"But I can't do either," protested Cindy, "I have ball-opia." So Ms Rules, the PE teacher, told her that she had to choose between netball and football. But on this occasion, she had forgotten to bring a note from her mum, or perhaps she had just run out of plausible excuses. Every week she had a written excuse like a head cold or a sprained ankle. Katie said that Isis was so good that she might play for England one day. She played in goal and was brilliant at flying for the ball and saving it, even from the top corners of the goalposts. But Isis, it seemed, was good at everything she tried. Katie was not much use at kicking a ball and quite often passed it by accident to the other side. That term, both Katie and Isis had opted to join the girls' football team - the game that some people call soccer. The following Wednesday, it was time for PE.
"I will say that you can't have been paying enough attention in class, Katie," said Miss Vile.Īnd Katie had to agree that there was a certain logic to that reply, even though she thought Miss Vile was not telling the whole truth. When she repeated this advice, Katie put her hand up and asked, "Is that like, a 100% guarantee that I can do whatever I want to in life? I mean, if I come back here in 20 years, and I haven't become a Hollywood movie director, what will you say?" Whatever your ambition is, you can do it, but only if you pay careful attention to what I say in class." "Pay attention to everything I say, and I guarantee that you will pass your exams and achieve anything you want to in life. For example, their teacher, Miss Vile, quite often told the class: But she could not help noticing that many things other people said did not sound 100% true. Katie stopped worrying about whether Cindy was blonde or not. And in any case, when she's older, she can dye her hair any colour that she wants." People believe all sorts of things that aren't true, especially about themselves. "Who knows? All I can advise is not to let it bother you. Are you suggesting that when Cindy looks in the mirror, she sees a girl with blonde hair?" "Well, Katie, who is to say that when you see something that is yellow, you are seeing the same colour that I am seeing? Even though I am a witch and your mother, I can't see your thoughts and know what colours you perceive." She did not say anything at the time, but she told her mother about this strange conversation when she got home. "My dad calls me "his little lightbulb" because my real name is Lucinda, which means "illumination." He calls me that because I'm super bright. One day Katie heard her telling a group of girls: There was a girl in Katie's class called Cindy. Sometimes it is hard to say who the real bully is - because of course the smart bullies don’t go around with a badge saying “I am a bully.” Listen on, and you will see what I mean. You hear quite a lot about this subject these days - but often life is more complicated than stories portray. This story is about telling fibs, and it’s also about bullying. She likes to keep her magical powers as quiet, as possible, and to blend in with the other kids. But Katie isn’t a flashy sort of witch who flies around waving her magic wand and doing tricks to amaze you. Hello, This is Natasha, and I’m here with a story about Katie, who is a witch and can do magic spells.