Magic Bunny: Classroom Capers (4 page)

‘Not me. I’m rubbish,’ Lex said, jumping to his feet. ‘Gotta go. I’ve … erm … forgotten something.’

‘No you don’t!’ Ellie grabbed his arm. ‘Wolverines have to do kitchen chores today. That means
all
of us!’

‘Haven’t they ever heard of dishwashers here?’ Lex grumbled.

‘If we all do it, it won’t take long,’ Julia said, agreeing with Ellie for once. Maybe there was hope that they might all work together as team. Ellie seemed a lot less sulky and spoiled today.

Lex seemed about to answer back when Mr Potter gave him a stern look and he slunk towards the washing-up area instead.

Julia felt Arrow jump down on to the floor. He sat under the table as she stood up and began collecting plates and cutlery. She was drying cups on a tea towel when he whooshed over in a rainbow of sparkling dust and landed on a nearby window sill.

‘The whole camp’s going on a hike down to the beach when we’ve finished,’ she whispered to him. ‘I’ll have to collect my backpack first. You’ll be safer inside it.’

After Julia had finished drying up, she went back to the tent and found her bag. With Arrow tucked safely inside it, Julia and the Wolverines joined the other teams and trooped across the fields of grazing sheep. Mr Potter strode ahead, swinging a large black umbrella that he used like a walking stick.

The sun broke through the clouds as they emerged on to the beach path. The ground sloped gently downwards and Julia had her first glimpse of the sea.

Arrow was sitting up to look out of her bag. His nose twitched. ‘I smell something strange. It smells like salty water.’

‘That’s the sea,’ Julia whispered. ‘Look, you can see it over there.’ She pointed towards the huge expanse of blue that met the sky at the horizon.

Arrow pricked his ears. ‘It looks very big,’ he said nervously.

‘The sea
is
big. But you won’t get wet if you stay on the beach. That’s what the wide strip of sand in front of the sea is called,’ she explained.

Arrow stretched up even further out of the bag as Julia and the others walked on to the beach. The sea breeze stirred his fur and blew Julia’s blonde wavy hair into her eyes. She took a stretchy hairband out of her jeans pocket and gathered her hair into a ponytail.

‘Right, everyone,’ Mr Potter said. ‘Have a good time, and keep an eye out for shells. Lots of them get washed up on this coast. Your team task is to collect as many different kinds of shell as you can.’

‘Bor–ring,’ Lex murmured.

‘I love collecting shells. They’re so pretty,’ Ellie said.

‘You collect them then. I’m off to have a paddle!’ Lex plonked himself on the sand and started pulling off his shoes and socks.

For the second time that day, Julia agreed with Ellie. She loved looking for shells too. She was just about to suggest that they look for some together when Ellie squealed. Lex had dropped a bit of seaweed down her back and was laughing as Ellie tried to fish it out of her T-shirt. Julia rolled her eyes – why could her team not get along?

‘I’m going to walk up the beach. See you later,’ Julia called to the other Wolverines.

Arrow leaned out of the bag to peer down at the sand, his nose twitching with curiosity. ‘I would like to look more closely at this strange stuff. What is it made of?’

Julia trudged through the deep soft sand. ‘Crushed shells and rocks, I think. You might have trouble hopping across it. It’s better down there.’ She pointed towards the damp, firmly packed sand nearer the shore.

Arrow jumped down and began nosing about. He was nibbling at a tiny piece of seaweed when he uncovered a slimy piece of crab shell. He jumped backwards, sneezing and snorting in disgust.

‘Oh, poor you! I picked one of those up once. They smell awful!’ Julia said, sympathetically. She took a water bottle out of her bag and poured some water into her hand for him to drink.

Arrow lapped at it gratefully. ‘Thank you, Julia. That is better.’

They walked on and Julia picked up a dozen different shells, which she put in her backpack. She didn’t know what they all were, but she recognized the long razor clams and dark-blue mussels.

‘I could use my magic to help you find some special shells,’ Arrow offered.

‘Thanks. But that would be cheating,’ Julia said. ‘I ought to find them myself.’

Arrow nodded, enjoying scrabbling at the damp sand with his fluffy front paws.

Golden sunshine glimmered on the waves and the breakers made a lovely shushing sound as they met the shore.

‘I like the sea!’ Arrow declared.

‘Me too!’ Julia said warmly, feeling a stir of affection for him. She was enjoying herself too. Having her magic bunny on holiday with her was the best fun ever.

Julia was digging in the sand with the toe of her trainer when she uncovered the tip of something buried. She bent down to finish digging it out with her hands.

‘Wow! Look at this!’ she cried, holding up an enormous shell.

It filled the palm of one hand. Even covered with damp sand it was impressive, with a spiral curve and lots of little spikes and ridges. Julia went to rinse it in the sea and then dried it on her T-shirt.

‘This should earn us a few team points!’ she said delightedly as she rejoined Arrow.

‘Oi! That’s
my
shell!’ called a mean, nasal voice.

Julia looked up to see some older kids, a girl and two boys, walking towards her. The girl who had spoken looked about twelve. She was short with thick arms and legs and wore a pair of baggy combat shorts.

She held out a meaty hand. ‘Hand it over!’

Chapter
FIVE

Julia froze. ‘This … erm … shell’s mine. I-I just found it,’ she stammered.

The girl grinned nastily. ‘Tough!’

‘I’d do what Kelly says, if I were you,’ the dark-haired boy said.

‘Yeah, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of her!’ said the other boy. He had curly hair and wore glasses.

‘You heard Hitesh and Dean! Gimme it!’ Kelly ordered, lunging towards Julia and grabbing the shell.

Julia felt a warm tingling sensation down her spine and saw Arrow’s key flash and a spurt of crystal mist appear.

She hid a grin. Big mistake, Kelly!

The invisible crystal mist surrounded the girl just as she snatched the shell away. Suddenly, Kelly shot backwards and landed on her behind just as a wave was coming in. Sandy water shot everywhere, splashing over Hitesh and Dean.

Kelly threw Julia’s shell up in the air as she fell. It whizzed straight back towards Julia. She caught it neatly and slipped it into her bag.

Kelly struggled to her feet, fists clenched. Her face was scarlet.

‘Get her!’ she yelled.

Julia had already bent down and scooped Arrow securely under one arm. She raced back along the beach towards her team-mates and teachers.

Hitesh and Dean ran after her, while Kelly plodded along behind them, still soaking wet from landing in the water.

Julia’s trainers dug into the sand. Her legs ached with the effort of running, but she was almost there now.

Just before she reached the others, the three mean kids gave up. They turned and walked away.

‘Thanks, Arrow. You were brilliant!’ Julia puffed. ‘I’d have hated to lose that shell.’

His bobtail twitched. ‘I am glad I could help.’

Julia flopped down near the other Wolverines and took the shell out of her bag to dry in the sun.

‘Whoa! That’s a corker! Wait until Old Potty sees what we’ve found.’ Lex had spotted her shell and quickly scooped it up. Before Julia could say anything, he had hurried off to show the teachers who were standing at the water’s edge.

Julia smiled. Trust Lex to take the credit for her efforts! ‘He just doesn’t get what team work means, does he!’ she whispered to Arrow, slowly shaking her head.

‘But we are a good team.’ The magic bunny jumped into her lap and Julia stroked his soft silver-blue fur.

‘We’re the best,’ she said fondly.

Everyone returned to camp for lunch. It was the Elks’ turn to make the meal.

When it was ready, Julia and the other Wolverines took their picnic back to their tent. The sun and the breeze had dried Julia’s sleeping bag and all the wet clothes. Two of her team-mates helped her gather up the stuff, but they left the clothes airer up and used it to dry their towels from the beach.