One In A Billion Read Online Free PDF Page B

smaller, and didn't even have a line down the middle of it. She'd seen one car go past in the whole time she'd been watching the removal men, and that went so slowly, she could even see the people inside it. There were no zebra crossings, no traffic lights, no blood stains, no cars parked, no litter bins, no dog poo and no men being sick, all of which she'd seen quite often on the street she used to live on.
    While her parents were busy, and James was exploring the old shed and garage, Alice dared herself to cross the road, just to see what it looked like from the other side. She looked carefully either way, made sure nothing was coming, and then ran as quickly as she could to the grassy bank on the other side. From here, she could see the fields in the distance to her left, as the village ran out into the country again, and to the right, two other houses much smaller than her own, and the road that led to the main part of the village, which they'd driven through to get here. It was something she couldn't wait to explore.
    There were no shops in the village. No pubs or clubs or cinemas or other forms of entertainment, which she'd have to get used to, but the village did have a mobile library that drove in every second Thursday of the month; which she was excited about getting acquainted with, a church, and a bluebell woods, although she wasn't entirely sure what that was.
    Her parents had also been reliably informed by the headmaster and headmistress of the secondary and primary schools respectively, that there were other children that lived in this area. Both boys and girls. She hoped that there wasn't anybody close by that was anything like Lydia.
    ' Are you new?'
    The voice startled her. She'd been lost a little bit in her own world, day dreaming like her parents always told her she was, and she hadn't noticed the boy now standing in front of her, and the dog he had by his side.
    ' I'm Toby', Toby said, and held out a hand covered in dirt for Alice to shake.
    ' Why are your hands so dirty?' Alice said, taking it anyway.
    Toby had freckles, thin hair and sticky out ears. He had dirt all over his hands, his t-shirt and on his cheeks, one of his front teeth was missing, and he smelt of fish. His dog was a beautiful border collie with one brown eye and one blue eye, and it kept sniffing at Alice and trying to paw her. She giggled as he nuzzled into her, his nose tickling her skin.
    ' I've been fishing in the lake. Do you want to see?' Toby said, holding out a carrier bag.
    Inside were two mucky brown fish, a box of maggots and some soggy bread. Alice put her hand over her mouth.
    ' Yuck', she said.
    'You can hold them if you like?' Toby said, as though there would be no reason in the world that someone would choose not to.
    'Maybe next time', Alice said, and began to stroke his dog instead.
    ' This is Miro', Toby said, 'he's the best dog in the world.'
    ' He's friendly', Alice said.
    ' Are you new?' Toby said again. 'I live at number twenty eight. It's not as big as this. What's your name?'
    ' Alice', Alice said.
    ' How old are you?'
    ' Eight.'
    ' Me too.'
    ' Are you going to school?' Toby said. 'It's over there in the next village. Do you want me to show you around? I know all of the best places. Some people say it's boring, but it's not boring if you know what you're looking for.'
    ' Ok', Alice said. 'that would be nice.'
    When Toby smiled, his whole face lit up, and it made Alice smile too. His teeth looked like gravestones, because each one had space in between it, and they looked like they'd been put in at different times, so they weren't part of a complete set, but it made him look unique, and Alice liked it. His ears were so thin you could see the light coming through them, and the veins inside.
    ' Who's your friend?' James said, standing with his arms crossed and leaning against a pillar at the entrance to the house, trying to look cool.
    ' No-one', Alice said secretively, as though she'd been caught doing something she