Project Best Friend by Chrissie Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

bench.
    ‘Who’s that?’ Penelope asked, instantly thinking of Sienna again. Bob picked up the photo.
    ‘That’s my little cousin, Lincoln,’ she said, taking the photo back to the barstool with her. Both girls took a spoonful of smoothie (which Penelope now discovered was very delicious, even though it was more like food than a drink).
    ‘He’s very cute,’ Penelope said.
    This was true. Lincoln, who looked to Penelope to be about three years old, had soft blond curls and big blue eyes. He looked like one of the cherubs Penelope had seen on countless cards and paintings.
    ‘He might look cute, but he’s a rat,’ Bob said.
    Penelope could not help grinning. She probably shouldn’t encourage Bob to talk like that, but she could not stop smiling. As soon as Bob mentioned a rat, Penelope found herself mentally adding whiskers to the photo of Lincoln.
    ‘I’ll give you the perfect example,’ Bob continued. ‘My auntie put him on my lap. I didn’t mind that, even though he had a huge gob of snot hanging out of his nose. Then he started leaning right into my face. My auntie was going on about how cute it was that he wanted to kiss me, so I thought I’d just get it over and done with, snot and all. Then the little rat BIT me, fair on the nose!’ Bob pinched her nose to indicate where the little rat had bitten her.
    Something about the way Bob told the story struck Penelope as hilarious. It was almost as though Bob had her very own special language. With a f lash, Penelope realised that she completely understood why Bob didn’t want to be called Brittany. The name (as much as Penelope loved it) didn’t suit her one bit.
    Penelope couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard. And she didn’t think there had EVER been a time someone else had been laughing along with her.
    When their laughter had finally been reduced to giggles, Penelope got out her phone.
    ‘Oh my god, you’ve got an iPhone!’ Bob squealed. Then she cupped a hand to her mouth and yelled loudly up the stairs. ‘Dad! Penelope has an iPhone!’
    It was a moment before her dad’s voice boomed back. ‘Tell her congratulations.’
    Bob rolled her eyes. ‘I’ll never get a phone,’ she said. ‘But give me your number anyway.’
    It was very exciting watching Bob write her name and phone number on a magnetic board on the fridge. It was almost like a promise that Bob really planned to stay in close contact with Penelope! Penelope was also thrilled to note that Bob had very neat handwriting, just like hers.
    In fact, there were quite a few things (though maybe not the things she’d originally hoped for) that she and Bob had in common.
    After Penelope added Bob’s number to her phone, she scrolled through the photos until she came to one of Sienna.
    ‘This is my half-sister,’ she said, showing Bob the photo.
    ‘She’s also very cute,’ Bob said. ‘She looks very sweet, too. I bet she wouldn’t pretend to kiss you and then bite your nose.’
    ‘She is very cute,’ Penelope agreed.
    The photo showed Sienna, all big brown eyes and chubby cheeks, wearing her tiara (the best piece of jewellery Penelope had ever made), along with a fairy costume, and holding a wand. Penelope had taken the photo during the last school holidays, when she and Harry had stayed with her dad for a few days.
    ‘But sometimes she’s not very sweet,’ Penelope continued. ‘You know what she did with that wand?’
    Bob shook her head.
    ‘She told me to close my eyes while she said a fairy spell. Then she thwacked me right over the head with it.’
    Making Bob totally crack up was one of the best moments in Penelope’s Entire Life.

On the way home from Bob’s, Penelope felt extremely excited. It was a bit like the feeling she got when she’d just finished a test and was absolutely sure she’d done well. But today’s type of excited was a bit different. For one thing, Penelope tried her very hardest in tests. At Bob’s house (and this was very