Читать книгу Darcy Dolphin and the Best Birthday Ever! - Sam Watkins - Страница 8

MONKFISHDAY

Sea Trouts tonight, yippeeeee! Ozzie and Myrtle came to pick me up. We were all wearing our uniforms – neck scarves held on by wooden rings called woggles. When we got to the Trout Hut there were already loads of Sea Trouts there, screeching and chasing each other around.

‘SEA TROUTS – FREEZE!’

Everyone froze as our leader, Brown Trout, swam out. Her main talent is Scowling Disapprovingly.

‘TO YOUR SHOALS!’

Everyone shot into their Shoals. There are four Shoals – Blennies, Anchovies, Guppies and Minnows. Ozzie, Myrtle and I are the Minnows.

‘Before we begin, it’s time to change Shoal Leaders,’ Brown Trout said. ‘The new leaders are as follows . . .’

She held up a list.

‘Blennies – Chris Codling. Anchovies – Lyla Longfin. Guppies – Reggie Ray. And Minnows . . . Darcy Dolphin.’

‘Yippee!’ I squeaked, quite loudly I think because Brown Trout gave me one of her Disapproving Scowls. I shut my mouth, but inside my head my brain was doing a happy dance. Myrtle had been Shoal Leader for aaaages. Well, two weeks anyway. Now I was the boss and could tell the others what to do for a change! I would be quite a strict boss, I decided, like Brown Trout. I twisted my face up and pulled my eyebrows together like she does when she’s being particularly disapproving.

‘What are you doing with your face, Darcy?’ Ozzie whispered.

I stopped. ‘Nothing.’

Myrtle giggled. ‘You looked like you ate a rotten sea slug!’

‘I am Shoal Leader now . . .’ I began. But Brown Trout was beckoning.

‘Shoal Leaders, over here!’ As I swam over, I bumped into Reggie Ray, the new Guppies leader.

‘Oops, sorry!’ I said.

Reggie glared. ‘Watch it, big nose!’

Big nose?! I was so surprised I couldn’t think of ANYTHING to say! I tried to think of something. Something really clever . . . barnacle brain? Squid lips?

‘FLAT FACE!’ I exclaimed, then realised that Brown Trout was staring at me.

‘Pardon, Darcy?’

‘She asked you what the Sea Trout motto is,’ whispered Lyla Longfin.

‘I mean, um, Lend a Fin,’ I mumbled.

‘Yes,’ Brown Trout said. ‘And that means being helpful to others. Now, this month is Lend a Fin month, which means you are all going to be extra-helpful. At the end of the month there is a prize for the most helpful Shoal.’ She held up a gleaming, golden ring. ‘The Golden Woggle.’

Everyone gasped. I stared. The Golden Woggle was beautiful. I saw Reggie Ray looking greedily at it.

Brown Trout was handing out cards. ‘After you’ve helped someone, give them your card and ask them to tick off one Help Point. They can tick off more if they think you’ve been extra-helpful.’

I took our Help Points card back to Ozzie and Myrtle. They started talking excitedly about what sort of things we could do. I just couldn’t stop looking over at the Golden Woggle.

We had to win it. We WOULD win it!

Thought of the Day: There can be only ONE winner of the Golden Woggle.