Sleepover Girls Go Karting. Narinder Dhami

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      “And Mrs McKenzie’s right at the back of the queue!” I was pretending I was talking into an imaginary microphone, and the others, who were squashed into the back of the car, were laughing their heads off. “If she doesn’t put her foot down and spin some wheels, we won’t even make it to the karting centre before it closes!”

      “And if Laura McKenzie doesn’t shut up,” my mum replied calmly, as she stopped at some traffic lights, “she won’t even make it to the karting centre, full stop.”

      “Oh, come on, Mum,” I pleaded. “Can’t you go a bit faster? You’ve got no chance of winning a Grand Prix!”

      “I can see you’re going to be a great driver, Kenny,” my mum said sarcastically as we drove out of Cuddington. “If you come home in one piece, I’ll be surprised!”

      “Don’t worry, Mrs McKenzie,” Rosie chimed in. “We can carry Kenny back to the car if we have to!”

      “Listen, you lot, it takes skill to drive a kart,” I snorted. “And I’ve got plenty of it!”

      Secretly, I didn’t have a clue what driving a kart involved – but I wasn’t going to tell the others that. After all, how hard could it be?

      “I’m not looking forward to wearing a helmet,” Fliss moaned. “I bet it won’t go with my new jumper!”

      “Oh, give it up, Flissy,” I retorted. “It won’t matter anyway – we have to wear race suits over our clothes.”

      “What are those?” Lyndz asked.

      “These kind of all-in-one overall things,” I said airily. My dad had bought a computer last month, and I’d done a bit of research into karting on the Net the night before.

      “Well, I hope mine’s pink!” Fliss said, and everyone groaned.

      “I think we have to wear gloves too,” Frankie added, winking at me. “You’re not the only one who went on the Net last night, Kenny!”

      The karting centre was about fifteen miles from Cuddington. None of us quite knew what to expect, so when we arrived at the Silver Streak about twenty minutes later, we could hardly believe our eyes.

      “Is that it?” Fliss gasped.

      “It’s huge!” Rosie murmured, her eyes almost popping out of her head.

      It was massive. The building was shaped a bit like a big dome, and there was a large carpark outside, which already had quite a few cars parked in it.

      Silver Streak Karting Centre

      “Look!” Lyndz pointed at the big sign, as we drove into the carpark. “It says there’s an adults’ track, and a separate track for the under-elevens.”

      “Come on, Mum!” I yelled, bouncing up and down in my seat. I was getting well excited by now. “Put your foot down, and grab that empty parking space before that Mercedes gets it!”

      “Oh, really, Kenny!” my mum said sternly. She reversed neatly into the empty space, just ahead of the Mercedes, and I cheered loudly. “I dread to think what you’re going to be like what you get on to that karting track.”

      “Yeah, Kenny, haven’t you heard of road rage?” Fliss said.

      “Or in this case, track rage!” Frankie grinned.

      “Yeah, you lot had better stay out of my way,” I said, climbing out of the car. “If we have a race, I’m out to win!”

      Frankie turned to Fliss.

      “I bet you 50p Kenny crashes her kart,” she said confidently, holding out her hand. “Shake on it?”

      “No, thanks,” Fliss retorted. “I can’t afford to lose 50p!”

      “What a cheek!” I grumbled, as we went over to the entrance. “I’m going to be the fastest out of you lot.”

      “I reckon Frankie will be a good driver,” Lyndz said. “She was the only one who didn’t get bumped when we went on the dodgems.”

      “I think Fliss could be quite good,” Frankie remarked, “if she stops worrying about her hairdo for five minutes!”

      “Well, I reckon Lyndz is going to be the best,” Rosie added. “She’s always good at things like this.”

      “Mum, have you got those free passes?” I asked impatiently, as we went up to the ticket office.

      My mum stared at me. “No, I thought Fliss gave them to you.”

      “What!” I howled. “She did – but then I thought I gave them to you to look after! Oh no, that means we’ll have to go back home for them—”

      “Oh, wait a minute.” My mum grinned at me, and then pulled them out of her handbag. “Here they are.”

      I glared at her while the others roared.

      “Looks like you’re not the only queen of the wind-up, Kenny!” Frankie spluttered.

      “Oh, very funny, Mum!” I said crossly, as we went into the arena. Then I stopped and stared round. “Wow! Hey, you guys, look at this!”

      There were karts hurtling round the tracks, right before our eyes. The track close to us was the kids’ one, and the adults’ track was on the other side of the building. The tracks weren’t just straight and flat, they had lots of bends as well as ramps leading up to bridges. They were surrounded by these banks, which must have been there to stop the karts coming off. There were men in overalls with flags, standing at the side watching everything that was going on – I think they were the race marshalls. The noise was pretty loud, but it looked incredibly exciting. I couldn’t wait to be out there doing exactly the same thing!

      “Look, there’s a café and a restaurant as well,” Lyndz said as we made our way further into the arena.

      “And somewhere for spectators,” Frankie added, pointing at a large, fenced-off area filled with seating.

      “You’ll be able to sit there and watch us, Mum,” I said eagerly.

      “Yes, and I’ve brought a book to read in case I get bored,” my mum replied.

      “Bored!” I repeated, amazed. “How could anyone get bored watching the Sleepover Club go karting?”

      Parents! Don’t you just love ’em?

      “Well, I’ll try not to,” my СКАЧАТЬ