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The girls raced out the back after Emily. The drone of grown-up’s talking faded away, to be replaced with the sound of wind on metal wire fences. Ahead, the sun gleamed off a tin roof, and in the doorway stood Emily.
“Come see what I pinched from my brother when he wasn’t looking!” she grinned as she darted into the shed.
Jasmine entered the dimly lit area with the others. It was very bright outside, so the room seemed pitch black for a few seconds, until her eyes got used to the change in light, Belle skipped in front of her, peering around curiously.
The shed was cluttered with all sorts of things. A bench was covered in hubcaps, large tires were leaning against a wall (much bigger than any tires Amy had seen before), and parts of broken signs and fences lounged around the place. Amy’s eyebrows rose as she saw a chipped bathtub in the corner filled with oddly shaped pieces of metal and oily rags.
That’s weird, she thought to herself.
“Wadda ya think?” asked Emily, stepping out from behind a stack of wooden crates, posing.
The girls looked at the hat on Emily’s head.
“I-it’s very nice,” complimented Jasmine shyly.
“It’s not just nice,” replied Emily, showing off the hat proudly, “It’s an akubra.”
“A cobra? Isn’t that a type of snake?” asked Amy.
 Her eyebrows creased in puzzlement.
“No! Akubra! Ak-oob-rar!” Emily carefully sounded out the word.
Belle smiled, playfully tugging at the corner of Emily’s hat. “It looks like Indiana Jones’ hat!”
Emily’s head wobbled a bit as Belle pulled at the brim, then chuckled, “Indiana’s hat wasn’t an akubra. Akubras are kinda curvy at the side. See?” Emily jammed the hat on Belle’s head, making Belle laugh as well. Jasmine smiled as the hat slid over Belle’s eyes.
“You didn’t really steal it did you?” asked Amy with her hands on her hips.
“Naaa.
My brother Jay lent it to me. I was just joking,” winked Emily.
“Oh.” Amy winked back.
“EEP!” THUD! Clatter…... CRASH!
Emily turned around in surprise to see Belle lying in the old bathtub jumbled in amongst the metal. Belle looked up at her, just as surprised.
Jasmine bit her lip to stop from laughing.
“Here,” Jasmine offered her hand, pulling Belle out of the tub. Belle blushed. “Thanks, my eyes were covered by the akubra and I didn’t see where I was going.”
Amy and Emily looked at each.
Then all of a sudden they were both in fits of laughter, Emily rolling around on the floor, and Amy clutching her chest- her ribs sore from laughing too much.
 And it was probably about then that the four girls became friends!
PSSST!!! Don’t go away!
What Emily hadn’t told the others yet, is that the next day her cousin Matilda would arrive too. Matilda is full of fun and with all five of them together, they had some amazing adventures that weekend!
But that’s another story entirely...
more about Matilda  previous page
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