If there was trouble in the class, Miss Henry always knew that Mike must be behind it somewhere. Mike just enjoyed creating a ruckus and he did not enjoy studying at all.
One day, he got after the school cat. The cat was playing with a little green doll that it had found somewhere in the playground. Mike chased the cat all over the school till it scrambled up a tree and dropped the doll. Mike pushed the tiny doll into his pocket and strolled back to the class. Miss Henry scolded him for coming late and for looking such a complete mess!
He smiled and settled down. He put the doll into his bag. The next was Maths period and he did not know what the rest of the class was doing. “Page 23, you idiot!” said a voice. Everyone in the class heard it and someone laughed.
Puzzled, Mike looked around to see where the voice came from. He opened his bag to take out the Maths book. He opened page 23. It was about fractions.
“Do you know what fractions are, Mike?” said the voice. Again, someone laughed. Mike was becoming uncomfortable. He began to solve his sums quietly. Miss Henry looked up in surprise. There were no paper planes flying in the class. No one was using a pea-shooter or throwing paper balls or chalk. Mike was actually writing in his book!
When the bell rang, Mike thought he’d have fun in the next class. Miss Bonnell was very absent-minded. She taught them History and lived in a world of her own with kings and monuments, maps and past battles. As soon as Miss Bonnell entered, the voice said, “Okay Mike, do you know anything about the French Revolution?” The class looked up. This was not Miss Bonnell’s voice. Whose voice was this?
Mike whispered, “No, I don’t know.”
“You had better go to the library and read all about it, Mike. You shouldn’t waste the time of the rest of the class,” said the voice sternly. Mike ran out of the class. He went straight to the library. His classmates were amazed at the change. Mike went home that day in a thoughtful mood. He had a bath and sat down to do his homework without Mummy having to tell him.
When he was preparing his bag for the next day, he saw the little green doll. When he tried to take it out, he found he couldn’t. It was stuck.
“Friends are those who make us better people, Mike,” said the voice.
