Pilar and Frankie sped off neck and neck. They both had long legs so they could take big strides, and they’d soon left the others behind. But they were still so close together, it was hard to tell which one of them was in the lead. First it looked like it was Frankie, then Pilar.
“COME ON, FRANKIE!” I shouted.
And then it happened. Pilar’s skipping rope suddenly hooked itself on to one of the gold earrings she was wearing. She skidded to a halt and gave a yell, trying desperately to untangle it.
“Go, Frankie!” I leapt to my feet gleefully. We had the race in the bag now!
Then I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Frankie stopped skipping and dashed over to Pilar! She started trying to help her untangle the rope, but it was well and truly stuck. A few seconds later, everyone else in the race skipped past them!
“Frankie!” I screamed, dancing up and down in frustration. “Go on! Don’t stop!”
But it was too late. Everyone else had already crossed the finishing-line!
“All right, Kenny, stop going on about it, will you!” Frankie snapped as she threw a handful of raffle tickets into the tombola drum. “It was no big deal!”
“No big deal!” I retorted. “You stopped to help Pilar, which meant we didn’t win the race! We could have walked it – and we’d have got their book tokens too!”
“Frankie was just trying to help Pilar,” Lyndz chimed in.
“Yeah, her ear was all red and sore afterwards, didn’t you see?” Rosie added.
“I think it was really nice of Frankie to stop and help,” Fliss said.
It was the day after Sports Day, and it was almost time for the Summer Fair to start. All the stalls had been set up on the sports field that morning, and there was a long queue of people at the gates, waiting to come in. We’d all really been looking forward to the fair, but after yesterday we weren’t getting on too well. We didn’t argue very often, but now the others were really bugging me. I knew they all wanted to get matey with the Spanish girls again, but there was no way I was up for that! Not while Maria was still keeping the war between us going.
Maria and the others were over on the cake stall with Lyndz’s mum, and they were all looking pretty sulky. I reckoned Maria was having exactly the same problem as me…
“If you and Maria would just sort things out, we could all be mates again!” Frankie said, throwing some more tickets into the drum.
“Well, she started it!” I retorted.
“You two are as bad as each other!” Frankie said. “You both need a kick up the behind!”
“Maria’s a pain!” I said crossly. “I wish Molly the Monster was back home instead of her!”
“Well, you’d better behave yourself today,” Fliss warned me, as Mrs Weaver walked round inspecting the stalls. “Mrs Weaver’s got her beady eye on you!”
“We’ve got some good prizes, haven’t we?” Lyndz looked at our stall. We had a mixture of cuddly toys, bath stuff, sweets and bottles of soft drink. “I love this Dalmatian!”
The stuffed Dalmatian was our best prize, and Frankie had sat him right at the front of the stall where everyone could see him. He was really big and made of soft white fur. I wasn’t into cuddly toys much, but even I wouldn’t have minded winning him! All the winning tickets ended in 0 or 5, and the Dalmatian was number 500.
“That should get a lot of people coming to our stall!” Frankie said.
“Hey, I’ve just had an idea!” I announced. “Why don’t we challenge Maria and that lot to see which of us makes more money on our stall?”
The others groaned. “No, Kenny!” they said together.
“Oh, well, if you want to be a bunch of wimps…” I muttered.
“Look, the caretaker’s opening the gates,” Lyndz said quickly. “And here comes Mrs Poole with the Mayoress!”
All the people queuing outside started to file in. They crowded round the little platform, which had been left there yesterday after Sports Day. Mrs Pontefract, the Mayoress, was chatting to Mrs Poole as she went up on to the platform to make a speech. Mrs Weaver had warned us that we weren’t allowed to sell a single ticket until she’d declared the fair open.
“Well, firstly let me say how very happy I am to be here,” declared Mrs Pontefract, looking at all the people clustered round the platform. She was wearing her robes and gold chain, but because she was very short and round, she looked like a Teletubby! Mrs Pontefract had been to our school a few times before, and whenever she made a speech she always went on and on, so none of us bothered listening.
“I wonder who’ll win the Dalmatian,” said Fliss, giving it a pat.
“I bet it’s still left over at the end,” I said. “The best prizes always are!”
“… and now I am happy to declare this Summer Fair open!” said the Mayoress, and everyone clapped. Then they all started rushing over to the stalls. Mrs Poole and Mrs Pontefract left the platform, and they started looking round the fair too.
“Hello, I want to buy some tickets,” said a familiar voice. We all looked round, and there was Isabella with her purse in her hand.
“That was quick!” said Fliss with a shy smile. “You’re our first customer, Isabella!”
“Hold on – you’re supposed to be helping Lyndz’s mum on the cake stall, aren’t you?” I asked, glaring at Isabella.
“Mrs Collins say I can come and buy some tickets.” Isabella pointed at the Dalmatian. “I want to win this!”
“Yeah, he’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” Frankie said enthusiastically.
Isabella held out a pound coin. “Please can I have five tickets?”
“I suppose so,” I muttered, taking the money.
“Isabella!” Maria slipped out from behind the cake stall and rushed over to her. She gave me an evil stare, and then began jabbering away in Spanish to Isabella. Even though we couldn’t understand what they were saying, it was obvious they were having an argument. I guessed that Maria didn’t want Isabella to buy any tickets from us!
Isabella wouldn’t take any notice though. She put her hand into the drum, and pulled out some folded tickets. She took three herself and gave two of them to Maria to open.
“Anything ending in 0 or 5 wins a prize!” Lyndz said helpfully, and I glanced at her, annoyed. I didn’t want Isabella to win anything!
Isabella said something in Spanish and threw her tickets in the bin by the side of the stall, looking disappointed. Meanwhile, Maria was looking at one of the two tickets she had in her hand with a big smile on her face.
“I win a prize!” She grinned smugly at me. “I have a number with 0 at the end!”
“Trust her!” I muttered to Frankie.
“I have number 500!” Maria announced, waving the ticket over her head.
“Yes! We win the dog!” Isabella shouted, beaming all over her face.
“No, you can’t have!” I gasped, and the other Sleepovers looked gobsmacked too. Our best prize couldn’t have been won by the first customer who bought a ticket! And there was no way I was letting Maria and Isabella have it!
“Yes!