The Origami Nun Read Online Free PDF Page B

was going to be in trouble, in spite of the fact it was her special day. She’d kicked Lorraine. How she hated to be in trouble! As Mrs. Easting opened the school gate and let in the small group, the origami nun twisted in Ruth’s pocket once more and she reached in and wrapped her hand around it for comfort.
    “It’s good to see you back, Ruth,” Mrs. Easting said, “and I’m very glad you’re safe. But you shouldn’t have run away like that and you shouldn’t have kicked Lorraine. Do you understand?”
    Ruth understood very well and, even though she wasn’t entirely sure about the part about not kicking Lorraine, she nodded.
    “Do you promise not to do it again?”
    Ruth shuffled her feet and looked at the ground. She was sure she couldn’t nod yes to that, and anyway it didn’t seem fair to ask her. She tugged at her great-aunt’s arm and pointed at her handbag.
    Great-Aunt Alice understood that signal very well. She opened her vast black handbag and retrieved a sheet of paper and a pencil which she presented solemnly to Ruth.
    Ruth smiled her thanks, folded the paper over and wrote the following:
    Lorraine is horrid to me and I’m glad I kicked her. Sorry.
    There, that was the truth. At last. She could try her best to be nice and do the things her great-aunt liked and she’d added the sorry at the end because of it. But what she’d written was exactly how she felt. In fact, now she’d written it down, she felt a lot happier and, in her pocket, the nun moved again, almost as if stroking her leg.
    Great-Aunt Alice coughed, but in a funny way as if she was trying not to do something else, and Mr. Brown peered over her shoulder and his eyebrows rose up. Her class teacher’s mouth was making a strange shape too and after a moment she harrumphed.
    “Well, Ruth,” she said, “at least we know your feelings on the matter. Now I know Lorraine can be difficult and she hasn’t been nice to you recently but it’s no excuse for bad behaviour on your part. If you have problems with anyone in school, you are to come and tell me, as well as your great-aunt of course. Is that agreed?”
    Ruth thought about this, and then she nodded.
    “Good,” said Mrs. Easting and reached out for Ruth’s hand. “So, before our party, let’s go and have a talk with Lorraine together and afterwards we can enjoy your celebrations.”
    Ruth couldn’t help herself. She opened her mouth wide and screamed silently. The air around her felt like pins and needles were digging into her skin, so hot she could hardly bear them. She pulled her hand free and stamped her feet over and over again as tears burst from her eyes. She couldn’t breathe properly. How she wished her mother was here. Everything would be all right then.
    She didn’t know how to stop but the next moment a pair of arms went round her and held her shaking body next to a familiar cotton blouse. She could smell her great-aunt’s lemony perfume again and muffled her sobs inside the hug. After a while, she heard a faint humming and realised her great-aunt had started to sing very softly. Not one of the songs her mother used to sing as she couldn’t have stood that but something else. The sound made her feel safer and after another little while she stopped her sobs.
    “All right, honey, it’s all right,” her great-aunt was saying. “Whatever we need to do, we can do together. It’ll be all right.”
    Ruth nodded and Great-Aunt Alice let her go but still held on to her shoulders. When she looked up, Mr. Brown was bending down and offering her a muffin from his basket. She took it, smiling at him, and bit into its soft chocolatey depths. Chocolate was her second favourite, after blueberry.
    “Now then, Ruth,” said her class teacher. “You’re lucky to have such friends around you. As it’s your birthday, you can have that one cake now but then we need to speak with Lorraine. Your great-aunt can come with you if you like.”
    Ruth nodded again. Yes, she did like