Hide and Seek Read Online Free PDF Page B

clicked away – the flash going off at two-second intervals.
    Blake and Connor jumped and crowded around Shelby, giggling and using their fingers to pull their faces into grotesque shapes for the camera.
    'Mum?' She begged her mother to let her escape.
    'So who is this friend?' her mother asked. Her father stopped snapping for a moment, keen to hear Shelby's answer.
    'Just someone I met on the beach.' Shelby chose her words carefully. 'I have met this person before, though.'
    'This person ?' her father repeated, beaming. 'A person, eh? What do you think about that, boys? Is it a he person? Or a she person?'
    'He! He! He!' Connor chanted, and soon Blake joined in, punching his fist into the air in time.
    Shelby covered her face with her hands.
    'Off you go, honey.' Her mother took ten dollars out of her purse and handed it across. 'We're going to the movies this evening, remember. Don't be late.'
    'Thanks, Mum.'
    'No holding hands, or I'll have to come after your um friend with a pruning saw,' her father said. He tilted his head to the side. 'OK, you can hold hands, but definitely no smooching!'
    'Smooching?' Blake giggled. 'Yucko!'
    Shelby fled.

9 Hot Chips
    At first Shelby waited up near the shops, but the breeze in the shade was cold around her legs, so she sat on the sand in the sun and watched the waves curl over one another.
    She had known her dad would make a fuss, and now she was more nervous than ever, which was dumb, because it was just hot chips, and he was just a boy.
    Besides, the last two times Chad had seen her she'd been dirty, and rained on, and crying, so obviously he didn't really care what she looked like. Yesterday Chad had said 'that day', so he probably didn't even remember that he had met her twice in the Gully.
    Maybe he didn't even like her? Perhaps he'd only made the invitation out of politeness? She ran over the conversation they'd had the day before in her mind, looking for a different meaning that she might have missed.
    There was a couple walking along the beach holding hands. Laughing, the girl broke away, running along the waterline. The boy chased after her and grabbed her around the waist. Shelby looked away as they kissed.
    Above the beach there was a small grassy park. An older lady sat on a rug and fed a toddler from a baby food jar while another child, about Blake's age, played on the slippery dip.
    Where was Chad anyway? It was 'afternoon' and she must have been waiting for half an hour already. Knowing her luck he'd seen her and was hiding around the corner waiting till she was gone.
    Shelby stood up and brushed the sand from the back of her legs. She'd brought a book to Aunty Jenny's that Erin had lent her. She hadn't started it yet. Erin wasn't much of a reader, so it must be good if she liked it.
    Shelby decided to buy some chips and a drink to take back with her to the house. Aunty Jenny had a hammock hanging from the back veranda. She'd spend the afternoon there with the book, but first she would change into some track pants. Skirts definitely weren't her style.
    When she turned Chad was there, right behind her, grinning. He had gummy stuff in his hair to make it stand up, only he had missed a bit, which lay fluffy and flat on the side of his head.
    'I thought it was you, but I couldn't tell with the hat. And your hair's a different colour, isn't it? I've been standing up there for ages trying to decide whether to come down and check.' He pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
    Shelby put her hand on her beanie. 'Oh.'
    'So do you want some chips or something?' He smiled at her again.
    'OK.'
    They walked up the beach towards the car park. 'Have you been here for a long time?'
    'Nope.' Shelby hoped she would be able to start speaking full sentences soon. She was nervous, and it was so dumb because the first time she met Chad she had yelled at him. She took a deep breath. 'I got my hair done. It was Mum's idea. I was going to grow it out, but . . . How was fishing? What do you catch