Mega Sleepover 7

by Narinder Dhami

  “Come on, Fliss, it’s the end of term! Take a risk!”

  We all took a sweet from Maria and quickly popped them in our mouths before Mrs Weaver saw us. It looked like we’d managed to sort things out with the Spanish girls after all! Although there was no way we were going to be friends with the M&Ms…

  “We see you at playtime, yes?” Maria winked at us and went back to the others, just as a man with a camera hanging round his neck popped his head round the door.

  “Mrs Weaver? I’m James Robinson from the Evening Echo.”

  “Oh, good, come in.” Mrs Weaver ushered him in, while Fliss grabbed her comb and started preening herself. “Now, what would you like us to do?”

  “Well, if we could gather everyone at the front of the room, with the Spanish children in the middle, that would make it easier for me to get everyone into the picture,” the photographer said.

  We spent the next few minutes pushing tables and chairs around, and being posed by the photographer.

  “There’s no way I’m being best buddies with the M&Ms!” I muttered to Frankie as we carried a table between us. “Not even to make friends with Maria and the others again!”

  “Let’s just wait and see what happens, OK?” Frankie replied in a low voice, still chewing on her sweet.

  Finally, everything was ready. We hadn’t quite managed to get to the front of the photo because the photographer wanted the Spanish kids there, but we were right behind them, kneeling on a couple of tables, with the rest of our class around us.

  “Right, now let’s have some nice big smiles please!” called Mr Robinson.

  We all began to smile – and then we all nearly jumped out of our skins as Mrs Weaver gave a loud scream.

  “Laura! Francesca! Lyndsey! Felicity! Rosie! What on earth has happened to your teeth? They’re all black!”

  “What?” I said, puzzled. I didn’t have a clue what Mrs Weaver was going on about – until I glanced at Frankie. It looked like she had no teeth at all because they were totally black! And the rest of the Sleepover Club were just the same!

  “You’ve obviously been eating something you shouldn’t have!” Mrs Weaver said grimly. “I suggest you go and wash your mouths out!”

  “But, Mrs Weaver, we’ll miss the photo!” Fliss gasped.

  “That’s OK, girls,” said the photographer with a grin. “You’ll only frighten the readers looking like that, anyway!”

  Everyone started laughing, especially the Spanish girls and the M&Ms, who were just about killing themselves. Angrily the five of us stomped out of the classroom, and went into the girls’ toilets.

  “We’ve missed our chance to be in the newspaper because of that trick Maria played on us!” Fliss said crossly as she rinsed her mouth out. “Those were joke sweets!”

  “I thought they tasted a bit funny!” Lyndz said as she used her finger as a toothbrush.

  “I guess that was to pay us back for breaking Isabella’s bowl,” I muttered. “They must have thought we did it on purpose.”

  “And I bet the M&Ms have been egging them on as well!” Frankie added. “You know what those two are like!”

  “Yeah, well, we’re not going to let them get away with it, are we?” I asked. “This means WAR!”

  The others looked at each other and nodded, although they all looked a bit glum. It was a bit of a downer after we’d looked forward to the Spanish girls visiting for so long, but we couldn’t let the M&Ms walk all over us, could we?

  By the time we got back to the classroom, the photographer had gone and the rest of the class were moving all the chairs and tables back into place.

  “Oh, there you are,” said Mrs Weaver sternly as she stared at us. “I suppose that was meant to be funny! Well, if you girls have any more jokes like that lined up, you won’t be taking part in any of the end-of-term activities. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, Miss,” we mumbled together, trying not to look at the Spanish girls and the M&Ms, who were all grinning.

  While we were putting our table and chairs back in place, the M&Ms came over to have a quick gloat.

  “I don’t think Mrs Weaver’s too pleased with you!” Emma Hughes said gleefully. “And what a shame you aren’t going to get your picture in the paper!”

  “Our friends the Spanish girls are really fed up with you!” Emily Berryman chimed in smugly. “They wish they were staying with us instead of with you lot!”

  “Oh, take a jump off a very high cliff, you two!” I snapped.

  The M&Ms went off, giggling. They went back over to Pilar and the others, and they all put their heads together and started whispering and sniggering.

  “You know what?” I said to the others as we all sat down. “I’m going to think up a really gruesome trick to play on that lot on the last day of term!”

  “No way, Kenny!” Fliss said firmly. “You know what Mrs Poole said about playing tricks at the end of term – she banned them!”

  “Yeah, that was after some of the leavers flour-bombed her in the corridor!” Frankie giggled.

  “Hey, I wish I’d seen that!” Rosie said.

  “It was before you started here,” Lyndz said. “And they threw eggs at the teachers’ cars – it was really funny!”

  “Quiet, please.” Mrs Weaver was looking round the room waiting for everyone to settle down. “Right, we have a couple of things to sort out. As you know, it’s Sports Day tomorrow and then it’s the school Summer Fair the day after.”

  That cheered us up a bit. Sports Day was a great laugh. We’d held the heats a few days before Pilar and the rest of her gang had arrived, and all of us had made it into at least one of the races which would be taking place tomorrow, even Fliss.

  “Right, don’t forget that those of you who are taking part in the races tomorrow must have your sports kit with you,” Mrs Weaver went on, “or you won’t be allowed to compete. Do ask your mums and dads to come along if they can. And, by the way, I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that our visitors will be taking part in the races too!”

  We all sat up when we heard that! Well, I was going to make sure that if Maria or the others were in any of the races I was in, I was going to beat the pants off them!

  “And now for the Summer Fair on Wednesday afternoon,” Mrs Weaver went on. “As you know, it’s organised by some of the parents…”

  We all started nudging Lyndz, because her mum, Mrs Collins, was in charge of the Parents’ Association.

  “… and this year it’s our class’s turn to help out.” Mrs Weaver glanced round the room. “Everyone, including our visitors, will be given a job to do, and please try to do it sensibly. You’ll have plenty of time to have a look at the stalls and enjoy yourselves, but the parents who are organising the fair are relying on your help as well.”

  “I hope we get to do something good!” I whispered to Frankie.

  Mrs Weaver glanced at the list she was holding. Then she frowned and glanced at us. “Francesca, Laura, Felicity, Lyndsey and Rosie – Mrs Collins has suggested that you be in charge of the tombola.”

  “Excellent!” I muttered to Frankie.

  “I just hope I can trust you to behave yourselves,” Mrs Weaver said sternly, fixing us with her beadiest stare. “You know that the Mayoress is coming to open the fair, and we don’t want anything going wrong.”

  “No, Miss,” we said virtuously. The tombola was one of the best stalls to be on, so we were all pretty excited. We were even more pleased when the M&Ms got the boring job of selling programmes, and Pilar and the others were put down to help Lyndz’s mum with the cake stall! That was one in the eye for them!

  “And don’t forget that we have our class trip to the theme park next Monday.” Mrs Weaver had to raise her voice because the bell had gone for break time and everyone was talking again. “Plus the fancy-dress competition on the last day of term. I hope you’re all busy making your costumes!”

  “Oh, yes, Miss!” said Emma Hughes in a treacly voice. “I’m working real
ly hard on mine!”

  “So am I, Miss!” said Emily Berryman.

  “We can’t let those creeps win again!” I said, as we went outside. “They’ve walked off with the prizes the last three times!”

  “Still, we got the best job at the Summer Fair!” said Lyndz. “I had to nag my mum for ages to give us the tombola!”

  “Nice one!” I said, as we all crowded round Lyndz and slapped her on the back. “Hey, maybe we can fix it so we win all the prizes!”

  “What about Sports Day tomorrow?” Rosie asked. She hadn’t been to Sports Day at our school before. “Do you get a prize if you win?”

  “Yeah, book tokens usually,” said Frankie.

  “Let’s see how many the Sleepover Club can win!” I said.

  “I tell you – none at all!” Maria said scornfully. We hadn’t heard the Spanish girls come up behind us, and now they were giggling and sticking their tongues out at us.

  “We’ll win every race we’re in!” I snapped. “Just wait and see!”

  Fliss looked a bit nervous at that. She’d made it into the skipping race, but only because Ryan Scott had tripped over his rope and knocked over three other kids, including Frankie, in their heat.

  “We win more than you!” Pilar retorted. “We are better at sport!”

  “No way!” Frankie cut in.

  “Then we have competition, yes?” said Maria. “We see who wins the most prizes. If you win – we give you all our prizes. If we get more, you give us your prizes!”

  “OK – but this is just between us, not the M&Ms as well!” I said firmly. Maria nodded, and I stuck out my hand, and we shook. She tried to crush my fingers but I was ready for her, and I crushed hers instead! “You’re on!”

  “I wish we weren’t having this stupid contest!” Fliss moaned for about the millionth time as we changed into our sports kit the following afternoon. Sports Day was due to start in the next half hour, and we were all up for it! At least, I thought we were…

  “Stop saying that, will you!” I poked her in the back. “We’ve got to win, so I hope you’ve been practising your skipping!”

  Fliss didn’t look too happy. “Well, sort of…” she muttered. “But Pilar’s in the skipping race too, and Isabella says Pilar’s really good at skipping so—”

  “Hang on a minute!” I grabbed Fliss’s arm. “What did you say?”

  Fliss turned bright red. “Nothing.”

  “You said Isabella told you!” I stared hard at Fliss. “Have you been talking to her?”

  “No. Well. Yes. A bit.” Fliss looked even more flustered.

  “I don’t believe you, you traitor!” I snapped. “What’re you talking to our enemies for?”

  “Well, she’s sharing my bedroom, and we just got talking last night,” Fliss defended herself. “I think she wants to be friends with us again!”

  “I bet it’s some sort of con!” I said crossly. “And you fell for it, Fliss! You’re such a wally!”

  “I am not!” Fliss snapped.

  “Yeah? Well, you’re the only one of us who wants to make friends with them after what they did!” And I looked round at the others.

  Lyndz had gone a bit pink, and was clearing her throat and shuffling her feet.

  “Um – me and Elena sort of got talking last night too,” she confessed.

  “What!” I glared at her. “What did she say?”

  “She said she wished we were all friends again,” Lyndz muttered, “But that Maria and some of the others were still mad at us.”

  “There you are then!” I said triumphantly, as Mrs Weaver began to round everyone up to take us over to the sports field. “They don’t like us and we don’t like them!”

  Lyndz and Fliss looked doubtful, and so did Frankie and Rosie! I was really beginning to lose my cool now.

  “Well, if Isabella and Elena want to be friends,” Frankie said slowly, “maybe we should all give it a go—”

  “No way!” I cut in firmly. “Look what they did to us – they can’t get away with that!” Secretly I was a bit annoyed that Maria hadn’t said she wanted to make friends with me again. We’d got on really well in Spain… But if she was going to be mean, then so was I – and I could be a lot meaner than she could! “Anyway,” I went on, “we don’t want to be mates with them while they’re hanging round with the M&Ms, do we?”

  The others shook their heads, although Lyndz and Fliss still looked a bit uncertain.

  “Come on, line up in twos, please,” Mrs Weaver called. “When we get to the field, I want you sitting in rows ready for your races, just like we practised last week.”

  We all lined up by the classroom door. Rosie went over to get something from her locker – and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Anna go over to talk to her! They were smiling at each other too! So when Rosie came back to line up, I pounced on her straightaway.

  “What did Anna say to you?”

  “Er – she just wished me good luck,” Rosie muttered, looking embarrassed.

  “Oh, don’t tell me – you and Anna are big buddies again!” I said sarcastically. I was pleased to see that it looked like Maria was telling Anna off for speaking to Rosie too! At this rate, there wouldn’t be any contest if everyone started being mates again… Deep down I wasn’t sure if I was glad or sorry. But if Maria wasn’t giving in, then neither was I!

  The rest of the school was already out on the field by the time our class got there. There were lots of parents there too, sitting on chairs next to the track so that they got a good view. There was a refreshments stall, and a little platform where Mrs Poole stood to present the prizes at the end.

  “There’s my mum!” Fliss started waving madly at Mrs Sidebotham, who was sitting next to Mrs Thomas, Frankie’s mum. Mrs Thomas was a few months pregnant, and a bump was beginning to show.

  “Save your energy for the skipping race, Fliss!” I told her.

  The first race for our year was the girls’ sprint. I was in that, and so was Frankie. So were Maria and Pilar! I nudged Frankie as they lined up next to us.

  “Go for it, Franks!” I whispered. Frankie was faster than me, and I reckoned she could easily beat Pilar and Maria too! But if I could get second place, I’d win a prize too. That would put us ahead in the contest right from the start!

  “You have no chance!” Maria said as we waited for Mrs Weaver to blow her whistle. “We beat the trousers off you!”

  “You mean beat the pants off us!” I corrected her. “And you won’t, so dream on!”

  “On your marks!” Mrs Weaver shouted. “Get set!” And then she blew the whistle. Frankie shot off like a bullet from a gun, and she was halfway down the track before I’d even moved. I ran as fast as I could, but Pilar overtook me easily, although she couldn’t catch Frankie. I could hear Fliss, Rosie and Lyndz cheering me on, and I tried even harder, but I couldn’t overtake Pilar. Then I heard footsteps behind me – Maria was catching me up!

  I had to really push it to stay ahead of her. Frankie got to the tape first, followed by Pilar and I was third – with Maria about a millimetre behind me! Panting hard, I slapped Frankie on the back.

  “Nice one! We got two prizes – that means we’re in the lead!”

  “You were lucky!” Maria snapped. “We beat you in the next race!” And she stormed off.

  “Well done, Frankie,” Pilar said quickly, before she ran off after Maria.

  Frankie looked surprised. “That was nice of her,” she said.

  “Don’t you go all soft on me!” I said crossly, giving her a shove.

  There were some other races next, involving some of the other kids, so we sat and watched. Then it was time for our year again. It was the sack race, and Rosie and Isabella were taking part in it.

  “Watch out for Ryan Scott, Rosie-Posie!” I told her as Rosie lined up inside her sack. It was a mixed race so there were boys and girls in it together. “He’s pretty fast.”

  “Yeah, he can jump like a frog!” Frankie added with a grin.


  “He looks like one too!” I said under my breath, and we all giggled.

  “Hey, I heard that!” Ryan shouted, poking me in the back.

  “On your marks!” Mrs Weaver called.

  “I wonder if Isabella’s any good at sack racing?” Lyndz said as we waited for the whistle to blow.

  “She’s got no chance against Rosie!” I said confidently.

  The race began. We were all yelling and cheering loudly for Rosie, but although she was jumping along so fast she was purple in the face, we could see that she wasn’t going to win. Ryan Scott was leaping along in front of everyone else, and he was miles ahead. Emma Hughes was second, and Danny McCloud was third, close behind her!

  I groaned. “We haven’t got a chance of winning a prize!”

  “Well, neither has Isabella!” Frankie pointed out. Isabella was ahead of Rosie, but she was only in fourth place.

  Then, all of a sudden, Ryan Scott tried to jump too far. He fell forward and landed flat on his face! Emma Hughes began grinning, thinking that she was going to win, when next second Danny McCloud stumbled, fell over and knocked the Queen over too! We all started cheering – but then I stopped. Isabella was in the lead now and she was jumping neatly towards the finishing-line!

  “Come on, Rosie!” I yelled, but it was too late. Isabella had won! And Rosie was last – that meant we were equal with two prizes each…

  Maria tapped me on the shoulder. “We catch you up – and now we beat you!” she said with a big grin.

  “We’ll see!” I retorted, as Rosie trailed over to us, looking a bit sheepish.

  “Sorry,” she muttered.

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” Lyndz told her.

  “What d’you mean? Of course it matters!” I yelled. “We’ve got to beat Maria and that lot out of sight! And that means you’ve all got to try harder!”

  The others didn’t look that keen, and that made me mad. Just because they were all being wimps and wanting to be friends with the Spanish girls again – well, I wasn’t! Although I might have given in if Maria had been a bit nicer… But she was too busy shouting at the other girls in Spanish – probably telling them they had to try harder too!