A Witch Like No Other Read Online Free PDF Page B

out of his chair. The
familiar whistling of the kettle made him scramble to his feet and
look around fearfully.
    “ Dreamer?”
     
* * *
     
    Pandora flicked through Dreamer ’ s spell book,
recognising her grandmother ’ s handwriting, shortly
followed by her mother ’ s.
    She heard the crash in the kitchen, but
didn ’ t
go and check it out.
    “ Dad probably
passed out,” she joked to herself, then he heard
Ted’ s footsteps on the
landing. Slamming the book shut and pushing it under her bed, she
grabbed a newspaper and sat innocently as he knocked.
    “ Can I come
in?”
    “ If you have
to.”
Ted came in with a mug of hot chocolate for
Pandora and a cup of coffee for himself. Pandora put the paper
down, sensing his alarm.
    “ What’ s wrong?”
    “ Nothing,
‘ Dora. Nothing,” Ted said
quietly. He wasn ’ t about to tell her anything. She ’ d get her hopes up and
maybe try and do something silly. Pandora accepted the chocolate,
watching as he sat on her chair.
    “ Have you
thought about college, Pandora?”
    “ Miss Hughes is
going to help me choose a course.”
    “ You
didn’ t like Science, did
you?”
    “ I hated it,”
said Pandora disgustedly. “I’ m
never studying it again.”
    “ When you got
an A-star in your Science GCSE?”
    “ I got As in
most of my other subjects,” Pandora pointed out. “Ok?”
    “ Ok. Did Miriam
call you back at all?”
    Pandora shrugged. “I didn ’ t answer the house
phone. I never do.”
    “ Then how can
you expect- does she have your mobile number?”
    “ No.”
    “ Pandora,”
started Ted, then he decided scolding her wasn’ t necessary. He had learnt from Miriam that
talking calmly and rationally was the best way to deal with
Pandora.
    “ At least
you’ re seeing her tomorrow
anyway.”
     
* * *
     
    James sped down the motorway, saying
“You ’ ve got to help her.”
    “ Who?”
    “ Pandora,” said
James. “She’ s your sister,
man. She needs you.”
    “ You
wouldn’ t say that if I told
you what she said this morning.”
James grinned, sparing a glance at his best
friend. “What did she say?”
    “ She told me to
flip you over and suck your… you know.”
    “ Whoa! Are you
serious?”
    “ Yep.”
    “ So
she’ s still Miss Feisty,
then.”
    “ Sure.
She’ s the same really, but she
hardly smiles or laughs, she stays in her room to pretend she
doesn ’ t exist and she hates socialising.”
    “ I was close to
her once upon a time.”
    “ Yeah, when she
was flipping ten years old.”
    “ It’ s not my fault she met
Janice at high school and forgot about me.”
Marlon glanced at his friend. “Why do you
say it like that?”
    “ Like what?
Wait- no.” James shook his head. “Don’ t get it twisted, Marlon, I ’ m not interested in
Pandora. Nope. Never.”
    “ You’ d better not
be.”
    “ Hey,
I’ ve got a girl already. You
know that already.”
Marlon smiled. “I forgot. Cindy,
right?”
    “ Yup.
Cindy.”
    Though it had been six months since James had actually
spoken to Cindy, six months since they last saw each other. They
split up ages ago, and James didn ’ t want to tell his best
friend. Marlon would tease him and then suggest what went wrong.
Nothing went wrong, not with him. Cindy was the one who
cheated.
    “ Pandora,
though. Is she going to college this term?”
    “ She is, but
she’ ll probably drop out
again.”
James was glad the night hid his scowl.
    “ Don’ t you have faith in
your little sister?”
    “ James, come
off it. I love Pandora, but we have to be realistic. She left
school with high grades and she ditched all her friends just
before. She just wants to be alone; ever since Mum died
she’ s been like that. I try
with her, but she shrugs me off. She hardly speaks to me anymore,
except at breakfast. Seriously James, I ’ m the one who has to
start the conversations, like all the time. And it always turns
into an argument.”
    “ Maybe
it’ s the things you
say.”
    “ She