Annabelle grinned back. She felt much better. Of course Nicole wanted to come to her party! It was just really bad luck that the grand final was on the same day.
But at least now Annabelle was sure that her friend would get there as soon as she possibly could.
After school, Annabelle had orchestra practice. Her friends Siri and Freya were already there when she arrived. Siri played the viola and Freya played cello. Annabelle played violin. She’d been learning for over a year now.
Playing in the orchestra was good fun. At the moment everyone was practising really hard because they had a concert coming up. It was at the town hall and everyone had to wear their best clothes to perform.
Annabelle had gone shopping with her mum to buy a special outfit. They bought a purple skirt with a pink ribbon around the bottom and a silky pink shirt to match. They also bought some cute shoes with bows.
Annabelle always concentrated really hard when she was playing in the orchestra. She knew all the violin parts really well because she practised them at home. But there were more things to think about when she played with everyone else. She had to follow the music on the page and make sure she knew which bit they were up to, even when she wasn’t playing. Otherwise she might miss her cue to start.
After they had played through all the pieces, Mrs Bailey clapped.
‘Good work, everyone,’ she said. ‘The strings section sounded particularly good.’
Siri, Freya and Annabelle all grinned proudly at each other.
They were in the strings section!
During the break, Annabelle pulled out the last two party invitations.
‘These are for you,’ she said.
‘Cool!’ said Freya, looking at hers. ‘I’ve never been to a mocktail party before. Do you still play games and stuff?’
‘Um …’ said Annabelle.
She hadn’t really thought about the games yet. At all her other parties they had played things like musical chairs and the chocolate game.
At her school pool party they had played party games in the pool. Even pass the parcel! Annabelle’s mum had wrapped each layer of the parcel in a plastic bag so it didn’t get soggy. Everyone agreed afterwards that playing it in the pool was even more fun.
But Siri and Freya were a little bit older than her other friends. They might think that those games were for little kids.
Then Annabelle remembered what the Party Princess had said.
‘We’re going to play croquet!’ she said.
Annabelle still wasn’t really sure what croquet was. But it sounded like a grownup type of game.
‘Oh, and guess what?’ Annabelle added. ‘All the food is going to be served on silver platters!’
‘How excellent!’ said Siri. ‘What kind of food?’
‘I’m not sure yet,’ admitted Annabelle. ‘But it won’t be anything baby-ish.’?
‘I can’t wait!’ smiled Freya. ‘It sounds totally cool!’
Annabelle nodded.
‘Yep, it will be,’ she said.
At least, I hope it will be, she thought.
During the second part of orchestra practice, Annabelle didn’t play nearly so well. She missed her cues. And she played some wrong notes, too. The problem was that her head was full of party thoughts now. Like, how was she going to find out about croquet? And what kind of food should she serve?
Then, during the final piece, Annabelle thought of something else.
The same people had been coming to her parties for years. They all knew each other. But Freya and Siri had never met them before.
What if Freya and Siri don’t get along with my other friends? worried Annabelle. They are older than everyone else. And they probably like totally different music, too.
But it was too late to change anything now. All Annabelle could do was cross her fingers and hope that everyone got along.
‘This afternoon I’ll take you shopping for party food,’ said Annabelle’s mum when she dropped her off at school the next day. ‘Make a list of what we’ll need.’
Usually buying the party food was simple. They bought party pies, sausage rolls, cocktail frankfurts, chips and lollies. Her mum made mini-pizzas and Annabelle helped make chocolate crackles.
Sometimes they had extra things, depending on the party’s theme. For the Hawaiian party there were pineapple and marshmallow skewers. For her winter party there were snowballs and rainbow icy poles. And for the school party her mum had made everyone a lunchbag with fairy bread sandwiches in them.
Then they had cake.
Annabelle’s mum had a birthday cake cookbook. Every year, Annabelle spent ages choosing which one she wanted her mum to make.
For the winter party she chose the penguin cake. Annabelle’s mum put blue jelly around the outside so it looked like the penguin was floating on water. When Annabelle had a farm party, her mum made a pink pig cake. She also made a batch of cupcakes and decorated them so that they looked like pigs’ snouts. Everyone got their own snout to take home!
But this year Annabelle didn’t want the same old party food. So at lunchtime she looked up the Party Princess site again.
Annabelle didn’t know if she liked all of these things. But the Party Princess is a party expert, thought Annabelle. So she wrote all her suggestions down.
‘OK, Belly,’ said her mum, when Annabelle got in the car after school. ‘What do we need?’
Annabelle read out her list. Her mum raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you sure you want these things?’ she said. ‘I thought you hated olives.’
‘I used to when I was little. But I’m sure I’ll like them now,’ said Annabelle quickly. ‘And I really like nori rolls. I have them at Michiko’s house all the time.’
‘Maybe we can ask Michiko’s mum to help us make them?’ suggested Annabelle’s mum. ‘And we can make the spinach and cheese triangles ourselves.’
Annabelle nodded. She liked cooking.
They parked near the bakery. In the window was a cake just like the one Nicole had at her party. Annabelle pressed her nose against the window.
I wish I could have a cake like that, she thought. But she knew her mum really liked making her birthday cakes. I won’t say anything, decided Annabelle.
But somehow the words just blurted out anyway.
‘Mum, could I have a cake from the shop this year?’
Annabelle’s mum looked in the bakery window.
‘Those cakes cost lots of money, Bell.’
‘I know. But I want one so much!’ said Annabelle. Then she had an idea. ‘The cake can be my birthday present!’ she said.
Her mum laughed.
‘You don’t really want a cake for a present, do you?’ she said.
Annabelle nodded her head really hard and jumped up and down on the spot.
‘Yes, I really, really do!’
‘OK, OK!’ laughed her mum. ‘Let’s go in and order one.’
The days leading up to Annabelle’s party seemed to go very slowly. It was lucky that she had to practise for the concert. This kept her busy, at least.
Then one morning Annabelle woke up with a fluttery feeling in her stomach. Why am I excited? she wondered. And then she remembered. That’s right, it’s my birthday!
She was a year older than when she went to bed. How weird! Annabelle lay there for a moment, trying to tell if she felt different.
She wiggled her toes. They felt the same. Then she looked at her hands. They looked exactly the same too.
But I do feel a bit different, Annabelle decided. Like I’m a bit taller. But just on the inside, so no-one else would notice.
Annabelle’s mum came into her room, carrying a tray.
‘Happy birthday, Belly!’ she said, putting the tray down on the bed.
Annabelle always had breakfast in bed on her birthday.
‘Yum!’ said Annabelle.
It was her favourite – French toast with banana and maple syrup, and a glass of chocolate milk.
‘Don’t stay in bed
too long,’ said her mum. ‘There are lots of things to do.’
Just as Annabelle finished eating, the doorbell rang.
‘I’ll get it!’ said Annabelle, jumping up.
She was too excited to stay in bed anyway.
She opened the door. A lady was standing there, holding a pink and gold box.
‘Cake for Miss Bowan,’ said the lady, smiling.
‘That’s me!’ said Annabelle, and the lady handed her the box.
Annabelle carried it carefully to the kitchen. Her mum was there, stirring a bowl full of green and white gunky stuff.
‘What’s that?’ asked Annabelle, wrinkling her nose.
‘This is the spinach and cheese mixture for the triangles,’ said her mum. ‘They were on your list, remember? Have you changed your mind?’
‘No, no,’ replied Annabelle quickly. ‘I just didn’t think they’d be so icky-looking.’
‘They won’t look icky when they’re cooked,’ said her mum.
Annabelle helped her mum wrap the mixture up in strips of filo pastry. Then they put them in the oven. When the first batch came out they smelt great. And they didn’t look icky at all!
Then Annabelle thought of something.
She turned to her mum.
‘What should we serve them on?’
The Party Princess had said the food should be served on silver platters. But Annabelle was pretty sure they didn’t have any of those.
‘What about these?’ said her mum, smiling.
To Annabelle’s surprise she was holding two large silver platters.
‘They used to belong to your grandma,’ explained her mum. ‘They’ve been hiding in the cupboard for years. I think this is the perfect chance to use them again.’
The platters looked a bit old. But Annabelle’s mum found some silver polish and Annabelle scrubbed them until they shone. She had just finished when Michiko’s mum, Mrs Takasaka, arrived.
Mrs Takasaka put a bamboo mat on the table. Then she got out a bag of what looked like dark green paper squares.
‘This is the nori,’ explained Mrs Takasaka. ‘You lay it on the bamboo mat. Next you put a layer of rice on top and squash it down flat. Then you put a line of your favourite fillings in the middle. Finally, you roll it all up and cut it into pieces.’
It looked really easy when Mrs Takasaka did it. But when Annabelle tried, it wouldn’t stay rolled up. And all the filling came squishing out the ends.
‘Too big, maybe,’ said Mrs Takasaka.
So Annabelle tried again with less filling. This time the rolls stayed together. Mrs Takasaka chopped them into discs with a very sharp knife.
‘Wow!’ said Annabelle. ‘They look just like shop ones.’
Mrs Takasaka laughed.
‘Try one. I bet ours are much tastier.’
Annabelle picked one up. She loved nori rolls. And these ones looked really good.
‘Mrs Takasaka,’ she said, as she munched on one, ‘what is nori exactly?’
‘It’s a type of seaweed,’ replied Mrs Takasaka.
Annabelle stared at Mrs Takasaka in horror. Mrs Takasaka laughed when she saw Annabelle’s face.
Annabelle’s mum came over.
‘Belly! Look at the clock!’ she said. ‘You’d better get ready. Your friends will be arriving soon. We’ll finish up in here.’
Annabelle hurried to her bedroom. She got her blue V-neck top out of the chest of drawers, and pulled on her skirt with the beaded waistband. It was her favourite outfit. But it was the sort of thing she always wore to parties.
I need something different for this party, decided Annabelle.
She opened up her wardrobe. At first nothing looked quite right. But then she saw her new concert clothes hanging right at the back.
She felt the edge of the skirt. The material made a nice shushing noise between her fingers.
‘I’m sure Mum won’t mind if I wear this outfit today,’ Annabelle told herself. ‘It’s my birthday, after all!’
Then she quickly got dressed.
Just as she finished doing her hair the doorbell rang. Annabelle looked in the mirror. It was already a hot day and her new clothes were quite warm. And she would have to be careful to keep them clean. But Annabelle didn’t care.
It was absolutely the most perfect outfit for a mocktail party.
Annabelle ran to the front door. It was Uncle Bob and Sophie. Sophie was wearing a black skirt with sequins and a red satin top. It was funny to see Sophie dressed up because she usually just wore jeans. Today she was even wearing a necklace!
‘Cool outfit, Soph!’ said Annabelle.
‘Thanks,’ said Sophie. ‘I borrowed this stuff from my friend Megan.’
‘What about my outfit?’ said Uncle Bob.
Annabelle looked at him and laughed. Uncle Bob was dressed up in a tuxedo. He was even wearing a bow tie.
‘You look great, too,’ said Annabelle, giving him a big kiss.
Sophie handed Annabelle a parcel.
‘Happy birthday!’ she said.
Annabelle opened it immediately.
Inside was a double picture frame decorated with beads and shells. In one frame was a drawing of Annabelle. In the other was one of Sophie. Annabelle was poking her tongue out at Sophie. And Sophie was poking hers out at Annabelle.
Annabelle laughed.
This was how she and Sophie sometimes said hello to each other.
‘I decorated the frame,’ explained Sophie.
‘And she did the drawings, too,’ added Uncle Bob.
Annabelle went and put it on her bedside table. Then she hugged Sophie.
‘I love it so much! Thank you.’
The doorbell rang again. This time it was Chloe, Dani, Lola and Sarah. They were all wearing long, bright dresses and lots of crazy jewellery.
‘Hi, guys!’ she said. ‘Where’s Nic?’ Then she felt a pang as she remembered. ‘Oh yeah, that’s right. She’s coming later.’
For a moment, Annabelle felt a bit sad. It would be nice if Nicole was already here. But it was hard to be sad for long with her second besties around.
‘Happy birthday!’ they yelled excitedly, and gave Annabelle her presents.
Chloe gave her a CD and some stickers. Dani gave her a diary. Sarah and Lola gave her some green bracelets and matching hairclips.
‘Thanks!’ said Annabelle. ‘Hey, you guys look really tall!’
Her friends grinned and lifted up their hems. They were all wobbling on shoes that were way too big.
‘We borrowed my sister’s stuff,’ explained Dani. ‘I don’t know how she could wear these shoes. They are sooo uncomfortable!’
Next to arrive were some other girls from their class. Then came Michiko and Shae. The last guests to turn up were Siri and Freya. Annabelle looked around at her friends. She almost didn’t recognise them in their mocktail outfits.
‘Wow, you all look so fantastic!’ she grinned.
Then Uncle Bob appeared around the corner, carrying a silver tray. Balanced on top were glasses filled with brightly coloured soft drinks. Some drinks were red and pink. Some were green and blue. A few were rainbow-striped. Each glass had a bendy straw, and some even had little umbrellas.
‘Cooooool!’ said everyone together.
Chloe had trouble choosing a drink.
‘I don’t know which one to have!’ she said. ‘They all look so good.’
‘Don’t worry, madam,’ said Uncle Bob in a funny voice. ‘I will be back with more.’
Chloe giggled as Uncle Bob left the room.
‘The waiter called me madam!’ she said.
‘That’s not a waiter,’ laughed Annabelle. ‘That’s Uncle Bob!’
She tried her mocktail. It was delicious.
Then Annabelle’s mum came in with a tray of food in each hand. She raised an eyebrow when she saw that Annabelle was wearing her special concert clothes. Annabelle went red. She had a bad feeling her mum might make her get changed.
But all her mu
m said was, ‘Be careful in those, won’t you?’
‘Do you have any mini-pizzas, Julia?’ Dani asked Annabelle’s mum.
‘I hope so,’ added Sarah. ‘Yours are the best!’
‘We’ve got different food this year,’ explained Annabelle’s mum. ‘These are spinach and cheese triangles.’
Dani and Sarah both looked at them doubtfully.
‘I don’t really like spinach,’ said Sarah.
‘Annabelle,’ said Dani, ‘you try one first.’
Annabelle picked one up.
The triangles looked nice on the outside. They were golden brown from the oven and smelt really good.
But she kept remembering the green goopy stuff inside.
I’ll just pretend it tastes nice, thought Annabelle, taking a bite.
‘What’s it like?’ asked Sarah.
‘Actually, it’s delicious!’ said Annabelle, surprised.
Everyone grabbed one and started munching away. Then Annabelle’s mum held out the tray of nori rolls.
‘These were handmade by Annabelle!’ she said.
‘Yum!’ said Siri. ‘They’re my favourite!’
Everyone took one straight away.
‘I bet you guys don’t know what nori is,’ Annabelle said as she picked one up.
‘Of course we do!’ said Lola and Sophie at the same time.
‘Seaweed!’ said Sarah.
Annabelle thought she must have been the only person in the world who didn’t known what nori was! She watched her friends as they helped themselves to seconds and thirds.
It wasn’t long before all the triangles and nori rolls had been eaten.
Everyone is enjoying themselves, Annabelle thought happily. This is turning out to be a great party!
But then, quite suddenly, everything changed.
Uncle Bob came around with another tray of mocktails. Annabelle chose a rainbow one and took a big sip. This one didn’t taste quite as nice as the first one. It tasted really, really sweet. Usually Annabelle loved sweet things. But this was a bit too sweet even for her.
Brilliant Besties Page 4