delicious Mum,â she said as she bit deep into the dumplingâs crunchy skin. The smooth sweet red bean paste oozed into her mouth. It tasted good.
âHave you been in Mimiâs garden?â Dr Lu asked Mrs Lu.
âI stood at the entrance and read the inscription but nothing happened.â
âThatâs because you donât need the Garden, Mum.â
Ding ding-a-ling.
The shop door opened. Gemma followed her mother into the shop.
âMrs Johnson, please come in. Sit down,â said Dr Lu.
Oh no, whatâs she doing here?
The dumpling in Mimiâs mouth suddenly tasted claggy and dry.
âThank you, Dr Lu. Gemma tells me sheâs in the same class at school as your daughter. She thought it would be nice if they got together while I have my consultation.â
âGood idea. Mimi look after Gemma. Take her up to your room.â
âBut Dad, Iâm busy. I need to clean up the clinicâ
Gemma walked confidently up to the counter smiling her big fake smile as though she was Mimiâs best friend.
âHi, Mimi.â Then she leant over and whispered, âThought we could catch up while Mumâs having her witchety brew treatment with your dad Dr Smelly-Loo.â
âWhat do you want?â Mimi whispered back.
âHurry up, Mimi, what wrong with you? Take friend upstairs.â Dr Lu waved her away.
âI go make morning tea for you and Gemma,â said Mrs Lu. âQuickly, go. Your daddy busyâ
Reluctantly, Mimi led the way to her room.
Sheâs up to something. What is it? Gemma wouldnât be seen dead with me.
âCute dog. Whatâs its name?â asked Gemma, plonking herself on the bed.
She put her hand out but snatched it back quickly when Peppy growled.
Good on you Peps,
thought Mimi. He was always so placid. Sheâd never seen him growl at anyone before.
Dogs can sense when someoneâs bad. I wonder if thereâs a special bad kind of smell they have too.
âNice room,â Gemma said sarcastically. âMum bought me a double bed for my twelfth birthday and a hot pink doona.â She smirked. âHey, you should ask for one too ââ she looked around the room, âOn second thoughts, donât think it would fit. Your bedroomâs smaller than my wardrobe.â
âWhy did you come, Gemma?â
âI was out shopping with Mum, thatâs all. Why so suspicious?â
âBecause I donât trust you.â
âMimi,â called Mrs Lu from the bottom of the stairs. âCome down get morning tea.â
âIn a minute, Mum.â
âNo, come now.â
âAll right.â Mimi moved towards the door. âCome on Gemma, come downstairs with me.â
âNo. Iâm going to wait right here,â she replied coldly. âI wonât touch a thing, I promise.â Gemma crossed her heart and looked at Mimi with innocent blue eyes.
âMimi!â came her mumâs voice again.
âTake your time. Iâll just play with your pooch while youâre gone. Come, Poopy, good boy.â Peppy growled, then jumped off the bed to follow Mimi downstairs.
As soon as Gemma was alone, she began searching the room.
Those pastels will make me famous,
she thought. She looked in the bookshelf, under the bed, in the wardrobe.
Iâll be on the front cover of
Gorgeous Girl.
Everyoneâll be so jealous. Now where would she put them?
Gemma opened the top drawer in the bedside table.
âYesss!â she cried excitedly, then put her hand over her mouth in case someone had overheard her cry of joy.
Itâll be the start of my acting career. Or maybe Iâll be a model.
As Gemma lifted the lid, immediately her mind filled with strange images.
âWow. Cool.â Gemma closed the lid quickly, then stuffed the pastels up her shirt.
She crept downstairs and walked through the clinic. âIâm going home first, Mum. I just remembered Iâve got