Little Red Riding Hood

"Another class must be doing Red Riding Hood too," said Karla. She pointed across the lunch room at a younger girl wearing a red hood"She could have taken her costume off for lunch," said Leanne.

"Well, not everyone gets to be Red Riding Hood," mumbled Karla.

"She's soooo jealous," whispered Wayne behind his hand.

"I am not." Karla snatched up her lunch box. She moved to the far end of the table.

Wayne looked at the girl and said through a mouthful of ketchup sandwich, "Hmmm... Niffa seen 'er b'fore."

Everyone watched as the girl placed a wicker basket on her table. She untied her hooded cloak and pulled it neatly to one side. Then she folded the cloak and placed it on an empty seat beside her. She had thick curly hair, the color of a fox's tail.

"Wow," said Leanne. "Who is she?"

The red-haired girl opened a cotton cloth with pretty daisies sewn on it. She tucked it into the neck of her dress. Then she set out a pie the size of a dinner plate.

Karla's mouth formed an O. "Her mum gave her a whole pie!"

"Karla's jealous again!" sang Wayne.

"Am not!" said Karla, pouting.

Wayne gulped down a bite of sandwich. He wiped a ketchup smear off his chin.

No wonder Miss Price cast Wayne as the wolf, thought Leanne. She folded her arms in disgust as Wayne licked the ketchup from his fingers.

 "Ap..pp..pp!" Wayne pointed toward the girl. On the table where the pie had been, there was now a mouth-watering cake. It was topped with plump slices of apple and a sweet honey-golden glaze.

"Who's jealous now, Wolf?" said Karla.

Leanne watched closely as the girl nibbled a large piece of the cake. She looked up and smiled at Leanne. She had a sunny face with a splash of freckles, and huge blue eyes.

Don't stare at her, Leanne told herself. She turned her attention to the grapes in her lunch box. This morning they had been plump and juicy. Now they were brown on top where they had been pulled from the stalks. I wish mum wouldn't do that, she thought. As Leanne examined her grape, the red-haired girl passed by her table. Leanne noticed the daisy cloth folded neatly over the top of the basket. A bunch of bluebells tied with knotted grass rested on top.

Leanne smiled. "You playing Riding Hood too?" she asked the girl. "Super costume! Did your mum make it?"

The girl looked straight at Leanne. Leanne waited for an answer but the girl disappeared. Not disappeared as in walked out of the lunch room. The girl vanished completely.!

"Weird!" said Leanne.

"What's weird?" asked Wayne.

"You!" said Karla.

Leanne felt something furry brush against her leg. "Go away Benji," she said.

"You're calling me weird?" said Wayne. "You're talking to your dog that's not even "

Wayne and Karla looked at Leanne, then under the table. Two yellow eyes stared up at them.  Wayne ducked his head down to have another look. He flung his arms and jumped onto his seat. His lunch scattered everywhere.

 "It's a wolf!"

A crowd of kids gathered. They saw the yellow eyes staring up at Wayne. In a moment, the crowd scattered shouting, "Wolf! Wolf!"

A yellow-haired boy dropped a ham sandwich on the floor as he ran past. Leanne saw a long nose peek out from under the table. Kyup! The sandwich was gone. The wolf's lean pink tongue quickly licked his black lips. Leanne caught a glimpse of a sharp white tooth. Too scared to move, she opened her mouth to scream. Only a tiny squeak escaped. Leanne felt a hand grab her shoulder.

"What's going on here?" It was Mrs. Hogsbottom, the head lunch lady.

Before Leanne could answer, Mrs. Hogsbottom turned around and let out a yelp. A toothless old woman in a mop cap was prodding her sharply on the shoulder. "Have you seen my granddaughter?"

"I beg your pardon?" barked Mrs. Hogsbottom.

"Yes!" Leanne chimed in.  "You must mean the girl in the red hood. She was eating a cake when she disappeared!"

Mrs. Hogsbottom's face turned purple. "Screaming children? A toothless old lady? Disappearing girls?" she said. "Will somebody tell me what's going on here so I can get back to my tuna salad?"

A large grey beast loped into the lunch room.

"It's the wolf! It's the wolf!" called three hundred and twenty one children all at once. Mrs. Hogsbottom squinted and shielded her ears from the noise.

"Now children! This is enough," she ordered. "Get back to lunch!"

The wolf stood in front of Mrs. Hogsbottom, licking his lips.

"What is it now?" Mrs. Hogsbottom asked as she looked to see which annoying child was crouched at her feet. That's when she saw the yellow eyes.