My Dog by Olivia Wakeford - Extract and Comprehension Exercise

My Dog by Olivia Wakeford EXTRACT TO READ AND DISCUSS – WITH COMPREHENSION EXERCISE My hand hovers on the flush. If I press, he’ll know someone can hear him crying, but if I don’t I’ll have to wait for him to leave, and then I might be late for afternoon lessons. I bite my lip. Part of me wants to call out that I’m sorry, but I can’t. I can’t admit that I lied, not now I’m so close to meeting Dr Jimmy. His crying gets louder, big gulping sobs. He sounds so sad that I can’t stop myself. ‘Henry?’ I whisper. The crying stops in an instant. He sniffs loudly. ‘Who is it?’ ‘Um . . . it’s Rhys.’ ‘Leave me alone.’ The backpack is whipped up from the floor, and the cubicle door slams against the wall as he opens it. I flush and run after him. He’s out of the toilet and in the empty corridor by the time I catch up. ‘Henry, wait!’ He swings round, face red and eyes leaky. ‘What?’ I bite my lip. ‘Ummm . . . I’m . . .’ ‘You’re what?’ ‘I . . .’ The words get stuck like a lump of toffee in my throat. ‘What? If you’re about to admit you’re a liar, I already know.’ ‘No . . . I’m not. I . . .’ Henry narrows his eyes, and his face gets redder still. ‘Why did you tell Mrs Harries I took your phone when we both know you gave it to me?’ I think of Worthington, poorly and at home all alone, and straighten up. No matter how much I want to, I can’t admit it. ‘You stole it because you were jealous of the camera.’ Henry’s mouth drops open. ‘No, I didn’t!’ ‘You said if I didn’t give it to you, then you’d tell Mrs Harries I copied your maths homework.’