Project Best Friend (10 page)

But that was when they were on their own. Without Alison or Eliza or Tilly or Sarah or Joanna or Rita to compete for Bob’s attention.

The truth was, everyone liked Bob.

Bob was popular.

In the end, it didn’t really matter whether Penelope tried her very hardest, or went with the flow. In the end, Bob would choose who she wanted to be best friends with. And with all the options, the best Penelope supposed she could really, honestly, hope for was that Bob would include her as
one
of her friends.

Penelope got up to check that
When We Were Very Young
was safe and ready for the morning in her tartan book bag. Then she climbed back into bed, sighing as she tucked the cover under her chin and drew blue teddy in for a hug. He was probably cold all the way over there by himself.

‘Oh well,’ she whispered comfortingly in his ear, ‘at least I’ve got you.’

It was quite silly to talk to a teddy, and Penelope was definitely going to stop doing it very soon. But blue teddy had been with Penelope for a very long time. He was a very reliable teddy. In fact, blue teddy made her think of Oscar, who was always there and always reliable. Penelope found talking to blue teddy and thinking about Oscar strangely comforting. In fact, it relaxed Penelope into a very nice sleep.

At school the next morning Penelope carefully took
When We Were Very Young
out of her book bag and laid it on the table in front of her. Sarah had brought in her favourite Go Girl book,
Dancing Queen
, and Joanna had a very lovely illustrated copy of
Alice in Wonderland.

‘Let’s go around the class, starting from the back,’ Ms Pike said. ‘Felix, can you begin by showing us your book and telling us a few things about it?’

It was lovely to see and hear about everyone’s favourite books. There were several Penelope had never even heard of. She smiled as Oscar talked animatedly about
Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
It wasn’t her sort of book, but it did sound like it would be fun to read. When Rita’s turn came, she held up a book with Harry the popstar’s face on the cover. Rita talked about the awesome things she had learnt about Harry from reading the book. Penelope didn’t think it was all that amazing that Harry enjoyed eating Oreos (most people enjoyed eating Oreos), but she listened politely.

Then came Bob’s turn. For a moment, Penelope was concerned that Bob hadn’t been able to find her box of books. But then Bob pulled out something she’d had on her lap, under the table. The something was tatty and dog-eared and definitely not in peak condition. But it was still the same book as Penelope’s own.
When We Were Very Young.

‘I just can’t believe we have the same favourite book!’

Even though Bob had said the same sentence three times, Penelope was not at all sick of hearing her say it. She was also delighted to be sitting with Bob under the shady tree, absolutely and totally by themselves.

‘My dad used to do the voices aloud.’ Bob put on a deep voice. ‘
He went among the villagers and blipped them on the head
,’ she said, quoting from one of the poems.

Penelope giggled so much that she ended up lying down and closing her eyes. When she opened them, Rita and Tilly were standing in front of her.

‘Why are you way over here?’ Rita asked in a grumpy voice. She pointed to the benches in the courtyard. ‘Come on.’

Penelope knew Rita wouldn’t have bothered to come and collect her if it wasn’t for Bob. She waited for Bob to get up and go. But Bob stayed exactly where she was, sitting with her legs crossed. ‘We’ll come over a bit later, Rita,’ she said. ‘We’re just talking about our fave book.’

Rita definitely rolled her eyes. She put her hands on her hips.

‘That book,’ she said, pointing at Bob’s dog-eared copy, which lay on the grass next to them (Penelope’s was safely in her locker, inside her tartan book bag), ‘is for babies.’

Penelope sat up very straight. Anger bubbled inside her.
SHE WAS SICK OF RITA AZUL MAKING HER FEEL SMALL AND UNIMPORTANT. SHE HAD PLENTY OF THINGS TO SAY ABOUT RITA’S STUPID BOOK, FOR A START.
Penelope was pretty sure there would be a
torrent
of things to say to Rita once she got started.

She looked over at Bob. There was a big frown on Bob’s face. It looked very much as though she was (almost) as cross as Penelope.

No-one spoke. It was definitely only a matter of seconds before Penelope exploded. She could feel each and every one of the symptoms. The thudding in her temples, the rush of blood to her face. Penelope felt her mouth open, ready to let loose.

But then Bob moved. As Penelope realised Bob was getting up, the heat of her anger quickly melted away. Suddenly it felt very cold sitting in the shade. Penelope watched, her mouth still open, as Bob stood up. She felt her happiness start to crumple. She’d had her very own friend for such a short time, but it had already changed her life. Going back to the way things had been would make her Unbearably Lonely. Just the thought of it made Penelope’s heart ache.

Of course Bob was going to go with Rita. No-one wanted to get on the wrong side of Rita Azul. And the other girls over on the benches were waving now.

But the way Bob rubbed her hands together seemed a bit odd. So did the wink she gave Penelope.

In a heartbeat, Penelope knew what to do. She was not going to explode. That would just give Rita another outburst to add to her list. She stood up next to Bob and rubbed her own hands together. Her blood was still bubbling away inside her, but she ignored it.

Then, right at the same time, the two girls tucked the hems of their uniforms into their bicycle shorts and did a handstand against the tree.

It was lucky that the tree had such a big and sturdy trunk, because very soon everyone was doing handstands against it. There were loads of giggles as the girls timed each other, trying to hold their handstand for the longest time. Bob was absolutely and clearly the winner, but everyone else had fun trying to beat her.

It was Penelope’s best recess in a very long time. After a while, even Rita joined in.

Penelope suspected that Rita felt bad about what she’d said. She even told Penelope it was her turn to do the next handstand, when it was actually and obviously Rita’s own turn.

When the bell went for the end of recess, Bob was still upside down.

‘Can you wait for me, Penelope?’ she said in a whisper. ‘I need to ask you something.’

Penelope nodded. Seeing everyone charge back towards the lockers made her feel a bit edgy. Normally she would be one of the first to respond to the bell. If you got to the lockers when they were crowded, it took longer to get your books. That could possibly mean being late to class, which would ruin Penelope’s Perfect Record for Punctuality.

She’d actually hoped to get there a bit early to let Ms Pike know (in private) that Penelope would be her partner when they went to the aged care centre. That way, there wouldn’t be any fussing when Ms Pike called for them to get into pairs.

Still, something inside Penelope told her to stay with Bob. The something was a mixture of Things In Common and funny stories and not-even-trying.

She waited for Bob to come down from her handstand (moving
When We Were Very Young
out of the way just in the nick of time).

‘Penelope,’ Bob said, looking at the ground instead of Penelope (which was quite unusual for Bob), ‘starting at a new school sucks sometimes.’

Except for her very first day at Chelsea Primary, Penelope had never started at a new school. But she could totally imagine how it would suck (although she wouldn’t put it that way). It didn’t seem at all like it sucked for Bob, though.

‘Well, you’re going extremely well,’ Penelope said encouragingly. ‘Already everybody likes you.’

‘Thanks,’ Bob said, ‘but everyone goes gaga over you when you’re new and different. It happens at every new school I go to. The thing is, it doesn’t last that long.’

Penelope examined that idea. She doubted that kids would go gaga over her if she started at a new school, but Bob seemed to know what she was talking about.

‘I want to get it right this time,’ Bob continued. ‘Because it’s going to be forever.’

Penelope waited. Her heart fluttered.

Bob finally looked up. It was absolutely surprising, but Bob seemed to be feeling shy.

‘So, I was just wondering,’ she said falteringly, ‘if you would be my partner when we go to visit the oldies this afternoon?’

Penelope felt like she was going to burst with happiness.

Even knowing that they were definitely going to be late for class didn’t bother her.

Even Bob calling the elderly folk ‘the oldies’ didn’t bother her.

Perhaps the beginning of Project Best Friend had been a disaster. But Penelope had persisted, and her persistence had paid off.

Or perhaps it had been a mixture of persistence and going with the flow. The funniest thing, though, was that the feeling glowing inside Penelope wasn’t a feeling of achievement.

As Penelope stood there (being a little late for class) she realised one thing she hadn’t really considered at the start of Project Best Friend. She actually liked Bob. Very, very much. And having a best friend who she liked very, very much was going to be the most amazing thing ever.