Starring The Sleepover Club. Narinder Dhami

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ you are the most cunning and devious child I’ve ever met.”

      “That’s what comes of having lawyers for parents,” I said. “By the way, my sleeping bag’s looking a bit gross too.”

      “Don’t push your luck, Frankie,” said my dad.

      “OK, OK. But I really do need new jim-jams. I want to look good in our video.”

      “So,” said my dad, “we’re finally going to see what goes on at these famous sleepovers, are we?”

      “I already know what goes on,” my mum said, dishing up the lasagne. “Chaos, trouble and lots of junk food.”

      “There’s a bit more to it than that,” I said, picking up my fork. “And anyway, we aren’t going to let just anyone watch the video. Sleepovers are supposed to be a secret.”

      Especially from parents. I wasn’t quite sure how we were going to get away with keeping what we did at our sleepovers a secret if Fliss’s mum was going to be filming us. But I’d worry about that later.

      First of all, though, we had to get through Friday at school. It was pretty difficult because we were all hyper-excited about the sleepover that night, and by the end of the day, we’d turned Miss Jenkins into a nervous wreck. Kenny had managed a record eleven trips to the pencil sharpener without being spotted, and we’d played Pass the Sniff in silent reading until our noses hurt.

      As soon as the home bell rang, the Sleepover Club were first out of the classroom door.

      “My dad’s taking me shopping,” I told the others. “I’m going to get some new pyjamas for tonight.”

      “I’ve already got some,” said Kenny. “They’re so cool. They’re going to be the coolest pyjamas ever seen on video.’”

      “What are they like?” asked Lyndz, but Kenny shook her head.

      “You’ll have to wait and see!”

      “Oh, I can’t wait for tonight!” Fliss squealed, and we all grinned. Tonight was going to be really special.

      I got a wicked pair of pyjamas in Leicester. They were bright orange – I mean really bright, the colour of an ice lolly – and they had apples and bananas printed all over them. There was a matching pair of fluffy orange slippers too, although I had to promise to wash up the dinner plates for two weeks to get my hands on those. By the time we got back home, I had an hour to get ready for the sleepover.

      First I packed my sleepover kit. In went my new pyjamas and slippers, my diary, my toothbrush, my teddy bear, Stanley, a big bag of fun-size Mars bars, a family-size pack of cheese and onion crisps, my torch and personal stuff like a hairbrush and deodorant. Next I had to decide what I was going to wear. Usually we just wear jeans and tee-shirts, so that we can slob out and do exactly what we like, but tonight was different. Tonight I was going to wear my black hipster flares and my new lime-green shirt. And I was going to crimp my hair.

      I don’t crimp my hair very often, because it takes ages, but I really wanted to look good in our sleepover video. After I’d done my hair, I painted my nails silver. I love silver nail varnish, and I’m allowed to wear it sometimes at weekends, if The Oldies are in a good mood. I was hoping that tonight I could get away without them noticing.

      Wait a minute, the man at the video shop desk is giving us funny looks. Maybe we ought to pretend we’re looking at the films. Come on, Nathan’s over the other side of the shop now, so we should be OK. Just keep an eye out for him, that’s all.

      Well, when I finally made it downstairs, carrying my sleepover kit and my sleeping bag, my dad raised his eyebrows.

      “What happened to that scruffy little girl who used to be our daughter?” he said to my mum.

      “Oh, zip it, Dad,” I said. “I just threw on the first things I could find.”

      “It looks like you just threw on some silver nail varnish too,” said my mum.

      “This is a special occasion, Mum,” I said. “When I’m a famous actress, people will be paying thousands of pounds to get their hands on this video.”

      Did I mention to you that I want to be an actress when I grow up? That’s why I was really looking forward to tonight. It was going to be my very first chance to see myself on film.

      “Come on then, Michelle Pfeiffer,” said my mum, “I’ll run you over to Fliss’s.”

      “OK,” I said. Fliss doesn’t live that far away from us, but I had all my sleepover stuff to carry, and besides, it looked like it was going to rain, which would wash all the crimping out of my hair quicker than you can say “Bad Hair Day”.

      “Mum,” I said when we were in the car and on our way, “can we—?”

      “No,” said my mum.

      “What do you mean, no?” I glared at her. “You didn’t even know what I was going to say.”

      “Oh, yes I do.” My mum turned into Fliss’s road. “You were going to say, ‘Can we get a camcorder?’”

      I was speechless. Parents can really make you mad sometimes, can’t they?

      “Well, why can’t we?”

      “Because they’re too expensive, that’s why,” my mum said. “Do you know how much they cost, Frankie? Six or seven hundred pounds. Which reminds me.” We stopped at some traffic lights, and she turned to look hard at me. “No fooling around tonight. Do exactly what Fliss’s mum tells you. Because if anything happens to that camcorder, you and your friends are going to be paying for it out of your pocket money for a very, very long time.”

      “Oh, Mum,” I groaned as we pulled up outside Fliss’s house. “Have I ever let you down before?”

      “Yes, you have.”

      “Bye, then,” I said quickly, and dived out of the car before she could get launched on a list of sleepover disasters.

      I was just about to open Fliss’s gate when Kenny’s dad’s car pulled up, and Kenny jumped out. I stared at her. She was still wearing her Leicester City top because that’s all she ever wore when she wasn’t at school. But she wasn’t wearing her favourite pair of jeans with holes in the knees or her Timberland boots. Instead she was wearing brand-new jeans and proper shoes. With heels. And she’d only gone and crimped her hair.

      “You’ve crimped your hair!” I said.

      “So have you!” Kenny stared back at me, and we both started to laugh. “We’re going to look like twins on this video!”

      A little red car stopped by the kerb while we were still laughing. Rosie’s mum waved to us from the driver’s seat, and then Rosie got out. She looked really cool in a long skirt and a matching top. And her hair was crimped.

      Rosie looked at me and Kenny, and her face went pink.

      “You’ve crimped your hair!” she gasped.

      “I think we’ve already had this conversation,” said Kenny.

      “We’re СКАЧАТЬ