Fiona Cummings – Sleepover Girls on the Range (страница 2)

As if on cue Alfie began to whinny, and Marvel, Bramble and Trojan came over to join him at the fence. Mrs McAllister and I cracked up laughing.

“You see, they know what we’re talking about!”

When we’d made a fuss of the horses, Mrs McAllister went on:

“So I’d like you to think of a special treat that I can give you and your friends. Is there anything you have in mind?”

I thought hard – for about a minute – and then I grinned.

“Well there is something. But I’ll have to ask the others first.”

I had thought of something so mind-blowingly wonderful, it was like a hot fudge sundae and a knickerbocker glory all rolled into one. All I had to do now was persuade the others. And I knew at least one of them wouldn’t agree with me at all …

All the way home from the stables, my mind was whizzing with plans for this special treat. I couldn’t think about anything else. It was going to be so different from anything we’d ever done before, but at the same time so totally cool! I knew that I had to share it with the others as soon as I got in.

Well that was the plan anyway, but I couldn’t get a look in on the phone. First, one of Dad’s teacher colleagues rang about some meeting or other. Yawn, yawn, bor-ing! Then one of Mum’s midwife friends called and they talked for hours about every baby they’d ever delivered. Double boring with chocolate on top. Then just when I thought the phone was free, Stuart got on it and started talking to someone in a really soppy voice. Tom and I kept sneaking up behind him and singing:

“Stuart’s got a girlfriend!”

Stuart was not pleased.

Anyway, when the phone was finally free (after Stuart had hogged it for about three hours) I pounced on it.

“No chance, Lyndsey Collins!” laughed Mum, whisking the receiver out of my hand. “Have you seen the time? It’s time you were in bed, my girl!”

“Aw Mum, just a quick one?” I pleaded.

“No way!” Mum held firm. “I know your quick phone calls. You’d be talking for an hour at least. Now scoot!”

I had all that exciting news bubbling inside me and I had to keep it there until the next day!! It’s a wonder I managed to sleep at all.

The next morning I was up with the larks and desperate to get to school to see the others. But Ben took forever to get ready, and then Spike was sick and needed to be changed before we could set off. Then Tom decided that he needed a lift too. So by the time we finally made it to my school, the bell was ringing and everyone else was in the classroom.

“Don’t forget you’ve got the dentist this afternoon,” Mum called out after me. “I’ll pick you up at two.”

I flew inside just as everyone was settling down for the register. Mrs Weaver’s a bit of a stickler for us keeping quiet while she takes it, so there was no chance of me speaking to the others. I just managed to mouth to them:

“I’ve got some great news. I’ll tell you at break time.”

And let me tell you, break time couldn’t come soon enough, because our first lesson was maths and I just couldn’t get my head round it at all. Neither could Kenny, mind you – she spent all her time flicking bits of rubber at the M&Ms, then pretending to be hard at work whenever they turned round.

When the bell finally went, we all piled out into the playground. Well, the rest of us did. Fliss was messing about somewhere inside, probably doing her hair or something.

“Come on Lyndz, spill! What’s this great news then?” asked Frankie.

I loved seeing their expectant faces looking at me like that. And I loved milking the moment too.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Fliss?” I asked innocently. “You know what she’s like if she’s left out.”

We all turned towards the door, just in time to see Fliss appearing.

“Come on, Fliss!” shouted Kenny sharply. “We’re all waiting for you.”

Fliss looked very flustered and started to run towards us. But suddenly this leg appeared from behind the door. Fliss saw it too late, tried to jump over it, but couldn’t. The next thing we knew, she was sprawling on the ground.

“Fliss! Are you all right?” We all ran towards her.

“Enjoy your trip, Felicity?” cackled a voice behind us. We didn’t even need to look up to know that that was Emma Hughes, M&M Number One.

“I’m going to get you for this!” Kenny yelled at Emma and M&M Number Two Emily as they ran off cackling down the playground.

“I should have known,” Frankie sighed. “They’re still trying to pay us back for what we did to them in the scavenger hunt, aren’t they?”

Now you must remember what happened in the scavenger hunt! We’re still laughing about it. We didn’t think the M&Ms were going to take part in the hunt at all, so you could have knocked us down with a feather when they turned up with their mates. They were determined to win the prize, you see. We were seriously worried when we thought they actually might win the thing. We came up with loads of cunning plans to try to put them off the scent, but it was Fliss’s mum, of all people, who managed to do the job for us! They got disqualified from the competition completely. So that’s why they were planning their pay-back time.

Anyway, just at that moment I wasn’t concerned about their stupid revenge. I was more concerned about Fliss.

“We’d better get someone to look at you, “I told her gently, helping her to her feet.

Poor Fliss – she was crying but trying not to. Both her palms were grazed and she had a nasty gash to her right knee which blood was starting to trickle from.

“Ouch, that looks nasty!” said Rosie sympathetically.

Kenny cast her eye over it. “Well you certainly need to get all the grit out of there,” she said in her best doctor’s voice. “But you’ll live!”

“Th…thanks a lot!” sobbed Fliss, and hobbled inside with the rest of us supporting her.

Well, so much for me telling the others my news. By the time Fliss was sorted out it was the end of break time. So that meant I had to wait until after lunch before I could tell them. We don’t all eat our lunch together, you see. At our school the people who bring packed lunches can’t eat with the people who have school dinners. Crazy I know, but there you go. And as Kenny isn’t really fussy about what she eats, she always has a cooked lunch. We tease her about eating sheeps’ eyeballs and stuff but she just says, “Yum, yum!” and licks her lips!

Anyway, as I wanted to tell all the others my news at the same time, I had to wait. And by the time we were all settled down on the grass together, I was absolutely bursting with it.

“You know that I had something to tell you? Well, Mrs McAllister is planning something special for the opening of her new stable block—” I began.

“And she wants us to plan another Stable Fun Day?” asked Rosie. “Cool!”

“Well not exactly,” I tried to continue. “I think she’s planning more of an Open Day. But the thing is—”

“I’m not getting on a horse again!” snapped Fliss.

“You don’t have to, Fliss, because—”

Suddenly there were gales of laughter from the bushes behind us.

“You got a bit carried away the last time you were on a horse, didn’t you Felicity?”

It was the Gruesome Twosome! They’d only been earwigging, hadn’t they?

“Right that’s it!” Kenny leapt up and dashed into the bushes.

Branches snapped, and there were stifled screams and shouts of “Gerroff, you moron!” Then we heard the M&Ms scrambling out through the back of the bushes and running away.

When Kenny emerged, she was holding a fistful of hair and looking very pleased with herself.

“That should keep them quiet for a while!”

The rest of us were kind of shocked. I mean, there was enough hair there to stuff a cushion. The M&Ms would have bald patches for sure.

“Kenny!” Even Frankie seemed shocked. “I mean, pulling their hair out, that’s a bit strong, isn’t it?”

Kenny snorted with laughter. “I didn’t pull it out, dumbo! It just got caught on all the branches as they tried to run away from me.”

There’s nothing we like better than getting one over on our rivals! Except perhaps …

“My news! I almost forgot!” I leapt up. “Mrs McAllister said that…”

“Come on, girls!” Mrs Weaver was heading towards us. “Didn’t you hear the bell? Hurry up, you’re going to be late!”

Talk about bad timing! Was I ever going to tell my friends my news, or was I going to end up having this treat on my own?

It didn’t help that I had to leave school early for the dentist, so I didn’t even have the chance to tell them about it later. Talk about fed up!

When I got to the van Mum laughed.

“Why the long face, Lyndz? Bad day?”

I nodded. “Something like that. I’ve got this great news to tell the others, but I just don’t think I’m ever going to have the chance.”