Chocolate Box Girls: Sweet Honey by Cathy Cassidy Page A
Authors: Cathy Cassidy
Tags: General, Juvenile Fiction
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Tanberry
to me
It was fab to Skype last night.
Things at Tanglewood are way calmer now that Lawrie and his family have gone,
but I do miss them, Lawrie especially. Not in a mushy way – it’s just that
we went through so much with the ponies and even though I thought he was
annoying to start with, we ended up being best friends. Have you ever had a best
friend who was a boy, Honey? I tried to tell Jayde and Sarah and Amy about it
and they said you can’t have a boy as ‘just’ a friend, but I
think that’s rubbish.
Anyway, the best thing of all is
that they left Caramel. Lawrie’s mum said she couldn’t think of
anyone better to look after her and Mum and Paddy agreed, so I FINALLY have my
own pony. Sort of. How cool is that? When I’m with Caramel, everything
seems better, though I still miss you loads, obviously. And Lawrie, just a
bit.
Your FAVOURITE sister,
Coco xoxo
8
Dad was right about one thing. I am a
tough cookie; my new life in Australia is going to be awesome.
Things at Willowbank are a bit better; I
am wearing my socks pulled up, my collar on the outside, my tent dress neatly hemmed
and the yellow neckerchief tied jauntily round my neck. Every day I fix a winning
smile on my face and set out to wow the staff and students, and it works, a little
bit. I begin to relax, fit in. For the first time in years I am trying to make a
good impression instead of a bad one.
My teachers soon suss that I am not the
teen genius Dad made out and offer me study notes and extra homework to help me
catch up with missed coursework. I smile and pretend to be grateful, and in spite of
a strong urge to throw the extra work into the nearest bin, I take it home and do
the best I can. What can I say? It passes the time in the middle of the night when
jet lag comes to call.
Art is the only subject I am actually
good at – when Miss Kelly flicks through my sketchbook, her face lights up.
‘So much potential,’ she
says, and I bite my lip and hold my head high because it is so long since I’ve
had a compliment from a teacher I don’t quite know how to react. I have
potential. Who knew?
It’s not all fun and games,
obviously. On Friday, I stay on for Mr Piper’s after-school maths study group,
so that he can get a better idea of the gaping holes in my mathematical education
and work out where to start patching them up. In the past, staying after school
usually meant detention. Staying because I’ve chosen to feels deeply weird,
but Tara and Bennie go to study group too; it’s a group for people who love
maths as well as those who struggle.
‘You’ll like it,’ Tara
says. ‘Maths is cool!’
I smile weakly. Me and a dozen geek-chic
girls … life is clearly having a laugh at my expense.
I fix on my winning smile and try very
hard to listen to Mr Piper, even though my brain feels like it will freeze over any
moment. Luckily, he has the patience of a saint, which is just as well. My progress
is painfully slow. But progress is progress, and my reward is looming.
This morning, over breakfast, Dad
arranged to pick me up after study group so that he can take me to buy a laptop. He
says it is an early Christmas present, but that it makes sense to buy it now; it
will focus my mind and help me with my studies, and by the time the holidays start I
will be well on the way to catching up with my coursework. That and the fact that I
won’t be creeping about the house at four in the morning to Skype home on his
work laptop, of course.
‘Are you catching the bus, or
shall we walk?’ Bennie wants to know as we emerge into the sunshine after
school. ‘We could call into the cafe at Sunset Beach and grab some Cokes to
celebrate the weekend!’
‘I can’t,’ I tell her.
‘Dad’s picking me up. We’re going laptop shopping!’
‘Wow!’ Tara exclaims.
‘Really? That’s so cool! Your
to me
It was fab to Skype last night.
Things at Tanglewood are way calmer now that Lawrie and his family have gone,
but I do miss them, Lawrie especially. Not in a mushy way – it’s just that
we went through so much with the ponies and even though I thought he was
annoying to start with, we ended up being best friends. Have you ever had a best
friend who was a boy, Honey? I tried to tell Jayde and Sarah and Amy about it
and they said you can’t have a boy as ‘just’ a friend, but I
think that’s rubbish.
Anyway, the best thing of all is
that they left Caramel. Lawrie’s mum said she couldn’t think of
anyone better to look after her and Mum and Paddy agreed, so I FINALLY have my
own pony. Sort of. How cool is that? When I’m with Caramel, everything
seems better, though I still miss you loads, obviously. And Lawrie, just a
bit.
Your FAVOURITE sister,
Coco xoxo
8
Dad was right about one thing. I am a
tough cookie; my new life in Australia is going to be awesome.
Things at Willowbank are a bit better; I
am wearing my socks pulled up, my collar on the outside, my tent dress neatly hemmed
and the yellow neckerchief tied jauntily round my neck. Every day I fix a winning
smile on my face and set out to wow the staff and students, and it works, a little
bit. I begin to relax, fit in. For the first time in years I am trying to make a
good impression instead of a bad one.
My teachers soon suss that I am not the
teen genius Dad made out and offer me study notes and extra homework to help me
catch up with missed coursework. I smile and pretend to be grateful, and in spite of
a strong urge to throw the extra work into the nearest bin, I take it home and do
the best I can. What can I say? It passes the time in the middle of the night when
jet lag comes to call.
Art is the only subject I am actually
good at – when Miss Kelly flicks through my sketchbook, her face lights up.
‘So much potential,’ she
says, and I bite my lip and hold my head high because it is so long since I’ve
had a compliment from a teacher I don’t quite know how to react. I have
potential. Who knew?
It’s not all fun and games,
obviously. On Friday, I stay on for Mr Piper’s after-school maths study group,
so that he can get a better idea of the gaping holes in my mathematical education
and work out where to start patching them up. In the past, staying after school
usually meant detention. Staying because I’ve chosen to feels deeply weird,
but Tara and Bennie go to study group too; it’s a group for people who love
maths as well as those who struggle.
‘You’ll like it,’ Tara
says. ‘Maths is cool!’
I smile weakly. Me and a dozen geek-chic
girls … life is clearly having a laugh at my expense.
I fix on my winning smile and try very
hard to listen to Mr Piper, even though my brain feels like it will freeze over any
moment. Luckily, he has the patience of a saint, which is just as well. My progress
is painfully slow. But progress is progress, and my reward is looming.
This morning, over breakfast, Dad
arranged to pick me up after study group so that he can take me to buy a laptop. He
says it is an early Christmas present, but that it makes sense to buy it now; it
will focus my mind and help me with my studies, and by the time the holidays start I
will be well on the way to catching up with my coursework. That and the fact that I
won’t be creeping about the house at four in the morning to Skype home on his
work laptop, of course.
‘Are you catching the bus, or
shall we walk?’ Bennie wants to know as we emerge into the sunshine after
school. ‘We could call into the cafe at Sunset Beach and grab some Cokes to
celebrate the weekend!’
‘I can’t,’ I tell her.
‘Dad’s picking me up. We’re going laptop shopping!’
‘Wow!’ Tara exclaims.
‘Really? That’s so cool! Your
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