“Come on everyone, it’s almost midnight!” someone shouted.
I couldn’t believe it. It was almost New Year!
BONG!
I rushed into the bedroom.
“Mum! Dad! Oh wow!” My little sister was all tiny and bewildered and snuggled up in a towel. She was so beautiful.
BONG!
There was a lot of noise on the landing.
BONG!
“Here we are, guys!” Andy brought in a tray of champagne glasses. He’d even got one for me with a tiny bit of real champagne in the bottom of it. He winked at me.
“If you can’t celebrate the birth of your own sister, I don’t know what you can celebrate!” he laughed.
I peeped round the bedroom door, and everyone was standing up the stairs and on the landing.
“We thought we should all be together!” Kenny whispered to me. My eyes started filling with tears again. I couldn’t ever remember feeling so happy.
BONG!
I’d lost count of the bongs, but that must have been the last one because everybody started hugging each other. Dr McKenzie started singing that song Auld Lang Syne’ and everybody joined in. They all held hands, even though some of them were on the stairs.
“We should have taught you the words after all!” Mum grinned at me from the bed. She looked kind of hot and sleepy.
“All we need now is a tall dark stranger to let in the New Year!” chirped Fliss’s mum, who seemed to have perked up again.
And you’re not going to believe this, but just then the doorbell rang. We all peered over the banisters to get a better view, but all we could hear was Fliss’s mum giggling, “Well you’re not quite what I expected. But you’ll do!”
We all cracked up when she led in a paramedic in his fluorescent green jacket. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a piece of coal and a bottle of whisky in that bag, have you?” shouted Andy.
“Fraid not!” he laughed. “Are my patients up here?”
Mrs Sidebotham led him upstairs through the crowd of people, and another paramedic appeared, wheeling in a stretcher. It was only then it started to sink in. My mum had just had a baby!
I was still all covered in goosebumps when the paramedics started to carry Mum downstairs on the stretcher. Everybody scooted down into the hall to make way for them.
“Mother and baby are both doing well,” Dad announced proudly. “Thanks to Patsy and Jim here!”
Everybody applauded Lyndz’s mum and Kenny’s dad. They both looked dead embarrassed.
“I’m going to go to hospital with Helena,” Dad told me as he stroked Mum’s beaming face.
“And you’re going to come home with us, Frankie,” said Kenny’s mum, smiling at me.
“All right!” yelled Kenny, to everyone’s amusement.
“But before we go, Nikki,” Dad said, “what was that announcement you were trying to make? Before my wife so rudely interrupted you!”
Everyone turned to look at Fliss’s mum, who had gone bright pink.
“Erm, well, erm …”
“We’re finally taking the plunge and getting married,” Andy announced for her.
“Thank you, Andy!” Mrs Sidebotham looked a bit miffed at him for taking away her moment of glory like that. But as soon as everyone started cheering and shouting “Congratulations!” she soon cheered up. In fact, she was soon beaming so much, I thought her face might split. And Fliss looked dead chuffed too.
“We ought to say congratulations to Helena and Gwyn as well,” Andy shouted when the noise had died down a little. “Here’s to the little one!”
The paramedics seemed kind of keen to get Mum into the ambulance, so I kissed them again and waved to them from the front door. Then I went back inside.
What an evening it had been! I looked at Fliss’s mum, and I couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit sorry for her. She’d arranged this whole party to announce her engagement and Mum had sort of hijacked it. Still, Mrs Sidebotham had loads of attention now. All the women were cooing over her and asking about the wedding arrangements. And Fliss was in the thick of it, talking about dresses and flowers. Anybody would think it was her wedding they were planning! Still, at least I knew now what she’d meant about one of her wishes coming true in the New Year!
“Come on, Frankie! Let’s party!” Kenny dragged me into the lounge where Andy had put on Justin Timberlake.
I was kind of tired, but it was a great night. I mean, that morning I’d expected to be home by ten o’clock. And there I was bopping away at almost one o’clock in the morning! It was as wild as one of our sleepovers!
About half an hour later though, I could feel my energy running out like a battery. I wasn’t the only one. Everyone else seemed to be pretty exhausted too. As we left, the only ones still dancing were Fliss’s mum and Andy. And I’d been wrong about her – she was a pretty nifty mover!
Of course, going home with Kenny was great, even if it did mean having to listen to Molly the Monster moaning. According to her, it had been the worst party in the world, full of sad old people.
“Ignore her,” Kenny whispered. “She’s only mad because there weren’t any boys there. I thought it was the coolest party ever!”
I grinned. It had been pretty amazing.
I crashed out as soon as I got to Kenny’s. I slept on the floor between Kenny and Molly’s beds. Molly nearly freaked because she hadn’t had a chance to hide all her things like she does before our sleepovers. But I was too exhausted to look at any of her things anyway. In fact I didn’t wake up until about nine o’clock, and only then because Kenny’s mum was calling me, saying that Dad was there.
It was great to see him. And even better when he took me straight to hospital to see Mum and my baby sister. It was just so cool, sitting there holding this tiny thing who was my new sister. I couldn’t really get my head round it, it felt so weird. Weird in a very nice way, though.
Mum was only in hospital for a couple of days. I think she’d been kind of worried that they’d keep the baby in because she was born early. But the doctors said that she was doing really well, so she came home too. I’d made a big banner saying:
Welcome home Mum and …
But Mum and Dad hadn’t agreed on a name yet, so I just drew a slightly wonky baby instead. I hung it in the hall so it was the first thing they saw. I loved carrying my sister round and showing her everything. Mum said that she was too young to focus on anything properly, but I knew that she was taking it all in.
Best of all was introducing her to my sleepover friends. They all cooed over her and went completely mushy. Even Kenny but don’t tell her I told you so! Fliss of course is too full of her mum’s wedding plans to think about anything else. And she has this romantic idea of inviting Ryan Scott as her guest.
“Get real, Fliss!” hooted Kenny. “Guys hate mushy stuff. That will put him off you for life!”
“Besides, your mum’s wedding is ages away,” Rosie reminded her. “We’ve got loads of other stuff to do before then.”
“Yeah. Like destroying the M&Ms for a start!” Kenny reminded us. “I bet they’re still mad with us about all that Christmas play stuff.”
“We ought to get a plan together,” suggested Lyndz. “You know, just so we’re ready for them when they do something awful to us.”
“Yeah, let’s do something really gross!” I suggested. “It was one of our New Year’s resolutions, after all!”
So that’s what we’re meeting up to do now. The others have probably hatched a plan already, seeing as I’m so late. I keep telling them that it’s worth it. I’m only late because I have to help out with my baby sister and she is sort of a new member of the Sleepover Club after all!
Oh no! Did you hear a scream? Either Kenny’s acting out a wicked plan for the M&Ms, or she’s strangling Fliss because she’s sick of her going on about the wedding! I’d better go and sort them out. Come on, before it’s too late!
Here are the Sleepover Clubber’s
all-time f
ave party games. Have fun
with these, or make up your own
Lyndz:
The obstacle race for me – I can set up jumps and pretend I’m on a horse!
Fliss:
I’ll have a go at the three-legged race, but only if we use a pink scarf to tie our legs together.
Kenny:
Fliss! Only you would want to look that stylish! Let’s have a tug of war!
Rosie:
Good luck getting anyone to play tug of war in their party gear, Kenny. How about pass the balloon – let’s see if you can do it without using your hands.
Frankie:
Guys! Let’s just have a bop and eat lots of crisps! If you don’t want to play my fave game — Let’s tickle Lyndz till she hiccups — check out what other fab things you can do to make your party go with a bang …
1 Get a selection of fruit: raspberries, cut strawberries, blueberries
2 Put one piece of fruit in each section of an ice-cube tray
3 Fill the ice-cube tray with water and freeze (or try freezing fruit juice)
4 When frozen, pop some ice cubes in a jug of lemonade and watch the fruit appear as the cubes melt. Yummy!
I might get the others to eat some fruit this way! So good for the complexion.
Get partying, whatever time of year! The Look
Spring party fresh and bright: cut spring flowers, try daffodils and tulips
Summer party laid-back lounging: deck chairs and sun umbrellas and lanterns
Autumn party cosy and chilled-out: rugs on the sofa, hollowed-out pumpkins
Winter party Christmas grotto: paper chains, baubles, anything glittery
New Year party tip
Can’t make it till midnight? If you’re having a New Year party, why not celebrate the Australian New Year – they’re eleven hours ahead of the UK so you can party at lunch time!
Food and Drink What to Wear
mini chocolate eggs
hot-cross buns
icy lemonade fab accessories:
multicoloured hair
slides and silver bangles
ice cream
fruit smoothies
iced fairy cakes something floaty:
mini or maxi dresses
with cute sandals
toffee apples
pumpkin soup
flapjacks something different:
boots with a dress
and patterned tights
hot sausage rolls
hot chocolate
marshmallows something warm!
jeans and slim-fitting
shirt
It’s time to get on the
dance floor with Frankie’s
top boogie tracks
Something from the eighties 80’s
Waiting for a Star to Fall Boy Meets Girl
I Should Be So Lucky Kylie Minogue
Wake Me Up Before you Go-Go Wham!
Girls on Film Duran Duran
Something from the nineties 90’s
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Cindi Lauper
Let Me Entertain You Robbie Williams
Chain Reaction Diana Ross
Livin’ La Vida Loca Ricky Martin
Vogue Madonna
Something from the noughties 00’s (that’s 2000 and beyond!)
Mercy Duffy
Dancing Queen Meryl Streep
Put a Ring on It Beyonce
Womanizer Britney Spears
Umbrella Rhianna
Why don’t you put together your own fave tracks? Remember, whatever kind of party you’re having, turn it up loud and dance to the sound! We’ll catch you at the next Sleepover.
You will need:
An old notepad or notebook
Lots of glitter, stickers, coloured pens, pieces of fabric, pictures cut out of magazines
Glue
1 Decorate the front of your notebook by covering it with the fabric or by sticking a blank piece of paper on it. Then get busy and personalise it with the stickers, pens, pictures, glitter and glue.
2 If you’re going to have the best party ever, why not record it? Write the date of each party in the book and record what you were wearing, or stick photos of you and your friends in it.
Have you been invited to all these sleepovers?
The Sleepover Club Best Friends
The Sleepover Club TV Stars
The Sleepover Club Dance-off!
The Sleepover Club Hit the Beach!
The Sleepover Club Pet Detectives
The Sleepover Club Hey Baby!
The Sleepover Club Pony Passion
The Sleepover Club Trick or Treat
The Sleepover Club Be My Valentine
The Sleepover Club Star Girls
The Sleepover Club Party Time
The Sleepover Club Summer Secrets
Copyright
The Sleepover Club ® is a registered trademark of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
First published in Great Britain as Happy New Year Sleepover Club
by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 1999
This edition published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2009
HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,
77–85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
www.harpercollins.co.uk
Original series characters, plotlines and settings © Rose Impey 1997
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Text copyright © Fiona Cummings 1999
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this e-book has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.
EPub Edition © JULY 2012 ISBN: 9780007383214
About the Publisher
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United Kingdom
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