And Nothing But the Truth by Kit Pearson Read Free Book Online Page A

things.”
    “Don’t you worry. We’re taking good care of him.”
    Tarka is
my
dog!
thought Polly. I
should be the one taking care of him
.
    After lunch, Polly spent a blissful few hours on the beach, drawing the view of Walker Island across the pass. But then Noni called her to come and pack.
    Late that afternoon, Polly stood on the boat deck, holdingMrs. Hooper’s cake and cookies in a large box. Noni and Aunt Jean and Uncle Rand and Tarka were already tiny figures in the distance. She waved until the steamer went past the point.
    Mrs. Cunningham stood beside her; she was travelling to Victoria to visit friends. “Let’s go inside, dear,” she said to Polly. “We’ll sit in the lounge and you can tell me all about your new school.”
    Polly had to spend the whole of the trip talking about St. Winifred’s.

C HAPTER F IVE
A DISAPPOINTMENT
    “T HIS IS
SCRUMPTIOUS !” SAID D AISY, CRAMMING MRS . Hooper’s cake into her mouth. “Thanks, Polly!”
    The Fearless Four were sitting in the dining room. Each dorm was allotted an evening before bedtime when they could dig into the tuck boxes they kept in the kitchen. Their evening was Monday; Polly was glad of that because the cake was still fresh.
    “The cookies are great, too,” said Eleanor. She inspected her own box. “I’m going to throw out these they’re so stale.”
    “Tell us about your weekend, Polly,” said Daisy.
    Polly didn’t want to talk about the island with them; it made her miss it too much. “There isn’t much to tell,” she said. “I just saw my family and my dog and my friends, andwe took out the boat, and then my friends came for dinner.”
    “I bet you were glad to see your mum and dad,” said Daisy sadly. “I really miss mine.”
    Polly flushed. “I … umm …”
    Eleanor rescued her. “Polly lives with her grandmother,” she said quietly.
    “Oh!” said Daisy. She was too polite to say any more, but Rhoda asked, “Where are your parents, then?”
    Polly wished she could leave the room. “My mother died when I was two, and my father lives in Kelowna,” she muttered. There was no point in explaining he was in Winnipeg at the moment.
    “Why don’t you live with
him
?” asked Rhoda.
    Polly couldn’t answer. “She just doesn’t,” said Eleanor. “Let’s tell Polly what
our
weekend was like.”
    “Yesterday was
so
tedious,” said Rhoda. “We had to walk in a crocodile to church. Everyone stared at us. In the afternoon we had to talk about God and stuff with Miss Guppy. It was incredibly boring.”
    “Saturday was okay, though,” said Eleanor. “They took us to the beach after lunch. When we got back, we could do what we wanted.” She smiled at Daisy. “We played a
lot
of basketball! Dais here is a pretty fast dribbler. Rho’s pretty good, too.”
    Daisy smiled back. “Sorry, El, but I need to practise if I want to get on the team.”
    Dais? El? Rho?
Suddenly, the other three seemed best chums.
    “This cookie is kind of bland,” said Rhoda. “Our cook puts nuts and raisins in hers.”
    “Don’t eat it, then,” retorted Polly.
    Now I’ve caught her!
she thought as Rhoda mumbled that it wasn’t that bad and finished the cookie.
    “Rho, will you help me wash my hair tonight?” asked Daisy. “I can never get all the soap out of it.”
    “Sure! I’ll lend you some of my special shampoo.”
    “But Rho, I thought I was going to help you with those history dates tonight,” said Eleanor.
    “Oh, right. Sorry, Dais, we’ll have to put off the hair washing until after the history test.”
    Polly turned her back on them and put away the remains of the food. How could they be so accepting of Rhoda? And how had they become a trio in only two days? She wondered if Eleanor had shown them the hideaway.
    “Thanks again, Poll!” said Daisy. “We really missed you, but I’m glad you returned bearing food!” She raised her glass of juice. “Here’s to the Fearless Four!”
    Polly clinked her glass with the