How to Get the Friends You Want by Jenny Alexander Page B

medals. They stayed on the stage while the runner-up was announced.
    â€˜And the runner-up, from Truro, is Joe Davy and his team, for their talk on Surfing.’
    They went up to collect their medals too.
    As the winning teams came back down off the stage, the head judge said, ‘This has never happened before in the twelve years that the Young Voices competition has been running, but we feel we really must single out a third team for a special mention.’
    That team was us! The judge asked us to stand up in our seats so that everyone could see us. He said we had been excellent and engaging speakers, all three of us; we were obviously the audience’s favourite and it was a shame they couldn’t place us in the top two, but we hadn’t stuck closely enough to the rules of the competition.
    â€˜With a little more attention to detail, particularly making sure you all wear full school uniform and stick to the correct timings, we feel sure you can be a winning team next year.’
    The audience gave us another loud round of applause. This time, Dad managed not to whistle.
    Sasha, Tammy and Olivia said well done, and I knew they meant it because they were ever so nice. But there was also something just a little bit smug about the way they said it, as if what they really meant was, ‘You’re obviously not as good as us, but you tried!’
    It got me thinking. Just because Sasha, Tammy and Abina had won everything for as long as anyone could remember – the best parts in schoolplays, the first teams in sports, the top marks in tests – that didn’t mean that no-one else would ever be able to beat them. With a bit of attention to detail, with a bit of belief that it could happen, there was no reason someone else couldn’t come out on top.
    Maybe I had been wrong to give up on Dennis’s chances in the Polgotherick Pet Parade just because Tammy and Abina had decided to enter. How amazing would it be if plain little Dennis could beat the beautiful Heavenly Honeybun and the perfectly-trained Pookie?
    How good would it feel to go up against Sasha, Tammy and Abina, and take home first prize!

Chapter 15
Truffles on Trees and Buzzy Bees

    I love being in the car at night, moving through the darkness. I like the steady noise of the engine, the soft lights on the dashboard, the warm air folding round you like a soft feather quilt. I love the way the lights from passing cars sweep across the roof like searchlights and move on.
    I especially like being in the car at night when Primrose isn’t there, because then you know it willbe peaceful, without any problems and dramas. So I was looking forward to the drive home after the competition.
    As we drove through the streets of Truro, Mum, Dad and me talked about the speeches and gave them our own marks out of ten. But as we left the street-lights behind and plunged into the darkness of the open road, I settled back in my seat and dozed.
    When I woke up they were talking about Dad’s lunch with the agony aunts the next day.
    â€˜You don’t sound very keen,’ Mum said. ‘I would have thought you’d be looking forward to it.’
    Dad sighed.
    â€˜I don’t know, Jan. It’s bad enough doing the conference calls – how am I going to cope face-to-face over lunch? I try really hard but I still seem to keep saying the wrong thing. Let’s face it, I’m just a bloke who likes football. I’m a fish out of water with feelings.’
    Finally, Dad was having a reality check, after letting himself get carried away by being Agony Aunt of the Year.
    â€˜Maybe you should come clean with them,’ suggested Mum. ‘Tell them it’s really Mr Kaminski who does the problem page.’
    â€˜If I do that they won’t want to be friends any more.’
    â€˜Are they really the best kind of friends for you, if the idea of having lunch with them makes you feel so stressed out?’
    Dad didn’t say