Sleepover Girls on the Range (9 page)

You ought to have seen them flapping about in the water. It was class! Mrs McAllister didn’t seem to think so, because she had to wade in after them in case they drowned or something. When she hauled them out they were covered in weed and awful scuzzy slime!

“Nice one, Emma!” Kenny started to clap.

“Enjoy your trip?” jeered Frankie.

The rest of us were just creased up. Fliss was laughing so much that I thought she was going to fall off Snowflake. Unfortunately, Mrs McAllister was still not amused.

“That’s enough!” she snapped. “The sooner we get back to the stables, the better. Miranda, you’d better walk back with these two.” She gestured to the M&Ms. “They can’t ride back in that state. The rest of you come
with me and stick together.”

She swung herself back on to Sinbad and we set off.

All the way back we kept spluttering at the thought of the M&Ms in the brook. It had even been worth that uncomfortable night under the horse blankets!

We got back to the stables
ages
before the M&Ms. And by the time they appeared over the horizon, we’d taken all the tack off the horses and were packed up and waiting for Dad. They looked furious
and
uncomfortable by the time they came dripping into the stable yard.

“I’m going to tell my mum about this!” whimpered Emily Berryman.

“Good!” Mrs McAllister appeared out of one of the stables. “Because I intend to tell
both
your parents what disruptive influences you are. I should have known better than to let you come on the pony trek to start with. It was you two who caused all that trouble at my Stable Fun Day last year, wasn’t it?”

The M&Ms looked guiltily at the ground
and began to shuffle their feet in embarrassment.

“Well, I don’t want to see either of you anywhere near these stables again. Is that understood?” Mrs McAllister was eyeing them sharply.

The M&Ms had bright pink cheeks by this time, and looked as though they were about to burst into tears at any minute.

“Is that understood?”
Mrs McAllister repeated.

They both nodded.

“Good!”

Mrs McAllister took the horses from Miranda and led them into one of the stables. The rest of us looked at each other. The M&Ms had been so totally humiliated there didn’t seem to be anything left to add. We just stood and grinned as they slunk off down the yard to wait for Emma’s mum to pick them up.

“Did you have a good time, girls?” Dad asked breezily when he drew up in the van.

“Brilliant!” we squealed.

“Excellent!”

“The best!”

“So did you sleep well?” Dad asked as he drove out of the stable yard, waving to Mrs McAllister as he left.

“Not really!” we spluttered.

Dad looked at us and shook his head.

“Well, was the pony trek good?”

“Great!” Kenny piped up. “And the M&Ms found it very refreshing!”

Well, we just lost the plot then. My sides were aching so much by the time I got home that I had to go upstairs to lie down. That just had to have been one of our best sleepovers ever!

When we went down to the stables a few days later, Mrs McAllister had calmed down and was in a brilliant mood. Loads of people from the Open Day had rung to confirm bookings for their riding lessons, and she said she was fully booked for a few weeks.

“That’s fantastic!” we told her.

“Thanks to you!” she grinned. “Mrs Chandri and I have a little something for you to thank you for all your help with the Open Day.”

She went into the house and returned with five small boxes. She handed one to each of us. Inside there was a bright shiny sheriff’s badge which read:
They were so cool!

“Thank you!” we all gasped.

Mrs McAllister grinned.

“So with all this new business coming in, I might need a bit more help around the place,” she continued. “Any offers?”

“Sorry, got to go!” The others started running off up the yard.

“Hey guys! Come back!” I called after them. “It’ll be fun! Honest!”

Actually they were only joking, and they’ve been down at the stables a lot recently. Fliss actually enjoys grooming the horses now, which is a major achievement. But they all still refuse to help me with the mucking out!

Look, we’re nearly at the stables now and I can hear the others from here. That Kenny’s got a voice like a foghorn! And ever since Frankie got her sheriff’s badge, power seems to have gone to her head even more than
usual! Fliss will still be swanning around pretending she’s a cowgirl and Rosie will probably just be taking it easy and grinning, knowing that the M&Ms won’t be anywhere around. Bliss!

Anyway pardn’t, I’m goin’ to round ‘em all up and try to persuade ‘em to ride the range with me. It’s a tough life being a cowboy, you know!

Bye y’all!

Have you been invited to all these sleepovers?

The Sleepover Club at Frankie’s