Mega Sleepover 2

by Rose Impey

  Fliss’s mum looked pleased.

  “Yes, it is pretty, isn’t it? I don’t mind you looking at my things, Laura, but do be careful, won’t you?” She reached out, and turned the figure slightly to the left. Holding it by its head. We all watched in breathless terror. We expected the head to come off in her hands like something in a horror movie, but it didn’t.

  “Now – BED,” said Fliss’s mum firmly, and we all scrambled up the stairs as fast as we could. None of us could believe quite how lucky we’d been that evening, and the sooner we were all tucked up in bed, the better. Besides, we were all asleep on our feet.

  Fliss’s mum came with us, and watched us crawl into our beds and sleeping bags. “Now I don’t want to hear a sound until morning,” she warned us. “Not a single sound.”

  I yawned hugely. I wasn’t going to argue with that. I’d never felt so tired in my whole life. Mrs Sidebotham switched the light out, and went away.

  Then Fliss said in a low voice, “Lyndz, what did you do with the camcorder?”

  “I shoved it behind the cushion,” Lyndz said sleepily. “I couldn’t think what else to do.”

  “We can’t leave it there,” Kenny said. “It’s still got our tape in it.”

  “I’ll go down and get it in a few minutes,” Fliss said, in between yawns. “When my mum’s gone to sleep again.”

  There was silence for a little while. No one even suggested singing our sleepover song because we were just too worn out. I curled up snugly inside my sleeping bag, and closed my eyes. What a night.

  I started to drift off into sleep. But then Kenny, who was lying on the floor next to me, began to giggle softly.

  “Shut up, MacKenzie,” I said drowsily.

  “Sorry,” Kenny muttered. “I was just remembering Fliss’s face when I dropped those ice cubes down her neck.”

  I thought back to that moment, and a picture of Fliss’s horrified face swam into my mind too. I began to laugh, and I had to turn over and bury my face in my pillow.

  “What are you two sniggering at?” asked Lyndz, who was lying on the other side of me.

  “Fliss’s face when those ice cubes went down her neck!” I blurted out between giggles. Kenny was too paralysed with laughter to say anything herself. There was silence for a few seconds, and then Lyndz’s sleeping bag began to shake too.

  “Shut up, you lot!” Rosie whispered. “I’m trying to get to sleep here!”

  “What about when Fliss cracked Rosie on the chin with the plate of biscuits?” Lyndz spluttered helplessly. That set the three of us off again, and this time Rosie couldn’t help joining in. We were practically all weeping with laughter.

  “Shut up,” said Fliss from the other bed. “I don’t think it was very funny at all. Any of it.”

  “What, not even when Frankie went over the back of the sofa?” Kenny said. “With her arms and legs, she looked like a daddy-long-legs having a fit.”

  This time we all laughed, even Fliss. We just couldn’t help ourselves. We laughed for ages. And we still had smiles on our faces when we fell asleep.

  So now you know just about everything. You also know why we don’t want anyone to find out what really happened last night. You can keep a secret, can’t you? Course you can! You’d better – or I’ll set Kenny on you.

  Only kidding. I know I can trust you.

  Well, there isn’t really that much left for me to tell you. We all overslept this morning, because of going to bed so late last night. Usually we like getting up early when we sleepover at Fliss’s because her mum makes great breakfasts. They’ve got a juicer and the famous waffle-maker, so we always pig out. But not this morning.

  Even Andy and Fliss’s mum overslept. The only one who didn’t was Fliss’s little brother Callum, who didn’t bother waking anyone else up. Typical. We were all still snoring away when Kenny’s dad arrived at ten o’clock to collect her, so the first we knew about it was Callum banging on Fliss’s bedroom door. I was getting a lift home with Kenny, so I had to get up too.

  “You look like the walking dead,” Kenny remarked as we shoved our stuff into our sleepover bags.

  “Yeah, well, you’d win a Miss Baggy-Eyes contest, no problem,” I said.

  The others were still dead to the world. Rosie opened one eye and said goodbye to us, but Fliss and Lyndz were just lumps under the bedclothes. Yawning, Kenny and I staggered out onto the landing, just as Fliss’s mum hurried out of her bedroom.

  “I’m sorry, girls,” she gasped. “We should have been up hours ago. I’ll make you some breakfast.”

  “It’s OK, Mrs Sidebotham,” Kenny said politely. “My dad’s here to collect us.”

  “Oh dear.” Fliss’s mum looked guilty. “What on earth is he going to think?”

  Kenny shrugged. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. But when we got downstairs, where Kenny’s dad was waiting in the hall, Mrs Sidebotham spent about ten minutes apologising for oversleeping.

  “—and the girls never even got to watch their sleepover video!” she finished up. “I was looking forward to seeing that myself.”

  Kenny and I glanced at each other. Whoops. I didn’t think Mrs Sidebotham would be that keen on the video if she saw the uncensored version. Anyway, she wouldn’t be seeing it at all because Fliss would have collected the camcorder from behind the cushion and replaced our tape with a blank one by now.

  “Oh, well, never mind.” Dr MacKenzie opened the front door. “They can watch it another time. Are you ready, girls?”

  “Thanks for having us, Mrs Sidebotham,” we said politely, then we legged it down the path, and jumped into the car. For once, I was going to be glad to get home.

  “I feel like I could sleep for a week,” Kenny muttered in my ear.

  “Me too,” I said. “I was so tired last night, I didn’t even hear Fliss go downstairs to get the camcorder.”

  “Me neither,” Kenny said.

  We looked at each other.

  “But she must have done,” Kenny went on confidently. “She wouldn’t have forgotten.”

  “No,” I agreed.

  When I got home, my mum took one look at me and started tutting.

  “Late night, Frankie?”

  “What makes you think that?” I said.

  “You could carry home ten pounds of potatoes in those bags under your eyes.” My mum looked at me critically. “How was your video?”

  “All right.” I managed to look her straight in the eye. “We didn’t get a chance to watch it though, because we all overslept.”

  “What a shame,” my mum said. “Oh, well, you’ll be pleased to know that your dad’s now thinking of buying a camcorder. I’ve tried to put him off, but you know what your dad’s like. He gets an idea into his head, and then it sticks.” She smiled at me. “A bit like someone else I know.”

  “Oh, Mum,” I yawned. “Dad’s crazy. Camcorders are so over-rated. They’re not that cool, really.”

  My mum looked at me suspiciously.

  “You’ve changed your tune. What happened at Fliss’s last night?”

  “Oh, nothing,” I said cautiously. “But once you’ve seen one camcorder, you’ve seen them all.”

  So that was that. I think my mum was a bit suspicious about what had gone on at Fliss’s sleepover, but when nothing happened (Fliss’s mum didn’t ring up to complain, like she usually did), she stopped worrying. Anyway, my mum and I ganged up on my dad and told him that instead of having a camcorder, we’d rather use all that money to go on holiday.

  So everything turned out all right in the end, didn’t it? There aren’t many sleepovers when that happens. I’m well in with Mum because nothing disastrous happened at the sleepover (or so she thinks), and also because we’ve persuaded my dad not to buy a camcorder. And I’m going on holiday. Excellent!

  Look, that’s my house at the end of the street. Why don’t you come home and watch Mrs Doubtfire with us? My dad’s making the famous Thomas pizza, and we’ve got popcorn and lemonade too. And I
know you won’t say a word to my parents about what I just told you.

  Wait a minute, though.

  See that red car parked outside our house?

  Do you know whose car that is?

  I do.

  It’s Fliss’s mum’s car.

  Panic stations! What do you think Fliss’s mum is doing at my house? Yes, she knows my mum, and yes, she does call round sometimes, but it’s a bit of a coincidence that she’s calling round the night after a sleepover. Especially a sleepover when something completely drastic happened…

  Maybe I left something at Fliss’s house after the sleepover, and her mum’s come to return it? No, I know I didn’t. I remember unpacking everything.

  So what’s Fliss’s mum doing at my house? It must be something important if she’s come round to see my parents in person, rather than just phoning up. Something important or something serious…

  What did you say? No, that can’t be right. Fliss couldn’t be so stupid…I mean, she said she was going to wait a few minutes until her mum was asleep again, and then she was going to go downstairs and get the camcorder back. I’m sure she wouldn’t have forgotten. And if she’d got the camcorder, she definitely wouldn’t have forgotten to take our tape out and put a new blank tape in. Fliss is too scared of getting into trouble with her mum to have forgotten to make sure we were in the clear.

  But then again, we were all really tired, including Fliss…Maybe she was planning to go downstairs, and she just fell asleep without meaning to? Kenny and I should have checked this morning when we were getting ready to leave, but we were in a hurry to go home and Fliss didn’t even wake up. Oh no. Do you think that the camcorder was still hidden behind the cushion this morning?

  No, I don’t believe it. Fliss must have gone downstairs after the rest of us were asleep. We just didn’t hear her, that’s all. Come on, we don’t have to be nervous. Let’s just go home calmly and sensibly, and find out exactly what Fliss’s mum is doing here.

  Quick, get behind that tree! Mrs Sidebotham’s coming out of our house right now!

  Did she see us? No, she’s going over to her car. Can you see her face? What does she look like? Normal? Happy? Sad? Or just plain, downright FURIOUS? There’s only one way to find out. I’ll have to go home.

  But you’ll come with me, won’t you? It’s probably better if you don’t come in at first, just in case mum and dad are waiting to tear me to bits. But I’m sure they won’t be. I hope.

  Here we are then. Why don’t you go and wait by the living-room window, then you can see what’s going on? If everything’s OK, I’ll give you a thumbs-up. Wish me luck!

  The door opens. It’s my mum.

  “Oh, it’s you, Frankie. You were a long time.”

  I look at my mum closely. She seems OK. She’s not red in the face, and she’s not glaring at me. That’s a good sign.

  “Sorry,” I say. “It took me a really long time to choose a video.”

  “What did you get?” my mum asks.

  “Mrs Doubtfire.” I hold the video out to show her. “I know we’ve seen it before, but you liked it so much, I thought I’d get it out again.” Crawl, crawl.

  “Good idea.” My mum opens the door wider, and I go inside. But hang on a minute, we’re not in the clear yet.

  As soon as I see my dad pacing up and down the living room, I know that something’s not quite right. My dad’s not as good as my mum at keeping a straight face. I think you’d better stay outside the window for the moment. I’ve got a feeling things could start getting nasty in here.

  “What video did you get, Frankie?” my dad asks in a voice that tells me something not very nice is about to happen.

  “Mrs Doubtfire,” I say cautiously. No use going looking for trouble, as my grandma always says, let it come and look for you. And, boy, was it coming to look for me right now.

  “Oh, Mrs Doubtfire’s a brilliant film,” my mum says. “But we’ve got an even better video than Mrs Doubtfire to show you.”

  “Oh?” I say, with a sinking heart. Now I know exactly why Fliss’s mum had come round to our house.

  “Sit down.” says my dad.

  “Well, actually, I don’t feel much like watching a video right now,” I start babbling nervously. “I think I’ll go up to my room—”

  “Sit down, Frankie,” my mum says grimly.

  I sit.

  My dad picks up the remote control, and turns the TV on. A very familiar scene fills the TV screen. That’s Kenny, Rosie and me, sitting in a row on Mrs Sidebotham’s cream-coloured sofa. Then the camera swings round a little jerkily to show Fliss coming out of the kitchen, beaming all over her face and carrying a tray of orange squash and biscuits. We all watch in silence as Fliss puts the tray down on the coffee table, and then picks up the plate of biscuits. She turns to offer the biscuits to Rosie, and there, just at the very side of the picture, we can see Kenny’s fingers dip into the jug of orange squash, and pull out some ice cubes. Then we see Kenny jump up and tip the ice down Fliss’s pyjama jacket.

  I have to say that Lyndz would make a great film director when she grows up. She had managed to catch Fliss’s horrified face perfectly, right in the middle of the screen, followed by the plate cracking against Rosie’s chin. Then the camera had followed me quickly as I jumped up onto the back of the sofa, and it had captured my fall to the carpet in every detail. There is just one more shot of me in a heap on the floor with the headless figure of the china lady next to me, and then the picture goes black. That must have been when Lyndz switched the camera off.

  No one says anything. Even though I know I’m now in deep doom forever, I just want to laugh my head off. I’ve never seen anything as funny as that video, not even on You’ve Been Framed. It’s a classic. But I dare not even smile. If I do, I know I’ll be in even bigger trouble.

  When it’s finally over, my dad turns off the TV.

  “I think you’d better go to your room,” says my mum. “We’ll talk about this later when you’ve had time to think over what you’ve done.”

  Oh no, I hate it when they do that. Why can’t they just give me my punishment now? At least then I know what I’m letting myself in for. But I’d better not argue.

  I go quietly out of the room. Look, I think you’d better go. I’m going to be grounded for at least a year, so there’s no point in you hanging around any more. Still, it was almost worth being grounded just to see that video. It’s a shame we’ll never get to send it to You’ve Been Framed now. I bet we would have got on TV, no problem.

  As I’m going upstairs, I hear funny noises coming from the living-room. So I tiptoe back down, to find out what’s going on. I put my ear to the door, and listen.

  Guess what?

  My mum and dad are laughing their heads off!

  “Frankie and the others are going to have to pay for that figure they broke,” my mum is saying.

  My dad is too busy laughing to reply for a few seconds.

  “Come on, let’s watch it again. I’ve never seen anything as hilarious in my whole life!”

  I hear the sound of the video being rewound, and then the sound of my mum and dad laughing again.

  “That’s just a classic,” says my dad. “You know what? It’s a shame we can’t send this to You’ve Been Framed. I’m sure they’d show it.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Parents! Aren’t they enough to make you sick?

  But maybe that means I’ll get off without being grounded for the rest of my life.

  Wish me luck.

  See ya!

  Have you been invited to all these sleepovers?

  The Sleepover Club at Frankie’s

  The Sleepover Club at Lyndsey’s

  The Sleepover Club at Felicity’s

  The Sleepover Club at Rosie’s

  The Sleepover Club at Laura’s

  Starring the Sleepover Club

  Sleepover Girls go Pop!

  The 24-Hour Sleepover Club

  The Sleepover Club
Sleeps Out

  Happy Birthday Sleepover Club

  Sleepover Girls on Horseback

  Sleepover in Spain

  Sleepover on Friday 13th

  Sleepover Girls go Camping

  Sleepover Girls go Detective

  Sleepover Girls go Designer

  The Sleepover Club Surfs the Net

  Sleepover Girls on Screen

  Sleepover Girls and Friends

  Sleepover Girls on the Catwalk

  The Sleepover Club Goes for Goal!

  Sleepover Girls go Babysitting

  Sleepover Girls go Snowboarding

  Happy New Year, Sleepover Club!

  Sleepover Girls go Green

  We Love You Sleepover Club

  Vive le Sleepover Club!

  Sleepover Club Eggstravaganza

  Emergency Sleepover

  Sleepover Girls on the Range

  The Sleepover Club Bridesmaids

  Sleepover Girls See Stars

  Sleepover Club Blitz

  Sleepover Girls in the Ring

  Sari Sleepover

  Merry Christmas Sleepover Club!

  The Sleepover Club Down Under

  Sleepover Girls go Splash!

  Sleepover Girls go Karting

  Sleepover Girls go Wild!

  The Sleepover Club at the Carnival

  The Sleepover Club on the Beach

  Sleepover Club Vampires

  sleepoverclub.com

  Sleepover Girls go Dancing

  The Sleepover Club on the Farm

  Sleepover Girls go Gymtastic!

  Sleepover Girls on the Ball

  Sleepover Club Witches

  Sleepover Club Ponies

  Sleepover Girls on Safari

  Sleepover Club Makeover

  Sleepover Girls go Surfing

  Sleepover Girls go Treasure Hunting

  Sleepover Kit List

  Sleeping bag

  Pillow

  Pyjamas or a nightdress

  Slippers

  Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap etc

  Towel

  Teddy

  A creepy story

  Food for a midnight feast: chocolate, crisps, sweets, biscuits. In fact anything you like to eat.