“Hey, Emma, you’re not Victorian ladies now – you’re ghosts!” yelled Ryan Scott, and the whole class collapsed into giggles.
“What on earth is all this noise about?” Mrs Weaver came into the room, yawning her head off – and nearly dropped down dead with shock when she saw the M&Ms covered in flour! “What’s going on?”
“Someone put flour in our locker, Miss!” Emma coughed furiously, “and I bet I know who it was too!” She spun round and glared at us, and we all started laughing again. We couldn’t help it – her face was completely white!
“Ryan, go and get Mr Coleman and ask him to clear up this mess,” Mrs Weaver said briskly. Then she turned to stare at us with narrowed eyes. “Does anyone know anything about this? Francesca? Laura?”
“They must have set it up last night, Miss!” Emily Berryman roared, “after we got back from the theme park!”
“But we went straight home, Miss!” Frankie chimed in quickly. “You saw us!”
“Yes, that’s true…” Mrs Weaver frowned. I reckon she thought it might be us, but she couldn’t see how we’d done it.
“You must have done it this morning then, Kenny!” Emma snapped, still wiping flour off her face.
“What! Like this?” I looked down at my mummy case. “I can hardly move without someone helping me!”
“Well, one of the others must have done it then!” Emma yelled.
“We only got here a few minutes before the bell so we wouldn’t have had time!” Rosie said.
“Well, it’s certainly a mystery.” Mrs Weaver stared hard at us, and we all looked innocently back at her. If she asked us right out if we’d set the trap, Maria and I would have to say yes. But unless she did, we were keeping quiet! “What a shame your costumes are ruined, Emma and Emily. They look very nice too. What I can see of them.”
“I know you did this, Laura McKenzie!” the Queen hissed as the caretaker arrived to sweep up the flour. “And you’re not going to get away with it!”
“Serves you right for sending those emails!” I hissed back, and Emma turned purple with rage. “Anyway, we got away with it before, didn’t we!” And I waggled my mummy mask at her. “Remember this?”
Emma stalked off, trailing a cloud of flour, and she and Emily went off to the girls’ loos to try and sponge their dresses clean.
“That was close!” Fliss muttered nervously. “Mrs Weaver looked dead suspicious!”
“I think she’s too tired after the party to care very much!” Frankie grinned. “The M&Ms are crushed to bits – what a great way to end the summer term!”
“It’s not quite finished yet,” I reminded her. “We’ve still got the sleepover tonight!”
“I told you my mummy costume was cool!” I said triumphantly as we lay inside our sleeping-bags in the tent in Rosie’s garden that evening. “Mrs Weaver thought it was ace!”
Lyndz and Pilar had won the prizes for best costumes in our class, and they’d got book tokens. But Mrs Weaver had said that mine was so unusual, she was giving me a Mars bar as a special prize! I was dead thrilled. I’d never won a prize for anything I’d made in my life before!
“Yeah, well done, Kenny!” said Frankie. “Now stop going on about it, will you!”
“I’m going to keep this Mars bar for ever and ever!” I announced, holding it up so that everyone could see it. “I’m never going to eat it, even if I’m starving! Is there any more chocolate left?”
Fliss sat up and searched through the empty packets lying around. “No, we’ve scoffed it all!”
“Oh, well!” I pulled the paper off the Mars bar and bit off a chunk. I passed it round, and in a few seconds it had disappeared.
“Did you see the M&Ms’ faces when we won the prizes?” Frankie giggled. “They were so furious they had steam coming out of their ears!”
“What?” asked Pilar, looking puzzled.
“Not really!” Frankie told her.
“They are your big enemies now,” Elena said seriously. “You must be careful.”
“Oh, we can handle the M&Ms!” I said, screwing the Mars wrapper up and flicking it at Fliss. “They don’t scare us!”
It had been a brilliant sleepover so far. Lyndz had brought her little brothers’ paddling-pool with her, and we’d blown it up and filled it with water, and then we’d spent ages jumping in and out of it, splashing each other. It was too small for us, but that was part of the fun! Then we all tried getting in it together – it was a real laugh! After that we’d played International Gladiators, and then Rosie’s mum had come out and told us it was time for bed, so we’d all crawled into the tent. Maria had pulled the tent flap back so that we could see outside, and now we were lying in rows, looking up at the stars as it got dark.
“This has been the best end of term ever,” Fliss said sleepily.
“And the bestest sleepover ever,” Rosie added.
“And this has been my best holiday ever in my life,” Elena said solemnly.
“I think so too,” Anna agreed. “And you are our best friends.”
“And you’re our best friends!” Lyndz told her.
“And Leicester City are the best football team in the world!” I said.
“No, they’re not – Real Madrid are the best!” And Maria kicked me through the sleeping-bag.
“Oh, shut up, you two!” Frankie groaned. “Don’t start a football argument!”
“Shall we sing our Sleepover song?” Lyndz asked.
“Wait till I get back.” I climbed out of my sleeping-bag and winked at Maria. We had something else in mind – one last trick before the Spanish girls went home tomorrow! “I’ve just got to nip to the loo.”
“Me too.” Maria got up and followed me out of the tent. Then we hid behind a tree and waited, trying not to laugh.
We could hear Lyndz humming our Sleepover song – “Down by the river there’s a hanky-panky…” And then we heard her say “Poo! What’s that smell!”
Maria and I nudged each other and doubled up with silent laughter.
“Urrgh! It’s horrible!” That was Fliss.
“It smell very bad!” squealed Isabella.
“It’s Kenny and Maria!” Frankie yelled. “They’ve let off a stinkbomb!”
Next second all eight of them were fighting to get out of the tent, and flapping their hands in front of their noses. Maria and I just couldn’t keep quiet any longer – we hung on to each other and laughed out heads off!
“Right – let’s get them!” Frankie roared, and the others grabbed their pillows and chased us right round the garden.
So we ended up having a fight on the last day of the visit just like we’d had on the first day – but this time it wasn’t for real! It was just a good laugh.
It was really sad saying goodbye to our mates the next day, but at least we’ve got the summer holidays to look forward to. We’re going to have lots of sleepovers, but from now on I’m going to keep out of trouble! No, don’t laugh – I mean it!
Oh-oh, got to go. Molly the Monster’s just got back from camp, and I’ve got an ace trick to play on her. I’m going to let my pet rat Merlin curl up and go to sleep on her bed – that’ll freak her out! See you later!
by Angie Bates
Yikes! You really made me jump then. I thought it was one of the others coming upstairs.
I left them all watching a video. Actually, I started out watching it too, but Kenny said she couldn’t concentrate with me sitting next to her. She said she could FEEL me fizzing, like a Disprin in water.
Well, can you blame me for being a bit fidgety, after the incredible day I just had? (Actually, better make that incredible week!!)
Anyway, I didn’t want to spoil the film for everyone. Also to be honest, I really needed some peace and quiet. So I came up here to write in my diary. Don’t laugh, but in the run up to Mum and Andy’s Big Day, I’ve been keeping two diaries – my official Sleepover Club diary and a mega-secret Wedding Diary.
I’m not joking – I’ve been u
nder stress like you wouldn’t believe. There were times when letting off steam in my Wedding Diary was the only thing which kept me sane. Unfortunately, it was practically impossible to find the privacy to actually write in it – that’s how mad it’s been at our house lately.
Have a peek inside, and you’ll see what I mean.
Oops, ignore all that gory stuff I scribbled on the front cover. That curse doesn’t apply to our trustworthy Sleepover fans. What? No, of course you won’t die a horrible agonising death if you read it! I mean, I formally invited you to peek, didn’t I? OK, if it makes you feel better, I’ll cross my heart!! Anyway, here’s yesterday’s entry:
In just a few hours, it’ll be my mum’s wedding day. Forget butterflies – I think I’ve got giant rhinos rampaging in my tummy. I’m really tired but there’s no way I’m going to get a WINK of sleep! Until recently I thought weddings were like, mega-happy family events. But if you ask me, they just bring out the worst in everyone. Practically everything that could go wrong with this one has. And the worst thing was – it was ALL my fault! I should never have—
Oh-oh, Amber’s whingeing at me to turn out the light, so she can get her beauty sleep. ’Bye for now!
Heh heh heh! I bet that got you going. Now you’re going crazy, wondering who on earth the mysterious Amber is, aren’t you? Which is excellent news, because I’m DYING to tell you. In fact, if I don’t tell someone the whole amazing story pretty soon, I’ll probably EXPLODE!
I wasn’t exaggerating in my Wedding Diary, by the way. A few days back, my whole life went totally haywire. And I don’t want to worry you or anything, but at one point, things got so bad that the fate of the entire Sleepover Club trembled in the balance…
Are you shocked? Then just imagine how we felt!
So hang on for your life, lovely reader, because we’re going on a bumpy rollercoaster ride back in time, to the day when my mum’s wonderful wedding began to go HORRIBLY pear-shaped…
Wouldn’t it be great if life was like films? Just imagine if you woke up each morning to your very own movie soundtrack! Then, the minute you heard those creepy durn durn DURN chords, you’d instantly know to avoid the very bad thing which was lying in wait for you around the corner.
As it was, one of the worst days of my life came without warning.
Actually, it started out great. The sun shone. Mum and Andy giggled over breakfast like two love-birds. I didn’t think it was possible for my wildly happy mum and soon-to-be-official step-dad to get any happier, but they were practically GLOWING! And my little brother was in such a sweet mood that he presented me with a truly bizarre drawing.
“Ooh, that’s erm, lovely, Callum,” I said cautiously. I had no idea why Callum had given me a drawing of five orange space aliens, but like Mum says, it’s the thought that counts.
“That’s you and that’s Kenny,” he said proudly. “There’s Frankie and that’s Rosie and Lyndz. You’re all wearing your bridesmaids’ frocks, look!”
“And what’s that?” I asked, pointing at a green figure lurking in the corner of the page.
“Oh, that’s a dinosaur out to kill you all,” Callum said airily.
Well, he IS seven! But when I bluetacked his drawing to our fridge alongside his other masterpieces, Callum looked really hurt.
“Don’t you want to show my brilliant drawing to your friends, Fliss?”
“Oh, silly ole me, what was I thinking of,” I said, and I stuffed it into my school bag instead.
I showed it to the others before we went into school, and not surprisingly they fell about.
“Which one’s me again?” asked Kenny.
“Isn’t it obvious? The one with three eyes,” giggled Lyndz.
“Duh,” said Rosie. “Anyone can see that’s not an eye, it’s a nose.”
Kenny looked uneasy. “We’re not really going to wear dayglo orange dresses, Fliss, are we?”
Honestly, that girl is so impossible! She can describe just about every goal scored by Leicester City football team ever since there’s BEEN a Leicester City football team, but when it comes to style, she hasn’t got a clue!
“No, we are NOT wearing dayglo orange,” I said patiently. “I’ve told you about a billion times. We’re wearing this really pretty shade of peach, OK? Orange was just the closest colour Callum could find in his crayon box.”
Kenny pulled a face. “I can’t believe you’re putting us through this, Fliss,” she moaned. “We’re going to look totally stoo-pid. Like a bunch of icky meringues, or something.”
But Kenny didn’t fool anybody. She’d never admit it, but Miss Cool ’n’ Sporty was every bit as keyed-up about Mum’s wedding as the rest of us.
Frankie had gone misty-eyed. “Just think,” she breathed. “One day Izzy will be doing cute little drawings for me!”
Frankie’s baby sister must be about six months old now, but Frankie’s still totally mushy about her.
Rosie gave me a nudge. “Fliss, quick! Check out the M&Ms!”
Now there’s two girls who should definitely come with a warning soundtrack. In case you’ve forgotten, Emma Hughes and Emily Berryman are the Sleepover Club’s deadliest enemies. They’re also completely two-faced, which is why grown-ups never believe us when we tell them how mean the M&Ms are. In fact, like Kenny says, most grown-ups think the sun shines out of the M&Ms’ you-know-whats!!
I sneaked a look over my shoulder, in time to catch Emma and Emily madly pretending they weren’t eavesdropping on our conversation. You should have seen their faces. They looked exactly like they’d been sucking lemons! The M&Ms can’t stand anyone else being the centre of attention.
“Heh heh heh,” chortled Lyndz. “They must have heard about your mum’s wedding. One-nil to you, Flissy.”
I’ve got to admit, it gave me a definite boost, seeing my ten minutes of bridesmaid fame get under our enemies’ skins like that. You know, sometimes I think us Sleepover Club girls must be telepathic, because we didn’t have to say a single word! We just stalked past the M&Ms, as if we were wearing our long floaty dresses and flowery crowns already!
For the rest of that day, whenever the M&Ms were in earshot, we kept up a nonstop gush of bridesmaid talk. And that’s where everything started to go wrong. I’m so sure of this, that if I was making a film of my life, that is definitely the part where I’d put in some doomy durn durn DURN chords.
You see, the M&Ms are our sworn enemies for one very good reason.
They are NOT nice people, OK?
By the end of the day, we’d managed to get so far up their noses that those girls were practically spitting with envy. If we’d had any sense, we’d have let it go at that. Instead, we decided to carry on flaunting our bridesmaid superstar status to the max.
For obvious reasons, we usually avoid walking home the same way as the M&Ms. But today we trailed them so closely, we were practically walking in their shoes!! We all knew we were playing with fire really, but we were having such a great laugh, we didn’t care.
We skipped along arm in arm, swanking loudly about how we were going back to my house for a dress fitting, and how our dresses were totally lush and how Mum and Andy’s wedding was going to be at this mega-posh country house.
Then all of a sudden, the M&Ms darted across to the other side of the street, giggling like idiots. And at the same moment Frankie flashed me a worried look. The kind that says “uh-oh.”
And there it was, blocking our path. An absolutely MASSIVE ladder.
I don’t think the bloke was much of a decorator, because there were paint drips everywhere. I could hear the ladder creaking and swaying like a ship in a storm, as the painter sloshed white gloss on the gutterings and anything else within splattering distance.
The others have probably told you that I’m really superstitious. Everyone knows this. So you won’t be surprised to hear that walking under ladders is not normally my idea of a fun time. And so this was definitely a durn durn DURN moment.
I stopped dead a few metre
s from the ladder and swallowed hard. I could hear the Gruesome Twosome whispering on the other side of the street, and I just KNEW they were cooking something up.
Suddenly Emily squawked:
“I dare you to walk under that ladder, Felicity Sidebotham!”
“Yeah, right,” jeered Emma. “And pigs might fly!”
And from the way the M&Ms smirked, you could tell they thought they’d totally trapped me.
I can’t explain what got into me then. It’s not like I’ve ever been the daredevil type. It’s true that I was on a serious wedding high, but it was more than that. Maybe I was just fed up with people calling me a wimp all the time.
I gave the M&Ms my iciest stare. “OK,” I snapped. “Then you’d better start looking up and checking for flying pig poo!”
The others gasped and Frankie actually made a grab for me, but they were all much too late.
I sailed under that ladder, as smooth as butterscotch. I didn’t even cross my fingers inside my pockets. In fact I moved so fast, the others had to put on a real spurt to catch up.
No-one spoke after that. We just kind of marched along in deadly silence. The others looked a bit stunned. The M&Ms had totally vanished. I suppose they’d slithered off to their coffins, or whatever the undead normally do after school.
Finally Frankie said, “Personally, Fliss, I wouldn’t have done that. Not this week.”
“Me neither,” said Rosie in an awed voice.
Kenny shook her head. “What got into you, Fliss?”
Lyndz had turned deadly pale. “If that was me, I’d have been wetting myself in case I jinxed the entire wedding.”
“Yeah,” agreed Frankie. “Walking under ladders pretty much guarantees seven days’ bad luck. Everyone knows that.”
“Rubbish,” I said uneasily.
Lyndz practically wrung her hands. “But it’s true,” she said.
Rosie had been counting on her fingers. “Seven days,” she squeaked. “But that takes you right up to the eve of the actual wedding! I mean, Fliss, anything could happen. Your house could be struck by a meteorite or something!”
Mega Sleepover 7 Page 8
