Bad Dreams: Part 2

By ANNE FINE, Illustrator SUSAN WINTER

Mr Hooper had only the briefest of chats with her at the desk before turning to the rest of us. "Class, this is Imogen Tate, who's joining us from another school."

She looked embarrassed, and we stared. She was already dressed in our boring old school uniform, with her hair in plain bunches. There was absolutely nothing special about her, but in spite of that everyone wanted to be her first-week minder. Almost all of them put her hands up.

But Mr Hooper said, "And I pick - Melanie!"

I was astonished. "Me?"

"Well," he said, "why not?"

"I didn't put my hand up."

"That doesn't matter," he said. "It'll be nice for you to have someone in that empty seat.

I didn't think so, but I couldn"t say. Maybe I should explain. I'm the class bookworm. I don't mix much with the others because I like reading better. All the way up the school it's bothered my teachers. One after another, they've tried to prise the books out of my hands, and get me to join in more.

Yet I still prefer reading.

But you can't be rude to someone who's new, and standing there trembling. So I just patted the spare chair at my side, and she came over. And as she was busy unpacking her pens and pencils into the desk, I finally thought of something friendly to say.

Publisher: Random House, $16.95

Age group: 10-13 years