Longest Whale Song Read online

  DOUBLEDAY

  Contents

  Cover

  Title

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Also available by Jacqueline Wilson

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  Epub ISBN 9781409097365

  www.randomhouse.co.uk

  If you would like to find out more about whales and dolphins, please visit www.wdcs.org.uk

  THE LONGEST WHALE SONG

  A DOUBLEDAY BOOK

  HARDBACK: 978 0 385 61815 1

  TRADE PAPERBACK: 978 0 857 53005 9

  Published in Great Britain by Doubleday,

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

  A Random House Group company

  This edition published 2010

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  Text copyright © Jacqueline Wilson, 2010

  Illustrations copyright © Nick Sharratt, 2010

  The right of Jacqueline Wilson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

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  THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009

  A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

  Printed and bound by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc

  For dear June

  and Georgie and Max,

  Gabby, Emma and Joel,

  and Anna and Georgina

  Also available by Jacqueline Wilson

  Published in Corgi Pups, for beginner readers:

  THE DINOSAUR’S PACKED LUNCH

  THE MONSTER STORY-TELLER

  Published in Young Corgi, for newly confident readers:

  LIZZIE ZIPMOUTH

  SLEEPOVERS

  Available from Doubleday/Corgi Yearling Books:

  BAD GIRLS

  THE BED AND BREAKFAST STAR

  BEST FRIENDS

  BURIED ALIVE!

  CANDYFLOSS

  THE CAT MUMMY

  CLEAN BREAK

  CLIFFHANGER

  COOKIE

  THE DARE GAME

  THE DIAMOND GIRLS

  DOUBLE ACT

  DOUBLE ACT (PLAY EDITION)

  GLUBBSLYME

  HETTY FEATHER

  THE ILLUSTRATED MUM

  JACKY DAYDREAM

  THE LOTTIE PROJECT

  MIDNIGHT

  THE MUM-MINDER

  MY SECRET DIARY

  MY SISTER JODIE

  SECRETS

  STARRING TRACY BEAKER

  THE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER

  THE SUITCASE KID

  VICKY ANGEL

  THE WORRY WEBSITE

  Collections:

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  includes BAD GIRLS and DOUBLE ACT

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  Available from Doubleday/Corgi Books, for older readers:

  DUSTBIN BABY

  GIRLS IN LOVE

  GIRLS UNDER PRESSURE

  GIRLS OUT LATE

  GIRLS IN TEARS

  KISS

  LOLA ROSE

  LOVE LESSONS

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  Chapter 1

  ‘Why don’t you come and help me with my breathing, Ella?’ says Mum.

  I stare at her. ‘You don’t need help breathing, Mum! You just do it. Like, in and out, in and out!’

  ‘No, this is special breathing, darling. For when I have the baby.’

  I wrinkle my nose. I don’t really like it when she talks about the baby. I just want to forget about it. It’s getting harder and harder, though, because Mum’s e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s. Her tummy sticks out so far she can hardly get her T-shirt over it. I can see her tummy button through the material and it makes me shudder. When I was very, very little, I thought that was how babies were born: you just pressed the button and the tummy opened, and out popped the baby.

  I wish they really were born that way. I haven’t seen a real baby being born but I’ve seen actresses pretending on the television. They shout and scream a lot and go bright red in the face.

  ‘Does having a baby really hurt a lot, Mum?’ I ask.

  ‘Mm, quite a lot,’ says Mum. ‘That’s why I do the special breathing. It helps control the pain.’ She holds out her hand to me. ‘Come and lie on my bed with me and I’ll show you.’

  I hesitate. I hate going into Mum’s bedroom now. It’s not just hers. It’s Mum-and-Jack’s, and I can’t stand Jack. But it’s Saturday afternoon, and Jack’s out at his stupid football so Mum and I can have a bit of peace together. We used to go to Flowerfields shopping centre or for a walk round Berrisford Park, but Mum’s too tired to do anything much now. Imagine wanting to spend a Saturday afternoon breathing.

  ‘Please, Ella,’ she says softly.

  I sigh and take her hand and go to her bedroom with her, because I love her so much, even though I’m still cross with her for marrying Jack.

  I used to love Mum’s bedroom back at our old flat. It always smelled beautifully of her scent and her soap and her hair stuff. It looked so pretty too. She had a red lampshade that made the whole room glow rose. She dangled her necklaces on her mirror and hung her prettiest dresses on the door and outside her wardrobe, so that it looked like there were Mums all around the room. She had deep pink velvet curtains right down to the floor. I used to like sitting beside them and stroking them, rubbing them over my nose like a comfort blanket. She had matching pink velvet cushions on her bed and a lovely rose-patterned duvet where we’d cuddle up together.

  We hardly ever cuddle up together now because of Jack. This is a horrible, boring blue bedroom and it smells of him. Mum doesn’t wear her perfume now because she says the smell makes her feel queasy. Well, Jack