Free Lulu Bell and the Pyjama Party by Belinda Murrell Page B

stacked the dishwasher. Lulu showed Sam how to feed the dogs.
    â€˜Sit, girls,’ ordered Lulu. Asha and Jessie sat obediently, their tongues hanging out. ‘Stay.’
    Lulu scraped the leftovers into the two dog bowls. Asha and Jessie looked up at Lulu hopefully.
    Lulu whispered to Sam. ‘Now say, “good girls”. That’s how they know they’re allowed to eat. We’ve trained them to have beautiful manners.’

    Sam looked at the two big dogs. Asha thumped her tail on the floor. ‘Good girls,’ he said.
    The two dogs leapt up. They gobbled up their breakfast in seconds and licked the bowls clean. Sam smiled.
    â€˜Now we’d better get going,’ said Dad. ‘We don’t want to be late for the game.’
    â€˜Rug up, everyone,’ Mum reminded them. ‘It’s cold out there.’
    Rosie wore a beanie and scarf with her angel wings. Gus pulled down his bug boy mask. Everyone grabbed a warm jacket.
    It was a fifteen-minute walk to Lagoon Park. The dogs bounded along, sniffing all the wonderful smells. They loved coming to soccer on Saturday mornings too. Mum had the water bottles and the sliced oranges in acontainer. Dad had his whistle and the soccer ball.
    There were lots of families arriving at the park. Some of the kids wore the same sky-blue uniform as Lulu and Molly. Others wore the black and red of the opposition – the Mighty Sharks. Lulu felt a bubble of excitement well up. She loved soccer.
    â€˜Come on, Gus. Come on, Sam. Let’s go. It’s time for some super Squid fun.’

Chapter 3
The Shelly Beach Squids
    Lulu and Molly ran over to join their team mates – the Shelly Beach Squids. Lots of Lulu’s best friends from school were on the team. As well as Molly, there was Lauren, Thomas and Flynn, plus the twins, Olivia and Jo.
    â€˜Hi, Lulu,’ called Lauren. ‘Hi, Molly.’
    â€˜Lauren, how’s Maisie?’ asked Lulu. Maisie was Lauren’s black Labrador. She was going to have puppies any day now.
    â€˜Big and slow,’ replied Lauren with a grin. ‘Mum said we should bring her in for a check-up with your dad today.’
    â€˜I hope she has the puppies really soon,’ said Lulu. ‘Labrador puppies are so chubby and wrinkly. They’ll be adorable.’
    â€˜Come on, girls,’ called the coach, waving her arms. She gave Lulu a special smile.
    The Squids’ coach was Kylie the vet nurse. Kylie was a star soccer player. The Squids gathered around. Lulu jumped up and down to keep warm, and tucked her hands under her armpits.
    Mum hurried over with her clipboard and pen. She was the team manager. She made sure the players swapped over regularly so everyone got a turn to play.
    Dad was the referee, with his whistleand cap. He helped Kylie to warm the kids up before the game.
    The Squids jogged up and down the football field. They skipped sideways, stretched and sprinted. They practised passing the ball and tackling. Then Kylie gave them some last-minute reminders before the game began.
    â€˜Remember to spread out,’ said Kylie. ‘Pass the ball and kick hard.’
    Rosie, Gus and Sam stood on the sideline with all the other families. Rosie held Asha’s lead while Sam held Jessie’s lead.
    Then Dad blew the whistle to start the game. The two teams chased the ball. They kicked it back and forth. Flynn was the goalkeeper for the first half. He had to try to stop the other team from scoring. The others chased the ball, trying to shoot it towards their own goal net.

    It was a very exciting game. Thomas loved doing tricks with his feet, flipping the ball in the air. The ball came close and Lulu kicked it with all her might. The ball shot down the other end of the field.
    â€˜Great kick, Lulu,’ yelled Mum from the sideline.
    Thomas chased the ball and moved it further down the field.

    He passed it to Lauren. Lauren gave a super-big kick. The ball flew over the