Chapter 4

Chapter FOUR I squelched inside and found my class all sitting together in the echoey dining hall, sipping hot bog water. I wrinkled my nose. I didn't inherit Mum's love for disgusting witch food. I much prefer fairy food. 'Mmm,' said Carlotta, smacking her lips. 'Delicious!' 'We've got to keep our strength up,'

Miss Toadflax was saying. 'Ah, Mirabelle, there you are. Would you like some bog water? It's nice and thick and gritty.' 'No, thank you, Miss Toadflax,' I said quickly. Miss Toadflax blinked at me behind her diamante glasses. 'Why are you so wet?' she asked. 'You're leaving puddles all over the floor!'

'Um—' I began. 'You'd better run along to lost property and put on a new PE kit,' she said. 'Quick! You'll catch a chill!' 'Yes, Miss Toadflax,' I said, then scooted out of the lunch hall as fast as I could before she remembered my earlier magical mishap. Luckily, Miss Toadflax can often be quite absent-minded. I hurried along the corridors towards Mrs Newt's office where all the lost property is kept and riffled through the box. I managed to find some shorts and a T-shirt easily, but I had to dig right down to the bottom of the box to find a pair of

trainers. Hurriedly I pulled them out and slipped them onto my feet, tying the laces into two messy bows. There! When I got back to the dining hall, I found my friends all eating lunch. I sat down near Carlotta and opened my lunchbox. Dad had packed me some

delicious fairy food-star-shaped peanut butter sandwiches and a raspberry crush drink—but I didn't feel like I had much of an appetite. I just kept thinking about how rubbish I was at football and about how embarrassing it was going to be having to play in front of Chrissy Gold.

'Cheer up, Mirabelle!' said Carlotta, who was munching on some horrible worm spaghetti. 'You should stop worrying about winning the trophy and just enjoy playing. It's obvious that Hazel will get it anyway. She's done so much practice. She's really good! Let's just have fun!' Deep down, I knew that Carlotta was right. But it didn't stop me from thinking about how shiny and glittery the trophy would be. How important it would make me feel to carry it home to Mum and Dad. Maybe I should just use a tiny bit more magic? I was sure I could make a better potion than the last one.