The Sleepover Club Down Under. Narinder Dhami

– maybe it wasn’t Brad,” Rosie muttered, looking embarrassed. “Maybe I got it wrong after all…”

      “Well, there’s no harm in trying to find out, is there?” I said quickly, not wanting Rosie to feel bad about it.

      “I’ve brought my autograph book,” Lyndz added. “It’ll be nice to get a proper autograph in it, I’ve only got you lot so far!”

      “Flippin’ cheek!” Kenny snorted. Then she winked at us. “Sssh! Don’t say anything about Brad in front of the Gruesome Twosome!”

      The M&Ms, Emma Hughes and Emily Berryman, were walking across the playground in our general direction. They’re in our class, but that’s about all we’ve got in common with them – we’re not snooty, stuck-up snobs! Nobody likes them except Alana ‘Banana’ Palmer, and that’s because she’s just about the doziest person in Cuddington Primary. But the weird thing was that today, the M&Ms were being followed across the playground by a huge crowd of kids, tagging along behind them as if they were the bee’s knees.

      I frowned. “Why are all those kids following the Queen and the Goblin?”

      “Maybe Emma’s been nice to someone at last,” Kenny suggested. “That’d draw a crowd!”

      The M&Ms were looking well smug. They saw us sitting on the wall and grinned at each other in that incredibly sly way they have.

      “We know something you don’t know!” Emily Berryman (the Goblin) chanted in her gruff voice.

      “I know lots of things you don’t know, Emily,” Kenny retorted. “That’s because you’re really, really thick!”

      We started giggling, and so did the whole crowd of kids. The Goblin turned purple and the Queen stuck her nose in the air like she always does.

      “Oh, you think you’re so clever, Kenny!” Emma Hughes sniffed. “Well, we do know something you don’t know and we’re not going to tell you, so there!”

      “Hey, Kenny,” said Alana Banana, strolling up next to the Queen. “Did you know that Emily saw that surfer guy from South Beach in Cuddington yesterday?”

      I glanced at the others. So the Goblin had seen him too! That was why all those kids were following her. It was true – Brad was in Cuddington!

      “You mean Brad Martin,” I said as coolly as I could.

      “Yeah, that’s him,” Alana agreed.

      The Goblin was now the colour of an aubergine. “What did you tell them for, Alana?” she howled.

      “Everyone else knows.” Alana Banana pointed at the crowd of kids behind them. “You said you wanted to tell everyone.”

      “Yes, but not them!” Emma Hughes snapped, looking as if she was about to rip Alana Banana’s head off.

      “Bet you didn’t really see him anyway!” called someone in the crowd.

      “Yeah, it’s a wind-up, isn’t it, Emily?” added Ryan Scott. He was with his mate Danny McCloud, who’s also in our class.

      “Well, I saw him too—” Rosie began. “OW!”

      I didn’t see what happened, but I guessed Kenny had elbowed her to shut her up. After all, why should we help the Gruesome Twosome out?

      “I did see him!” the Goblin snapped.

      “Well, did you get his autograph?” Danny demanded.

      “No, I couldn’t,” Emily muttered. “I was in the car with my dad, and he wouldn’t stop. But it was definitely Brad Martin, and he was wearing a black fleece, jeans and a black baseball cap!”

      “Never mind, Em.” The Queen linked arms with the Goblin, and threw us another haughty stare. “We’ll soon find out where he’s staying, and when we’ve got his autograph, everyone will have to believe you!”

      Then the M&Ms swanned off again. The crowd of kids still scurried after them though, trying to find out if it was a wind-up or not.

      “Did you hear that?” Fliss gasped. “Emily described Brad wearing exactly the same clothes as Rosie did! It must have been him!”

      “I knew it was!” Rosie said triumphantly.

      Kenny was frowning. “Yeah, but the question is – how are we going to find out where Brad’s staying before the M&Ms do?”

      

      Well, now that we were pretty sure Brad Martin was somewhere in Cuddington, there was no stopping us! And we were determined to see him before the M&Ms did, and get his autograph. The trouble was, half the kids in the school had the same idea, by the sound of it. Everyone was planning search parties around Cuddington to see if they could flush Brad out of his hiding place. Then a rumour started that a couple of kids in Year Four had seen him in the village on Sunday evening near to the B&B, Buckingham House, and that set everyone off again.

      “There’s going to be a whole crowd of kids charging off to Buckingham House after school today,” Kenny grumbled as we walked back to class after assembly. “We haven’t got a chance of finding Brad first!”

      “What’s all this fuss about Brad Martin anyway?” Ryan Scott grumbled. We all looked round, and he winked at Fliss, who giggled. “I’m better-looking than he is any day!”

      “No, you’re not, Ryan,” I said. “No-one wants your autograph!”

      “Fliss does!” Kenny chimed in.

      “Shut up, Kenny!” Fliss hissed, and gave her a shove which sent her smack into Emily Berryman.

      “You did that on purpose, Laura McKenzie!” the Goblin growled.