At last, it was the end of the school day. Finally. Daisy could relax. She heaved a sigh of relief as Mr. Ratburn allowed his class to leave (in an orderly fashion as always.) The children walked swiftly out to go home, cheering happily as they went. Daisy wasn't one of them. She was so slow! She was still putting her things away when her teacher approached her. Little did she know that George was waiting outside for her, where he could hear every word. Even though they'd been sitting together all day, they hadn't the chance to get to know one another.

" So how have you enjoying Elwood so far?" he asked warmly.

" Uh, yeah. F-f-fine. Why? Am I moving again?" she replied with more hopefulness than disappointment.

Mr. Ratburn chuckled. " No. I was simply curious. I was talking to Mr. Haney at lunchtime today. He told me about your problems. He also said that your assistant will start tomorrow morning. Got it?" Daisy nodded. " If you have any problems just ask her, OK? Or ask me after school. We are here to help. It'll help if you make friends too. I noticed you've been shy."

" But making friends aren't exactly my strong point!" she cried.

" It's all a matter of confidence. There are some very nice people in this school. Like Muffy…or Binky."

" The big, scary looking guy? Well, all the kids are scary," she grumbled.

" If you feel uncomfortable in any way, you can always take a few minutes to compose yourself in the library."

" Could you come with me the first few times? I get lost. A lot!"

George was dumbfounded. He didn't bother waiting for her in the end. He suddenly felt uneasy. Instead, he began to make his way home alone. Once he was out of harm's way of any bullies, he swiped Wally, his ventriloquist giraffe dummy, from his backpack to have a civilised conversation with him. As he approached the Lundgren family home, he saw that his dad was working on an old, rusty vehicle in the garage.

" How was school, son? Learn anything?" he joked.

" There was this new girl. She was weird. She was ignoring people, telling them to go away and stuff, and when Ratburn was talking about the work, he had to explain it to her a zillion times! She didn't play with anyone at break time either. And after school, I overheard Mr. Ratburn telling her that an assistant is going to start tomorrow."

" She's just moved here, son. She doesn't know anyone yet, and she's probably feeling down about living in a different place. Give her more time, then maybe she'll start to fit in. If she's having problems understanding the work, it might mean that she has a learning disability of some sort – maybe dyslexia." So you wanna help me fix this car, George-o?"

George smiled at the thought of someone else in his class having the same learning difficulty as him.

At dinnertime that evening, The King family was circled around the table eating large plates of spaghetti bolognaise together. Usually dinnertime was celebrated in their household – since Gloria King was such a good cook – but during this particular occasion, no one breathed a word. Daisy's parents gave each other concerned glances as they watched their only daughter struggle with her knife and fork. After a few minutes, she let out a miserable groan.

" So were people nice at your school?" asked Mrs. King.

" No," the young girl mumbled so quietly that not even her parents could interpret it.

" What about your teacher? Did you have a helper?" she continued tentatively.

" Mr. Ratburn was nice. But the other kids scared me."

" How, sweetie?" her father asked.

" They…They…Well, I don't know! They were just there! And there was this creepy boy, George. He sat at the same table as me. He tried talking to me a few times but I hated that. I just don't like him, that's all. And you were supposed to cut up my spaghetti for me! Oh, I can't eat this!"

The Kings exchanged very worried looks.