Sleep-over by Rowan McAuley

Author:Rowan McAuley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Published: 2011-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

They shuddered happily at the thought. They did this sometimes — talked about scary things to see how badly they could frighten themselves.

‘And the next day, there’d be nothing but your pigtail stuck in the pool filter,’ said Olivia.

‘And then one foot would be washed up on a beach, miles and miles away,’ said Ching Ching.

‘Eew!’ they said together, laughing, but holding tight onto the edge of the pool, just in case.

‘We should sleep out here tonight,’ said Ching Ching.

‘Yeah?’ said Olivia. ‘What about the mosquitoes?’

‘We would be OK under the sheets,’ said Ching Ching. ‘Maybe we could burn one of those smelly candles, too.’

‘And we could stay up all night and watch the sunrise,’ said Olivia.

‘Ching Ching!’

It was Mrs Adams calling from the back door.

‘Time for bed. You and Olivia, out of the pool, now!’

‘You can so tell your mum is a school teacher,’ said Olivia.

They got out of the pool and found that their fingers and toes had gone wrinkly. The air was cool on their wet skin and by the time they got inside they were shivering.

They stood together in front of the bathroom mirror with their matching toothbrushes, giggling and trying to brush their chattering teeth. They brushed their hair and Ching Ching tied hers back in long, low plaits for bed. They changed into their pyjamas and decided it was too much effort to sleep outside that night.

Ching Ching had bunk beds, and because it was the first time Olivia had slept over, she got to sleep on the top.

‘I always read for a bit before I go to sleep,’ said Ching Ching. ‘Would you like to borrow a book, or do you have one?’

‘Borrow one, please,’ said Olivia, because Ching Ching always had heaps of books. Olivia supposed it was because both her parents were teachers.

Olivia found one about a girl who ran away to sea on a pirate ship. It looked very interesting, but when she climbed up the ladder to her bed and got in under the covers, she didn’t feel like reading.

At home, in her own bed, her mum usually came in and kissed her goodnight. Sometimes they talked about their day, sometimes Olivia read out loud from a book, and sometimes her mum told her a story instead. She remembered how her mum had said that morning that she would miss Olivia.

Olivia realised this was the first time she had ever gone to bed without even a hug from her mum. She felt a bit sad and lonely.

Outside in the pool, talking with Ching Ching, Olivia had forgotten all about the embarrassment of dinner. Now, lying in bed, she started thinking about it all over again. She felt her stomach shrink into a cold, hard ball.

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