Paws and Whiskers Read Free Page B

allowances.’
    They were such kind girls – all except Keira. She had a way of staring at me as if she could look straight into my head and see all the lies and worries tangled up inside, like skeins of knitting wool. She was the only one who still seemed very suspicious.
    I tried hard to think of some way I could convince her. That evening I rifled through the magazine again and found the photo of Jenna Williams and Lulu. I got my scissors and carefully snipped around Lulu. There, I had one little photo of my kitten! But it was clear I’d cut it out of a magazine because there were a lot of words on the back. I thought hard and then fished around in my jewellery box. I had a little silver locket Dad had bought me as a birthday present. I hadn’t worn it for ages because I didn’t like my dad any more. But now I prised it open and dug out the photo inside – one of Dad holding me when I was a baby. I snipped away at the photo of Lulu until it fitted exactly, and then slotted it in place inside the locket. It looked perfect.
    I wore my locket to school the next day, tucking it away underneath my school sweatshirt. I waited until playtime, and then when all the Pet Girls gathered together I fished my locket out.
    ‘I
have
got a photo of Lulu after all,’ I said. ‘I just remembered last night. There’s this one in my special locket.’
    I opened it up and showed them. Everyone made special ‘Aaaah’ noises – except Keira.
    ‘See, Keira!’ I said, thrusting the locket under her nose.
    ‘Mmm,’ she said.
    She
still
didn’t look utterly convinced. I didn’t like the way she was looking at me. There was a weird gleam in her eye, but she didn’t say anything else.
    My heart turned over the next morning at school. Keira was waving an old magazine around.
    ‘Look what’s in here,’ she said, opening up the magazine and stabbing at the page with her finger.
    All the Pet Girls peered at it curiously.
    ‘That’s Jenna Williams. I’ve got some of her books,’ said Julie.
    ‘She’s got a lovely little kitten,’ said Rosie.
    ‘Yes. And guess what her kitten is called!’ said Keira.
    ‘It says she’s called Lulu – just like your kitten, Leonie!’ said Harpreet.
    ‘What a coincidence,’ said Anya.
    ‘Coincidence, my bottom!’ said Keira. ‘It’s not a coincidence at all. Show us that picture in your locket,Leonie, go on. Then we can all see for ourselves. That
isn’t
your kitten! It’s Jenna Willams’ own cat. I
knew
you were fibbing – and then I found the photo last night in my sister’s mag. You’re just a pathetic little liar, Leonie. You can’t be in our Pet Girls Club because you haven’t got a pet – so push off!’
    Julie and the others were staring at me, stunned.
    ‘I’m sure you’ve made a mistake, Keira,’ said Julie anxiously. ‘Let’s see your photo again, Leonie.’
    ‘Yes, go on, we’ll prove it,’ said Keira, tugging at the chain of my locket.
    ‘Stop it! You’ll break it if you’re not careful,’ I said, struggling.
    It was no use. Keira’s hard little fingers scrabbled at my neck, then she opened the locket with her thumbnail and poked my photo out. She held it up triumphantly for all to see the printing on the back.
    ‘There! See!’ she said, her face pink with triumph.
    They all saw.
    ‘Oh, Leonie,’ said Julie sorrowfully.
    ‘You fibber!’ said Emily, looking outraged.
    ‘I’m not, I’m not,’ I said. I couldn’t bear it. It had been so wonderful to be Julie’s friend and one of the Pet Girls gang. I thought desperately hard.
    ‘All right, I did tell a little bit of a fib,’ I said. ‘Lulu isn’t exactly
my
kitten. You’re right, Keira, she doesbelong to Jenna Williams. But she lets me play with her lots and says she can be partly mine too.’
    ‘What rubbish!’ said Keira. ‘As if Jenna Williams would say that!’
    ‘Do you really know Jenna Williams, Leonie?’ asked Julie.
    ‘Yes! I know her ever so well because . . . because