Emily MacKenzie

Today was the day she was starting her new school. She’d been looking forward to it for weeks.
Moving to an old cottage in the countryside had felt strange at first. Especially as it was the middle of the summer holidays.
But then Bella and her little brother Sid had met Magda and they’d soon settled in. Magda was fun and it was nice having a best friend who lived next door.
Now the holidays were over and it was time to start school. Bella loved school. She couldn’t wait to meet her teacher and make new friends.
Magda would always be her very best friend though. Even if she did get Bella into trouble sometimes.
Quite a lot of times actually.

Or the time Bella had fallen through the floor of the attic to her parents’ bedroom below and brought the ceiling tumbling down with her. That had been Magda’s fault too. She was the one who’d made Bella go up to the attic to look for ghosts. But it was Bella who’d got into trouble.

Then she knew that nothing could go wrong.
She took a look in the mirror and was pleased with what she saw. Mum had tied her unruly hair back neatly into pretty cornrows and the navy blue and yellow ribbons matched her navy blue and yellow uniform.

Time to go. Bella picked up her bags, which was easier said than done. There were so many she kept dropping them.
Mum scooped them up with the rest of Sid’s bags and chucked them all in the boot of the car. “We never had this