Hey, wave warrior! Howâs it going, dude? Why donât you cruise on over here and hang out with your old buddy Kenny, huh?
No, itâs OK, I havenât got sunstroke. Itâs just my beach speak â Iâve been practising it ever since we got back from our awesome trip. Whatâs that? You havenât heard about it yet? I canât believe one of the others hasnât filled you in â itâs all weâve been yakking about for ages.
But thatâs brilliant, cos now I get to tell you! Weâve been having the coolest summer â youâre going to be so wowed when you hear about it, I swear. Quick, letâs sit over here in the shade so we donât fry. If I get any more sun, Iâll be peeling for weeks.
OK, so you remember us all, right? The five super-cool members of the Sleepover Club? First thereâs me, Kenny. On my birth certificate it says my nameâs Laura McKenzie, but no one calls me that unless theyâre narked with me â or theyâre a teacher. (And the teachers are usually narked with me anyway.)
Next thereâs Frankie â look, sheâs over there, flinging a frisbee at Lyndz. Frankie and I have known each other for ever, and sheâs a complete laugh. I think you can blame most of the craziest Sleepover Club ideas on her â life just ainât quiet with Frankie around!
As for Lyndz, sheâs as mad on ponies as I am on Leicester City Football Club (and that is seriously mad). In fact, itâs a wonder sheâs with us right now â usually every spare minute sheâs got sheâs off to the stables to shovel horse poo, or whatever it is they make you do down there. (Yeuch!)
Then thereâs Fliss â Felicity Sidebotham if youâre being formal. Yep, thatâs her, lounging on a towel in her new hot-pink bikini. Summer just has to be her favourite time of year, judging by the number of new outfits she always seems to get. I donât know how she makes it out of the house in the morning. With that many to choose from Iâd be dithering till bedtime.
And last â but so not least â thereâs Rosie. Fliss is trying to compare tans with her, but she doesnât look that interested, does she? You might think Rosieâs the quietest of the gang. Donât bet on it though, cos sometimes she surprises you. Talk about hidden talents! You wonât believe it when I tell you what sheâs been up to.
But Iâve got to start at the beginning, havenât I? Kenny, get your brain in gear, girl! OK, so here goes.
I know it sounds weird, but the coolest, most glamorous Sleepover adventure yet actually started at Cuddington Primary. Yep, our familiar old school. And it started with those familiar old slime bags, the M&Ms (thatâs Emily âthe Goblinâ Berryman and Emma âthe Queenâ Hughes). Iâm sure you havenât forgotten about them â theyâre the most stuck-up, snotty girls in our class, and theyâve been the number one enemies of the Sleepover Club since⦠well, forever.
It was a Tuesday morning and we were doing Art. Our teacher Mrs Weaver had brought in a packet of balloons, and we were making papier-mâché animals. Sounds weird? I know â but actually it was quite cool. You had to blow up your balloon and then stick your papier-mâché all over it, adding extra bits for legs and ears and whatever.
Frankie and I were doing quite well â even though weâd spent half the lesson flicking bits of gluey paper at each other.
âMineâs not an animal, itâs a space rocket,â said Frankie, dragging a lump of gunge out of her hair. She had another bit stuck to her forehead, but I wasnât going to let on. It looked hilarious. She peered at my paper-covered balloon. âWhatâs yours?â
âA squashed football?â suggested Fliss.
âMr Potato Head?â said Rosie.
âWrong and wrong again,â I said. Iâd just cut up an egg box and I picked up one of the bits. âLook, this oneâs the snout,â I said. âAnd these are the little stubby legs. And this one Iâll cut in half for the ears. Oink, oink! Any guesses?â
Frankie grinned. âItâs Emma Hughes!â
Ha, ha! That made us all fall about.
âI heard my name. Are you talking about me?â said a snooty voice behind us. I spun round and there were the M&Ms â trust them to be listening in! Honestly, it just shows how pathetic they are that they donât have anything else to do but annoy us.
âYeuch, no,â I said, turning back. âThatâd be the most boring conversation in the universe.â
Then Emily Berryman sniggered. âDid you know youâve got paper stuck to your forehead, Frankie?â she said. âYou look so stupid.â
âYeah, right,â said Frankie, thinking the Goblin was playing a trick on her. This sent the M&Ms into fits of snorting giggles. Then Frankie put her hand to her forehead and turned bright pink.
Instantly, I was seized with guilt â and the M&Msâ smug faces made my blood boil. âPush off!â I yelled. âOr Iâll sit on your stupid balloons and squash them flat!â