Free The Courage of Cat Campbell by Natasha Lowe

this.”
    Cat nodded, not trusting her voice.
    â€œLook, I’ll ask my mum to talk to Auntie Poppy if you like. If anyone can convince her, my mum can.”
    â€œOh, would you?” Cat cried out, not even caring that Anika and Karen were staring at them. “That would be utterly brilliant!”
    The Potts Bottom Elementary School was a new, airy building, full of windows and natural light. The old redbrick structure with its gloomy interior and cracked slate roof had been knocked down two years ago. When Cat walked in, most of the kids avoided talking to her or even looking at her, as if she had a strange, contagious disease. She was the only person left without a partner in science class, so she had to join Anika and Karen as a threesome. But every time her hand touched Karen’s, Karen pulled away quickly with a little gasp.
    â€œLook, I don’t even have a wand on me,” Cat snapped at one point. “So you can relax, okay? I’m not going to put a hex on you.”
    Karen and Anika had laughed nervously at this, but they both looked terrified. At lunchtime no one would sit at her table, and she couldn’t eat with Peter because he had raced off to science club. During recess Cat wandered around by herself, not knowing whom to talk to. It was a huge relief when the day finally ended.

    â€œHow was school?” Marie Claire asked when Cat got home. She had come in through the kitchen door so she wouldn’t have to see her mother in the bakery.
    â€œAbout a zero,” Cat said, hugging Marie Claire and going straight upstairs to her room. She found her jacket nestled in a corner, and every few seconds it would puff up and down as if it were lightly breathing. Cat knew she should scrub the pen off her walls, but instead she ate three Twirlie bars and finished up her essay on Antonia Bigglesmith, wearing the furry pilot’s cap for inspiration as she wrote. She was just checking through her paper for spelling mistakes (which she would normally have asked her mother to do) when Peter’s voice came crackling out of her backpack. “Cat Campbell, come in. Do you read me, Cat Campbell?”
    Cat pulled out the walkie-talkie and pressed the green talk button. “I can hear you, Peter Parker. Loud and clear! Wow, these work really well!”
    â€œMission accomplished on my end,” Peter said. “Just wanted to let you know.”
    â€œPeter, please talk in English. We’re not spies, okay? What mission are you talking about?”
    â€œI spoke to my mum and she’s on her way over to see your mum right now.”
    â€œWhat did she say?” Cat asked, pulling off the cap and scratching her head. “Gosh, I’m so nervous, Peter!”
    â€œLet me put it this way: She’s in one of her determined moods!”
    Cat had to smile at this because Auntie Charlie was the most determined person she knew. Not that you would ever guess this if you saw her. She was the same height as Cat, with frizzy blond hair and a wide, gap-toothed smile. She had freckles all over her face, and even though she was thirty-six years old, she often got mistaken for a schoolkid.
    â€œI’ll let you know how it goes,” Cat said, wondering how she was going to survive the wait.
    There was only one thing to do when Cat felt this nervous. She curled up on the floor of her cupboard, taking her jacket in with her for company. It was soft and cuddly, and the gentle puffing movements made it feel more like a pet than a coat. Snuggled underneath it, Cat pulled the cupboard door almost shut, leaving a small opening to let in a little light and fresh air. She had no idea how long she’d been in there, but it felt like hours when Cat heard her mother’s voice.
    â€œCat, where are you?” Poppy said.
    Peeping through the crack, Cat could see her mother looking around the room. “Mamma?” Cat pushed open the cupboard door.
    â€œWhat on earth are you