Oops â sorry! Didnât hurt you, did I? I didnât see you coming round the corner.
These snowflakes glue themselves to your eyelashes. They make everything look dead blurred. Also, donât laugh, but I was kind of pretending I was looking through a veil. You know, a snowy white brideâs veil?
Frankie says Iâve got weddings on the brain, since Mum and Andy announced their engagement. âThatâs a joke,â I told her. âComing from Miss Frankie âIâve-got-a-new-baby-sisterâ Thomas!â
Itâs true. Ever since her baby sister was born, Frankie hasnât stopped rabbiting on about her. Mind you, she is the cutest thing. Frankie says she coos in her crib just like a sweet little pigeon!
Look, Iâm just on my way to meet Frankie and the others in the school playground. Yes, I do know itâs Sunday! Itâs for a really special occasion. And I canât wait to tell you all about it.
Why donât you come with me? That way I can update you on our latest, most radical sleepover yet: Sleepover 2000. (I canât believe Iâm saying that, can you?!)
Seriously, Iâm quite chilled about the millennium now. But for the first few days, I was truly spooked. I just couldnât picture myself actually living in the year 2000. I mean, thatâs practically the FUTURE!
Donât tell the others, OK, but when I went to bed on New Yearâs Eve, I was seriously scared Iâd wake up and see alien spaceships buzzing over the rooftops.
But next morning, when I looked out of my window, there was good old Cuddington, looking disappointingly average! And gradually my millennium worries died down.
At least, they did until I found out where Sleepover 2000 was going to be held. Thatâs right. MY house!
I couldnât believe my bad luck. I mean, the first sleepover of the new millennium has got to be truly awesome. Everyoneâs going to remember it for ever and ever. And thatâs a mega responsibility for anyone, right?
Only with a mum like mine, itâs more of a mega impossibility.
Donât get me wrong. Mumâs the best. But when she was little, she didnât really have that many friends. So every time my mates come round, she goes right over the top trying to make them feel at home. She tries so hard, it gets me all churned up inside.
Plus, a nice home means a lot to Mum. So sheâs always in a flap in case someone spills their Coke or drops crumbs or whatever.
Unfortunately, at New Year, Mum went just a teeny bit too far. What with the party and her engagement and everything, she was totally stressed out. Then Frankieâs mum went into labour, right in the middle of MY mumâs party!!! The thought of someone having a baby on her nice new carpet practically sent Mum into orbit.
So you can imagine how I felt about hosting the most important sleepover in history, with Mum fluffing around us the whole time.
I worked myself into a major froth. What made it worse was that there was no-one I could talk to. I couldnât tell the others. They think my mumâs a headcase as it is. And I definitely couldnât tell Mum.
Then Andy, my soon-to-be-proper step-dad, found me having a cry on the stairs. I told him I didnât feel well. âI think Iâm going down with this, like, evil millennium bug everyoneâs been on about,â I sniffled.
But Andy is such a star. After he finally winkled the truth out of me, he totally put my mind at rest. âIâll have a tactful word. Donât give it a second thought, princess,â he promised. âSleepover 2000 is sorted, OK!â And he gave me a huge clean tissue, so I could give my nose a proper blow.
Mind you, when the Big Day came, it looked like old Andy had let me down. Becauseâ
Oops! There I go again, rushing ahead of myself. Iâm such a butterfly. I almost left out the most important part of the story. Which is what happened on our first day back at school.
Have you noticed how bad things mostly happen when youâre in a great mood? I mean, not only had I finally got over my sleepover jitters, but I was feeling really bubbly and excited. All five of us were.
And then Mrs Weaver had to go and put a total hex on our plans!!!