Dazzling Danny Read Online Free Page B

round pushing and shoving at their sisters. You got that?”

    I nodded.
    Dad said, “Right! I don’t want to have to speak to you again.”
    Suddenly it just seemed like everyone had it in for me. At school next day, Coral wasn’t talking. I pretended I didn’t care, but I did, really. Coral’s been my second–best friendever since Reception, when she tried to stuff a marble in my ear.
    Miss Pringle asked us all to hand in our slips of paper. I was the only one who hadn’t got a signature …
    “Oh, Danny, really!” said Miss Pringle. “How could you forget?”
    Coral turned and looked at me. I said, “Sorry, Miss.”
    “Well, can you make sure and get it done tonight?” said Miss Pringle.
    There was this long silence. Coral was still looking at me. I could feel that Darryl was, too.
    “Yes?” said Miss Pringle.
    I took a deep breath. I said, “Yes, Miss.”
    Darryl patted my shoulder. “It’ll be all right,” he said.
    What did he mean, it would be all right? It was all right for him. He wasn’t dancing with six girls. Wearing tights.
    I had to ask Carrie to do more of her forging. She said, “Well, I will… but you owe me! Specially after last night.” She said she wouldn’t be at all surprised if I’d broken some of her ribs. She said a person could die of broken ribs, and if she died it would be all my fault. “So you can jolly well do my next six turns at cleaning the car!”
    That was bad enough, but then I had to find some excuse for staying on at school and not going to meet Gran. It meant telling more lies, and one thing Gran has always taught us is that telling lies is “a slippery slope”. In the end I decided just to tell half a lie. I mean, at least it was better than telling a whole one. Isaid that Miss Pringle was having the dress rehearsal and that she wanted me to help out backstage.
    Mum said, “Oh, that’s nice! I’m glad you’re involved. Can you go back with Darryl afterwards and we’ll pick you up from his place?”
    What really made me mad was that I needn’t have bothered asking Carrie to forge Mum’s signature after all. Mum would have signed it herself. Now I was going to have to clean the car six times without being paid for it!

Chapter Six
    Countdown. Four days, three days, two days, one day… lift off!
    The morning of the show Mum said to me, “So you’re going to be helping out backstage, then?”
    I’d told her that once! I bent my head overmy cereal bowl and muttered, “Yeah.”
    “You mean, there’s no point us coming along?” said Dad.
    I’d told Mum that, as well!
    “You couldn’t come, anyway,” I said. “Tickets’ll be all gone.”
    “That’s a pity,” said Dad.
    Why was it a pity? I looked at Dad, and frowned. He and Mum were behaving in a very odd way.
    “I’m not in it,” I said.
    “How about Darryl?” said Mum. “Is he in it?”
    “Yeah,’ I said. “Darryl’s in it.”
    Surely they wouldn’t want to go and see Darryl !
    “I thought you said it was all singing and dancing?” said Mum.
    “Mm.” I made a mumbling sound, through a mouthful of toasty pops.
    “So can Darryl sing and dance?”
    I shook my head. “He’s useless.”
    “So why is he in it and not you?”
    Why do mums always have to ask so many questions? I said, “I dunno,” and stuffed another spoonful of toasty pops into my mouth. Carrie giggled. I zapped her with laser beams across the table, but my sister is totally INSENSITIVE. In this very tuneless voice that she has, she started singing.
    “GO for it ! Just – GO for it !”
    “What is this silly song you keep singing?” said Mum. “Is it the latest hit?”
    This time, Carrie giggled so much she nearly fell off her chair. Darryl doesn’t know how lucky he is, not having a sister.
    The show didn’t start until seven o’clock that evening, but Miss Pringle wanted us all to be there by half–past five. Darryl and his mum and dad were stopping by to pick me up. They were going to bring me back