A Place Called Perfect Read Online Free PDF Page B

said, reaching into her pocket, “we’re putting you on these.”
    She pulled out a small brown bottle and placed it on the table in front of Violet.
    “You’ll take one of these in the morning,” she said, shaking a blue pill out onto her hand.
    Then her mother got up, filled a glass with water and left it and the pill down in front of her daughter.
    “And two of these in the evening,” she said, reaching into her other pocket to pull out a bottle of yellow pills.
    “And don’t worry about remembering dear. Mrs. Moody kindly gave me this alarm so I can set a reminder,” she said, placing a strange looking clock in the centre of the table, “They really do look out for your wellbeing in that school. I don’t know what we’d do without them.”
    “But Mam, I’ve only been there a day. Mrs. Moody doesn’t even know me. The test was stupid and I wasn’t disobedient!  I dropped my pencil and crossed my legs in skipping. Mam please, I don’t want to take pills. There is nothing wrong with me!”
    “Violet, stop it now! I know it’s your condition talking but I do find it hard to take sometimes.”
    “Mam,” Violet persisted.
    “Enough dear! Swallow that now. I have to meet my bookclub this evening and I don’t want to worry that you haven’t taken your pills.”
    Violet glanced down at the blue pill then back at her mother who looked like she was going to explode. She picked it up, placed it on her tongue, took a gulp of water and swallowed. Her mother smiled, patted her daughter’s head and rose from the table.
    “Now I bet you feel better already. I’m going out but I will be back in time to get you and your father’s tea. Risotto tonight I think.”
    Her mother floated from the room leaving Violet angry at the kitchen table. The woman she just talked to, though she looked like her mother, was definitely not her mother. She had to be an imposter. Violet got up from the table and paced the room. Something had to be done. She had to try to get through to her father one last time. He was at work so she grabbed her coat and ran as fast as her legs could carry her all the way to the Archers shop.

CHAPTER 8
    A Change of Heart
     
    Violet stopped for a moment under the gleaming gold sign, Archer Brothers Prescription Spectacle Makers to catch her breath. She was about to push open the polished wooden door when a sudden thought hit like a brick to the head.
    Her mother was right. She had IDDCS. She had never heard of it before, but in that moment, she was one hundred percent sure she had it. Of course she was a disobedient child, Mrs. Moody was right. Beatrice, how could she have been so mean to Beatrice, breaking the rules like that in the middle of the school yard. Embarrassing. The pencil, she blushed as she thought about the pencil. Bending down under the desk like that without even thinking of asking teacher, what must the class have thought. She really was a bold child but all that was going to change. She turned around and walked straight back home.
    With each stride her new thinking got weaker and by the time she’d reached her home she’d changed her mind again and was back to herself. She sat down on the steps and tried to work out what had happened. Her change of mind had been so quick it scared her.
    “THE PILLS!” she shouted jumping up so fast she knocked off her glasses.
    Her world went fuzzy. Quickly she sat back down and felt around for the frames. Her hand moved faster as the panic of losing her sight took hold. Suddenly something stirred close by.
    “Don’t take the pills,” a voice whispered in her ear.
    She just turned to face the voice when footsteps raced towards her. She was knocked from her spot onto the gravel below scraping her hands and knees. There was a scramble around her and she crawled away as fast as a blind person could. She’d just reached the grassy edge of the lawn when the voice spoke again.
    “Here,” he said, shoving her glasses into her hand.
    Then there