Edsel Grizzler by James Roy Read Free Book Online Page A

sorry, but what are you getting at?’ Dad asked.
    Ms Finn went on. ‘Edsel, we’re just a little concerned that—’
    â€˜Edsel – I can call you Edsel, can’t I?’ Graham interrupted, smiling and tipping his head slightly to one side.
    â€˜Sure – it’s my name.’
    â€˜Edsel, how can I put this delicately? Is everything all right at home?’
    â€˜That’s hardly delicate!’ said Dad.
    â€˜Please.’ Graham raised one hand. His eyes hadn’t left Edsel’s face for even a moment. ‘Edsel?’
    â€˜Sure, everything’s fine.’
    â€˜So you’re just a normal kid, then. You watch TV, play, read books?’
    â€˜Sure. I mean, I don’t watch a lot of TV, but all the other stuff. And I make money.’
    Graham nodded and wrote in his notebook. ‘And how do you do that?’
    â€˜I fix stuff up and sell it, mostly.’
    â€˜And friends?’
    â€˜Yeah, I’ve got a couple.’
    â€˜Like who? Can you name them?’
    â€˜Sure. Um … there’s Pete.’
    â€˜And who’s Pete?’
    â€˜This guy I know who runs this shop. I buy junk from there and fix it up.’
    â€˜You fix junk. I see.’ Graham wrote in his notebook some more. ‘Anyone else?’
    â€˜Um … Hoagy.’
    â€˜Hoagy?’
    â€˜Yeah, he’s this little kid who I see around sometimes.’
    â€˜How about Kenny?’ Mum suggested. ‘He’s the boy who lives across the street from us,’ she explained.
    Edsel frowned at her. ‘Kenny? No! He’s an idiot, Mum, and so’s his friend, Mikey. Plus we hate each other.’
    â€˜Edsel! That’s a terrible thing to say!’
    â€˜Yes, awful,’ Dad agreed.
    â€˜But they are. And we do.’
    â€˜Hmm,’ said Graham, scribbling away furiously.
    â€˜Can I ask—’ Dad began, but Graham raised his hand again, just until he’d finished writing. Then he put his pen down and raised his eyes to meet Dad’s, with a serene kind of look on his face.
    â€˜Mr Grizzler.’
    â€˜Are you concerned?’
    â€˜About …’
    â€˜About Edsel, and his friends.’
    â€˜Yes, that’s right,’ Mum said. ‘I mean, we keep him safe, and see to it that nothing happens to him, and we’ve always tried to make sure that his friends aren’t going to lead him into any danger. But have we gone too far?’ She bit her bottom lip.
    Oh, don’t cry, thought Edsel. Whatever you do, please don’t cry. If you cry I’ll run out.
    Graham cleared his throat. ‘If I can ask you another question, Edsel: Do you ever feel lonely?’
    â€˜I wouldn’t if I had a dog,’ he replied. ‘Just a pup.’
    â€˜Now Edsel, we’ve talked about this,’ his mother said, wiping her eyes. ‘Do you know how many children die each year from dog attacks and diseases?’
    â€˜No,’ he replied. ‘Do you?’
    â€˜It’s a lot,’ Dad said, throwing a warning look at Edsel.
    â€˜A cat, then?’ Edsel suggested, even though a dog was what he really wanted.
    Dad counted off on his fingers. ‘Cat scratch fever, campylobacter, lyme disease, rabies ! And that’s just a start.’
    â€˜How about a bird, like a budgie, or a canary?’
    His parents shook their heads. ‘Psittacosis,’ Dad said. ‘Nasty stuff.’
    â€˜A guinea pig, then. Or a mouse? Do mice carry disease? There’s this kid in Year Four—’
    â€˜Oh!’ Mum’s eyes opened wide, and Dad snorted with horrified amusement.
    â€˜Two words, my boy: bubonic plague!’
    â€˜How about a shark?’
    Graham cleared his throat again. ‘Look, Mr and Mrs Grizzler, Ms Finn, I think what I might do, with your permission, is have a couple of short meetings with Edsel. Here, in school time. We can get him out of class so the sessions don’t