Class Six and the Nits of Doom by Sally Prue Read Free Book Online Page B

‘That’s what it said in the wer-wer-wer-
winkle
book I read once.’
    Everyone looked round hurriedly. The classroom was mostly windows, and the bits that weren’t windows were cupboards or display boards.
    ‘Well, inside a wall will do,’ said Winsome.
    Slacker Punchkin thumped on the wall beside him with a vast meaty fist.
    ‘I think I could punch a hole through this,’ he said. ‘We could take down this poster of a werewolf and then stick it up again once we’ve hidden the
wer-wer-wer-
welly
bottle.’
    ‘Idiot,’ snapped Serise. ‘Knocking a hole in that wall will take you straight through to Mr Bloodsworth’s class. And
he’s
a vampire.’
    Class Six had never been taught by Mr Bloodsworth, but there had been rumours about him ever since he’d arrived last year.
    ‘Don’t do it,’ Jack advised Slacker. ‘I mean, just think about the amount of blood you’ve got in you. I bet you look like a walking feast to Mr Bloodsworth. Like a
big pile of doughnuts.’
    ‘Slacker looks like a big pile of doughnuts to everyone,’ muttered Serise.
    ‘Quick!’ said Emily, as footsteps sounded in the corridor. ‘She’s coming!
Quick!
’
    Anil hastily shoved the witch bottle into a drawer and then joined everyone in rushing to sit down and fold their arms.
    ‘That was really brave putting the wer-wer-wer-
wolf
bottle in your drawer,’ whispered Winsome to Anil, as Miss Broom’s bosom appeared in the doorway. ‘If Miss
Broom finds it she might cast a spell on you!’
    Anil looked at Winsome as if she was mad.
    ‘I didn’t put the bottle in
my
drawer,’ he told her. ‘Do you think I’m nuts? I put it in Rodney’s.’
    ‘What
?’ said Winsome
.
    ‘Well, he’s under a spell anyway. And he doesn’t even believe in wer-wer-wer-
wigwams
, does he?’

Class Six sat, agog to see what effect the magic bottle would have.
    Miss Broom went and sat at her desk. She opened the register.
    And then she twitched.
    She looked round searchingly. Class Six did their traffic cone impersonations.
    ‘That’s very odd,’ Miss Broom said. ‘I’ve got ever such a funny feeling as if…’
    She sniffed the air.
    ‘… as if someone’s put me in a plastic bubble,’ she went on. ‘As if I can’t breathe properly.’
    Her desk drawer slid itself open and Algernon’s head appeared. He slid smoothly up her arm and draped himself round her neck like a fat scarf.
    Miss Broom stroked Algernon thoughtfully.
    ‘What?’ she said. ‘They’ve done what? Really? Where? Great mushrooms of Basingstoke! No wonder, then. Would you mind, Algernon, dear?’
    Algernon rippled down Miss Broom’s other arm and powerfully across her desk towards Class Six.
    ‘Do keep quite still, dears,’ said Miss Broom, kindly. ‘We don’t want Algernon to bite you.’
    Algernon was on Winsome’s desk, now. Winsome kept as still as a frozen fish finger as he crawled up her arm and across her shoulders. Then Algernon crawled down her other arm and onto
Emily’s desk.
    Emily was a real cry-baby. She was frightened of everything, even paper clips. Emily was going to panic and scream and then Algernon would bite her with his sharp bright fangs, and…
    Emily gulped in a huge deep breath, opened her mouth wide—and then closed it again. Class Six could actually see the screams bulging about inside her tummy, but none of them came out. Not
one. Not even when Algernon slid up her front and gazed into her eyes before aiming under her left ear and onwards towards the other side of the classroom.
    Algernon made his way straight over the desks to Rodney’s drawer and slid into it through the cut-out handle. He was too big to do that, but he did it anyway. The next thing Class Six
knew, Algernon was coming out again with the witch bottle held between his jaws.
    Then, almost too quickly to see, Algernon threw the bottle into the air, and as it came down again the snake’s head struck out so fast that all Class Six saw was a blur of orange. And