The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders Read Free Book Online

alone in her bedroom. “I hate the thought of being deep underwater. But I knew it was our first job, so I tried not to show it.”
    The immortal cat was lying on the bed with one paw placed on a cushion, while Lily painted her claws with gold nail polish. “You mustn’t worry,” she purred. “The SMU takes good care of its agents—it’ll cost millions if you die.”
    “I suppose that’s a comfort,” said Lily. “Are you coming?”
    “Of course, dear—I’m your commanding officer.”
    “If you’re there I’ll have someone to talk to. Oz hasn’t said one word to me since he met Caydon. I might as well be invisible.”
    “Boys need other boys,” Demerara said. “It’s the same with cats. In the meantime, you and I can be girls together. And you’ll make new human friends when you go to your new school.”
    “No, I won’t. It’ll be just like our last school. The girls there thought I was mad and laughed at me because I can’t learn long division.”
    “What’s long division?”
    Lily groaned softly. “I don’t know! My teachers keep me in at recess to explain it—and then I think I’ve got it—and then I forget it again the next day! And everybody else just seems to know without being told—even people who seem a lot thicker than me.”
    “Is it a sort of spell?”
    “No,” said Lily. “If it was, I could see the point. It’s math.”
    “Well, I know you’ll make friends. I’ve been watching the children walking to school since 1927, and some things never change.”
    “I hope you’re right.”
    “I’m always right, dear.” The cat broke off suddenly, and her green eyes darted suspiciously around the walls. “Do you hear something? Are these roses behaving themselves?”
    “Yes.” Lily glanced at the wallpaper; the faces of the yellow roses were beaming, and there was somehow an atmosphere of cheekiness.
    “Hmm. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m sure lots of fascinating friends are waiting in your future—and you’ll also see the point of Caydon.”
    “Why do we need him?”
    “We just do.” The cat’s eyes were flinty; Lily was starting to recognize her stubborn look. “All the spells need three witches—one for each mold. Now please dry my claws with your hair dryer.”
    “OK.” Lily stood up to fetch her hair dryer, and this time she thought she heard scattered tittering from the wallpaper roses.
    “Shut up!” squeaked Demerara. “Any more bother from you lot and I’ll have you painted over! Lily, when my claws are dry, the fur round my neck needs more volume—do you have any curlers?”
    Lily was almost glad when her mother called upstairs that the diving man had arrived. Dangerous diving couldn’t be more stressful than being Demerara’s beautician; the cat was a little furry slave driver.
    There was a young policeman in the kitchen, with very short blond hair and large pink ears. His feet, in their thick police boots, were enormous. When he stood up to shake hands with Lily, the whole room seemed to shrink.
    “This is Alan,” Mum said happily. “He works for the river police—isn’t it wonderful that they’re teaching London schoolkids to dive?” Incredibly, she seemed to think this was the most normal thing in the world.
    She turned away from them, and Alan quickly showed Oz and Lily a plastic card like Demerara’s, with a fingerprint instead of a paw mark.
    “We’d better be off,” he said. “Thanks for the tea, Mrs. Spoffard.”
    “Goodbye, darlings, I hope you have a lovely time.” Mum hugged Oz and Lily.
    Lily had to make an effort not to cling to her; Mum mustn’t know how scared she was. “See you tomorrow.”
    Caydon was waiting in the street, sitting on the low wall in front of the flats with his backpack at his feet. Demerara sat on the wall beside him.
    “Hi, Caydon,” Alan said, shaking his hand. “I hope you didn’t have any trouble getting away.”
    “No, Gran was all for it,” Caydon said. “She says it’ll be good for