Squishy Taylor and the Bonus Sisters Read Online Free Page A

her pillow after we’d been told to be quiet.
    Finally, the tram door closes and I’ve got Vee to myself.
    ‘Do you reckon we should tell Jessie about John?’ I ask.

I press B for ‘basement’ on the lift button, which means we aren’t going to the park, and Jessie notices straight away.
    ‘Where are we going?’ she asks.
    ‘We’ll show you,’ Vee grins. It’s after lunch. We’re taking Baby for his nap in the pram. He likes walking-naps and he’s already asleep by the time we get to the lift, so this is going to be easy.
    ‘What are we doing? Is it the HRC?’ Jessie asks.
    ‘What?’ Vee doesn’t get it.
    ‘She means the Hinkenbushel Revenge Club ,’ I say to Vee. Then to Jessie, I add, ‘No, it’s not that. It’s something just as important.’
    We already checked with John on our way in and he said we could tell Jessie.
    When we reach the car park, Vee is about to head straight for John’s storeroom, but the scowly man from the tram stop is here. I grip Vee’s arm. ‘Hang on,’ I say.
    We watch as the man gets in the car from apartment 503 – the car under the secret exit. That would be why he looked familiar at the tram stop. I must have seen him in the lift. As he pulls out, I glimpse a dirty footprint on his bonnet. It makes me smile. The roller-door beeps down.
    ‘All clear,’ I say.
    Vee pulls Jessie and I push Baby over to John Smith’s storeroom door. I knock my special tappety-tap-tap-tap .
    When John opens it, Jessie stares at him. He suddenly seems shorter when face to face with Jessie (which is weird because she’s the same height as Vee). He looks a bit frightened.
    ‘Who are you?’ Jessie asks.
    ‘His name’s John Smith and he stole a tram and now he’s in hiding from the police,’ I say quickly.
    ‘We’re protecting him with our lives,’ Vee explains.
    The lift dings, announcing that someone else is arriving in the car park. We tumble into the storeroom before anyone sees us. Vee donks the pram on the doorframe, but Baby stays asleep.
    ‘Your name’s not John Smith,’ Jessie pronounces.
    The boy goes even whiter. ‘How did you know?’ he stutters.
    ‘I know now ,’ Jessie says smugly.
    We all stare at her. I realise she tricked him by pretending to know.
    ‘Why did you choose John Smith anyway?’ Jessie asks. ‘It’s the most obvious fake name in history.’
    ‘Is it?’ Not-John-Smith asks. ‘I saw it on a TV show and I thought it was a good fake name.’
    I’m a little bit angry. ‘You lied! We brought you so much food and you lied to us.’ I glare at him and Jessie. I’m annoyed that Jessie figured it out so quickly and I didn’t.
    ‘I bet you didn’t even steal a tram either,’ I say.
    ‘Yeah!’ Vee chimes in.
    I’m just saying it because I want to make him feel bad, but his eyes go wide and I realise that was a lie too.
    ‘You didn’t steal a tram,’ I say. ‘You totally lied to us!’
    He’s biting his lip. ‘I saw a story about it on the news. A boy did it and I wished it was me.’
    I can tell Jessie feels sorry for him. ‘It’s part of the job of runaways to lie,’ Jessie says. ‘They have to hide the real story to protect themselves. I bet the real story’s even worse, isn’t it?’
    Not-John-Smith is looking teary and trying not to. Worse than stealing a tram and hiding from the police?
    ‘What’s your name then, Not-John?’ I ask.
    ‘If I tell you, you’ll google me,’ Not-John says.
    Jessie grins and I realise she’s probably going to google him anyway.
    ‘Not-John is a good name,’ I say.
    Vee pulls the jelly snakes from on top of Baby. Baby makes his cutest noise and stays asleep.
    ‘Why is there a baby?’ Not-John asks.
    ‘We stole him from a tram driver,’ Vee replies and we all giggle.
    There’s something about the sound of the jelly-snakes wrapper opening that makes me feel happy inside. We slide down to sitting on the floor, with the pram in between. Jessie passes the jelly snakes across the wheels