Squishy Taylor and the Bonus Sisters Read online

  For Toby and Emily and their wild bonus family.

  – Ailsa

  For Jess, my new bonus sister.

  – Ben

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  About the author and illustrator

  Author acknowledgements

  Illustrator acknowledgements

  Copyright Page

  Baby is on the change mat, pooey and kicking. Dad looks flustered. ‘Please, Squishy,’ he asks me, ‘can you get the baby wipes? They’re in the car.’

  Squishy Taylor to the rescue.

  I spin and grab the car key, ducking out our front door to pause in the hallway. Lift or stairs? Which is more fun? Stairs, of course – all eleven flights of them. I bolt past the other apartments to the stairwell, then leap down the steps like a ninja-gazelle.

  I slow down at the bottom before I get to the car park. It’s always been a bit dark and creepy down here. Our car is right at the far end, with the other cars from the eleventh floor. To get there I have to pass under a flickering light that’s more off than on.

  That’s when I hear the noise. A kind of rustling, scuttling noise – but big, way bigger than a rat. I stand still, with my heart all racy-fast. The noise is near our car. I take a deep breath and tiptoe down the last five steps and out into the car park.

  The fluorescent light buzzes and flickers off and I’m walking through the dark. There’s that rustle again. I freeze. By now I’m nearer to the car than the steps. I make a bolt for it, pressing the unlock button so the car beeps and flashes just before I get to it. I haul open the back door, scramble over Baby’s capsule and slam the door behind me.

  I’m sitting on the baby wipes, listening to myself breathing. Whatever was out there knows I’m here.

  A movement, a few cars away, catches my eye. A dark, shadowy, dodging movement. Like someone trying to hide. It reminds me of something. There it is again, ducking away behind another car. I realise what it reminds me of: myself, sneaking through the car park just now.

  I watch. The flickering light comes on again and I see the person running. I grin. It’s definitely a little kid, a kid darting away from me.

  For some reason, that makes me want to give chase. I jump out of the car and the kid bolts. I run between the cars. There’s the sound of a door closing and then nothing.

  I look around. ‘Hey! Where’d you go? Come out!’ I call.

  Nothing. Jeepers, this kid must be scared.

  ‘My name is Squishy Taylor,’ I shout. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’

  After another silence, a door I hadn’t noticed creaks open and a voice says, ‘What kind of a name is Squishy?’

  It’s a boy. I can see his sunburned face and dirty jumper.

  ‘It’s a good kind of name,’ I say. ‘It’s like the gangster, only better.’

  There was once a gangster called Squizzy Taylor, but that’s not why I’m called Squishy. Mum and Dad gave me the nickname when I was little, because I used to squeeze between them when they were hugging. I’d wriggle in, yelling, ‘Squish me! Squish me!’ They got divorced ages ago, but they both still call me Squishy.

  It could be an embarrassing name, so I’m lucky about the gangster.

  The boy is in a cleaning storeroom, which I’ve never seen used before. As he steps out, I get a glimpse over his shoulder of a school backpack and a sleeping-bag laid out neatly on the floor. He pulls the door closed behind him.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ I ask.

  ‘Nothing,’ he says.

  ‘That’s not true,’ I say.

  ‘Well,’ he shrugs, ‘your real name’s not Squishy.’

  It’s not. It’s Sita, after my grandma, but Sita is only for the serious-in-trouble times. This boy doesn’t need to know that.

  We stare at each other.

  ‘Have you got any food?’ he asks.

  ‘Well, dinner’s nearly ready,’ I say, but I know that’s not what he means and he looks so sad that I feel sorry for him. ‘You want me to sneak you some, later?’ I ask.

  He nods hard.

  ‘How about we make a deal? I bring you food, and you tell me what you’re doing.’

  He looks torn, then says, ‘Only if you promise not to tell anyone.’

  I grin. ‘Course!’ I say. ‘You’re the best kind of secret there is.’

  I remember something. I run to our car and grab the half-pack of rice-crackers (and the wipes) from the back seat.

  I hand the food over. ‘I’ll have to wait until Dad and Alice and Baby are asleep before I sneak out, but these should keep you going.’

  The boy grins. ‘Thanks, Squishy Taylor,’ he says.

  ‘See you in the middle of the night!’ I say, and run for the lift.

  It’s not till I’m at our apartment door that I realise I never asked his name.

  All through dinner, I’m burning with my secret.

  Jessie and Vee aren’t talking to me, but I don’t care anymore. They sit down at the table in time, flicking their twin ponytails in time, scowling their twin scowls. Their mum Alice plonks spaghetti on the table while Dad gets everyone a glass of water.

  Baby hits the table with his fat arms, drops broccoli on the floor and shouts.

  This is what normal looks like now. I used to live with Mum, and Dad lived by himself. Then Dad moved in here, because of Alice having Baby. Then Mum got her job in Geneva and we decided I should stay here too. So now I’ve lived in Alice’s apartment for seven and a half weeks and it’s officially normal.

  Dad told me that stepfamilies get a bad rap in fairy tales and maybe I should think of them as a bonus family instead. I don’t think they’re a bonus. They are about 95% annoying and 5% really, really annoying.

  But tonight I don’t care because I’ve got a secret.

  I suck spaghetti strands and smile at my fork.

  After dinner, I grab the iPad before Jessie can. She scowls but says nothing. The only time I don’t have to fight for the iPad is when it’s time to skype Mum. I lie on my tummy on the floor and push my curls out of my face.

  ‘Hi, Squishy-sweet,’ Mum says.

  ‘Hi, Mum.’

  ‘Let me just finish this sentence.’ She starts typing. Mum’s at work because it’s daytime in Geneva. She finishes with a flamboyant full stop, then looks at me again. ‘What’d you do today?’ she asks.

  ‘Um …’ The first thing I think of is the boy downstairs, but if I told her about him she’d probably tell Dad.

  ‘Um … I poured orange juice and flour in Vee’s schoolbag this morning,’ I say.

  She groans. ‘Oh great. Poor Alice.’ But she has her sideways smile on. Mum was a rebel too, so she kind of likes that I am.

  ‘You should have seen the goop it made,’ I add, thinking gleefully of the dough all over her pencil case. ‘It was all … squishy!’

  She laughs. ‘Probably not the best way to make friends with your stepsisters, hey?’

  ‘I don’t want to be friends! I’ve got friends at school. Did you know, Jessie spent an hour yesterday telling me how to do my homework –’

  Just then, Jessie comes in. ‘Hi, Devika,’ she says to Mum, looking over my shoulder.

  ‘Hi, Jessie,’ Mum says.

  ‘How’s the UN?’ Jessie asks, as if she’s 100 years older than me, rather than five and a half months.

&
nbsp; ‘Oh,’ Mum sighs. ‘Bureaucratic. Huge. I don’t know.’

  Jessie waves at Mum and heads over to her telescope by the window.

  ‘Well, how are your school friends?’ Mum asks me. ‘Bet they’re all wishing you’d get on a plane to Geneva.’

  I grin. My school friends are one of the main reasons I stayed. ‘Nah. They’re good.’ But I don’t really want to talk to her in front of Jessie. ‘Love you,’ I say.

  ‘Love you too, Squish,’ she says, and her picture slides away.

  ‘Bedtime in seven and a half minutes!’ Alice yells.

  Vee does a Kicking-Two-Jump-Scramble up to the top bunk. She’s such a show-off. Vee always invents new ways of getting up to the top bunk and then performs them like we should clap. When I try them, she does bigger-kid-snob face at me and pretends she’s better. Which makes it way less fun.

  Jessie takes the iPad off me without asking. She checks her telescope and makes notes in her astronomy app. Then she folds her clothes into a neat square and slips into the bottom bunk.

  ‘Goodnight, Vee,’ Jessie says.

  ‘Goodnight, Jessie,’ Vee says.

  They don’t say anything to me. Which is kind of fair enough, since I made that brilliant mess in Vee’s bag this morning. But that was fair enough, because Vee drew a moustache on my face with permanent marker while I was asleep last night. I got it off before school – but I had a red moustache until recess from the scrubbing.

  Anyway. Whatever. I climb into the middle bunk between the twin-generated-silence and lie there. In the stupid triple-bunk-bed Alice built before I moved in.

  I’m staying awake, thinking about my secret.

  After ages, the line of light under our door goes out. I hear Dad and Alice’s bedroom door close. Jessie and Vee are both doing sleep-breathing.

  I slowly peel back the covers and tiptoe into the kitchen. It looks as though Dad or Alice discovered the secret stash of garlic bread and meatballs I hid under the table, but it’s fine, they’re just sitting in the top part of the bin. I grab an old take-away container and pile them in. Then I lift the key off the hook and ease open the front door.

  When I get out into the corridor, I realise I don’t just have to hide from Dad and Alice. I have to hide from every single adult in the building. Grown-ups take the responsibility of being grownups very seriously. Especially if they see kids in pyjamas out in the middle of the night.

  Luckily, no-one spots me and I make it to the car park just fine. I tap gently on the boy’s door. ‘Room service,’ I say.

  As he opens up, I hear the garage roller-door begin to beep and rise. Headlights shine down into the car park. He stumbles backwards and I follow him in, closing the door behind us.

  ‘Thanks,’ he says as I hand him the food. ‘Hope they didn’t notice the light.’ He shoves a meatball into his mouth and we listen to the car pull up. We sit on his sleeping-bag with our backs to the wall.

  ‘What’s your name?’ I ask.

  ‘John,’ he says, with his mouth full. ‘John Smith.’

  ‘Why are you here?’ I ask.

  ‘I’m hiding,’ he says, taking a bite of garlic bread.

  ‘No way!’ I say sarcastically.

  ‘From the police.’

  I stop being sarcastic and do a question-face instead.

  ‘I stole a tram,’ he says. ‘When the tram driver got out, I jumped in and drove it all the way to St Kilda. Now they want to put me in prison.’

  ‘They don’t put kids in prison,’ I say.

  I wish I’d stolen a tram.

  I think for a little bit.

  ‘Next time I’ll do a secret knock, OK?’ I say. ‘Don’t open to anyone except me.’

  ‘OK,’ he says. ‘What will it sound like?’

  I make up a really complicated knock that nobody else would ever do.

  He shakes his head. ‘I didn’t get that. Do it again?’ he asks.

  But I can’t remember it. I make up another one, but then I can’t remember that either. It makes us both laugh. Finally we agree on a pretty quick and simple tappety-tap-tap-tap.

  I stand up.

  ‘Don’t tell anyone I’m here,’ he says.

  ‘Course.’

  ‘Will you bring food tomorrow night?’ he asks. He suddenly sounds lonely.

  ‘I’m going to bring you so much food,’ I grin.

  But when I open the door to leave, Vee is standing on the other side.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Vee hisses.

  John Smith is hiding behind me but he’s pretty obvious. There’s no point pretending.

  ‘John Smith, this is my stepsister, Vee. Vee, this is John. He stole a tram and now he’s on the run from the police.’

  ‘You did not steal a tram,’ Vee says, but she sounds admiring. I can tell she wishes she stole a tram too.

  John nods.

  ‘I’ve been looking after him,’ I declare, ‘and I’ve promised to protect him with my life.’

  I know that’s not exactly what I promised, but John doesn’t seem to mind and Vee looks a tiny bit impressed.

  ‘I’ll protect him too,’ she says.

  I want to say no and keep John Smith all to myself. I start to shake my head.

  ‘With my life,’ Vee adds, with her chin out.

  I figure if she’s not with me, she’s against me. ‘You can protect him,’ I say slowly. ‘But you’re not allowed to tell Jessie. She’ll tell the police for sure.’

  John looks worried. ‘Please don’t tell,’ he says.

  Vee looks unsure, but I make her put one hand on her heart and the other hand on John’s shoulder and look deep into his eyes and promise to protect him. I realise he really should have made me do this, so I do it too.

  There’s something very serious about it and I suddenly care even more that John doesn’t get discovered.

  Then we tell John we’ll see him tomorrow and start for the lift.

  ‘On Pocket-Money Day, let’s buy him jelly snakes,’ Vee says, as the lift starts climbing. Her voice sounds conspiring, like we’re a team. It’s kind of surprising and nice.

  ‘Do you think we can sneak in before school?’ I ask. ‘The car park will be pretty busy.’

  ‘One of us can be the decoy, while the other sneaks into his storeroom,’ Vee says. ‘What kind of decoy trick could we do?’

  ‘Maybe we can set off the fire alarm,’ I suggest.

  Vee laughs. ‘Maybe you can pretend to go crazy and sing opera and make everyone look at you.’

  We make up lots of other stupid decoy tricks. Vee has never been this fun, ever. We are giggling so hard when we get to our floor that we totally forget to be quiet.

  We would have remembered by the time we got to our door. But we have to go past Mr Hinkenbushel’s first.

  His door opens with a bang against the wall. ‘What are you kids doing up at this time of night?’ He’s wearing old pyjamas and his face is red. ‘You’re keeping the whole building awake. What are your parents thinking?’

  When he says ‘parents’, a bit of spit comes out of his mouth and flies across the hallway. I dodge it like a ninja, but that just makes him angrier.

  ‘Where’s your respect?’ he shouts.

  ‘Sorry, Mr Hinkenbushel, sorry,’ Vee says and we duck away towards our place. He glares at us as I turn the key and then we’re in. We close the door and lean against it, whisper-giggling. Vee’s shoulder is warm, shaking against mine.

  ‘How did you find me?’ I ask.

  ‘Not a problem,’ Vee says. ‘I was behind you from when you took the key.’

  ‘You are so creepy!’ I say and we burst into more giggles.

  A door creaks open and Dad’s sleepy voice bumbles in on our laughter. ‘What are you doing?’

  While we make breakfast, Vee and I bump each other’s shoulders and giggle. We’re both trying to sneak food for John Smith, but there are too many people watching. Jessie is suspicious. She starts glancing sideways at me as she eats her cereal.<
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  Alice is in the shower getting ready for work and Dad’s trying to bounce Baby on his hip and make lunches at the same time. Baby is crying, squirming backwards and baffing Dad in the face with his fat little arm.

  ‘Hey, Tom, how about I do that?’ Vee says helpfully, taking the knife off Dad to spread mayo on the sandwiches.

  Jessie stares at her like she’s suddenly turned into a fake plastic fern. We never make our own lunches.

  ‘Don’t think you can wriggle out of your punishment for last night’s shenanigans,’ Dad says, but he sounds relieved and bounces Baby over to the other side of the room.

  ‘Oh no, that’s fine!’ Vee says and I see she’s sneakily making a fourth sandwich.

  Last night, we managed to convince Dad we only sneaked out as far as the kitchen for snacks. He was so happy I was getting along with Vee that he couldn’t pretend to be angry for long. The lie should work as long as Mr Hinkenbushel doesn’t tell. He probably won’t. He doesn’t like talking to grown-ups. He only likes shouting at kids.

  I had the seriously genius idea for our punishment.

  ‘We’re looking forward to cleaning the car after school,’ I say brightly. It’s going to be hours where we can sneak in and out of John’s storeroom, bring him food and ask him questions.

  Jessie makes snake-eyes at me.

  I realise I shouldn’t look so happy. But it’s too late.

  ‘Maybe I can help you,’ Jessie says sweetly.

  Vee and I glance hopelessly at each other and then realise Jessie is watching us and we’re giving ourselves away.

  ‘That sounds great,’ I say in a matching fake-nice voice.

  Baby has started pulling Dad’s hair with tiny, white-knuckled fists.

  Dad and Baby walk us to the tram stop. There’s a tall, scowly man in a neat blue coat standing there. He looks familiar but I can’t tell why. I realise I’m staring and look away.

  ‘Bye, Dad,’ I say, as the tram pulls up.

  ‘Bye, Tom,’ say my stepsisters.

  ‘Be good,’ Dad says.

  ‘And if you can’t be good, be careful!’ I call, from the tram step. It’s something Mum used to say and it always makes me laugh.