Being Bee Read Online Free Page A

weren’t good.
    â€˜Let me see that project, Beatrice. That looks quite exciting. Japanese culture is very interesting and very different from our own. We’ll walk up to the library together and see what books we can find. Look, Bee, you can do a whole section on cooking. That will be fun.’ Sometimes it felt to me as though Jazzi actually enjoyed my homework.
    When she had things she had to do, she’d tell me to go and see what Fifi and Lulu were up to.
    It was one of those afternoons that I found the envelope. It was stuck through the cage, but high up. Lulu pointed it out to me. She was standing on her hind legs, sniffing at it. It was a tiny little envelope with‘Bee’ written on it in gold pen.
    I sat down on the hay bale and opened it. Glitter fell on my lap and skirt and then an insy little folded-up piece of paper.
    â€˜Curiouser and curiouser,’ I said to Lulu and Fifi, who were both squeaking and darting around. And then, because even guinea pigs like to know things, I said, ‘That’s from Alice in Wonderland. You’d like that book because it has a rabbit in it.’
    I unfolded the note. It said:

    Dear Bee
    Thank you for the celery, apple and broccoli and for cleaning out the cage so beautifully. We like it when you read to us, too. ‘Wind in the Willows’ was good but the Wild Wood was scary.
    Love
    Lulu and Fifi

    It took me a while to read it even though it was quite short. The printed letters were very small.
    I had a stationery set from my last birthday which I’d never used because I had no one to write to. The paper had daisies on it and I thought the guineas would like that. I cut a sheet in quarters very carefully, ruling the lines first. I practised making my writing small enough on scrap paper.

    Dear Lulu and Fifi
    What is it like having fur on all the time? Would you like a bath? I asked Jazzi if I could bath you but she said you might be frightened and that it would have to be a very very hot day. I have an old baby bath and you could both swim around. I bet Dad would let me do that some time.
    Love
    Bee

    â€˜The guinea pigs wrote me a note today,’ I told Dad as soon as he got home from work, ‘so after dinner I’m making a special postbox. Then we can post letters to each other in the box and they won’t be tempted to eat them.’
    â€˜That’s a good idea,’ Dad said.
    â€˜What a lovely imagination.’ Jazzi smiled. ‘Do you want any help making it?’
    â€˜No thanks, Jazzi. Dad, did you hear me? I said that after tea I’d put my letter for the guineas in their new postbox.’
    â€˜I heard, Bee. Very nice. I’m sure they’ll appreciate that. Jazzi’s offered to help too. I must say, Jazzi, another delicious meal. Thank you. What did we do before Jazzi, Bee?’
    â€˜We had pizza, ‘I said, ‘and noodles and chicken in plum sauce. Nanna made casseroles sometimes andsoup in winter and we had barbeques, too. I was planning to learn to cook.’
    â€˜I’m sure Jazzi would teach you to cook, Bee, if you asked her nicely.’
    â€˜It doesn’t matter anymore because Jazzi cooks all the time.’
    â€˜Oh, I’d love to teach you. Maybe after dinner we could think about something to cook for tomorrow night.’
    â€˜Are you going to be here tomorrow night as well?’ I didn’t mean the words to sound as horrible as they did and I bit my lip as soon as they’d left my mouth, but it didn’t help. Dad looked furious and Jazzi was flustered.
    â€˜I just thought—’
    â€˜That’s enough, Bee.’
    â€˜Anyway, I’m doing the postbox for Fifi and—’
    â€˜I said that’s enough. I don’t think we’re interested in what such a rude girl has to say.’
    â€˜I didn’t mean it,’ I muttered, but it was too late and I didn’t get any ice-cream.
    I made the postbox though. I wrote