Cleopatra's Carpet: Part 2

By KAREN WALLACE, Illustrator ALAN WADE

Sophie's Aunt Mary worked in the school office. She was better than a listening device any day.

"So who's the new teacher?" asked Helen.

Sophie shrugged. "I don't know. I just hope they don't get Mr Leadbetter out of retirement." She giggled. "He must be almost as old as Cleopatra."

Helen laughed. "Older."

At that moment the bus arrived and they climbed on. Nigel Thimbleby was sitting on the back seat. Helen stared at Nigel's curly red hair and heavy black glasses. For some reason he made Helen feel more nervous than anyone else in the class.

This was strange because he never said anything and spent most of his time with his nose buried in a book.

Maybe Nigel made her nervous because, like her, he had red hair. And no matter what anyone said, things were different if you were a redhead.

Publisher: HarperCollins $12.95
Age group: 7-9 years