes on the day.’
Clementine raised her hand.
‘Yes, Clementine,’ said Miss Critchley with an extra-big smile.
‘Is it a pet day?’ Clementine asked.
‘Hey, I told her that!’ Angus yelled.
Mrs Bottomley glared at the boy and pulled sharply on his shirt collar.
Angus wrinkled his nose at his grandmother.
Lots of children began calling out about their pets. ‘My dog’s called Buster . . . I’ve got a cat and he’s called Nero . . . my goldfish is the fastest swimmer ever . . .’
‘Settle down, everyone,’ Miss Critchley commanded. ‘Do you want to know if Clementine is right?’
The whole group nodded like performing seals.
‘Yes, we’re having a pet day.’ Miss Critchley grinned at the excited group. ‘On Monday. And there will be a whole lot of different competitions. Cutest pet, best dressed, most unusual, best tricks and lots more. We’re supporting a charity called Queen Georgiana’s Trust for the Protection of Animals. I’m sure that many of you know our wonderful queen is a lover of all creatures great and small. Through her trust she raises money to help look after abandoned pets. To enter your pet in the competition you’ll have to bring a gold coin donation, which we will give to the trust.’
The children were squealing with excitement.
‘Goodness, please calm down, everyone. I know it’s terribly exciting,’ called Miss Critchley.
‘It’s ghastly,’ Mrs Bottomley muttered under her breath.
A small boy in the front row put up his hand.
The head teacher nodded at him. ‘Yes, Riley.’
‘Does it have to be a dog or a cat?’ he asked.
‘No, not at all. I know that some of you have quite unusual pets so I’m looking forward to seeing them all,’ Miss Critchley replied.
Clementine was relieved to hear this. Surely she’d be able to bring Lavender.
Another hand went up.
‘Yes Fergus,’ she said, looking at a large lad at the back of the room.
‘Can I bring Esteban?’ he asked.
Miss Critchley raised her eyebrows. ‘May I ask what Esteban is?’
‘He’s a python,’ Fergus replied. ‘But he’s not poisonous.’
‘I don’t
see why not, as long as he has a cage,’ Miss Critchley nodded. ‘And he’s in it.’
Fergus had a smile from one ear to the other.
‘But I don’t like snakes,’ Poppy said loudly.
Angus glared at her. ‘Snakes are cool. And it will bite you because snakes don’t like girls.’
‘No, it won’t,’ Poppy retaliated.
‘Angus Archibald!’ shouted Miss Critchley. Her face was fierce. ‘That wasn’t nice at all. Please apologise to Poppy for frightening her.’
Angus gave Poppy a sulky ‘sorry’. He looked as if he might cry. Mrs Bottomley looked cross.
There were more hands up.
‘And I have another surprise,’ Miss Critchley announced.
The front row of kindergarten children suddenly sat up straighter, as if a puppeteer was hovering above them and pulling their shoulders with invisible strings.
‘We are very fortunate that Queen Georgiana herself will be here to judge the competition.’
The whole hall erupted with excited murmurs.
‘All right, everyone. Settle down. There will be a note this afternoon with more details.’
‘Mummy, I got a sticker.’ Clementine beamed as she met her mother at the school gate and thrust her blazer lapel towards her. ‘And Dr Everingham was right. Pet Day is next Monday and Lavender can come to school all day.’
Lady Clarissa hugged Clemmie tightly and planted a kiss on top of her head. ‘It’s nice to have my real daughter back again. I’m glad we got rid of that grumpy little imposter.’
‘I love school, Mummy,’ Clementine said.
‘Well, I’m very pleased about that. You’d have been bored out of your mind if you had to stay at home with Uncle Digby and me for the rest of your days.’ She could hardly believe the difference a day made. ‘Guess who’s back at home?’ she asked.
‘Aunt Violet?’ Clementine guessed.
Lady Clarissa nodded. ‘That’s right. Shall we pop into Pierre’s and get a lovely cake for afternoon tea? She might need some sweetening up.’
Clementine giggled. Her mother was probably right.
Clementine raced along the hallway and into the kitchen.
Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster 2 Page 4
