Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster 2 Read Online Free PDF

on the floor and Mrs Bottomley was shrieking for someone to get a towel.
    With their teacher and Mrs Winky busy cleaning up, Clementine scraped her plate into the bin, then did the same with Poppy’s. She placed the empty plates on the servery and picked up a chocolate pudding for herself and another for Poppy.
    ‘But Mrs Bottomley said we had to eat it all,’ Poppy said.
    ‘Mrs Bottomley’s not fair,’ Clementine replied. ‘And I’m hungry.’
    Poppy nodded. She was hungry too. The girls headed back to the table, where Angus and Joshua were now showering each other with sprinklings of salt and sugar.
    ‘You didn’t eat your lunch,’ Angus said. ‘I’m telling Nan on you.’
    ‘And I’ll tell Mrs Bottomley that you called her Nan again,’ Clementine threatened. ‘And that you put salt all over our lunch.’
    ‘Yeah, we did,’ Joshua admitted, grinning.
    Angus elbowed Joshua. ‘She loves pigs.’
    She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Yes, I do love my pig.’
    ‘ You’re a pig,’ Joshua said.
    Clementine didn’t like being called names. She’d never met anyone like Angus or Joshua and she didn’t like the way they made her feel one little bit.

‘My tummy hurts.’ Clementine lay in bed clutching her stomach. Tears sprouted from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
    ‘Oh, sweetheart.’ Her mother sat down beside her. ‘You poor little floss. I can’t believe that you’re sick and it’s only the second day of school.’
    Clarissa laid the back of her hand on Clementine’s forehead. She didn’t seem to have a fever.
    But something certainly wasn’t right. When Clarissa had met Clementine at the school gate yesterday afternoon she had expected her to be fizzing like a shaken bottle of lemonade, but instead she was flatter than a week-old glass of cola. When she had asked about her day, Clementine said that it was okay. Clarissa was worried. It was as if the child she’d delivered to school that morning had been exchanged for another that she barely recognised at all.
    ‘So what was Mrs Bottomley really like?’ Lady Clarissa had asked as they scooted along in the car on their way home.
    ‘Brown,’ Clementine had replied.
    ‘Clemmie, there must be more to her than that,’ her mother had said. ‘Did you have fun with Sophie and Poppy?’
    Clementine had nodded but her mouth stayed closed.
    ‘Are you feeling all right?’
    Clementine had shaken her head. Fat tears had wobbled in the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Lady Clarissa had watched in the rear-view mirror as Clementine wiped them away.

    That night Clementine had picked at her dinner, which was most unusual given that it was her favourite: roast lamb with baked potatoes, beans and gravy.
    When Clarissa went to check on Clementine later, she found her sound asleep. Her uniform was strewn all over the floor, not hanging proudly on the wardrobe door as it had been for weeks.
    Now Lavender was sitting guard on the floor in a bright patch of morning light and Pharaoh was snuggled in beside Clementine on the bed. Lavender looked as worried as Lady Clarissa felt.
    Digby Pertwhistle appeared at Clementine’s bedroom door. He knocked gently before entering, carrying a tea tray with two boiled eggs and toasty soldiers.
    ‘Good morning, Clementine. Your mother tells me you’re not feeling well,’ he said with a frown.
    ‘Do I have to go to school?’ Clementine asked between teary hiccups.
    Clarissa couldn’t remember ever seeing Clementine cry as much. Not even when she was a baby. ‘If you’re not well, Clementine, I think we’ll take you over to see Dr Everingham,’ she said. ‘Should we do that?’
    Clementine nodded.
    ‘I’ll call the surgery and make you an appointment.’ Digby put the tea tray down on Clementine’s desk. ‘Oh, and in other good news, Aunt Violet called this morning. She’ll be back from her cruise this afternoon and has demanded that I pick her up from the dock.’
    Digby grimaced and