Hey, you!
Hi again, itâs me, Frankie. Otherwise known as Francesca Thomas. Remember me? Youâd better, or Iâll set Kenny on to you! We havenât talked for ages, but Iâve got a really cool story to tell you, all about sleepovers and saris and bindis and bangles and Diwali â well, why donât I just get on with it instead of rabbiting about it.
So, there we all were back at school after half-term, and feeling pretty miserable about it too. What do you mean, you donât know who we are? âCourse you do! Thereâs Kenny (or Laura McKenzie to the teachers), Fliss (she used to be Fliss Sidebotham until her mum got married again â now sheâs Fliss Proudlove. Fliss hated Sidebotham and now Proudlove makes her want to puke), Lyndz (the Hiccup Queen), Rosie and me. Yep, weâre the Sleepover Club, remember? Weâre famous for sleeping over at each otherâs houses every weekend (and getting into loads of trouble at the same time, my mum says. What a cheek).
âSchool stinks!â Kenny moaned as she hurled her bag on to our table, just missing Flissâs nose. âI wish we were still on holiday.â
âOh, itâs not so bad,â Lyndz said. âAt least itâs Bonfire Night next week.â Lyndz always looks on the bright side.
âYeah, cool!â Kenny cheered up straight away. âIâm gonna get loads of bangers!â
Fliss groaned. She hates loud noises, spooky happenings and things that go bump in the night. âNo, Kenny! I hate bangers!â
âAnyway, you say that every Bonfire Night, Kenny,â I pointed out, âand your dad never buys you any!â
âIs everyone coming to the fireworks display at school this year?â Lyndz asked.
We all nodded enthusiastically.
âMy mum said I can bring some sparklers,â Rosie added and Kenny pulled a gruesome face.
âSparklers are for wimps!â she snorted. But I knew that when it was Bonfire Night next week, Kenny would be there waving her sparkler around, along with the rest of us.
âMy mumâs going into Leicester to buy some really expensive fireworks this weekend,â said a snooty voice behind us. We all groaned. It was the M&Ms, our total enemies.
âSick-bag time!â Kenny said loudly, pretending to throw up into Flissâs bag. âUrrgh!â
âOh, youâre so gross, Laura McKenzie!â Emma Hughes sniffed, and Emily Berryman nodded in agreement.
You remember the M&Ms, donât you? Emma Hughes is the snobbiest, most stuck-up person in the whole world. We call Emma Hughes the Queen, because if the real Queen came to visit our school and met Emma, Emma would expect her to curtsey. And we call Emily Berryman the Goblin because sheâs small and weedy with this really deep voice. Put a hat and a long white beard on her and sheâd be a dead ringer for a garden gnome!
âWeâre having a private conversation actually!â the Goblin growled, glaring at us.
âSure, carry right on,â Kenny said airily.
The Queen and the Goblin swept past us with their noses in the air, and Kenny immediately tiptoed across the classroom after them. The rest of us bit our lips to stop ourselves giggling. The M&Ms didnât have a clue that Kenny was right behind them, breathing down their necks, until Emma happened to glance round â and nearly jumped right out of her skin.
âWhat do you think youâre doing!â she snapped, as the rest of us fell about laughing.
âNothing,â Kenny said innocently, and then scuttled back over to us as our teacher, Mrs Weaver, came into the classroom. Mrs Weaverâs OK, but she doesnât miss much. That means, if you want to mess about, youâve got to be careful!
Mrs Weaver got us all sitting down and then took the register. âNow,â she said as she closed it, âI want to talk to you about our fireworks display next week. Weâve decided to do something a bit different this year.â She looked round the classroom. âDo any of you know what other celebrations are happening at this time, apart from Bonfire Night?â
Quite a few hands shot up, including mine, but Kennyâs was first.
âThe Hindu festival of Diwali, Miss,â she said.
We all knew a bit about Diwali, the festival of lights, because Cuddington, the village where we live, is near Leicester, and thereâs always a big Diwali celebration there every year. It looks wicked. There are always loads of fireworks, and people seem to have a great time.
Mrs Weaver nodded. âThatâs right, Kenny,â she said. âDoes anyone know some of the ways in which the Hindu community celebrate Diwali?â
This time I got in first. âThey have fireworks, Miss.â
âAnd they send Diwali cards,â Lyndz added. âIâve seen them in shops in Leicester.â
Kenny was bouncing up and down impatiently in her seat with her hand up again. âThey light these little clay lamps called divas and put them in their windows,â she said. âAnd sometimes they draw these really cool coloured patterns on their doorsteps to welcome their visitors, but Iâve forgotten the name for them.â