8 Trish the Troll

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TRISH the Troll ONCE UPON A TIME, at the top of a very tall block of flats, lived a girl called Trish. From her window the little girl would look down upon the world, and daydream that she had complete power over everyone.

She would close one eye and hold her fingers up to the other. She would spot someone walking along fifty floors below-it might be an old lady walking her dog, a child playing with a ball or a young mother hurrying home with her shopping-and, whoever they were, Trish would get them in her sights and pretend she was squishing them between her fingers. "You are squished. and you, and you..." she would say to herself, and a broad smile would spread across her face. "I will Squish you all!" Trish longed for some way of squishing people for real.

The idea came, as good ones often do, while she was sitting on the toilet. It was break-time at school, and Trish was sat on the loo, staring up at all the graffiti that decorated the walls and door. There was barely a space that wasn't covered by some words or drawings. Some of the graffiti gave a newsflash on the love lives of the teachers: MISS TROUT LOVES MR PRUFROCK. I saw Mr Bongers and Miss Danube sitting in a tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G.! MISS BIRCH HAS GOT THE HOTS FOR MR FUMBLE. Other graffiti took the form of an alternative school report: MATHS IS BORING! I HATE HISTORY! SCIENCE SUCKS!

There were quite a few harsh restaurant reviews of the school canteen: DON'T EAT THE SAUSAGE ROLLS UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE! YOU NEED TO CUT THE CUSTARD WITH A KNIFE. BRING BACK TURKEY TWIZZLERS! Trish wondered what it would feel like if she wrote something really nasty. Would that be like squishing someone for real? In her blazer pocket the girl kept a thick felt-tip pen. She placed the lid in her mouth as she pondered what to write. The most popular girl in school was Megan. Megan was always kind to the younger children, included all the other kids in games and had a smile for everyone, even the grumpiest teachers, like Mr Bongers. Finally Trish scribbled in big black letters: MEGAN'S GOT BOG BREATH. Megan didn't have bog breath. It didn't matter.

All that mattered to Trish was that once she had read it Megan would feel well and truly squished. Trish left the cubicle, and walked past the mirror. As she glanced at herself, she noticed something startling. A big wart had appeared on the end of her nose. "What is this?" muttered Trish to herself. It was very strange. She hadn't noticed anything when she'd left her flat this morning. The girl pulled her hair down to hide it, and hurried off to her next lesson. By lunchtime news had spread across the school like wildfire about what had been scrawled on the toilet wall. Poor Megan was crying and being comforted by her friends. Trish lingered nearby, munching on a Scotch egg so she could listen in. "BOG BREATH?! I don't have bog breath, do I?" spluttered Megan through tears.