Both Mum and I groaned, because this sounded very cheesy – but I couldn’t help hoping he meant it. No one has ever called me pretty stunning before, not even Dad.
‘I knew what you looked like, sort of, because I saw the back of you in my mum’s restaurant the other day,’ I said.
‘I don’t know which is worse – my back view or my front!’ said Michael. ‘I love going to your mum’s restaurant in my lunch hour. The service is delightful!’
‘I bet you get banana toffee milkshakes made especially for you,’ I said.
‘I don’t. You clearly get preferential treatment,’ said Michael.
‘Where are your children?’ I said. ‘I thought they were going to be here too?’
‘They’re in my bedroom, watching some film on my old portable telly,’ said Michael.
‘Why don’t you go and say hello, Milly, while I give Michael a hand in the kitchen?’ said Mum.
I really didn’t want to. Michael didn’t seem too bad after all, but I was still very wary of these children. But when I went in the bedroom I got a big surprise. The girl and boy were curled up together on the bed. They both had teddies clutched to their chests. The girl went scarlet and thrust her teddy under the bedclothes in shame – but I saw. She was smaller than me, and had mousy hair that was meant to be in a ponytail, but the ends were falling out. She looked strangely familiar. Then I twigged it.
She was in my class at my new school. She wasn’t one of the bullies. She was one of the kids who also got teased a lot.
‘I’m Milly. You know, I’m the new girl,’ I said.
‘I know,’ she said timidly. ‘I’m Moira. And this is Mick.’
She gave her brother a little nudge. He bent his head and mumbled. His T-shirt was on inside out and his socks didn’t match. He looked the sort of kid who’d get teased too.
‘What’s this film then?’ I said, sitting down on the bed with them.
It was an old old film called ‘The Parent Trap.’
‘Oh-oh,’ I said. ‘I’ve seen this. The parents get back together.’
‘Yes,’ said Moira. ‘We’ve seen it before too. It’s good.’
‘Yes, it’s good – but it’s not really true,’ I said. ‘Parents hardly ever get back together after they split up. My mum and dad won’t get back together and I don’t expect yours will either.’
‘I wish they would,’ said Moira. Mick nodded again.
‘Yeah, but wishes don’t come true,’ I said, feeling much older and wiser than them. ‘But even if your mum and dad hate each other you have to remember they always love you. And you have to accept it if they go on to make new relationships.’
‘Is your mum my dad’s new relationship?’ Moira asked, looking anxious.
I shrugged. ‘Perhaps. They seem pretty keen on each other, don’t they?
Moira and Mick nodded mournfully.
‘But my mum’s really nice. And your dad seems OK. So maybe it will work out all right.’ I decided to change the subject. ‘Do you two like chocolate cake?’
They nodded, this time with much more enthusiasm.
I got to cut the chocolate cake after we’d eaten our roast chicken. I gave Moira and Mick a big slice each, every bit as big as mine.
Mum promised to let Moira and Mick help bake the next time she made a chocolate cake. She looked at me a little anxiously, as if I might object – but I just smiled.
I don’t hate Moira and Mick. I quite like them. And maybe Moira and I can pal up in class. I think she could do with a good friend. I don’t hate Michael either, though he’s not a patch on my dad. I definitely don’t hate Mum.
I don’t hate Nan and Grandad either. They’d bought me a baby rabbit!
‘I felt so mean because I knew you were missing that wretched gerbil,’ said Nan.
‘So I took her along to Pets at Home to see if we could find a replacement while you were at lunch,’ said Grandad. ‘She couldn’t go near all the little mice and anything too rodenty – but once your nan saw this bunny she was really smitten.’
I love love love my little rabbit. She’s got a new hutch out in the garden but I can take her out if I’m really careful. She burrowed down my sweatshirt just like Gilbert! I’m going to call her Happy.
Maybe it’s going to be a Happy New Year after all.
CHECK OUT JACQUELINE WILSON’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE!
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About the Author and Illustrator
Jacqueline Wilson (Author)
JACQUELINE WILSON is an extremely well-known and hugely popular author who served as Children’s Laureate from 2005-7. She has been awarded a number of prestigious awards, including the British Children’s Book of the Year and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award (for The Illustrated Mum), the Smarties Prize and the Children’s Book Award (for Double Act, for which she was also highly commended for the Carnegie Medal). In 2002 Jacqueline was given an OBE for services to literacy in schools and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame. She was the author most borrowed from British libraries in the last decade.
Nick Sharratt (Illustrator)
Nick Sharratt has written and illustrated many books for children and won numerous awards for his picture books, including the Sheffield Children’s Book Award and the 2001 Children’s Book Award. He has also enjoyed great success illustrating Jacqueline Wilson books. Nick lives in Edinburgh.
ALSO AVAILABLE BY JACQUELINE WILSON
Published in Corgi Pups, for beginner readers:
THE DINOSAUR’S PACKED LUNCH
THE MONSTER STORY-TELLER
Published in Young Corgi, for newly confident readers:
LIZZIE ZIPMOUTH
SLEEPOVERS
Available from Doubleday/Corgi Yearling Books:
BAD GIRLS
THE BED AND BREAKFAST STAR
BEST FRIENDS
BIG DAY OUT
BURIED ALIVE!
CANDYFLOSS
THE CAT MUMMY
CLEAN BREAK
CLIFFHANGER
COOKIE
THE DARE GAME
DIAMOND
THE DIAMOND GIRLS
DOUBLE ACT
DOUBLE ACT (PLAY EDITION)
EMERALD STAR
GLUBBSLYME
HETTY FEATHER
THE ILLUSTRATED MUM
JACKY DAYDREAM
LILY ALONE
LITTLE DARLINGS
THE LONGEST WHALE SONG
THE LOTTIE PROJECT
MIDNIGHT
THE MUM-MINDER
MY SECRET DIARY
MY SISTER JODIE
OPAL PLUMSTEAD
PAWS AND WHISKERS
QUEENIE
SAPPHIRE BATTERSEA
SECRETS
STARRING TRACY BEAKER
THE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER
VICKY ANGEL
THE WORRY WEBSITE
THE WORST THING ABOUT
MY SISTER
Collections:
JACQUELINE WILSON’S FUNNY GIRLS
includes THE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER and
THE BED AND BREAKFAST STAR
JACQUELINE WILSON’S DOUBLE-DECKER
includes BAD GIRLS and DOUBLE ACT
JACQUELINE WILSON’S SUPERSTARS
includes THE SUITCASE KID and THE LOTTIE PROJECT
JACQUELINE WILSON’S BISCUIT BARREL
includes CLIFFHANGER and BURIED A
LIVE!
Available from Doubleday/Corgi Books, for older readers:
DUSTBIN BABY
GIRLS IN LOVE
GIRLS UNDER PRESSURE
GIRLS OUT LATE
GIRLS IN TEARS
KISS
LOLA ROSE
LOVE LESSONS
Join the Jacqueline Wilson fan club at
www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk
THE JACQUELINE WILSON CHRISTMAS CRACKER
AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 19572 5
Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK
A Penguin Random House Company
This ebook edition published 2014
TRACY BEAKER’S CHRISTMAS
First published by the Jacqueline Wilson Magazine, 2010
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2010
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2014
DAD’S NEW JOB
First published by Corgi, 2014
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2014
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2014
GARNET’S RETURN
First published by the Jacqueline Wilson Magazine, 2012
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2014
HETTY FEATHER’S CHRISTMAS
Extract from EMERALD STAR
First published by Doubleday, 2012
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2012
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2012
STARRING TRACY BEAKER
First published by Doubleday, 2006
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2006
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2006
EM’S CHRISTMAS
Extract from CLEAN BREAK
First published by Doubleday, 2005
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2005
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2005
CHARLIE’S CHRISTMAS
Extract from THE LOTTIE PROJECT
First published by Doubleday, 1997
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 1997
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 1997
HAPPY NEW YEAR
First published by the Jacqueline Wilson Magazine, 2014
Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2014
Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2014
First published in Great Britain as THE JACQUELINE WILSON CHRISTMAS CRACKER by Corgi, 2014
Text in this edition copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2014
Illustrations in this edition copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2014
The right of Jacqueline Wilson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.