Sleepover Club 2000 by Angie Bates Read Free Book Online Page A

added.
    “Excellent,” said Kenny.
    “Can we have this conversation at home?” complained Andy. “In case no-one’s noticed, I
still
haven’t had my tea.”
    I looked at my watch. It was only half-past eight.
    I couldn’t believe it! We’d had a Siberian picnic, been to our first serious protest, made a cool new friend, totally solved the problem of what to do for our project, and still had OODLES of time left for our special year 2000 sleepover!!

The minute we got back home, Mum insisted we’d all got to have hot baths, like IMMEDIATELY!
    “I don’t want anyone getting a chill,” she wittered.
    Phew! My fusspot mother was back to normal.
    We tossed a coin to see who was going first. It was Kenny.
    “Hey!” said Kenny. “I never bathed in a whirlpool bath before.”
    “Keep it short, Kenz,” moaned Frankie. “Don’t practise your underwater breathing, OK? Otherwise we’ll never get round to the actual sleepover.”
    “Time me,” grinned Kenny. “Catch!” She tossed Frankie the sporty watch she got for Christmas. “It’s got a stopwatch function,” she explained. “Neat, eh?”
    She skipped upstairs, humming some hippie dippie protest chant under her breath.
    “Has Kenny’s watch got a dynamite function as well?” giggled Rosie.
    “I wish,” sighed Frankie. “Ten minutes, Laura McKenzie!” she bellowed up the stairs. “Ten minutes, TOPS!”
    “Or the watch gets it!!” called Lyndz in a gangster voice.
    “Would you girls like a late-night snack?” Mum yelled from the kitchen.
    Can you believe we were all starving? All that trudging about in the snow must totally burn up the calories! Mum promised to make us some cheese toasties after she’d made Andy his tea.
    I helped the others carry their stuff upstairs. I was so-o pleased to see my room, I can’t tell you. It felt really peaceful and welcoming. And after Jewel’s cluttered little home it seemed absolutely HUGE!
    I threw myself on my bed, practically hugging it, and sighed with pure relief.
    “Jewel’s van is amazing,” I said. “But I wouldn’t like to live in one, would you?”
    “I wouldn’t
mind
” Rosie said. “If my van had, you know, NORMAL facilities.”
    Aren’t you glad it was Rosie, not Kenny who had the Protest Loo experience? I just know Kenny would have insisted in going into gruesome details, don’t you!!
    I don’t want you to think Rosie was being horrible about Jewel’s home. Actually, she said her trip to their chemical toilet gave her serious respect for Jewel and her mum.
    “To tell the truth, I’m ashamed of myself,” she sighed. “Meeting Jewel made me realise that I’m a totally shallow person.”
    “You are not!” said Lyndz.
    “I am. If I had to choose between saving a wood or a field or something, and having a bathroom, I’d choose the bathroom every time,” Rosie confessed.
    “I’m shallow too,” I said in a small voice.
    Because the truth is, if it was up to me personally to save them, all those wild, beautiful places Jewel talked about would be concreted over by now.
    I’m serious.
    “Maybe you wouldn’t do it to save a field, but you’d do what Jewel and her mum are doing to save a person you cared about, wouldn’t you?” Lyndz argued.
    We stared at her. “You’re right,” said Rosie, amazed. “I’d do anything to save Mum and Tiff and Adam.”
    “So would I,” I said. “I mean, for MY family. Not that I don’t like yours, Rosie,” I added hastily.
    Then of course Frankie had to go right over the top! “If it was the only way I could save our baby, I’d live up a tree forever,” she cried.
    The thought of Frankie living up a tree sent us into hysterics!
    “All the birds would build nests in your hair,” Rosie giggled (Frankie has masses of really wild tangly hair!).
    At that exact moment, Kenny’s watch started making chirping birdy sounds. We
totally
cracked up.
    Frankie dashed across the landing to hammer on the bathroom door.
    About ten seconds later,