Oh, hiya! I didnât hear you come in. Just hold on a sec, while I stick this sequin on⦠What do you think? What do you mean, what is it? Itâs a choker, you derr-brain. See? All the sequins and beads, with these silver ribbons to tie at the back? Iâm making it for this party I might be going to at the weekend. Yeah, check my careful use of the word âmightâ. It all depends on what mood Dadâs in when I ask him about it. Heâs been mad for a week or so now, ever sinceâ
Oops! Nearly gave the game away there! Thatâs why youâre here, isnât it? To hear all the latest Sleepover Club goss? Well, youâve come to the right gal. I might be in a whole heap of trouble, but Iâve got some inside info on our latest disaster thatâs so secret, youâve got to swear not to tell a single soul. Not even the other Sleepover Clubbers, OK? Even if they torture you by tickling your feet with grass stalks. This has to be strictly between you and me, or my dad will never let me out of the house again.
You probably know all about us by now, donât you? The Sleepover Club â five girls who really know how to get into trouble. Maybe you donât remember? Iâll give you a quick run-down on us before I tell the story, then. But first of all, Iâve got a question for you.
Do you know that rhyme, âFive Little Piggiesâ? I know, itâs a really weird question, but hey! My mates donât call me Spaceman for nothing! So, do you know it? âThis little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed at home, this little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none, and this little piggy went WEE WEE WEE all the way homeâ? I bet your mum or dad used to tell it to you when you were a little kid, maybe when you were getting out of the bath or something. And I bet they wiggled your toes when they did it, too. Parents can be so dorky sometimes.
Basically, my mates in the Sleepover Club are kind of like those pigs in the rhyme. Take me for instance. Francesca Theresa Thomas, known as Frankie. Iâm probably the piggy who goes to market, âcos Iâm dead sociable â always the life and soul of the party. I like dressing up and going a bit crazy when I get the chance, to tell the truth. Mind you, Iâve calmed down a bit since my cute baby sister Izzy was born. A big sister has responsibilities, you know? Iâm the leader of the Sleepover Club, I guess. At least, thatâs what the others would say â though they wouldnât say it in front of me.
Lyndz is probably the piggy who stays at home. Sheâs the peacemaker, with a crazy family life. Lyndsey Marianne Collins is her full name, and sheâs got FOUR brothers â two older, two younger. Imagine that! Eight smelly socks on the landing every day! I donât think I could live with that. Sheâd love this piggy comparison, âcos sheâs totally loony about animals of all shapes and sizes. Sheâs particularly mad about horses, and spends most of her time down at the stables â when sheâs not hanging out with her best mates, of course.
The piggy with the roast beef would be Fliss, the girl with the best of everything. Felicity Diana Sidebotham, she used to be. What a cringe â Iâd have died of embarrassment if Iâd been stuck with a name like that! I know Thomas isnât anything special, but Iâm well pleased Iâve got that and not Sidebotham. Well, sheâs not Sidebotham any more, youâll be pleased to know, âcos her mum just got married. Guess what she is now? Proudlove! Not much better, is it? She doesnât have a great sense of humour, Fliss, so donât go winding her up about her name, will you? She lives with her mum and step-dad in a perfect little house with a perfect little bedroom and a perfect little wardrobe. Sheâs a perfect little pain in the you-know-what sometimes, too, but basically sheâs a good laugh. Sheâd probably hate this pig comparison, though â she goes on and on about diets, which is totally stupid.
Rosieâs probably best described as the piggy with none â but donât tell her that, âcos sheâll go mad. She gets really touchy about money. I donât think her mum has got much, not since her dad left home. But whatâs money got to do with anything? Sheâs got loads of other things â a brother, a sister, a wicked sense of humour, a fab talent for singing and mimicking people, and four top mates. Sheâs the newest member of the Sleepover Club â and we wouldnât have invited her to join if we didnât think she was cool.
Which leaves my best mate of mates â Laura âKennyâ McKenzie. Weâve known each other since we were little kids, and have done pretty much everything together ever since! Sheâs the piggy who goes âWEE WEE WEEâ all the way home, âcos sheâs got so much energy. (Plus itâs kind of funny, that bit about weeing.) Kenny loves playing footie and doing other sporty stuff, and is a total tomboy. Like, she refuses to wear skirts and dresses