Cupcake Wars! Read Online Free

Nicely.
    “Why not?”
    “Because it isn’t!” groaned Mrs Nicely. The trouble with Angela was that her questions went on forever.

    “I’d be good at watching,” said Angela. “I can watch TV for hours.”
    “That’s different,” said Mrs Nicely. “But if you really want to help, we can all keep an eye out.”
    “What for?” said Angela.
    “I don’t know, anything out of the ordinary!” sighed Mrs Nicely. “Now please, go and find something to do!”
    Angela went upstairs to wait for Maisie and Laura. It was still raining. From her bedroom window she could see the houses across the road. It would be easy to keep an eye on them.

    Angela thought she’d be good at watching neighbours. Her mum was always saying it was rude to be nosey – but in the Neighbourhood Watch club, nosiness was encouraged! What was it her mum had said? Look out for anything “out of the ordinary”. She could keep an eye on Bertie next door, but all he did was mess around with slimy slugs and worms.
    Across the road at number 14, Mr Monk was sweeping his driveway.
    Hmm, thought Angela, if anyone looked suspicious it was mean old Mr Monk. He had a tiny moustache, which looked like it was stuck on as a disguise. What’s more, he hated children and didn’t like them playing on the street. Maybe there was a reason? MaybeMr Monk had something to hide! Someone ought to keep an eye on him , thought Angela, and she had the perfect view from her window.

Chapter 2
    Later Maisie and Laura arrived.
    “What shall we do?” sighed Maisie, flopping on to the bed. “We can’t go to the park in the rain.”
    “I know,” said Angela. “We can do Neighbourhood Watching.”
    Maisie looked blank. “What’s that?” she asked.
    “It’s like a club. You watch your neighbours to see if they’re up to something,” explained Angela.
    “Isn’t that spying?” asked Laura, doubtfully.
    “No,” said Angela. “Loads of grown-ups do it. You have to watch for anything suspicious – like robbing a bank or burglaring.”
    Maisie shrugged her shoulders. “There aren’t any banks here,” she said. “And anyway, who would we watch?”
    “Mr Monk,” said Angela, pointing to the house opposite.
    “Not Mr Monk! He’s grouchy !” moaned Laura.
    Mr Monk had told them off many times – once for walking on his wall, and another time because he claimedtheir screaming and giggling was giving him a headache.
    “Anyway, why HIM?” asked Maisie.
    “Think about it,” said Angela. “He never has any visitors. Why does he want everyone to keep away?”
    “Because he’s an old grump bag,” said Maisie.
    “Or because he’s up to something,” said Angela. “Anyway, do you want to be in the club or not?”
    Laura and Maisie nodded. There was nothing better to do. Angela had borrowed her dad’s binoculars so they could take turns keeping watch. As it was her idea, she went first.
    It was amazing – with the binoculars she could see right into Mr Monk’s house!

    “What if he sees us looking?” whispered Laura.
    “He won’t,” said Angela. “Not if we keep out of sight.”
    They kneeled down and peeped above the windowsill. Maisie was in charge of the notebook where they kept a record of everything Mr Monk did.

    Maisie put down her pencil and sighed heavily.
    “This is boring ,” she grumbled. “He’s not doing anything!”
    “We can’t give up or we’ll miss something,” said Angela.
    “We’ve been watching for an hour,” moaned Laura. “And all he’s done is eat a biscuit.”
    Angela sighed. Neighbourhood Watching wasn’t as exciting as she’d hoped. All the same, she was sure that Mr Monk couldn’t be trusted. She stared through the binoculars. Mr Monk was in the kitchen, doing something at the sink. But he had changed his clothes. Now he was wearing a black jumper and trousers with a black balaclava over his head.Angela’s mum had said to look for anything out of the ordinary and this certainly was.
    Suddenly Angela