Billie B Brown, Collection 2 Page 5

  ‘Billie, stop fiddling with your tooth,’ Billie’s mum says. ‘It will come out when it’s ready. Hurry and brush your teeth or you’ll be late for school.’

  Billie’s mum is a bit grumpy today. Noah has been crying a lot in the night, so she is very tired.

  Noah’s cheeks are bright red and he is very dribbly. Billie’s mum says he is teething.

  Billie brushes her teeth carefully. Billie’s dad pokes his head into the bathroom.

  ‘I can pull out your tooth for you,’ he jokes.

  ‘I just have to tie one end of a string around your tooth and the other end to the doorknob. Then, slam! Out pops the tooth!’

  ‘No way!’ says Billie, spitting toothpaste into the sink.‘That will hurt!’

  Billie walks to school with her dad and her best friend, Jack.

  On the way, she starts wiggling the wobbly tooth again.

  ‘How about eating an apple?’ Jack suggests. ‘That’s how I lost one of mine.’

  Billie shakes her head. ‘That might hurt,’ she says.

  She pushes her hands down into her pockets to stop her fingers creeping up to her mouth.

  At school, Billie’s class is learning about teeth. They learn that an elephant has big pointy teeth called tusks. Crocodiles have 70 teeth and sharks have three sets of teeth. Even slugs have teeth!

  Ms Walton asks how many people in the class have lost a tooth.

  Everyone puts up their hand – except Billie. Billie frowns and looks down at her desk.

  Hurry up, tooth! she thinks.

  At playtime, Billie and Jack play chasey with some other kids in their class. First Jack is It. He chases Billie around the playground.

  Billie is very fast but Jack traps her near the drink taps.‘Billie’s It!’ he shouts.

  Billie decides she is going to catch Mika next. Mika is a fast runner too. But not as fast as Billie. Billie runs and runs and runs and…Oh no! Billie trips over. She falls down hard onto the concrete.

  Even though she stuck out her hands, Billie still bangs her chin on the ground. She sits up and howls.

  Billie’s hands are grazed, her knees are grazed - even her chin is grazed. She feels sore all over. Poor Billie!

  Jack rushes over. Mika, Ella and Tracey rush over too. Hot tears stream down Billie’s cheeks. Mika puts her arm around Billie.

  ‘I’ll take her to sick bay!’ Ella offers.

  ‘No, I will!’ says Tracey. ‘It’s my turn.’

  ‘You can all come,’ Billie sniffles.‘I need all of you to help me walk. My knees hurt SO much.’

  Billie’s friends help her stand up.

  ‘Wait!’ Jack says.‘Look!’

  Billie looks at the ground. There, in the dust, is something very small and white. It’s not much bigger than a grain of rice. Can you guess what it is?

  ‘My tooth!’ Billie gasps.

  Billie slips her tongue into the gap between her teeth.

  It feels squishy and tastes like metal. Billie knows that taste. She gasps again. ‘Is there blood?’

  Ella peers into Billie’s mouth.‘A little bit,’ she says.

  Tracey scrunches up her face like she has swallowed something sour.

  Billie begins to feel worried.

  ‘It’s fine,’ says Jack.‘There’s hardly any.’ He picks up the tiny tooth and hands it to Billie.

  Just then Ms Walton walks over.

  ‘Billie fell over!’ Ella shouts.

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ says Ms Walton. ‘Look at your poor knees. And your chin! We’d better get you cleaned up.’

  ‘Look!’ Billie says. She shows Ms Walton the little tooth in her hand.

  Ms Walton smiles. She pulls out a tissue from her pocket.‘Here,’ she says.‘You don’t want to lose that. Wrap it up so you can take it home for the Tooth Fairy.’

  Billie grins. The Tooth Fairy! Even though her knees and hands and chin hurt, she can’t help feeling excited.

  Billie’s dad picks her up after school. Billie is covered in bandaids.

  ‘Oh no, Billie! What happened?’ her dad asks.

  But Billie is too excited to bother about all her injuries.

  ‘I fell over. But look!’ Billie says. Carefully she unwraps the tissue to show her dad the tooth.

  Billie’s dad smiles. ‘How exciting,’ he says. ‘Don’t lose it, will you? Looks like the Tooth Fairy might be visiting our house tonight!’

  Billie gives a happy little squeal. She wraps the tooth up in the tissue again and puts it in her pocket.

  All the way home in the car, her tongue keeps wriggling into the empty space in her mouth.

  When they get home, Billie runs into the house to show her mum her tooth. Billie’s mum is on the couch feeding Noah. She looks very tired.

  ‘Mum, Mum!’ Billie yells. ‘Look, look!’

  Billie yells so loudly that Noah gets a fright and starts crying. At first Billie’s mum looks cross.

  But then she sees all Billie’s bandaids. ‘Oh, my poor little soldier! What happened to you?’ she says.

  ‘I fell over,’ Billie says glumly. ‘But look!’ She opens her mouth to show the gap where her tooth had once been.

  ‘Your tooth came out!’ says Billie’s mum.

  She gives Billie a cuddle. Noah grizzles unhappily.

  Billie frowns. ‘He’s always crying these days,’ she says crossly.

  Billie’s mum stands up to rock Noah to sleep.

  ‘It’s not his fault,’ she sighs.‘He is growing teeth, Billie. They hurt his gums.’

  But Billie doesn’t want to talk about Noah’s teeth. She wants to talk about hers! ‘Look,’ Billie says. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the tissue.

  She opens it up carefully, but…the tissue is empty!

  ‘Wait,’ says Billie. She checks her pocket. There is nothing there.

  ‘Oh no,’ she says. She feels her bottom lip begin to tremble. ‘I can’t find it!’

  ‘Maybe it fell out in the car?’ Billie’s mum says.

  Billie checks the car all over. But the tooth is nowhere to be found.

  Billie starts to cry. Her knees hurt, her hands hurt, even her chin hurts. And now she has lost her tooth, too!

  That night, Billie’s dad tucks Noah into bed. Her mum sits on Billie’s bed. Billie still feels very upset.

  ‘Oh, Billie,’ says her mum.

  She gives Billie a cuddle. ‘Maybe the Tooth Fairy will still come?’

  But Billie shakes her head sadly. It’s no use. Everyone knows the Tooth Fairy only comes if there is a tooth to collect.

  Just then Billie has an idea. A super-dooper idea. ‘I know!’ she says, wiping her eyes.‘Maybe I can write the Tooth Fairy a note?’

  ‘That’s a great idea!’ says Billie’s mum.

  So Billie gets out her sparkly pens and writes a note for the fairy. She even draws a picture.

  Billie tucks the note under her pillow. Then her mum gives her a goodnight kiss.

  The next morning, when Billie wakes up, she sits up slowly. Her knees and hands still ache and her chin feels sore. Billie feels for her wobbly tooth. Oh, that’s right - it’s gone!

  Billie suddenly remembers. The Tooth Fairy! Did she come? Billie lifts up her pillow. There, lying on her bed sheet, is a shiny gold coin.

  ‘Mum, Dad!’ Billie yells. She runs to find her parents. Billie’s dad is already awake. He has Noah in his arms.

  ‘Shhh…’ he says. ‘Your mum is still sleeping. What is it, Billie?’

  ‘The Tooth Fairy came!’ Billie whispers excitedly.

  ‘She must have read my note because she left me money!’

  ‘Well, there you are,’ says Billie’s dad, smiling.‘That’s great, Billie! It looks like the Tooth Fairy had a busy night. Look!’

  Billie’s dad gently opens Noah’s mouth.

  Billie peers inside. And there, on his bottom gum, is a shiny white tooth, as small as a grain of rice.

  Billie B Brown has one lumpy school bag, two banana sa
ndwiches and one grumpy frown. Do you want to know what the B in Billie B Brown stands for?

  Bully.

  There is a big bully at Billie’s school. His name is Jason. He is in grade five. Yesterday Billie and Jack were playing on the oval with Billie’s new soccer ball. Jason walked past and kicked the soccer ball up, up, up into the peppercorn tree.

  ‘Hey, that’s my soccer ball!’ Billie said.

  ‘So?’ said Jason meanly. Then he poked Billie in the shoulder. ‘If you tell on me, there’ll be BIG trouble. OK?’

  Billie bit her lip and nodded her head. She had never been this close to Jason before. He was scary.

  Jason stomped away.

  Billie felt tears sting her eyes.‘That was my new ball,’ she said in a little voice.

  ‘We should tell Ms Walton,’ Jack said.

  ‘No!’ said Billie. ‘You heard what Jason said. If he finds out we’ve told on him, there will be BIG trouble.’

  So the ball stayed in the tree and Billie and Jack walked glumly back to class.

  Today, Billie is prepared. She and Jack have decided they are not going to play on the oval anymore. Billie doesn’t want to bump into that horrible Jason again.

  Billie and Jack’s first class is art. Billie loves art. This week their class has been making teapots out of clay for Mother’s Day. The clay has been drying overnight, so today they are ready for painting.

  Jack’s teapot is shaped like a robot. It has one arm for the handle and one for the spout. It is a very good robot-teapot.

  Billie is trying to make a teapot house.

  But it is not quite turning out how she had hoped. Right now it looks more like something from an elephant’s bottom. Billie giggles.

  ‘Would you like some elephant poo tea, sir?’ she says in a posh voice.

  Jack giggles too. Then they both hum the teapot song until the bell goes for recess.

  Ms Walton tells everyone to take their teapots straight to the classroom. Then they can go out to play.

  Billie and Jack pick up their teapots and carry them carefully out of the art room. Even though Billie’s teapot looks a bit funny, she knows that her mum will love it.

  On their way back to class, Billie sees Rebecca by the monkey bars. She decides she will quickly show Rebecca her teapot. She knows it will make Rebecca laugh.

  ‘I’m just going to see Rebecca,’ Billie says to Jack.

  ‘But Ms Walton said…’ Jack says, looking worried.

  Billie huffs.‘I won’t be long!’

  She walks carefully over to the monkey bars.

  Rebecca sees Billie and waves. Billie walks faster. She has nearly reached Rebecca when…crash! Someone runs into Billie. Her teapot goes smashing to the ground.

  Rebecca gasps. Billie gasps. She looks up. There, standing in front of her, is Jason! He is red-cheeked and puffing.

  Billie feels a hot ball of anger rush into her chest. She doesn’t care that Jason is the biggest, meanest bully in the whole school. He has broken her teapot and that is NOT FAIR!

  ‘Look what you’ve done!’ she yells loudly. ‘You broke my teapot!

  You kicked my soccer ball into the tree. You are the meanest, horriblest person ever. And NOBODY LIKES YOU!’

  When Billie finishes yelling, her head is fizzing. Jason’s mouth drops open and he runs away.

  Rebecca kneels down and helps Billie pick up the pieces of her teapot. ‘He didn’t even say sorry,’ Billie says angrily.‘I bet he did it on purpose!’

  ‘You should tell Ms Walton,’ Rebecca says.

  Billie shakes her head. ‘That will only make it worse,’ she says.‘Jason is horrible and mean, but he is scary too.’

  ‘He looked more scared than scary when you yelled at him like that!’ Rebecca says.

  Billie laughs. But deep down, she feels worried. Will Jason be angry at her? She walks back to class with the pieces of broken teapot in her hands.

  When Ms Walton sees Billie’s teapot, she looks surprised.‘Oh dear, Billie!’ she says.‘What happened?’

  ‘I dropped it,’ says Billie quietly.

  She feels bad lying to Ms Walton, but she can’t think of what else to say.

  ‘Never mind. You can still do a drawing for Mother’s Day,’ Ms Walton says.‘But that’s why you should have come straight back to the classroom!’

  Billie nods. If she had come straight back she never would have bumped into that horrible Jason.

  Billie and Jack play on the monkey bars with Rebecca all recess. But only after they check that Jason is nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Why was Jason over by the monkey bars, anyway?’ Billie says. ‘He never usually comes over to our side of the playground.’

  ‘I hope he doesn’t come over here again!’ Jack says nervously.

  Just to be sure, they sit up on the highest rungs until the bell goes.

  In class, Billie works hard on her maths. She finishes her work early so that she has time to draw a picture for Mother’s Day. She draws her mum standing under a rainbow. It is much nicer than her lumpy teapot. But she is still annoyed that Jason broke it.

  The bell goes for lunch break. Jack packs up quickly. Billie is still finishing her drawing.

  ‘Meet you at the monkey bars?’ Jack says.

  Billie nods. She finishes her drawing as everyone goes outside to play. She rolls it up and carries it out to her bag in the corridor.

  Billie unzips her bag and puts the drawing in. Just then, she hears footsteps. She spins around. Someone is standing right in front of her.

  You know who it is, don’t you? That’s right. It’s Jason! Billie’s heart begins to jump around in her chest like a frightened rabbit.

  ‘Wh..wh..what do you want?’ Billie says, trying to sound brave. She wishes she hadn’t shouted at Jason. She is sure she is in trouble.

  Jason frowns.‘Hey, pipsqueak. I’ve got something for you,’ he says in a gruff voice. Then he brings Billie’s soccer ball out from behind his back.

  Billie looks surprised. ‘How did you get that?’

  Jason shrugs.‘I came to school last night with my dad. We got it down with a broomstick.’ He grins. ‘Lucky he’s tall.’

  ‘Oh,’ Billie says. Is Jason being nice to her? The big mean bully?

  ‘Um, thank you,’ she says shyly.

  ‘I was coming over to tell you I had it at recess,’ Jason says. ‘When…you know…when I bumped into you. And you dropped your…what was that thing again?’

  ‘A teapot,’ says Billie, feeling annoyed.

  Jason kicks at the floor. ‘Anyway, it’s true what you said. That nobody likes me.’

  ‘Really?’ Billie asks. She can’t imagine what it must feel like to have no friends. It must be very lonely.

  Jason looks down at his grubby fingers. ‘I’m no good at games.

  I get angry and then I mess everything up. Now no-one wants to play with me.’

  ‘So?’ says Billie.‘I get angry sometimes too.’

  Jason grins.‘I know you do!’

  ‘But I still have friends,’ says Billie.‘If you mess up, you just have to say sorry.’

  Jason goes quiet for a while. Then he gets a funny look on his face. A little bit like he has something sticky and chewy in his mouth.

  ‘Erm…sorry about your soccer ball,’ he says quietly.‘And your teapot.’

  Billie feels the hot, angry ball inside her chest soften.

  ‘That’s all right,’ she says. ‘It wasn’t a very good teapot anyway. Actually, it was more like an elephant poo than a teapot.’

  Jason laughs loudly. When he laughs, he doesn’t look so mean anymore. He puts his big hand on Billie’s shoulder. ‘You’re all right,’ he says. ‘For a pipsqueak.’

  Billie grins.‘You’re all right, too. For a bully.’

  Jason laughs again. Even louder this time. Billie realises he’s not so bad, after all.

  Just then, Billie has an idea. A super-dooper idea. ‘Hey, do you like to play soccer?’ she asks.

/>   ‘Yep!’ says Jason proudly. Then his face drops. ‘But no-one wants me on their team.’

  ‘Well, do you want to play with us?’ says Billie.

  ‘Really?’ says Jason excitedly.

  ‘Sure. But no more kicking the ball into the tree, OK?’ she says sternly.

  ‘Or there’ll be BIG trouble.’

  Jason grins.‘OK,’ he says. ‘I promise.’

  Billie grins too. She can’t wait to see the look on Jack’s face when she walks into the playground with the big bully.

  Billie B Brown Collection 2

  published in 2014 by

  Hardie Grant Egmont

  Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street

  Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia

  www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au

  This ebook is also available as a print edition in all good bookstores.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior permission of the publishers and copyright owner.

  A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia

  eISBN 9781743582893

  Text copyright © 2014 Sally Rippin

  Illustration copyright © 2014 Aki Fukuoka

  Logo and design copyright © 2014 Hardie Grant Egmont

  Design and typesetting by Stephanie Spartels

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