Up to Something

              �Kelly can’t live, she says, without her friends around her. The good news is it takes her about five minutes to find a whole bunch of new friends.

              �Me, I couldn’t see the point in making friends. We were only staying with Nan for a week. I was busy trying out my new camera anyway.

I thought Kelly might like a few photos to remember her new friends by.

              �The girls were hanging out by the church-yard wall. I crept through the grave-yard, using the wall for cover. I hoped they wouldn’t see me but they did.

I heard Kelly say, “Take no notice. He’s just my little brother.”

They went on chatting.

I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. I thought she wanted me to take some photos of them, right?

No one was more shocked than me when one of them yelled, “He’s got a camera!”

She shouted so loud it nearly split my ear-drums.

              �Then panic broke loose. Ooh! Shock horror! Like they were a bunch of D-list celebs and I was going to get their picture in the papers.

“Were you taking pictures of us?” said

Kelly.

“No,” I said. “OK. Yes. Maybe. What if I was?”

“Give me that!” She held out her hand for the camera.

“No way!” I said. And I nipped off as fast as I could, zigzag among the grave-stones, and legged it back to Nan’s.

“Were you spying on us?” said Kelly while we were waiting for our take-away curry to come that evening.

“Spying on you?” I said. “When?”

              �“This afternoon. By the church-yard wall. Were you listening to what we were saying?”

“No,” I said. “Why?”

“No reason,” said Kelly.

She was up to something. I can always tell.

I said to Mr Frost next day, “Kelly’s up to something.”

              �“Oh, yes,” he said. “She’s up to something.” He looked up at the circle of stones on the hill. “Kelly and her friends don’t believe the story,” he said.

“About the stones, you mean?” I said. “But it is just a story, isn’t it? Do you believe it?”

              �He chewed his gums for a bit. Then he said, “I believe it’s better to be safe than sorry. Some people just have to learn the hard way.”

              �He picked up his spade and started digging again. Nan said he was making a trench for runner beans. It looked to me spookier than that. It was more like he was digging a grave.

I’d be glad when this holiday was over.

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