Chapter 2

Chapter TWO The following morning I woke up bright and early. It was the day of the school trip! I bounced out of bed and hurried to get dressed in my most practical clothes like Miss Spindlewick had told us to, but I couldn't resist putting just one of the hair clips that Isadora had sent me into my hair the butterfly one. It wasn't

very practical but it was so pretty! I raced downstairs and gobbled up my breakfast at super-quick speed. My excitement about going to the magical-creature sanctuary was back at full force! 'Slow down!' laughed Mum as she sipped coffee from her black cauldron- shaped mug. 'You'll give yourself a tummy ache! And you've got to wait for Wilbur before you can leave the house anyway.'

Mum and Dad let Wilbur and me fly to school on our own every morning as long as we stick together until we get to the edge of the forest. 'He had better not be late!' I said. 'Wilbur's never late for school,' said Dad, and I felt a small prickle of annoyance. My brother Wilbur is so perfect. Eventually, he came sauntering down the stairs, and I waited impatiently while he ate his breakfast and Dad made our packed lunches. Finally, we were ready to go. 'Have a lovely day, my witchlings!' said Mum, as she kissed us both goodbye. 'Stay out of mischief, Mirabelle!' said Dad.

When I arrived at school I saw my classmates, standing in a huddle on the playground tarmac. Miss Spindlewick was there, ticking names off on a clipboard. I almost fell off my broomstick when I saw her! She didn't look like Miss Spindlewick at all! She was wearing a pair of khaki trousers with lots of pockets on them and she had a large rucksack on her back. 'We need to be prepared for every eventuality,' I heard her

saying, as I landed on the ground and immediately gravitated towards Carlotta. 'Oh, no, Mirabelle!' said Miss Spindlewick when she saw me. 'You need to find your Partner.' I glanced ruefully at my best friend and then looked around for Lavinia instead. She was standing at the edge of the group with her arms crossed. Her hair was up in a very neat ponytail, and her clothes didn't have a single crease in them. 'Oh, er... hi, Lavinia,' I said, sidling up to her. Lavinia looked at me, haughtily. 'Mirabelle,' she said.

I felt my excitement levels drop slightly. Miss Spindlewick started to hand out a clipboard and a camera to each pair of witches. 'I'd better take care of those,' said Lavinia shooting her hand out to grab the clipboard and camera as soon as Miss Spindlewick handed them to us. She slid them into her backpack before I could get a proper look at them. 'You must all be very careful with the cameras,' ordered Miss Spindlewick. 'They are school property. You may use them to take photos of the animals. And the clipboards are for taking notes.