The Worry Tree Read online

  Gemma turned the eraser over in her hand and examined it. It was made to split into two parts so you could see the hot lava core inside. Juliet liked to open it up and imagine real boiling lava pouring out the top.

  “I love it,” said Gemma. “I’ll keep this one.”

  “Oh,” said Juliet, “that’s my favorite.”

  “No wonder,” said Gemma. “It’s great.”

  “Dad gave it to me ’specially,” repeated Juliet.

  “Mm,” said Gemma. “So, can I have it?”

  “What about this one?” said Juliet, holding up an eraser shaped like a star. She felt mean offering such a boring one, but she didn’t want to give up the special eraser. Gemma picked up the star and turned it over.

  “Mmm, nah,” she said, putting it down. “I like the volcano one better. Oh, come on, Juliet. You’ll let me have it, won’t you?”

  “Well … ,” said Juliet, feeling worn down, “I guess you could borrow it.” She watched with a pang as Gemma popped the volcano into the top pocket of her jacket, a satisfied smile on her lips.

  “Why don’t we feed Piranha?” said Juliet, before Gemma could take anything else. “He’s my Venus flytrap.”

  “Sure,” said Gemma.

  “I’ve got some flies here,” said Juliet. “I—”

  She broke off when she heard a strange scratching sound coming from nearby.

  “Did you hear that?” she said.

  “Yes,” said Gemma. “What is it? A rat?”

  Juliet looked over to where the sound was coming from. “Don’t move, Gemma,” she said. “I need to check something.”

  Juliet got up quickly and walked over to the wardrobe. She pulled on the handle and the door swung open. The girls gasped. Standing in the wardrobe, wearing a flashlight strapped to her head and holding a notepad and pen, was Oaf.

  “Hi!” said Oaf. “What are you two up to? Can I join in?”

  “What are we up to?” said Juliet. “What are we up to? What are you up to?”

  “Nothing much,” said Oaf, sliding the lid back on her pen. She flicked off the switch on her miner’s light and stepped onto the carpet. “Can I play?”

  “Oaf!” said Juliet, moving toward her.

  “See ya!” said Oaf and dashed out of the room.

  Juliet rolled her eyes. “You see what I have to put up with?”

  Juliet lay in bed that night thinking of her volcano eraser. “Piers,” she whispered to the peacock, looking at his proud face, “I’ve lost something, and I need you to look after it till morning.” Piers looked happy to help. She hung her worries on his branch and turned to the dog.

  “Dimitri,” she said. “I’ve got Oaf trouble. You know what I mean.” By the look on his face, she was sure Dimitri knew exactly what she meant. Juliet cupped the worry in her hand and gave it to him for safekeeping. Then she imagined climbing up the Worry Tree, escaping into its rustling cave of leaves, and falling asleep in the crook of a branch.

  “The festival’s coming up pretty soon,” said Lindsay. “I’m going to bring along my axolotl and charge people for a hold.”

  “What’s an axolotl?” said Gemma.

  “Juliet,” said Lindsay, turning her back on Gemma, “what are you going to bring?”

  “What’s an axolotl?” repeated Gemma.

  Juliet looked from one friend to the other.

  “It’s kind of like an underwater lizard, Gemma,” said Juliet, “and, Lindsay, I’m going to bring my plant collection: cacti, mostly, and maybe Piranha.”

  “Great,” said Lindsay. “Be careful that Hugh doesn’t take any of them.”

  “I don’t have anything to bring,” said Gemma.

  “Don’t you have any hobbies?” said Juliet.

  “I like watching TV,” said Gemma.

  “Documentaries?” said Juliet. “I love documentaries, especially ones about nature and animals and things like that.”

  “I don’t really like the programs,” said Gemma. “I just watch the ads. Some of them are really good.”

  “Oh,” said Juliet.

  “How … educational,” said Lindsay.

  “Maybe I could sit with you at the festival, Juliet. Since I’m not bringing anything, I could help you mind your plants.”

  “Juliet’s sitting next to me,” said Lindsay. “Sorry.”

  “But won’t you be sitting in the pet area?” said Gemma. “With your axywhatsit? That’s in a different building from all the collections.”

  “It is,” said Juliet. “Lindsay, we won’t be able to sit together.”

  “What a shame,” said Gemma, flashing her sugar-cube smile.

  Lindsay scuffed her feet on the ground and said nothing.

  “See you when I get home from work,” said Mom as Juliet and Oaf climbed out of the car. “Sorry I can’t stay. Make sure you visit your dad at the sausage sizzle stand.”

  It was the day of the festival, but Juliet had stopped looking forward to it a long time ago. Lindsay and Gemma were making life hard for her. It wasn’t that they fought outright. It was more a polite, but deadly, tug of war.

  Holding on to her box of plants, Juliet walked through the school gates. Oaf ran ahead of her, heading straight for the dunking machine. There were people everywhere, setting up stalls with cakes and toilet-paper holders and bags of potpourri. Juliet walked past the ring toss and the raffle and made her way into the classroom.

  “Hey, Jooly-Wooly. What dumb hobby did you bring along?”

  Hugh. Just what Juliet needed. She set her box on the table and took out a sign she’d made the night before. Written on cardboard in thick brown marker were her initials: JJJ, just like three upside-down walking sticks in a row.

  “Joooooly,” said Hugh. “Joooooly, why won’t you talk to me?”

  Juliet ignored him. When all the cacti were in place, she carefully lifted out her prized possession: Piranha. She didn’t take him out very often, but today was a special occasion. He might help her win the prize for most unusual collection.

  “What’s that?” said Hugh, crossing the floor. “A man-eating plant? Great!” And he popped a Smartie into one of Piranha’s traps.

  “Don’t!” said Juliet. “You’ll kill him.” But she was already too late. Piranha had closed his trap.

  Hugh smirked. “Looks like he was hungry,” he said and tipped another Smartie into his hand. “I think he wants another one.”

  “Hugh—”

  He was about to drop it into a different trap when Mr. Castelli came into the room.

  “Hello, kids. What’s this then? Looks like we’ve got a couple of contenders for most unusual collection. A Venus flytrap from Juliet, and, Hugh, I see you’ve brought a jar of your own bellybutton lint. Wonderful, wonderful.” Mr. Castelli tugged on his hairy ear and smiled. “Good luck, kids. I’ll be round and about, so give me a holler if you need anything. Make sure to come and try my homemade sushi at the Japanese food stall.”

  Gemma arrived soon after, and Hugh very quickly went back to his side of the classroom. Piranha, who obviously didn’t like Smarties, opened his trap once more. Juliet picked out the Smartie and threw it away. Now things were looking up.

  And I haven’t bitten my nails once, thought Juliet.

  Then Lindsay came to visit.

  “Ready?” she said, sitting on the edge of the desk.

  “Yep,” said Juliet.

  “What’s happening?” said Gemma. “Are we going someplace?”

  “Juliet and I are going to walk around and visit her dad at the sausage sizzle,” said Lindsay.

  “Yes,” said Juliet, then noticed the hurt look in Gemma’s eyes. “You can come too, if you like.”

  “That won’t work,” said Lindsay quickly. “I mean, who’s going to look after your plants?”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Juliet. “I forgot. Maybe I should stay back and you two go.”

  “No!” said Lindsay and Gemma together.

  “Gemma doesn’t mind looking after your plant
s, do you, Gemma?” said Lindsay. “We don’t want Hugh touching them.”

  Gemma glared at Lindsay but smiled at Juliet. “Anything for my best friend,” she said.

  Lindsay glared back at Gemma, then seized hold of Juliet’s arm.

  “We’ll bring you a hot dog,” said Juliet as Lindsay dragged her out the door. “Won’t be long!”

  The festival was a whirl of silly games, sticky toffee, bouncer castles, and the smell of sausages. In spite of herself, Juliet began to enjoy the day. She and Lindsay had a good look around, then bought three hot dogs. Later, they went back to Gemma to pack up before the awards ceremony.

  Everyone gathered on the oval in front of Mr. Castelli. He stood behind a podium tapping his microphone.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, parents, students, pets, if I may have your attention, please. It’s time for the awards ceremony to begin.”

  Juliet stood between her two friends, Piranha in her arms. Lindsay was holding on to a goldfish bowl with her axolotl pressing its nose up against the glass. Gemma was guarding the box of cactus plants. Juliet patted Piranha for reassurance and took a deep breath. I hope I win, I hope I win, I hope I win, she thought.

  “I heard Hugh bullied a lot of the little kids into voting for him,” said Lindsay.

  “Really?” said Juliet. “He’s such a—ouch!” She felt a stinging sensation on the back of her head. “What was that?”

  Juliet turned around to see what had made her head sting. Hugh was standing behind her, holding a hair he had just pulled out of her head.

  “Just making sure it’s real,” he said, lifting it up to the sun and peering at it. “Not drawn on or anything.”

  “Just ignore him,” whispered Lindsay.

  Hugh reached over to pull out another hair.

  “Don’t,” said Juliet, “or I’ll pull your hair!” Juliet smiled to herself. She’d talked back to him at last.

  “I’m wearing a cap, dumbo. You can’t touch my hair.”

  “Oh,” said Juliet. “Well, maybe I’ll, um, maybe I’ll, ah, what I mean is—”

  “She meant your nose hair,” said Gemma. “Touch her again and she’ll yank out your nose hair. Or I will.”

  Gemma moved toward him, holding up her thumb and forefinger. Hugh backed away quickly.

  “Thanks,” said Juliet. She was pleased to have Gemma on her side, though sorry she needed someone to come to her rescue again.

  “Shh,” said Lindsay, “Mr. Castelli’s opening the envelope for your award, Juliet.”

  “All the votes have been counted,” said their teacher, “and I’m pleased to announce the winner of the Students’ Choice Award for most unusual collection is … Hugh Allen, for his jar of bellybutton lint! Hugh, could you make your way up to the podium, please?”

  “Hugh!” snorted Lindsay.

  “Unbelievable!” said Gemma.

  “There must be some mistake,” said Juliet. She hugged Piranha close to her chest.

  “There’s no mistake,” said Hugh, pushing past. “I’m just superior, that’s all. As if anyone would ever vote for you.”

  Juliet dropped her eyes. He’d won again. Piranha looked upset, so she took her box of cacti from Gemma and put him inside. That way, he wouldn’t have to witness Hugh waving his trophy in the air and yelling, “I’m a legend! I’m the champion! I’m the most superior human being in the world!”

  “Don’t worry, Juliet,” said Lindsay. “You can come over to my place now and we’ll work on my fish pond. You’ll forget all about him.”

  “Or,” said Gemma, “you could come to my place and we’ll plot our revenge.”

  “I invited her first,” said Lindsay.

  “But she’ll have more fun with me,” said Gemma.

  “I’m a bit busy today,” said Juliet. “I’m not sure I can go to anyone’s place.”

  “But, Juliet!” said Lindsay and Gemma.

  As Juliet looked from one friend to the other, Dad came up from behind.

  “Better luck next time, hey, kiddo?”

  “I suppose so,” said Juliet. “Can we find Oaf and go home now? Like, immediately.”

  “Sure thing. But before we do, I have some news I hope will cheer you up. You too, Gemma and Lindsay. That Hugh character may have won that award but I won four free tickets to the movies on the ring toss. Why don’t I take you three girls out next weekend to make up for all this? What do you say?”

  Juliet watched her friends closely.

  “Sure, Mr. Jones,” said Gemma, glancing at Lindsay.

  “That’d be great,” said Lindsay, glancing back at Gemma.

  This’ll be interesting, thought Juliet.

  Juliet lay in bed that night thinking of her friends.

  “Wolfgang,” she said, “they’re driving me crazy! Do wombats have this kind of trouble as well? What is wrong with Lindsay, anyway? She’s been mean to Gemma from the very start. I wish I could make them be nice to each other. Maybe spending time together at the movies will give them each a chance to see how great the other one is. That might work … well … it might. Wish me luck for the rest of the week, Wolfgang. And thanks for everything. You know what to do.”

  “Dad.”

  “Yes, kiddo?”

  “Do you promise not to talk to strangers when we get to the cinema?”

  Dad smiled. “I thought kids only got embarrassed by their parents once they hit puberty.”

  “Dad!” said Juliet. “And promise you won’t use the word puberty.”

  The cinema lobby was crowded with people but it didn’t take long for Juliet to spot Lindsay and Gemma. They were sitting over in a corner with their heads bent together, writing on a sheet of paper.

  When Lindsay spotted them, she folded the sheet in half and put it behind her back. Gemma smiled. Dad shook their hands heartily and bellowed hello, and Juliet waved her hand, fresh Band-Aids plastered on every finger.

  “Here, girls,” said Dad, plunging his arm into his army supply backpack. “Have some M&M’s. I picked them up at the supermarket this morning.”

  Juliet looked horrified. “Dad! You don’t eat supermarket stuff at the movies. We need proper M&M’s! From the snack bar.”

  “But aren’t supermarket M&M’s exactly the same as cinema M&M’s?” said Dad. “Apart from being much cheaper.”

  For the sake of their friend, Gemma and Lindsay pretended not to notice. Juliet shook her head.

  “I guess you girls won’t be interested in any homemade popcorn, then?” said Dad, pulling out a large red Tupperware container. “I made it myself!”

  Dad left for the ticket booth, and Juliet sat down by her friends.

  “We’ve got something for you,” said Lindsay, pulling the sheet of paper out from behind her back. “We think you’ll find it interesting.”

  “A quiz?” said Juliet. “You’ve made me a quiz? Great!” Juliet hoped she got the answers right.

  “All you have to do is answer three questions,” said Lindsay.

  “Go for it,” said Juliet. “I’m ready.”

  “Question number one,” said Lindsay, pushing her wiry hair out of her eyes, “would you rather be very rich or very famous?”

  Juliet scrunched up her forehead in thought. “I reckon … famous,” she said. “Yep, famous. Maybe for making an amazing scientific discovery or something.”

  Lindsay smirked at Gemma, a gleam of triumph in her eyes. Gemma grabbed the paper from her and took Juliet’s hand.

  “The second question’s far more important,” she said, “so listen carefully. Would you rather be able to breathe underwater or fly through the air?”

  Juliet felt uncomfortable now. Gemma was gripping her hand awfully tight. Something was up, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

  “Breathe underwater, I guess,” she replied.

  It was Gemma’s turn to smile in triumph. Lindsay shot her a look of fury.

  “Give it back,” said Lindsay. “There’s still one question to go.”

  Juliet s
uddenly realized what was going on. Each question had two options: one was Gemma’s answer, one was Lindsay’s. This quiz wasn’t a quiz at all. It was a test to see who should be Juliet’s best friend.

  “Juliet?” said Lindsay. “Are you ready for the last question?”

  “Not really,” said Juliet.

  “Number three, would you rather lose your sense of taste or lose your sense of smell?”

  Juliet felt trapped. Whichever answer she chose, one of her friends would be angry. She looked from one friend to the other. Lindsay, her oldest, most wiry-haired friend, wore a pained but hopeful expression. Gemma, her newest and bravest friend, flashed her sugar-cube smile. Juliet’s insides churned. “Ah,” she said. “Um … what’s the question again?”

  “Would you rather lose your sense of taste or lose your sense of smell?”

  “Actually,” said Dad, arriving back from the ticket booth, “if you lose your sense of smell, you automatically lose your sense of taste. Not entirely, of course. You can sometimes tell the difference between sweet and sour tastes, but when it comes to telling the difference between, say, a Granny Smith and a Jonathan apple, you’re in a bit of trouble. You may be interested to know that people born without a sense of smell suffer from a medical condition called congenital anosmia … .”

  Saved! Juliet had never been more glad of Dad’s scientific facts. Lindsay and Gemma exchanged irritated glances, and Lindsay screwed the quiz into a ball and threw it into a nearby bin.

  So, thought Juliet, the quiz is history, thanks to Dad. The question remains: what will they think of next?

  After Juliet had checked in the wardrobe and under her bed and was satisfied Oaf wasn’t hiding anywhere, she lay down on the carpet for a worm’s eye view of the Worry Tree.

  “Wolfgang,” she began, “you would not believe what happened at the movies today!” And she filled him in on the awful events. Wolfgang’s eyes twinkled, inviting her to hang her worries on his branch for the night. She got up on her knees and handed them over. He seemed to be saying, “Let me help. You need a break tonight. You have enough to worry about during the day.” Juliet knew this was true. School worries would just have to wait. Now it was time for sleep.