Magic Bunny: Classroom Capers Read Free Page A

small space.
    ‘I don’t believe it!’ a boy complained, as he crawled into the porch and picked up his bag. ‘My clothes are completely soaked.’
    ‘So are mine!’ a girl said. ‘I can’t wear any of them. Someone should have listened to Julia about the tent …’

    ‘Look. You can both borrow one of my T-shirts,’ Julia said quickly, as Lex frowned and opened his mouth to speak. She didn’t want another row to break out. ‘And someone’s probably got some spare jeans that’ll fit you. I don’t mind staying back here and hanging all the wet clothes up to dry, while you go to breakfast. I’ll see you all there,’ she said, for the sake of keeping the peace. Besides, she wouldn’t be alone. She had Arrow with her.
    ‘Are you sure you don’t want any help?’ Ellie asked.
    Julia shook her head. ‘No. I’ll be fine. Honestly.’
    There were nods and murmurs from her other team-mates. A few minutes later, the Wolverines went out, leaving Julia alone with Arrow.
    ‘Phew!’ she said, relieved.
    Now she could talk to Arrow without having to worry about anyone hearing. The magic bunny hopped over and jumped into her lap. Julia gave him a quick cuddle.
    ‘I’d better try to get my sleeping bag dry. I don’t fancy cold wet feet tonight,’ she said, wrinkling her nose. Arrow hopped out of the tent behind her, as she dragged her sleeping bag outside and draped it over a nearby bush.
    ‘There’s not enough room for all the wet clothes. If we had an old-fashioned clothes airer like Gran’s, I could put the other kids’ stuff on that,’ she said, thoughtfully.
    Arrow’s whiskers twitched curiously. ‘What does this airer look like?’
    ‘It’s a bit like three small ladders, joined together at the sides so they stand up. Like this.’ She drew an ‘N’ shape in the air with her hands.
    ‘I understand.’ Arrow’s golden key flashed.
    Julia felt a warm tingling sensation down her spine as a cloud of crystal dust appeared and drifted away towards a wood near the bottom of the field. Almost immediately a bundle of sturdy twigs dropped out of thin air on to the grass in front of her.
    Snap! The twigs trimmed themselves and formed into the shape of ladders. Creak! Green vines bound them together. Rustle! The airer marched across the grass like a soldier on parade and stood to attention.
    Julia clapped her hands in delight. ‘That’s brilliant! Thanks, Arrow.’
    ‘You are welcome.’

    She ducked back into the tent to sort out the wet clothes. It didn’t take very long to hang them out to dry. ‘I just hope it doesn’t rain again.’ Julia bent down to pick up Arrow. She stroked his warm ears. ‘Let’s go after the others, before someone comes to see where we are!’
    But it was too late.
    ‘What are you still doing here, Julia?’ asked a stern voice.
    Julia almost jumped out of her skin. She’d been so busy that she hadn’t heard anyone approaching. She turned to see Mr Potter, the strictest teacher in school, looking at her over the top of his glasses.

Chapter
FOUR
    ‘Um … I was just trying to … erm … dry out some of our things,’ Julia said.
    ‘Hmm.’ Mr Potter walked over to the wet clothes draped on their twiggy dryer. ‘This is a clever idea. You should get team points – although I can’t believe that you made it all by yourself,’ he said suspiciously, peering down to examine it. His eyebrows knitted together in a frown. ‘Did someone who works at the farm help you?’

    Julia gulped. If Mr Potter thought she was cheating he’d probably punish her by making her peel mountains of potatoes, or worse!
    ‘It was … erm … a team effort,’ she improvised quickly. ‘All the Wolverines helped. I … um … volunteered to stay behind to finish hanging the clothes out to dry. They got wet because we had a big puddle in the tent.’
    Mr Potter nodded slowly.
    Julia held her breath, hoping that he’d believe her. After a moment, the teacher’s stern face