The Sleepover Club Down Under. Narinder Dhami

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      We all started singing the theme tune (well, yelling it really) and Mrs Proudlove waddled as fast as she could into the kitchen and shut the door. What a cheek – I didn’t think our singing was that bad.

      I suppose South Beach wasn’t really that different to Neighbours or Home and Away. It was set in a beach café, and it had loads of good-looking people in it who all had big problems with their families and friends, just like the other two programmes. But South Beach did have ONE thing that Neighbours and Home and Away didn’t – and that was Brad Martin, the hunkiest guy in the entire universe!

      “Ooh, Brad Martin’s so gorgeous!” Fliss drooled as the credits started and fit-looking surfers ran along the beach with their boards. At the front was Brad Martin, who played Rick, a waiter at the beach café. He’s got long blond hair and blue eyes and Fliss loves him even more than Ryan Scott, who’s in our class at school. Even Kenny thinks he’s gorgeous, although she won’t admit it.

      “He’s cute!” I agreed.

      “He’s OK – for a guy!” Kenny snorted, pretending not to be interested.

      “I wonder if he’ll be just as gorgeous in real life?” Lyndz said hopefully.

      Remember I told you that there was something else we were really excited about, apart from our sleepover that night? Well, we were actually going to see Brad in the flesh! No, really! I nearly died when I read in the local newspaper a few months ago that he was coming to Leicester to appear in the panto Aladdin. Leicester’s the nearest big city to Cuddington, the village where we all live, so I pestered my mum and dad for ages to take us all to see him. They finally agreed, although I had to promise to do the vacuuming for a week. We were going to the panto near the end of the Christmas holidays before we went back to school, and we could hardly wait.

      “So who do you think Rick’s going to choose?” Fliss asked as the programme started.

      At the moment Rick was in love with two different girls, and we were dying to know which one he was going to go out with.

      “Charlene,” said Kenny immediately.

      “No, Melanie,” Fliss argued.

      “Melanie’s too girly,” Kenny retorted. That was just why Fliss liked her!

      “Well, Charlene’s too much of a tomboy,” Fliss pointed out. “And anyway, she’s still in love with Tony.”

      “I thought Charlene didn’t like Tony any more after she found out he swindled Mr and Mrs Williams out of all that money,” I objected.

      “That wasn’t Tony’s fault,” Lyndz reminded me, “Luke set him up.”

      “I thought Luke fancied Melanie anyway,” Kenny put in.

      “No, Luke fancies Noelene,” I interrupted her, “only he doesn’t know that Noelene’s secretly married to Andrew.”

      “Ssh, we’re missing it!” Fliss wailed as Rick began to have a row with Melanie about Charlene.

      The rest of the programme wasn’t that good (because those were the bits Brad Martin wasn’t in), but Luke asked Noelene out and Andrew hit him, which was quite exciting. Then at the end of the programme, Rick had a row with Charlene about Melanie, and he went out on his surfboard on his own. He fell off and hit his head and the programme finished with him lying unconscious on the beach.

      “Oh no!” Fliss gasped, looking worried. “I hope he’s OK.”

      “Yeah, bound to be,” Kenny said. “He looked OK when I saw him in the newspaper last week, opening that new supermarket in Leicester!”

      Fliss gave her a shove. “I mean, I hope they don’t kill him off in the programme!”

      “There’d be a riot if they did!” Lyndz said.

      “I wish I could’ve gone to see Brad opening that supermarket,” I grumbled. “But my mum wouldn’t let me have the day off school. Typical!”

      My mum and dad are both lawyers, which is a real pain. Have you ever tried winning an argument against two lawyers?

      “Brad must be staying in Leicester while he’s doing the panto,” Lyndz said hopefully. “Maybe we’ll see him while we’re out shopping with our parents or something.”

      That’s Lyndz all over – she always looks on the bright side!

      “Some chance!” Kenny scoffed. “Leicester’s huge! Tell you what though…” she grinned at us. “Maybe we’ll be able to go backstage and get his autograph after we’ve been to the panto!”

      We all got pretty excited then!

      “Do you think we’ll be allowed?” Fliss gasped.

      Kenny shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’ll think of a wicked plan to get us in, don’t worry!”

      Fliss, Lyndz and I were worrying already. Kenny’s plans aren’t exactly foolproof – or even legal, half the time.

      “Where on earth has Rosie got to?” Lyndz asked.

      “Maybe I’d better give her a call,” Fliss suggested, but right then the doorbell rang.

      “About time too!” Kenny moaned as Fliss went to answer it. “We can’t have a proper sleepover with one person missing!”

      Next moment we heard Rosie apologising breathlessly in the hall.

      “Sorry, Fliss! Mum’s car broke down, and we had to wait for the AA to come and you’ll never guess what happened—OW!”

      There was a loud crash, and Lyndz, Kenny and me rushed out into the hall to see what was going on. Rosie was sprawled on the hall carpet, while Fliss was in stitches.

      “She tripped over the rug!” Fliss spluttered helplessly.

      “Felicity!” Mrs Proudlove hurried out of the kitchen. “Don’t just stand there laughing, help Rosie up!”

      Fliss hauled Rosie to her feet, while the rest of us stood around trying not to snigger.

      “You’ll never guess what happened—” Rosie began again.

      “So tell us!” I said as we went into the living room. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything that exciting. Rosie gets wound up over nothing at all sometimes. “You look like you’re about to burst!”

      “Yeah, you’re as red as a ripe tomato!” Kenny told her helpfully, but Rosie wasn’t listening. She looked round at us all, her eyes wide.

      “I saw Brad Martini!” she announced. “Right here in Cuddington!”

      

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