Hide and Seek Read Online Free PDF

smoothed down the green skirt at the front and stared at herself in the mirror of Aunty Jenny's spare room. The skirt was a bit short, but she supposed that was because her legs were longer than they had been when her mother bought it. She thought she really should iron it, but then her family would know some-thing was up because she had never ironed anything in her life.
    The only shoes her mother had packed were her Pollyanna school shoes. She also had her pair of scuffed old sneakers, so she had opted for the latter. She wore a pink long-sleeved tee-shirt. It had an orange stain on the front so she'd put a singlet over it, like she had seen some other kids do at the shopping centre, except it was an under-singlet – off-white, made of the same stuff they make spencers out of, with acrylic lace around the edge. It was vee-necked and the shirt was not. She hoped that didn't matter.
    Shelby had had her hair done in the morning, and now she was worried that Chad would think she'd cut it for him, so she slipped Blake's 'Bob the Builder' beanie over her head. She wasn't sure if she looked really cool, or whether she looked as though she was wearing her undies on the outside, her little brother's beanie, and possibly his skirt also.
    She pulled the beanie off and then put it back on again, folding it so that you couldn't see Bob. Did everyone worry about what they looked like as much as she was, or was this just because she was new to caring about it? She hoped it was a one-off, because she could waste a lot of time over the years staring in the mirror.
    Shelby didn't know why she was making such a fuss anyway. It was only hot chips, and Chad might not even be there. He did say that he 'usually' hung out at the beach. He might still be fishing, and then she was going to feel like a dill.
    She sighed and headed down the hall to the lounge room, where the rest of the family were playing card games or reading. Strips of coloured foil littered the floor. A half-eaten chocolate egg was melting in Blake's fingers.
    They all stared.
    'What?' Shelby said, feeling her face flushing.
    'She's wearing a skirt,' Shelby's father said to her mother.
    'Not much of a skirt,' her mother replied.
    'I'd say definitely more than one hand-span above the knee,' remarked Aunty Jenny over the brim of her magazine.
    'That's my beanie,' Blake remarked.
    'I'm borrowing it,' Shelby said. 'Can I have five dollars? I thought I might go down to the beach and maybe get some hot chips or something.'
    'You just had lunch,' said her mother.
    'Yeah, I know. I might meet some other kids,' Shelby mumbled.
    'Are you saying you have met some kids before and this is a prearranged meeting, or are you going to loiter at the fish and chip shop on the off-chance that you might meet some other kids?'
    'Both,' Shelby answered.
    Her mother laid her playing cards face down on the table and waited. Shelby's face grew redder. She was going to have to come up with an explanation.
    'Well, what happened is, yesterday I met a . . . um, friend, and we said we might catch up today, maybe to have chips or something, but it's not confirmed.'
    'An um friend?' Her father turned to her mother again. 'Shelby has an um friend!'
    'Shut up,' Shelby muttered, her face flushed again.
    'Did you hear that? She's telling us to shut up. She's wearing a miniskirt and meeting an um friend, and bam! Just like magic she's a teenager. Where's my camera? I want to record this moment.' He jumped up. 'We can have it blown up for her twenty-first. Our
    little girl!' He hugged her on his way past.
    'Dad!'
    'He's right, Shelby,' her aunt told her, smiling. 'As painful as it is now, you might want to remember this later.' She sighed. 'Oh, first love!'
    First love? Shelby thought. This was getting way out of control. 'It's no big deal! Can I have five dollars? Please?' she asked.
    Her father came back into the room with his camera trained on her. 'Go on! Throw a tantrum. That will be the full box and dice.' He