Lottie Luna and the Bloom Garden. Vivian French
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Pa’s the new king, and they’ll think I’m all posh and stuck-up when I’m not. But…’ An idea popped into her head, and she stopped to think about it. ‘What if I don’t tell anyone I live in a castle? Or that Pa’s a king? I’ll say I’m plain Lottie Luna and that I’m really rather ordinary, just like everyone else.’
Liking the idea, she walked slowly on. ‘But what about my superpowers? Can I hide them too?’ She touched the little moonstone necklace that she always wore and then, with a decisive nod, tucked it under her jumper. ‘There! It’s gone.’ And with a skip and a jump she was on her way.
If anyone had watched Lottie running along, they would have easily guessed that she wasn’t the ordinary little werewolf she so badly wanted to be. Born on the night of a lunar eclipse, when the moon was full, she had been gifted with special powers. She could run like the wind, her eyesight was as sharp as an eagle’s, and she was far stronger than her older brother… She had other, less obvious, powers too.
The little moonstone necklace she had been given on the day she was born reflected her moods. Now, as she ran, it was glowing pure white beneath her jumper. Jaws, flying above her head, was aware of it, and that made him happy too. He looped a loop, then swooped down to ride on Lottie’s shoulder.
Twenty minutes later, Lottie and Jaws reached the gates of Shadow Academy.
‘Oh, dear…’ Lottie was wide-eyed as she looked at the huge grey stone building in front of her. ‘I do hope it’s going to be all right. What do you think, Jaws?’
Jaws fluttered round her head. ‘Eeeek,’ he squeaked. ‘Eeeek!’
‘You’re right.’ Lottie took a firmer hold of her school bag. ‘I’m Lottie Luna and I’m not scared of anything!’ And with her head held high, she marched up the steps and in through the wide-open front door.
A tall boy was waiting in the hallway of Shadow Academy. When he saw Lottie, he gave her a little wave. ‘Are you Lottie Luna? I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Wilf, and you’re in my form. I’m going to show you around.’
He caught sight of Jaws, and his eyes shone. ‘Hey! Is that your bat? Does he always come to school with you?’
‘Should I have left him at home?’ Lottie was worried, but Wilf grinned at her.
‘It’s fine. Pets are welcome. I’ve got a pet rat myself.’
‘Oh, good.’ Lottie smiled back. ‘They were allowed at my old school – just as long as they didn’t squeak too much during lessons.’ She stroked Jaws’s furry head. ‘He’s usually very good.’
‘My rat’s terribly badly behaved,’ Wilf said cheerfully. ‘He crept into Mrs Wilkolak’s cupboard last week, and knocked all the paint pots over, so now he’s banned.’ He giggled. ‘You should have seen the mess!’
Lottie wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not. ‘Did you get into loads of trouble?’
Wilf shrugged. ‘Not too much.’ He gave her a sideways look. ‘Don’t worry. It’s okay here. You’ll get used to it really quickly. We’re really all right.’ Wilf paused for a moment. ‘Well, except for Awful Aggie.’
It was Lottie’s turn to giggle. ‘Awful Aggie? Who’s she?’
‘Agatha Claws –’ Wilf crossed his eyes – ‘she thinks she’s the best at everything!’ He paused for a moment and scratched his head. ‘And then there’s Bruno – Bruno Gnawbone. He’s a bit of a mystery.’
‘How is he a mystery?’ Lottie was interested.
Wilf shrugged. ‘His dad’s the deputy head teacher. They were both new this term, and none of us can make them out. Bruno doesn’t talk much, but he’s always listening in, and we’re sure he tells his dad everything. Don’t tell him any secrets!’
‘I won’t,’ Lottie promised, and Wilf grinned at her.
‘Good! Now, it’s this way. Our classroom’s right at the end of the corridor.’
As Lottie followed Wilf, she whispered to Jaws, ‘He’s nice. I like him!’
There were pictures and notices on the walls and she looked at them with interest. Some of the pictures were of famous past pupils, and others showed exciting-looking moonlit trips and events. There seemed to be a lot of things going on – a forest club, a group that met to do moon dancing, a star-gazing club…
‘I’ll join all of those,’ she decided.
There was also a large notice about a competition. Lottie wanted to stop and read it, but Wilf was hurrying her along too quickly. She only had time to see that it was something about a special garden. Interesting, she thought. I’ll definitely have a look at that later.
‘Here we are,’ Wilf said at last, pulling open a door and giving a mock bow. ‘Please enter!’
‘Thank you,’ Lottie said. She could see rows of faces looking at her, and for a moment her stomach was full of butterflies. Don’t be silly, Lottie Luna, she told herself, they can’t eat you! And she took a deep breath and walked in.
The teacher, an elderly werewolf with greying fur and little gold spectacles, greeted her warmly. ‘Hello, Lottie! Welcome to Shadow Academy! I’m your teacher, Mrs Wilkolak, and I hope you’ll be very happy here.’
‘Thank you,’ Lottie said. ‘Ummm… where should I sit?’
‘Perhaps you’d like to take the empty seat next to Aggie?’ Mrs Wilkolak suggested.
‘That’s me!’ A very neat and tidy girl with a long nose gave Lottie a cool smile. ‘So you’re Lottie… Is that your real name? It’s a bit boring. My name’s Agatha Astra Claws. Astra means star, you know.’
Lottie saw Wilf rolling his eyes, and she smiled at him. He winked back, and a girl on the other side of Lottie stifled a giggle.
Aggie took no notice. ‘So where do you live, Lottie?’ I live in the new house up on the hill, near that awful Dracon Castle. My father says it should be pulled down. He says it’s an eyesore!’
Jaws, sitting on Lottie’s shoulder, gave a protesting squeak. Lottie, making sure no one could see her, put her finger to her lips to silence him.
‘Thank you, Aggie.’ Mrs Wilkolak’s tone was firm. ‘That’s quite enough.’ She turned back to Lottie. ‘Now, Lottie, I should let you know about a competition that’s running here at school at the moment – a competition to transform the wasteland at the back of the academy.’
Aha! Lottie thought. So that’s what the notice in the corridorwas about!
‘This land has been allowed to grow wild,’ Mrs Wilkolak went on. ‘A businessman wants to buy it,