Girl Overboard! Read online

  “Yes, yes, Seng told me he was on his way over,” says Mom as she hurries to the living room. “Hello, Seng! Hi, Pink.”

  “And these are my friends, Ben and Will,” Rosie says.

  “Oh my, what good-looking boy friends you have,” says Mom.

  “Mom!” Rosie gasps, mortified. “Awkward!”

  “What? They are good-looking boys,” Mom retorts, as she reaches out to shake Ben’s and Will’s hands. “Nice to meet you both.”

  While Mom fusses over her cousin and Rosie’s friends, Rosie puts down her backpack and heads towards the kitchen to get drinks for everyone. She smiles as she steals a look back at Will. “I can’t believe he’s in my home!” she thinks, then crosses her fingers. “I hope Mom doesn’t say anything else embarrassing.”

  “Ahhhhh!” Rosie suddenly screams when she steps into the kitchen.

  “What? What happened, Rose?” Mom asks as everyone runs to the kitchen.

  “I think we scared Rosie, Auntie Tracey,” Sharon says. “I don’t think she expected to see us here.”

  “Neither did we,” Pink mutters, glaring at Sharon.

  Rosie takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Auntie Josie, I didn’t know that you were here.”

  “That’s okay, Rosie,” Auntie Josie says, getting up to give her a hug. “Sorry to have scared you. Sharon called me from Katong and I told her to take a taxi to meet me here.”

  “The taxi was super fast,” Sharon adds with a smug look.

  “Sharon was telling your mom and me how much fun you all had on your trip,” Auntie Josie continues. “And that she was really worried when you guys got lost. Thank goodness you were able to find your way back.”

  “Yes, how did you get lost, Rose?” Rosie’s mom asks. “You’re usually pretty good with maps.”

  Ben coughs as Pink starts to open her mouth. Rosie sees that Pink is dying to tell the truth, but she squeezes her BFF’s hand.

  “I’m not sure, Mom,” Rosie answers. “I think the map we got was a little outdated so it took us on the wrong trail. But it really was okay, ’cause we got to see and learn things that we wouldn’t have otherwise—”

  “Yeah, and Rosie got an award for ‘best observation skills’,” Pink says.

  “Show everyone your award, Rosie,” Will adds, not noticing the scowl Sharon gives him. But Rosie does.

  She reaches for her backpack and starts going through it. After a minute, she announces, “It’s not in my backpack,” and shoots a look at Sharon. Sharon shrugs her shoulders and raises her hands. “Don’t look at me,” she says. “I didn’t take it.”

  “Maybe you left it on the bus,” Ben says. “I’ll call Mrs Irons to ask her about it.”

  Ben heads into the hallway to make the call when the front door opens and suddenly there’s a lot of clatter and banging. Rosie and her mom look at each other. “Alex is home,” they both say with a sigh.

  “Hi, Mom!” Alex shouts as he makes his way to the kitchen. “Who’s here?” he asks, then stops in his tracks when he sees the crowd. “Whoa! There’re a lot of people here. Rosie! You’re back! And you’re having a party without me”—he reaches into his pocket and pulls out something furry—“and McSpidey? Aw, I’m hurt!”

  At the sight of the spider, Rosie turns and runs off. “Alex!” she yells all the way to the open front door—where Mrs Irons is standing. “Mrs Irons!” Rosie calls. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hi, Rosie, you left your award on the bus,” Mrs Irons replies. “Ben called me about it and since your place is on my way home, I decided to stop by. Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “Oh, no,” Rosie says, “thank you so much for bringing me the award. Come on in and have a cup of tea or something. Everybody’s hanging out in the kitchen.”

  Rosie walks her teacher to the kitchen and introduces her to her mom and Aunt Josie, then looks around for Ben and Pink. “Where are they?” she wonders, then smiles as she heads out the door and towards the staircase by the lift.

  “Hi, guys,” Rosie says, spotting Ben and Pink sitting on the steps. “I knew I’d find you here.”

  “Sorry, Rosie, I just needed to get away from Sharon,” Pink says.

  “No explanation necessary,” says Rosie. “Can you believe she told her mom and my mom that she was so worried about us?”

  “Don’t worry,” Ben says. “She will get what she deserves one day.”

  Just then, the lift door opens and Rosie’s dad steps out.

  “Hi, Dad!” Rosie says, running over to give him a big hug.

  “Whoa, princess, welcome back!” Rosie’s dad says, hugging her back just as tightly. “It’s good to see you too!”

  “Hi, Pink,” Dad says, and reaches out to shake Ben’s hand when Rosie introduces them. “How was Pulau Ubin?”

  “It was great,” replies Ben. “Nothing like a day out in the wild to help you appreciate what you have.”

  “That is true,” Dad says with a laugh, “that’s how I feel when I’ve been at work all day! It is a jungle out there.”

  The four of them head back towards Rosie’s flat. They are at the doorway when a parade of people starts to stream out. Dad’s mouth opens in surprise, but he still manages to greet everyone. “Hi, Josie, Sharon, oh, hello, Seng, nice to see you, yes, nice to meet you Mrs Irons, hey Will…hello, dear…uh, is there anyone else?”

  “Just me, Dad!” Alex calls out from the window.

  “Well, I seem to have missed the message about a welcome home celebration for the campers,” Dad says. “Hope you had a good time!”

  Mom squeezes his arm as the both of them say goodbye to everyone.

  Just then, Alex runs out and whispers something to Will. Rosie can’t hear what he’s saying but she catches the word “spider” and rolls her eyes.

  “Alex, are you trying to get Will hooked on spiders too?” Rosie asks a little nervously.

  “Oh, no, Alex and I were talking about spiders ’cause I have an aunt who’s an arachnologist,” Will says. “So spiders are cool with me.”

  “Oh, great,” Rosie says weakly while attempting to smile. “That’s just wonderful.”

  Will grins. “Well, thanks for letting me get a ride in your uncle’s car, Rosie. I’ll see you at school.”

  He winks at Rosie and waves to her as he walks away. She is still grinning from ear to ear when Pink also gives her a hug and heads upstairs to her flat.

  10

  We’re Going to Make it After All

  Later that evening Rosie and her family gather in the living room. She shows her parents and Alex her award and tells them about her Pulau Ubin experience.

  “No wonder you seem a little different,” Mom says when Rosie has finished telling them about the trip. “It sounds like you learned a lot. I think you even surprised yourself.”

  Rosie sits up a little straighter. “I think you are right, Mom.”

  “I still think I should have gone with you,” Alex says sadly. “I would have told you which animals are okay, which are not—”

  “Don’t worry, Alex,” Rosie says, giving her brother a shoulder hug. “You’re coming with me next time. I promise.”

  Dear Diary,

  I star ted out dreading the camping trip to Pulau Ubin, but now I think it’s the best thing that has ever happened! Pink got to come with me, I got to talk to Will, Pink met Ben, Ben met Pink, I got an award… and Sharon ended up with egg on her face!

  Woohoo! Things just can’t get any better.

  Mom says that I’ve learned a lot from the trip and I think it’s true. Somehow I feel wiser…and I’m also not letting Sharon get to me the way she used to do.

  “Rose!” Rosie’s mom calls from the kitchen.

  “Yeah, Mom?”

  “Come taste this.”

  Rosie puts away her diary, then goes to the kitchen. It doesn’t smell bad. In fact, it smells pretty good. “What did you make, Mom?”

  “Bo bo cha cha, honey,” Mom says, “it’s a sweet potato
dessert made with coconut milk.”

  “It smells yummy,” Rosie says before tasting a spoonful of sweet potato cubes and coconut milk. “Mmm…it’s delicious! I think you have a winner here, Mom.”

  Rosie’s mom beams. “Well, it’s about time I mastered a local dish, right? All these hours spent in the kitchen are finally paying off!”

  “Shall I ask Pink and her mom to come over to try it too?”

  “You think it’s good enough for company, Rose?”

  “Definitely, Mom!” Rosie says. “You could have your own bo bo cha cha stall!”

  “Oh, you think so?” Mom says excitedly. “Charles, did you hear that? Rosie says that my bo bo cha cha is good enough, I can open up a stall. They do actually have a stall for rent downstairs…”

  Dad walks in from the living room. “Dear, let’s try it with a few more people first, okay?”

  “Are you saying that you don’t think my bo bo cha cha is good?” Mom asks, playfully wielding a soup ladle as if she’s about to swing it.

  “Oh, no, no, no,” Dad says. “I just think that you’re good at cooking so many things, let’s see which one we should really open a stall with—”

  “Good save, Charles,” Mom says with a wink. “Rose, please ladle out three bowls of this fine bo bo cha cha. We better eat as much as we can before the rest of Singapore hears about it and want some too!”

  Rosie chuckles and gives her mom a hug. “You’re the best cook I know, Mom.”

  Rosie

  Rosie is 13 years old and grew up in the New York City borough of Queens—until her family’s move to Singapore. She can be shy but likes to express herself through fashion, art and writing in her diary. She enjoys playing basketball and has played centre on her school teams. She would love to play at Madison Square Garden one day.

  Alex

  Alex is Rosie’s eight-year-old brother. He thinks scaring his sister with his toy spider is the funniest thing in the world. He can rattle off a million facts about animals—especially dinosaurs—and hopes to become famous by discovering a new species of dinosaur.

  Mom (Tracey Smith)

  Ever since she moved back to Singapore with her family, Mom has been immersing herself in everything Singaporean, especially food. She wants to blog about her misadventures in the kitchen, but just hasn’t found time to do that yet.

  Dad (Charles Smith)

  Dad is a good-natured guy who lives to make his family happy, even at his own expense. He firmly believes that songs can cheer everyone up and is always ready to sing. While in university, he was part of a rock band called Smitty Mix.

  Pink

  Pink is 13 years old, and like Rosie, is a big sister. Her little sister, Namisha, is five years old. Unlike Rosie, Pink is a go-getter who is not afraid to take risks. She loves music and fashion, and wants to eventually start her own clothing line.

  Ben

  Ben hails from the seaside town of Margate, England, which is about 121 km southeast of London. He is a fan of electro house music and sports. His easy-going nature and positive attitude helps Rosie adjust to life at her new school.

  Sharon

  Sharon is a major thorn in Rosie’s side. The really weird thing is that Sharon’s mom has been best friends with Rosie’s mom since they were kids, and Sharon’s dad is married to Rosie’s uncle’s best friend! Sharon loves being bossy and is proud of the fact that she has been president of the student council for two years.

  Will

  Will is originally from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where his dad taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Before moving to Singapore, Will lived in southern California for a few years. He is a blue belt in BJJ and is also practising tae kwon do. When he’s not training in the martial arts, Will likes surfing, playing the guitar and writing songs.

  Want to get in touch with Rosie? You can email her at [email protected], or find her on Facebook at fb.com/hellorosiesmith. She’d love to hear from you!

  Acknowledgements

  We’d especially like to thank:

  Edmund and Ruth, for believing in this project and giving Rosie the chance to bloom;

  Ilangoh, for your wholehearted support and words of wisdom;

  Aditi, for your enthusiasm, cheerful attitude and astute editorial comments;

  Lyd ia, for your artistic guidance;

  and everyone at Epigram Books for your encouragement and hard work.

  There’s only six weeks left in the school year and Rosie is excited for summer vacation! But there’s so much to be done before the last day of school— projects, tests…and Rosie is even thinking of signing up for water polo (yes, seriously, water polo!). But then Ben accidentally signs Rosie up for student council, and she finds herself running for president—against Sharon! Can middle school get any worse?

  Quick! Turn the page for a sneak peek!

  Pink calls her cousin on her mobile phone and after five minutes of discussion, they settle on a mix of music.

  “What’s techno music?” Pink asks Rosie after they hang up.

  “I’m not sure,” Rosie says, “but it sounds robotic, so I think we just have to dance like robots.”

  “Cool!” Pink says excitedly. “Now I feel a lot better. I knew you were the right person to ask.”

  Rosie playfully shoots her a look.

  “Okay, okay, the only person to ask,” Pink says, laughing.

  The two of them start moving like robots. “I-am-so-techno,” Rosie says, then stops moving, remembering something. “Did I tell you about the student council elections at my school? Student council gets elected at the end of the school year so the new team is ready to go next school year.”

  “Hmm, maybe you should run for student council,” Pink suggests. “Maybe Will likes girls with power, you know.”

  “Ha ha, funny, Pink,” Rosie says, giggling. “I was thinking about the student council thing, about running for it, but that’s where Sharon is. She’s been the president for two years and I’ve definitely had my fill of her. The more time I spend away from her, the better. Whoever dares to run against her should have their head seriously examined. Or plan on being at a different school next year.”

  Pink laughs. “Yeah, who needs drama? What are you going to do then?”

  Rosie picks up a flyer to show Pink. “Um, I was thinking about water polo,” she says.

  About the Creators

  Sheri Tan, author

  Sheri Tan has always loved reading. Growing up in Singapore, her favourite author was Enid Blyton and she often wished she had adventures like the Famous Five or that she attended Malory Towers. After college, Sheri became a writer and editor of children’s books and worked in New York City for many years before returning to Singapore.

  Fernando Hierro, illustrator

  Fernando Hierro is an illustrator and graphic designer who grew up reading books illustrated by Jack Kirby, a comic book artist from his neighbourhood, the Lower East Side in New York City. Fernando started drawing at an early age, following in the footsteps of his father. He was also inspired by the art of John Byrne and loves telling stories through pictures and words.