Truly Tan Baffled

‘Nice one, Tan,’ says Emerald. I do not often make my biggest sister laugh. She is not a laughing kind of girl. This is a proud moment for me and I smile proudly in the moonlight. Rose ignores us and keeps on muttering her poem. ‘Blow, blow, thou winter wind …’ Blah blah … ‘So,’ says Amber, cuddling her dog, Doodad, ‘in case anyone is interested, I just want to announce that Jem is coming to stay for the holidays. Is that okay, Mum?’ ‘Jem?’ says Emerald. ‘I’ve already invited Miranda. Miranda is coming to stay.’ Rose pushes back her hood. ‘Sage is coming to stay,’ she says. ‘Remember? Sage and I have been planning our winter holiday all year. We are Daughters of Winter. Daughters of the Frost, the Ice, the Snow. We must be together during this magical time!’ The Lollipops all start arguing. They all want their friends to come and stay. Mum is looking at them and I bet she is thinking she would like to pack her bag and move out of Valleyview right now. ‘Be quiet, all of you,’ says Mum. ‘First we have the Lantern

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