T.J. and the Penalty Read Online Free PDF Page A

morning TJ woke up early and pulled back the curtains. It was a sunny day with just a few fluffy clouds. The leaves were starting to fall from the trees, but there was still a bit of summer in the air. When they arrived at the school Mr Wood and Miss Berry were fastening a banner above the gate:
    PARKVIEW WORLD CUP
    And Mr Coggins the caretaker was tying other banners onto the fence:
    FUN! FOOD! FITNESS! FOOTBALL!
    Teachers and children were carrying tables out of the school and setting up stalls. ‘We were going to have the stalls inside ,’ Miss Berry said, ‘but it’s such a lovely day that we decided to bring everything out here.’
    ‘I’m not sure about the bread rolls the Reception children have made,’ TJ said, laughing. ‘They’re really weird shapes!’
    ‘They smell good though,’ said Jamie. ‘And look at all those other stalls.’
    It wasn’t just TJ’s mum and dad who’d been cooking. Tulsi’s parents had made lots of delicious Indian vegetarian food.
    Rodrigo’s mum and dad were standing, smiling, behind a tempting collection of fish dishes from Portugal. There was Moroccan food and Spanish food and Polish food and Chinese food, and it all looked mouth-wateringly good.
    Jamie had his whole family with him. His dad was a giant in jeans and a leather jacket with a fat gold earring and Jamie’s infectious grin. ‘I would have done a stall myself,’ Jamie’s mum said. ‘But healthy food isn’t my strong point. And anyway, my boys like burgers and chips.’
    ‘We like other things too,’ Jamie said. ‘Come on, Mum. Let’s try out the food.’
    ‘Iceland aren’t going to win the World Cup,’ said Rafi. ‘Jamie won’t be able to move by this afternoon.’
    ‘It’s Jamaica who will win,’ said TJ’s dad. ‘Represented by the Wilson family.’
    ‘Jamaica’s where my grandma and grandpa were born,’ TJ explained.
    ‘Look,’ said Tulsi, suddenly pointing. ‘What do they want?’
    Two men in grey suits were walking in through the school gates. TJ recognized them at once. ‘It’s the inspectors,’ he said.
    ‘Mr Burrows must have asked them to come,’ said Mr Wood, who was standing nearby. ‘We’d better make sure they have a good time.’

C HAPTER 8
    ‘TJ,’ SAID MR Wood. ‘This is Mr Grayson and Mr Turvey. Will you show them around? Maybe Tulsi could go with you?’
    ‘Er, yes. OK, Mr Wood,’ said TJ. ‘Where would you like to go?’ he asked the inspectors.
    ‘Let’s look at the stalls the children have set up,’ said Mr Turvey. From a distance the two inspectors had looked like twins, but now TJ could see the difference. Mr Turvey was gazing around with interest, but Mr Grayson looked as though he had just smelled something nasty.
    ‘This is a good school really,’ Tulsi said. ‘Everyone’s been working very hard.’
    ‘I’m glad you think so,’ Mr Turvey said. ‘But you know, we have to look at the facts. We can’t just take your word for it.’
    ‘You sound like Rob,’ TJ said. ‘He only believes in facts.’
    ‘This is Year Five,’ Tulsi said. Year Five had been making fruit salad and the colours on the stall were dazzling.
    ‘Would you like to try some, sir?’ asked the girl behind the stall.
    ‘Thanks,’ said Mr Turvey. ‘How about this one?’
    ‘That’s mango, guava, pineapple and coconut,’ said the girl. ‘It’s tropical. Would you like the recipe?’
    She handed Mr Turvey a piece of paper. It was covered with beautifully neat handwriting and pictures of fruit.
    Mr Turvey showed it to Mr Grayson, who sniffed . ‘Who wrote this?’ he enquired drily.
    ‘Me,’ said the girl. ‘Loretta, see?’ She pointed to her name on the bottom of the sheet.
    ‘Remarkable,’ said Mr Grayson. ‘We’ve never seen work of this quality here before. Are you sure this wasn’t written by your parents, young lady?’
    A small crowd of interested mums and dads had gathered around the inspectors, and there was a sudden commotion at the back. A