Billy Wizard Read Online Free PDF Page A

hear the bang? Then he climbed over the fence and ran off.”
    “But what about the mouse?” asked Joe.
    “What mouse? Oh – you mean Little Danny, Molly Mason’s pet mouse? She brought it into school to show everyone and it escaped. But what’s that got to do with—?”
    But Joe was gone.

    Joe found Billy on his own in the quiet area of the playground.

    “Hi,” he said.
    “Hi,” said Billy without looking up from his feet.
    “Sorry,” said Joe. “You know, about yesterday and that.”
    “That’s OK,” said Billy.
    “Rick’s been sent to another school.”
    “Good,” said Billy. He looked up at Joe. “Thanks for standing up to him for me.”
    “That’s all right,” said Joe, sitting down next to Billy. “I should have done it before, with you being my friend and that.”
    “Yeah?” said Billy.
    “Definitely,” said Joe.
    “I’m not really a wizard, you know,” said Billy.
    “Yeah,” said Joe. “I know.”
    “I wish I was.”
    “Yeah. Me too.”
    They sat in silence for a minute or two.
    “It’s not nice calling your mum a witch though, is it?” said Joe. “She seems really nice.”
    “She is,” said Billy. “I don’t know why I do it.” He sounded as though he was about to cry. “I don’t mean to do it,” he explained. “I got picked on by these older children at my last school and I started to make things up and pretend that I could get back at them. Once I pretended I was an alien from another planet who was in disguise and another time that I had super powers. I made all kinds of stuff up.”
    “Like being a wizard?” asked Joe.
    Billy nodded. “Mum says I’ve got an over-active imagination. That’s why she moved me to this school – because I told so many lies at my last one. Children called me names and I just got picked on even more. Now I’ve done the same thing here.” He began to sob.
    “Only to me and Rick,” said Joe, putting his arm round Billy’s shoulder. “I don’t mind and Rick’s gone.”
    Billy smiled weakly. “What about Neil?”
    “What about me?” asked Neil, wandering over at just that moment.
    “Do you care that Billy’s been saying he’s a wizard?” said Joe.
    “Not really,” said Neil, sitting down next to them. “It is a bit crazy though.”
    “He’s not going to do it any more,” said Joe. “Are you, Billy?”
    “No,” said Billy, smiling.
    “People picked on him at his last school,” explained Joe.
    “Well, the only person who was ever going to pick on you here was Rick and he’s history,” said Neil.
    “Yeah,” said Joe. “There was someone like him at my last school. This boy called Carl.”
    “At least you stood up to him,” said Neil. “No one ever stood up to Rick before. You’ll be famous.”
    “I will?”
    “He kicked that ball straight at you, on purpose,” said Billy. “You know, when you caught it.”
    “Why didn’t you say?” said Joe. “I hate football.”
    Billy and Neil laughed.
    “You’d have hated it even more after a game with Rick,” said Neil. “The last boy they persuaded to be in goal for them ended up with a black eye when he tried to stop Rick scoring.”

    Just then Joe noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A little white mouse had appeared between his feet, sniffing the air nervously. Billy and Neil followed his gaze downwards.
    “Little Danny!” said all three of them together.
    Joe bent down slowly and gently picked up the mouse in his cupped hands. “It looks frightened,” he said.
    “Well, so would you be if you were brought to a weird place where you didn’t know anybody,” said Neil.
    “Yeah,” said Joe. “I suppose so. Come on, let’s take him back to Molly.”

    Molly Mason was overjoyed when Joe appeared with Little Danny. She was so happy, Joe was a bit worried that she was going to kiss him, but luckily she didn’t.
    “Where did you find him?” she asked.
    “He found us really,” said Joe. “He just kind of appeared