The Best Day Ever

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Copyright Page

Billie B Brown has one wristband, a pocket full of coins and an extra-special outfit for a very special day.

Do you know what the B in Billie B Brown is for?

Bazaar!

Today is the school bazaar. Billie is so excited she can’t keep still. She jumps up and down like a kangaroo.

‘Can we go now, Mum?’ Billie begs.

‘In a little while,’ her mum says. ‘I just have to finish feeding Noah.’

Billie runs downstairs. ‘Can we go now, Dad?’ she says.

‘In a little while,’ her dad says. ‘I’m just finishing my coffee. Don’t worry, Billie. The bazaar will be there all day.’

Billie can’t wait any longer. She wants to go to the bazaar right now!

She and her friends have been talking about the Super-Dooper Snake ride all week! Billie is a bit scared of rides.

But she and Jack have promised they will go on it together.

Billie hopes it won’t be too scary!

Jack is Billie’s best friend. He lives next door. Billie hears him call her from over the fence.

‘Billie!’ he yells. ‘We’re going to the bazaar. Do you want to come with us?’

Billie looks at her dad. ‘Please?’ she begs.

‘OK,’ her dad says. ‘You can go ahead with Jack and his parents.

But stay close to them. It’s going to be very busy!’

‘I’ll be fine, Dad,’ says Billie. ‘I’m not going to get lost at school.’

Then she runs out the door and squeezes through the gap in the fence to meet Jack.

When Billie and Jack arrive, they almost don’t recognise the school. It looks like a fairy wonderland! A busy and noisy fairy wonderland.

‘Wow!’ Billie says. There are so many people here already.

Rebecca and Ella run over. ‘Billie!’ Rebecca yells. ‘Let’s get our faces painted!’

Billie looks at Jack. He is holding his dad’s hand tightly. She can see he is feeling nervous. ‘Come with us, Jack?’ she says.

‘Nah,’ Jack shrugs.

‘Come on,’ Billie says. ‘You don’t need to be scared. It’s just school!’

‘I’m not scared!’ Jack says, frowning. ‘I just don’t want to get my face painted.’

Billie knows she should stay with Jack and his parents. But she really, really wants to get her face painted. Ella and Rebecca are allowed to explore on their own!

‘I’ll come back straight away!’ Billie promises. She runs after Ella and Rebecca.

‘Don’t go too far,’ Jack’s mum calls out. ‘We don’t want to lose you.’

‘Don’t worry!’ Billie calls back. ‘We won’t get lost.’

The girls squeeze through the crowd.

There are so many amazing things to see and do. Look! There’s a jumping castle. And a fairy-floss machine.

Ha! There’s Mr Sibanda selling hot dogs. And Ms Walton is on the book stall. Billie waves to her teacher. This is definitely the most exciting day ever!

Billie, Ella and Rebecca join the face-painting queue. They chat about what they are going to have painted. Rebecca is going to get a butterfly. Ella wants a rainbow.

Billie decides she wants a flying rainbow unicorn with butterfly wings.

The face-painter tells Billie that this will cost extra. Billie counts out her coins. Luckily, she has just enough.

Ella and Rebecca go first. Billie waits her turn.

‘Wow! You look so cool,’ Billie says when they are finished. ‘Wait for me?’ she says.

Ella and Rebecca start to get fidgety. Billie’s face is taking a long time to paint. Sara and Mika are waiting for them by the gelati van.

‘We’ll be back soon!’ Ella promises. She and Rebecca run off to join Mika and Sara.

Billie closes her eyes so the face-painter can decorate her eyelids with sparkles. When she opens them again, she can’t see Ella or Rebecca anywhere.

Billie stands up to look for her friends. But they are not there! She starts to feel worried.

‘Can you please sit down?’ the face-painter says. ‘I haven’t finished your unicorn.’

‘That’s OK,’ Billie says. She takes the money out of her pocket to pay her. ‘I have to go now.’

‘But it doesn’t have any legs,’ the woman says.

‘You can’t have a unicorn without legs!’

Billie isn’t thinking about unicorn legs. Or even butterflies or rainbows. All Billie can think of is how busy and noisy everything seems. Especially now she has no friends with her!

Billie goes to the gelati van. Her friends are nowhere to be seen. She jogs to the book stall to find her teacher. Ms Walton isn’t there either!

Billie looks for Mr Sibanda at the hot dog stand. Someone’s dad has taken his place. Billie starts to feel like she might cry.

Right ahead of her is the Super-Dooper Snake ride. Billie looks into all the cars as the ride whizzes past.

Surely one of her friends is there? But she can’t see ANYONE she knows.

Billie shivers. There is NO WAY she is going on that ride. It looks way too scary!

Billie feels scared and alone. Tears come up in her eyes. The tears mix with the glittery face-paint on her eyelids. Soon it becomes hard for her to see.

Everything is so crowded and loud. It doesn’t even look like their playground anymore!

Just then, Billie remembers her favourite place in the whole school. It’s the place she always goes when she is feeling sad or lonely. The library!

Billie decides she will hide in the library until the bazaar is over. The library will be quiet and calm. She is sure of it.

Billie runs past all the people in the playground. She runs down the crowded school corridor. At last she arrives at the library.

But – oh no! Even the library is busy! Billie can’t believe it. A grade-six girl is standing out the front collecting tickets.

‘What’s going on in the library?’ Billie asks.

‘This is the cinema,’ the girl says. ‘You have a wristband, so you can go inside.’

Billie tiptoes into the dark library. She slumps into a beanbag. Then she lets her tears fall now that no-one can see