sleepoverclub.com

by Narinder Dhami

  “Really sorry for him, yeah, we know,” sighed Kenny. “Don’t worry, Lyndz. We’ll get that disk back. We’ll get it back if it’s the last thing we do.”

  “It probably will be, if Catherine Shaw’s got it!” Frankie joked. She was trying to cheer everyone up, but nobody laughed. We just didn’t have a clue what we were going to do next.

  When we got to my place, my mum was in the living room with Ben and Spike, who were watching The Lion King. Mum was looking pretty stressed out.

  “Lyndz, Tom’s going mad looking for a computer disk he’s lost,” she said. “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

  I swallowed. “Not recently,” I said. Which was true enough.

  “Oh, blast.” My mum sighed. “You were our last hope. Tom said you girls were using the computer when you were here for the sleepover, so we thought you might have seen it.”

  “We saw Tom put it in his schoolbag,” Kenny chimed in. Which was also true enough.

  “Where’s Tom now?” I asked.

  “Searching his room – for the millionth time!” my mum replied. “It’s such a shame. He put so much work into designing that poster for the gig.”

  We all crept out of the living room and up the stairs, feeling completely shamefaced. As we reached the landing we could hear bangs and thumps, and other loud noises. Tom’s bedroom door was open, and he was pulling all the books off his bookshelves and flinging them on the floor. He was red in the face, and looked totally cheesed off.

  “Hey, Lyndz,” he called hopefully, “have you seen that disk? You know, the one with my poster on it?”

  “We saw you put it in your bag,” I said carefully, and the others nodded.

  “I know.” Tom shook his head, looking completely bewildered. “But when I got to school this morning, it wasn’t there. I just can’t believe it!”

  I felt really lousy. So did the others, from the looks on their faces. We all stood there, shuffling our feet and clearing our throats. We must have looked dead guilty, but Tom didn’t seem to notice.

  “The posters should really have gone up this week,” he muttered, flicking through the papers on his desk. “If I don’t find the disk in the next couple of days, I’m going to have to design a new one.”

  Wow! Relief or what! We all looked at each other, and Frankie gave us a thumbs-up.

  “But I won’t have enough time to do a really cool design like I did before,” Tom went on miserably. “It’ll just have to be something simple.”

  So then we were really depressed again.

  “Tom?” That was my mum calling from downstairs. “The rest of the band is here.”

  “OK,” Tom called back. Then he turned to me. “Gotta go, I’ve got a rehearsal,” he said. “But if you find the disk, come and tell me straight away, all right?”

  “All right,” I agreed. Fat chance.

  “This is awful,” Frankie muttered, as Tom went out.

  “I feel really mean,” Fliss said.

  “Me too,” Rosie agreed.

  Kenny didn’t say anything. I guess she felt the worst because she was the one who’d lost the disk, but I’d never seen her so quiet.

  We put the computer on, and checked our site. We had two new emails. One was from Katie Shaw, and it said simply:

  The ransom money is now seven pounds. Pay up or you don’t get your disk back!

  “I’m getting well sick of this Katie Shaw!” Rosie said crossly, hitting the Delete button.

  “Maybe we should think about paying the ransom after all,” I said hesitantly. “I could sell my new riding hat. Someone at the stables would probably buy it off me.”

  But the others were shaking their heads.

  “We can’t give in, just like that!” Frankie said firmly.

  “We’ve still got a bit of time left to try and get the disk back ourselves,” Rosie added.

  “And anyway, even if we pay the money, we might not get the disk back,” Fliss pointed out. “That’s what blackmailers do in the films – they take the money, and then try and get more out of you!”

  Fliss was right. I hadn’t thought of that. I looked at Kenny, as she was the only one who hadn’t said anything – but she didn’t even look like she was listening.

  The second email was from Darlene and the others. They’d managed to repair the broken ornament, and apart from getting glue all over the carpet which they’d had to scrape up, they were fine. And Shannon’s mum hadn’t even noticed that the clown’s hat had been knocked off and replaced!

  “Let’s tell them what’s been happening to us,” Fliss suggested, so we typed in this long message, telling them all about Tom’s band and the disk and the blackmailer. Then we sent it off.

  “I forgot to tell you,” Frankie said, as we went to my bedroom, “my dad’s started doing the Aztec website. It’s looking really good so far.”

  “We’d better get on with the rest of it then,” I said. I didn’t feel like doing any more on the website at all – it just kept reminding me of how important that lost computer disk was. But now that Mr Thomas was working so hard on it, it would be a bit mean to stop. And, anyway, I still needed a birthday present for Tom.

  We spread all our notes out over my bedroom floor, and got to work. We finished sorting out the info about the different band members, and Frankie had this really brilliant idea of writing the words in their favourite colours, so that all the stuff about Liam was written in blue ink and Tom’s was written in purple. Meanwhile, Rosie and Fliss were doing a horoscopes page (we’d managed to find out the boys’ birthdays), and we had a list of all the songs the band had written, which we were going to put on the site too.

  After a bit, we started really getting into the website again, which was great, because it took our minds off everything that had happened over the last few days. But Kenny was still really quiet. And that usually means trouble…

  “Kenny, pass me that purple felt-tip, will you?” I asked.

  “RIGHT!” Kenny said, all of a sudden. “I’ve had ENOUGH!”

  I stared at her. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” I said, “I only asked for the purple felt-tip—”

  “No, I mean I’ve had ENOUGH of all this!” Kenny retorted, jumping to her feet. “All this Katie Shaw business has got well out of hand!”

  “But there’s nothing we can do about it,” Fliss began.

  “Oh, yes, there is.” That glint was back in Kenny’s eyes again. “Tomorrow morning I’m going to go straight up to Catherine Shaw, and I’m going to ask her for that disk back. And one way or another, I’m going to get it!”

  “Kenny, are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked nervously.

  It was the following morning, and we were in the playground, waiting for Catherine Shaw to arrive. I don’t know about the others, but I, for one, was hoping that she wouldn’t turn up at all.

  “No, it isn’t a good idea,” Kenny replied, hopping from one foot to the other. She was really wound up. So would I be, if I had to face up to Catherine Shaw. “It’s our only idea. That’s why I’ve got to do it.”

  “Well, we can’t let you go on your own, Kenny,” Frankie said firmly. “I think we should all come with you. What do you say, guys?”

  Fliss and Rosie didn’t look keen at all. Neither was I, but Frankie was right. We couldn’t let Kenny do this on her own.

  “Yeah, OK,” I agreed. “After all, there’s five of us and only one of her! Fliss?”

  “All right,” Fliss squeaked. “Rosie?”

  “OK,” Rosie muttered.

  So now we were all in it together. And Catherine Shaw was coming through the playground gates right at this very minute.

  “Here goes,” Kenny said under her breath.

  “Oh, don’t go yet,” Fliss mumbled, grabbing Kenny’s arm. “Let’s do it at breaktime.”

  “No, now,” Kenny insisted. “Before we lose our nerve!”

  We all trailed across the playground in Catherine’s direction. She saw us coming, and gla
red at us.

  “What do you lot want?” she asked, putting her arms protectively round her rucksack.

  “OK, let’s get down to business,” Kenny said coolly. “You’ve got our disk, and we want it back.”

  Catherine blinked. “What?”

  “Our disk,” Kenny repeated impatiently. “You’ve got it, we want it!”

  Catherine looked completely blank. “I dunno what you’re talking about,” she complained. “What’s a disk?”

  “A computer disk,” Frankie explained.

  “I don’t know anything about computers!” Catherine said, still looking bewildered.

  “But you’ve got email,” Kenny pointed out.

  Catherine looked even more puzzled. “No I haven’t.”

  My heart sank. It was pretty obvious that Catherine Shaw didn’t have a clue what we were talking about. We’d lost our best suspect.

  “Look, never mind,” Frankie said quickly, and we all turned and walked off.

  “Hey!” Catherine called after us angrily, as the penny finally dropped. “Are you calling me a thief?”

  “Quick!” Rosie said urgently. “Leg it!”

  We all raced off across the playground, and dashed into school.

  “So that’s that then,” I said dismally, as we hung our coats up in the cloakroom. “We’re still no closer to finding out who Katie Shaw is.”

  No-one said anything. It looked like we were never going to get the disk back.

  “I still think it could be the M&Ms,” said Fliss, for the millionth time.

  “Or Ryan Scott and Danny McCloud,” Frankie suggested.

  “Maybe it is Catherine Shaw after all,” Rosie suggested. “Maybe she just acted dumb to throw us off her trail.”

  It was Friday afternoon, and we were round at Frankie’s place for our sleepover. Nothing much had happened since Tuesday, except that we were still getting an email every day from Katie Shaw, and every day the ransom money went up by a pound. It was now up to eleven quid.

  We’d also finished designing the Aztec website, and we’d given all the stuff to Mr Thomas. He was going to show us the site, which he’d nearly finished, when he got home from work later on.

  “If we’re going to get the disk back, it has to be this weekend,” I said. We’d taken our shoes off, and we were all lying on the living-room floor in a row with our feet on the sofa. “Tom’s finishing off his new design over the next few days, and he’s taking it into school on Monday.”

  “Maybe we should give up then,” Fliss suggested. “If Tom’s got a new design, we don’t need the disk anyway.”

  “Yeah, but the first design’s the best one,” I pointed out. “Tom’s still gutted, and it’s all our fault.”

  “We can’t give up now anyway,” Kenny said grimly. “I want to know who this Katie Shaw is. And boy, when I find out, she’ll wish I hadn’t!”

  “Kenny, your feet stink!” Frankie complained.

  “It’s not me, it’s Lyndz,” Kenny said indignantly.

  “Cheek!” I said. “These socks are brand-new.”

  “Yeah, but your feet aren’t brand-new, are they?” Kenny grinned.

  We all started wiggling our feet about underneath each other’s noses, and that made us giggle for a bit. But then we got all gloomy again.

  “Do you think I should tell Tom we lost the disk?” I asked.

  “What do you think he’ll do?” Fliss asked anxiously.

  “What, after he’s killed me, you mean?” I replied.

  “Honestly’s the best policy, my gran always says,” Frankie remarked.

  “Nah, that’s not right!” Kenny grabbed a cushion and tried to smother Frankie. “What you mean is, honesty – always gets you into trouble!”

  We all grabbed a cushion then and had a cushion fight for ten minutes, until Frankie’s mum came in and told us tea was ready. We were in the kitchen having cheese on toast, when Mr Thomas came home from work. He’s a lawyer, remember? So is Frankie’s mum, but she works from home more since she had Izzy.

  “I’ve been working on your website all week, girls,” he beamed, sneaking a piece of Frankie’s toast off her plate. “I think you’re going to love it, even though I say so myself! Now, has your brother got any tapes of his band, Lyndz? I wouldn’t mind hearing what they sound like.”

  “Oh, Dad!” Frankie grinned. “I don’t think you’d be into that kind of music!”

  “Why not?” Mr Thomas asked. “I was quite trendy in my day, I’ll have you know, Francesca Thomas.”

  “Dad!” Frankie looked really embarrassed, but the rest of us couldn’t help giggling. “No-one says trendy these days!”

  “Well, hip, cool, funky or whatever it is.” Mr Thomas winked at us. “So, do you want to see this website or not?”

  Kenny snaffled the last piece of cheese on toast, and we all charged upstairs to Frankie’s bedroom. Mr Thomas put the computer on, and we all waited impatiently while he found the website files.

  “Right, just remember it’s not finished yet,” he warned us. “It’ll look a lot better when I’ve spent some more time on it.”

  But although the website wasn’t finished, it already looked pretty good to me when it opened up on the screen! We’d asked Mr Thomas to use purple, green and gold throughout the site, and it looked really fab. The photos of the band had come out well, too.

  “I’ve still got to put in the rest of the stuff you gave me,” Mr Thomas went on. “It’s Tom’s birthday next Saturday, isn’t it, Lyndz? I’ll have it finished by then.”

  “Thanks, Mr Thomas,” I said gratefully, as he went out.

  “Oh, Frankie,” Mr Thomas popped his head round the door again. “I’ve got a document I need to work on tonight, so I’m going to be using the computer. So can you lot find something else to do for the rest of the evening?”

  “Sure thing, Dad,” Frankie agreed. She glanced at the rest of us. “I guess we’d better check our emails.”

  “What’s the point?” Kenny grumbled. “There’ll just be another one from that rat-faced old bag, Katie Shaw!”

  “Maybe Barbie and the others have replied to our last message,” Rosie pointed out. “We haven’t heard from them for days.”

  Frankie found our site, and then checked the messages section. We had two new emails, one from Katie Shaw, which she deleted straight away, and another from the American girls.

  Dear Frankie, Fliss, Kenny, Rosie and Lyndz

  Sorry we haven’t replied for ages, but we’ve been grounded for the last week. Our parents got mad when we had a pool party, and we accidentally soaked Barbie’s nosey neighbour, Mrs Klein, with the sprinkler!

  We were real sorry to hear about all the problems you’re having with your mystery blackmailer. Why don’t you set a trap for them like they do in the movies? You know, you say you’ll pay them, then you go along to the meeting-place and bust ‘em!

  Let us know how you go.

  Barbie, Darlene, Shannon and Jennie

  We all stared at each other.

  “That’s a totally wicked idea!” Kenny gasped. “Why didn’t we think of that?”

  “Quick, Frankie,” Rosie said urgently. “Write an email to Katie Shaw, telling her we’ll meet her tomorrow – with the money!”

  “We’re not really going to give her the money, are we?” Fliss asked.

  “’Course not, birdbrain,” Kenny replied. “But Katie Shaw will have to arrange somewhere for us to leave the cash, then we’ll hide ourselves away and pounce on her!”

  “Not if it’s Catherine Shaw, we won’t!” Fliss muttered.

  Frankie was typing away furiously.

  OK, you win. We’ve decided to pay up. We want the disk back tomorrow, so you’ll have to tell us where and when we can meet.

  The Sleepover Club

  “There!” Frankie sent the email. “That should do the trick. Now all we’ve got to do is wait for Katie Shaw to reply.”

  Mr Thomas stuck his head round the door again. “Franki
e, I need to use the computer now,” he warned her.

  “OK, Dad, it’s all yours.” Frankie logged out of our site, and we all trooped downstairs again. “What do you guys want to do now?”

  “What about Robot Wars?” Kenny suggested, bumping into Fliss and locking her arms round her. Our Robot Wars game had kind of taken over from International Gladiators, but it was still really rough! We all pretended to be robots with different powers, and we had to try and knock each other out of the arena, which was usually a circle of cushions. It was ace fun!

  “Nah, let’s play Cluedo,” Rosie suggested. “We haven’t played that for ages.”

  “OK,” Kenny agreed. “I feel like murdering someone!”

  We all sat down on the living-room floor, and Frankie went to get the Cluedo box. We set up the board and dealt out the cards.

  “I wonder if Katie Shaw’s replied yet,” Kenny said. “I think it’s Professor Plum in the conservatory with the dagger.”

  Fliss, who was next, wasn’t listening.

  “Fliss!” Kenny gave her a nudge, and got a good look at her cards at the same time. “Professor Plum, conservatory, dagger.”

  “Sorry.” Fliss looked flustered. “I was just wondering if Katie Shaw has replied yet. Hang on a minute, Kenny.”

  “Don’t bother,” Kenny said breezily. “I saw all your cards anyway!”

  “That’s not fair!” Fliss moaned, picking up the dice. She moved her piece into the study. “I think it’s Katie Shaw, in the study with the revolver. I mean, Miss Scarlett, not Katie Shaw!”

  “Oh, this is hopeless!” Frankie threw down her cards. “None of us can concentrate. Let’s nip upstairs and ask my dad if we can check the email.”

  Mr Thomas didn’t look that pleased to see us when we thundered into Frankie’s bedroom like a herd of baby elephants, but he agreed to let us check the emails, if we were really quick. We were disappointed, though. Katie Shaw hadn’t replied.

  We went back downstairs, and finished the Cluedo game. Kenny won – she guessed that it was Mrs White in the study with the lead piping. Then Frankie got out Pictionary and we played that for a bit.

  “It’s been ages since we last checked the email,” Rosie said. “Katie Shaw might have replied by now.”