By Helen Vivienne Fletcher
When her family moves suburbs, Laura discovers an old abandoned house on her street. It seems like the perfect hideout, but something – or, rather, someone – is already hiding inside. Laura meets Jacob, a runaway teen in a lot of trouble. What is he hiding from? If Laura gets involved, will she help Jacob or just get herself into trouble? The Trespassers Club is a fast-paced Kiwi mystery for pre-teens.
Chapter 4
In the morning, I was the last to get up. I hadn’t slept well but I was eager to get outside and start exploring the neighbourhood. As soon as I walked into the kitchen, I could tell Katy was in a grump.
“There’s no milk.” She snapped the words out, as if it were my fault.
I made a face, screwing up my mouth and nose. “There’s no milk,” I mimicked her in my most annoying whiny voice.
Her eyes narrowed, and I shrank back against the wall. For a moment it looked like she was going to throw a tantrum, then she tossed her hair and gave an exaggerated sigh.
“Stop standing like that, it grosses me out,” she said.
I looked down at my feet. My toes were pointing inwards. I twisted them out into ballet position.
Katy glared at me. “Don’t do that with your ribs either. It’s yuck.”
I shook my head and looked away. Lately, I’d developed a habit of standing with my ribs pushed out to the left. It did look a little weird, like my body was broken, but for some reason it really annoyed Katy.
“Leave her alone Katy.” Dad walked past Katy’s chair and gently pulled one of the straggly bits of blonde hair that had crept out of her plait. If I’d done that she probably would have hit me. Instead, she was trying to stop a smile from forcing its way through her scowl.
I popped a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster.
“Make me some too,” Katy said.
“Please,” I muttered. I put the toast on a plate and handed it to Katy. “What time do you want to play?” I asked.
Katy frowned. “I don’t want to. Go away.”
“But you promised!” My voice had gone all whiny again.
“Maybe I will in a couple of weeks.”
“But the school holidays will be over in a couple of weeks. Please!”
“No!”
Dad looked up from the paper. “Oh, go on Katy,” he said. “Be nice to your sister.”
Katy looked like she was going to argue then she rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. We’ll play when we’ve finished breakfast.”
“Can you make it an outside game?” Dad asked. “Your mum and I have got to start unpacking in here.”
I nodded. That suited me just fine.
Reproduced with permission from The Trespassers Club by Helen Vivienne Fletcher, published by HVF Publishing Ltd, 2018
