Sari Sleepover. Narinder Dhami

face lit up. “Oh, I’d love to come! Me and my friends have sleepovers back home all the time.” Then her face dropped again. “But I’m not sure Auntie will let me.”

      “Why not?” Fliss wanted to know.

      Asha grinned. “Because my mum told her to keep an eye on me! I kind of got into a bit of trouble at school before I left…”

      “What sort of trouble?” Lyndz asked.

      “I played a joke on the school principal.” Asha winked at us. “I put powdered chilli in his tea – it nearly blew his mouth off!”

      “Oh, cool!” Kenny exclaimed.

      I could see already that Kenny and Asha were going to get on really well. I liked her too – she seemed like a real laugh!

      “That wasn’t the first trick I’ve pulled at school,” Asha admitted. “And Mum says I’ve got to behave myself while I’m staying with Auntie, or it’s boarding school for me when I get home!”

      “Oh, gross!” Fliss said sympathetically, and we all nodded.

      “So I mustn’t get into any trouble while I’m here,” Asha went on solemnly. “Or I’m dead!”

      “Don’t worry,” I grinned. “We’ll look after you and keep you straight!”

      The others thought that was hilarious, and roared with laughter.

      “Yeah, ’cos we’re never in any trouble ourselves!” Kenny spluttered.

      “Oh, thanks a lot!” Asha said gratefully, flinging her arm round my shoulders in a friendly way.

      Unfortunately, at the same time, she also knocked over an expensive-looking vase which stood on the table next to us. Luckily, though, it teetered a bit before falling over, and Kenny was able to catch it before it hit the floor with a fantastic goalkeeper save.

      “Oh, thank goodness!” Asha breathed. “Auntie would have gone mad if I’d broken that! By the way, I forgot to warn you – I’m a bit clumsy.”

      Just as Kenny was replacing the vase carefully on the table, Mrs Chopra walked in.

      “Oh, Asha, there you are,” she said. “And I see you’ve met the girls.”

      We all nodded. But I bet I wasn’t the only one of the Sleepover Club who was wondering just how difficult it was going to be to keep Asha out of trouble for the next month!

      

      “Hey, Izzy, what do you think?”

      I bent over my little sister, who was propped up on the sofa, to show her my best bindi. It’s kind of tear-drop shaped and purple-coloured round the outside with gold and black in the middle. It was Saturday afternoon, and I was waiting for the rest of the Sleepover Club, plus Asha, to arrive.

      Izzy grinned and gurgled and tried to grab the bindi off my forehead. I could still hardly believe I’d got a sister after all this time. I mean, I kept going on and on to my parents about having another baby, and they always said no, then all of a sudden, it happened! Why are parents always so annoying like that? Still, at least the baby was a girl – I wouldn’t have liked a whole load of smelly old brothers like Lyndz.

      “Be careful, Frankie,” my mum said, coming in from the kitchen. “Keep those bindis away from Izzy, or she might put them in her mouth.”

      “Don’t worry, I will!” I said. I moved away from Izzy and she immediately began to bawl. My dad says she’s got the Thomas lungs all right – my mum and dad are both lawyers, and we can all talk for England.

      “So what’s Asha like?” my mum asked, picking Izzy up and rocking her.

      “She’s cool!” I said enthusiastically. “But her mum says she mustn’t get into any trouble while she’s in England or she’ll get sent to boarding school when she gets home.”

      My mum rolled her eyes. “So has anyone warned her about the Sleepover Club?”

      “Oh, Mum!” I said with dignity. “We promised Asha we’d look out for her and keep her out of trouble!”

      “This I’ve got to see!” my mum muttered as the doorbell rang, and I charged down the hall to the front door.

      Fliss, Lyndz and Rosie were outside with their sleepover bags.

      “Hi!” I said. “Come in.”

      “Are Asha and Kenny here yet?” Fliss asked eagerly. She was just dying to get her hands on Asha’s collection of bindis and bangles!

      “Not yet,” I said. But just as I was about to close the door, Dr McKenzie’s car drew up, and Asha and Kenny dived out.

      “They’re here!” Fliss squealed.

      Asha and Kenny got their sleepover bags out of the car. Then another bag appeared. Then another. And another. In fact, there were so many carrier bags stuffed full with something or other, that Dr McKenzie had to help Kenny and Asha carry them up the path!

      “What’s all this?” I asked, staring at the bags.

      Asha shrugged. “I’ve brought some dressing-up clothes,” she said. “And some Indian jewellery and some bindis – oh, and some henna so I can do some mehndi patterns for you.”

      “What?” Rosie asked.