Рейчел Уэллс - Alfie Far From Home

I could vouch for that.

‘Come on, let’s go – we’ll get you home. Emily’s so good at directions,’ Viola said.

‘Thanks.’ Emily was pink. ‘And hopefully no one will know you were missing.’

But as I looked at them, covered in dirt, I was pretty sure they would.

Sure enough, Mr and Mrs Green and all the adults were standing by the playground when we got back. I was tired; it had been a long walk. Humphrey went to stand behind Mrs Green.

‘Where on earth have you been?’ Mr Green shouted.

Nathan hung his head. ‘We went to the woods.’

‘Without an adult?’

Nathan nodded.

‘You have broken rules 3, 7,10, 17, and, well, just about every rule in the book.’ He looked very cross, as Mrs Green put her hand on her husband’s arm; but even she looked angry.

‘It was my idea,’ Nathan admitted.

‘Stanley, you should have known better,’ Mrs Clover bellowed. ‘We were worried, worried sick.’

‘Sorry, Mum. We weren’t going to be long but we kind of got lost. Viola and Emily rescued us,’ Stanley said. Everyone looked at Viola and Emily.

‘That’s all well and good but you should have come to get us.’ Mr Green blew his whistle.

‘We were going to,’ Viola said, her voice barely above a whisper. ‘But then Alfie ran into the wood, so we had to go after him, then Emily remembered where they went with Dad.’

‘Ah, I see,’ Mrs Green said.

‘And Em wouldn’t come with us in the first place. She told us we shouldn’t go,’ Jack added.

‘Good girl, Emily,’ her father said.

‘Right, well, girls, you deserve a reward. You can have pizza in the clubhouse tonight,’ Mrs Green said.

‘But the rest of you – you should really all be thrown off the campsite, the amount of rules you’ve broken,’ Mr Green added.

‘But tomorrow is their last day,’ Mrs Green pointed out. ‘And we’ve got the picnic so they can’t get into any more trouble. Nathan, go to the caravan and stay there.’

Mr Green looked as if he was going to argue but he didn’t.

All the other children were grounded, so I went with Viola and Emily to the clubhouse that night. Outside, Humphrey was eating tuna; he gestured to a second bowl.

‘That’s for you. A reward for rescuing the kids,’ he said, and we shared a pleasant dinner together.

We woke to pouring rain and everyone worrying about the picnic.

Stanley was busy trying to be good; Viola was reading and Mr and Mrs Clover were chatting about what they were going to do when they got home, when there was a knock on the door. Mr Green, wearing an enormous coat and hat, stood outside. He looked cheerful. I wondered if it was because it was our last day.

‘I won’t come in, I’ll drip all over your van, but Mrs Green and I had a chat and we thought that we’d move the picnic into the clubhouse. The children can go over and get decorating.’

Both Stanley and Viola perked up at that. As they put on raincoats and left the van, I braved the weather and went with them. I shook myself off as I went inside. The others were already there, but they didn’t seem very happy.

‘Hi,’ Stanley said cheerfully. The others grumbled their response.

‘Shall we start decorating now?’ Viola suggested.

‘Not with him,’ Poppy said, pointing at Nathan.

‘Why?’ Viola asked.

‘All week he’s been trying to get us into trouble. My parents took away my pocket money,’ Poppy explained.

‘And mine were very cross,’ Jack added.

‘It’s true you really have got us all in trouble,’ Stanley pointed out. Nathan looked at everyone, then stomped off.

‘Miaow.’ I ran after him; he went to the backstage room, sat on one of the boxes and crossed his arms. I felt sorry for him, although he did keep getting them into trouble, but it was because he was unhappy. I jumped up on to a box next to him. He stroked me sadly.

‘No one likes me any more,’ he said to me. I purred and nestled into him.

After a while, Viola appeared.

‘Nathan, are you all right?’ Viola asked.

‘Everyone hates me,’ he said.

‘No, they don’t, they’re just upset. You have to admit that saying it would be OK to go to the woods was a bit dumb.’

‘Yeah, real dumb. The thing is, I’ve been so homesick that I thought that if I caused a bit of trouble my uncle and aunt might send me back.’

I rubbed his arm.

‘I didn’t know … You are a long way from home.’

‘Yeah, I’ve never been away from my parents for this long. I mean, it’s nice of them to have me to stay and it was exciting going on a plane on my own and England is nice, but I miss my parents and my friends back home.’

‘I understand. We moved house a little while before we came here, and I had to say goodbye to all my friends.’

I also understood. I was missing my home, Edgar Road, although I was so busy I didn’t have much time to be homesick.

‘So you know how it feels?’

‘Yes and so would the others if you explained it to them.’

‘I will; thanks, Viola. You know I’ve had a great time this week with you all. That’s why I don’t want them to be mad at me.’

‘It’s been nice to meet you,’ Viola said, smiling.

‘You too. You’re cool for a girl, Viola. I mean you play the piano so well and you won S wingball, then how you made the decorations … You basically organised the whole thing, not to mention rescuing us.’

‘I did?’ Viola sounded surprised.

‘Hey, maybe you don’t realise how cool you are.’ Nathan jumped down from the box and went to talk to the others.

Viola was smiling; how brilliant was it that Nathan had said exactly what I was thinking?

Viola was more confident as she helped everyone decorate the hall. Nathan had said sorry and everyone was friends again. I noticed that Emily and Viola seemed to be really close. My heart swelled with joy. And when we left the clubhouse to go back to the van, the rain had almost stopped.

I saw Humphrey.

‘Hello,’ I said.

‘So, you’re leaving tomorrow?’

‘Yes. I’ve had a nice time but I’m looking forward to going back.’

‘Everything OK with the girl?’

‘Yes, that’s the best bit. She seems so much happier now. The rescue pushed her and Emily together, so thanks for your help.’

‘I would say it was a pleasure but having to go into the woods, hide the puppets and everything else, was a lot of work. I won’t be sorry to see you go.’

Did he really say that? I saw Viola approach out of the corner of my eye and I turned to Humphrey.

‘Do you have to be so mean?’ I asked. I then hissed at him to show how angry I was.

‘Whoa, calm down,’ he replied.

‘No, Humphrey, I’ve been nothing but nice to you. I didn’t try to take the attention off you with the humans; I didn’t steal your food; I was respectful of the fact that I was on your territory and yet still you can say mean things?’ I hissed again.

‘Alfie, are you fighting?’ Viola asked, looking worried. I turned to her, then scowled at Humphrey. Humphrey stared at me; I held his gaze. I wasn’t a pushover after all. As we stared at each other for what seemed like ages, I wondered if he would in fact pounce on me. I felt my fur trembling as I tried to hold my nerve but then, Humphrey stretched his tail in a friendly gesture.

‘Meow,’ he said. He was calling a truce. I blinked slowly at him as he whispered an apology, which I accepted. I wasn’t a cat to hold grudges. And I also felt relieved – he was bigger than me after all.