LITMIR.BIZ

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chicken. I don’t need to remind you, do I, that Kenny is obsessed with football.

      “No, you’ll never guess!” I squealed. “Dad’s only got us hooked up, hasn’t he?”

      The others were looking at me blankly.

      “You know – we’re on the Net.”

      Still no response.

      “We’re on the Internet, you dummies,” I told them. “Crikey, don’t all get excited at once, will you?”

      Kenny and Fliss still looked totally blank, but Rosie had suddenly come to life.

      “Wow! Adam is going to be so jealous when I tell him. He’s desperate to use the Internet!”

      You remember Adam don’t you? He’s Rosie’s older brother who has cerebral palsy, and he’s a total computer freak.

      Now Lyndz had appeared too. She’s always late, that girl.

      “Who’s on the Net then?” she asked.

      I beamed at her by way of an answer.

      “You lucky thing, Frankie!” she grinned. “My brother Stuart’s always going on about how great it is. Our grandparents in Holland use it a lot. It sounds brill!”

      Kenny and Fliss were still looking pretty confused, so we had to try to explain to them what the Internet was all about. But Fliss just couldn’t get her head round it.

      “You mean that all the computers in the world can talk to each other? I didn’t think they could do that.” She pulled a dramatic face. “I mean, that is really spooky.”

      Before I could explain it to her again, the bell went. We shuffled like penguins into the classroom. We often do stuff like that. Everybody seems to think we’re crazy – I don’t know why!

      Sometimes school can be really boring. Mrs Weaver tries her best, but let’s face it – the only way Maths could get exciting is if Boyzone and 911 got together to demonstrate the complicated bits. And somehow I don’t think that’s ever going to happen. I love doing project work though, and that particular week we were in the middle of learning all about the Vikings.

      “Wouldn’t it be great if instead of just reading about them, we could actually see a proper Viking and ask him about his life? What he ate, what he wore, stuff like that,” said Rosie, looking up from her work.

      “That would be so cool!” I agreed.

      “Actually, there’s a place called the Yorvik Centre in York which does just that,” said Mrs Weaver, who had suddenly appeared from nowhere. “People dressed as Vikings show you round the exhibition and tell you all about their way of life 1,000 years ago. It’s a pity that it’s just a little too far away for us to visit.”

      “That’s too bad,” agreed Kenny. “We’ll just have to make do with boring books then!”

      Mrs Weaver flashed one of her ‘You’re-very-lucky-to-have-so-many-lovely-books-at-school’ looks and went to see what the M&Ms, Emma Hughes and Emily Berryman, were up to. You remember the deadly duo, don’t you? Well they were in full-on smarming mode. It turned out that they’d both been to the Yorvik Centre, so they managed to suck up to Mrs Weaver big time. That was when Kenny was struck by inspiration.

      “I bet you’ve found loads of stuff about Vikings on the Internet, haven’t you Frankie?” she asked me in a really loud voice, as though I was deaf or something.

      “I…I…I don’t…” I stuttered, all confused. Then I realised what she was doing. “Oh yes, there are loads of web sites about Vikings!” I replied, louder still.

      “And I bet they’re really exciting too, aren’t they?” Lyndz chimed in.

      “Ooh yes,” I said enthusiastically. “They’ve just got so much, er, so much… stuff on them!”

      “Stuff?” Kenny mouthed to me. “Couldn’t you think of anything more exciting?”

      I just shrugged.

      “Well Francesca, I’m all for using new technology,” Mrs Weaver smiled. “Maybe you can look up Vikings on the Internet again and report back to us on all the exciting ‘stuff’ that you find.”

      The M&Ms sniggered, but I could tell that they were really peeved. They’re always the centre of attention, those two. It was nice to feel a bit special for once.

      “Hey, nice one Frankie!” laughed Kenny. “So when can we come round to your place to do a bit of surfing?”

      Poor Fliss looked absolutely panic-stricken.

      “The sooner we get Fliss used to the Internet, the better,” I decided. “I’ll ask Mum and Dad tonight, but I’m sure it’ll be fine if you come home with me after school tomorrow!”

      Little did I know then what chaos the Internet was going to lead me into…

      

      The next day was one of Mum’s days for working at home, so it was no problem for the others to come back with me after school. As soon as I opened the front door, my dog Pepsi leapt at me. She is one crazy dog!

      “What a welcome!” laughed Mum, making a grab for her collar. “Now calm down Pepsi, these girls need to save their strength for tackling the ‘Information Superhighway’!”

      The others looked at her like she was talking a foreign language.

      “She’s talking about us using the Internet,” I explained.

      “That’s right girls, you’re going to need a whole new vocabulary from now on,” Mum nodded. “It’s hi-tech stuff you know, floating around in cyberspace. You’d better make sure that you don’t get lost, Fliss!”

      Fliss looked terrified.

      “Don’t be mean, Mother!” I said. “It’s OK Fliss, it’s all perfectly safe, honest!”

      Fliss gave a strained sort of smile. I swear that she takes her sense of humour off with her clothes at night, and sometimes forgets to put it back on again!

      “There’s Coke and biccies in the kitchen,” Mum told us. “Just give me a shout when you’re ready and I’ll get you set up on your computer.”

      She disappeared upstairs to her study and we all piled into the kitchen with Pepsi dancing round our ankles.

      You wouldn’t believe what Kenny did as the rest of us were drinking our Coke. She only shoved three Jaffa cakes in her mouth at once, didn’t she? After she’d grossed us out with that, it was a relief to get upstairs to the computer!

      “OK Mum, you can do your stuff now!” I called.

      Before signing on to the Internet, Mum has to type in a special password, which only she and Dad know. They reckon it will stop me using it for hours in the middle of the night – as if! Dad thinks I run up a big enough phone bill as it is, talking to my friends all the time!

      Mum sat down at my computer and we all turned round with our backs to her. But I could see Fliss having a sneaky peek at what Mum was typing.

      “OK girls, you’re logged on now, but don’t be on too long, will you?” Mum got up and went back into her study.

      I sat down and asked the others which web sites they wanted me to find.

      “Will there be anything on Boyzone?” asked Rosie.

      “No, Leicester City!” shouted Kenny.

      “What about horses?” asked Lyndz.

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