Here comes trouble
Chapter 1
On Friday afternoon Class Seven had an Art lesson. It was their favourite lesson of the week. Everyone looked forward to it. Everyone except Trudy Hubble. Trudy had elbows that stuck out and knocked things over. Her hands were large and clumsy. Her feet were so big she was always tripping over things.
When she came into the classroom Rob Mason said, ‘Look out, here
comes Trouble!’
This was Rob’s idea of a joke. He called her ‘Trouble’ because it sounded like her two names—Trudy Hubble—put together. The other kids laughed. Trudy had to smile and pretend she didn’t mind. But she did mind. She minded a lot. Mrs Weston said, ‘Sit down, Trudy. Let Lisa bring you a water jar and some paints.’
Trudy knew why Mrs Weston wanted her to sit down. Mrs Weston had been her teacher for
three months now. She had seen what happened when Trudy tried to do Art. It was always a disaster! Lisa Gibbs fetched paper and paint and brushes.
She put them on the table she shared with Trudy. Next, she filled a jar with water and took that to Trudy. Before she sat down she moved her chair as far away from Trudy as possible.
Trudy wished she could be more like Lisa. Lisa never knocked things over. She had small hands and feet
and wavy brown hair. Trudy’s hair was as straight as straw.
‘Now, today,’ Mrs Weston said, ‘I’d like you to paint me a monster. The scariest monster you can think of.’ ‘Oh, great!’ Class Seven loved painting monsters.
Trudy decided to start with the eyes. The eyes were the scariest part of any monster. She dipped her brush in red paint. Then she made two large red circles on the paper. Then two large yellow circles. Then two large green circles.
But it didn’t look much like a monster. It looked more like two sets of traffic lights.
She glanced at Lisa’s picture. Lisa had painted a beautiful green dragon with flames coming out of its mouth. Trudy sighed. She reached out to dip her brush in some black paint and-oh, no! She knocked over the jam jar. Dirty water spread in a pool across the table. It drowned Lisa’s dragon. ‘Oops, sorry,’ Trudy muttered. Lisa started down at her soggy