THE ESCAPE OF the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Chloe her longest-ever punishment. By the time she was allowed out of her cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new cine-camera, crashed his remote control aeroplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down poor old Mrs. Figg whilst she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.
Chloe was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley’s gang, who visited the house every single day. Paisley, Dennis, Amber and Gordon were all big and stupid, but Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot. He was the leader.
The rest of Dudley's gang were all quite happy to join in his favorite sport - Chloe-catching.
That was why Chloe spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where she could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came she would be going to secondary school and, for the first time ever, she wouldn’t be with Dudley.
Dudley had been accepted at Vernon’s old private school, Smeltings. It was a boarding school just for boys, which ultimately meant that Paisley Polkiss and Amber Fernsby wouldn't be going there.
But at least Dudley would be going to Smeltings with his two male best friends, Dennis Cartwright and Malcolm Sutherland. Chloe, on the other hand, was going the Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought that was very funny.
“They stuff people’s heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall. Want to come upstairs and practice?” Dudley asked Chloe. “No, thanks. The poor toilet’s never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick.” She quipped, then ran off before Dudley could work out what she said.
One day in July, whilst Vernon was at work, Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Chloe's at Mrs. Figg’s.
Mrs. Figg wasn’t as bad as usual. It turned out she had broken her leg tripping over one of her cats and she didn’t seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Chloe watch television and gave her a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she’d had it for years. But, to Chloe, it still tasted nice.
The next day, Dudley paraded around the living room for his family in his brand-new uniform.
Smeltings’ boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters.
They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other whilst the teachers weren’t looking. That was supposed to be good training for later life.
"Smile!" Petunia told Dudley, who did as he was told when his photograph was taken by his mother.
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"Vernon, just look at him. I can't believe it. In just a week, he'll be off to Smeltings!" Petunia beamed.
Vernon nodded, with a smile. "Caveat Smeltonia. Proudest moment of my life." He assured Dudley.
