The Round Door

By Lynette Collins

The round door is about a young girl who is connected to the soul world, Charli whose best friend is a ghost named is D.J. It is summer break and they go to stay with the Nan and Pop, for the holidays when a the round door starts to appear. Once inside they go to the most amazing and wonderful places filled with fun, laugher and most of all new friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Oct 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524517304

Lynette Collins

Lynette Collins loves to write stories that light up children’s imaginations. She spends her free time making them into books for children, in the hope that the readers will enjoy her characters as much as she enjoys creating them.

Book preview

THE ROUND DOOR -

SIX WEEKS OF SUMMER SERIES

LYNETTE COLLINS

Copyright © 2016 by Lynette Collins.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016914593

ISBN:       Hardcover       978-1-5245-1729-8

                Softcover         978-1-5245-1731-1

                eBook              978-1-5245-1730-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 08/12/2019

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

746552

Contents

The Cubby House

The Willow Tree

The Hollows

My Pop

The Tree House

A Winter Wonderland

I Love Chocolate

Oh No! Shayla Ate the Wrong Mushrooms Again

The Cubby House

I t was the last day of school, and then it was summer holidays. Charli and her brother, Cooper, were walking home from school with some of the other kids that lived in their street. When Cooper started to sing, ‘No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks,’ all the kids joined in and started to sing. They sang all the way home, as they laugh and mucked around.

That afternoon when Cooper’s mum got home, Cooper and his two friends, Nat and Nick, asked if they could have a sleepover. It was school holidays and they had six weeks off, so mum said ‘yes’ to the boys. They all jumped and cheered. They ran off to ask Nat and Nick’s mum if it was okay to sleep over at Cooper’s house. And of course, their mum said ‘yes,’ for the boys were always sleeping at Cooper’s.

That night when they were having dinner, Cooper asked his mum if they could make a cubby house in the backyard, so they had somewhere to play and sleep for the holidays. Cooper’s mum looked at him. When his nan said to his mum, ‘I think it is a bit late to be making a cubby now.’

Cooper looked at his Nan and got a bit mad. He put his head down and continued eating his dinner. So then Cooper asked, ‘Can we build a cubby house tomorrow, and have a sleepover in it tomorrow night?’ His mum looked at him, and then at his Nan.

When Charli asked, ‘Can I build a cubby house too? And have a sleepover with Deanna? Please, Mamma.’

‘I think that would be okay,’ his mum said, as she looked at her mother again.

Nanna smiled and said, ‘I think that is a better idea.’

Cooper and Charli’s nan would come and visit for the school holidays to help look after Cooper and Charli, while their mum worked. She was a single mum and found it hard when there were school holidays. Cooper, who was nine, and Charli, who was seven, were way too young to be looking after themselves on their own.

They both loved their nan. It was just that she was a little old-fashioned and was a little bit strict, but it was only because she loved them, and they knew that.

The next morning, the boys were up bright and early, collecting things to make their cubby house out of. They took Cooper’s billycart to the bush, and got lot of wood and branches to start building.

Nan just watched from the kitchen window, as they came and went. Laughing to herself, she said to Cooper’s mum, ‘You are going to have quite a mess to clean up when they are finished playing.’ And walked over to her with a cup of tea.

When they finished putting the sugar in their tea and stirring it, they looked up to see Charli standing there with spots all over her. ‘Oh, my dear, come here and give us a look at you.’

When Charli said, ‘What?’ They turned her around, so she could see in the mirror. ‘Oh, my goodness, what are they, Mamma?’

‘Well, my darling, it looks like you have the chickenpox,’ Mamma replied.

‘Back into bed for you, my love,’ Nan said, as Mamma walked her back into her room, and put her back into bed.

Later that day, Charli was watching all of the kids building the cubby house—even Deanna was helping. It was going to be for all the kids on their street, and there were lots of kids on Charli and Cooper’s street. All of a sudden, there was a boy standing in Charli’s room. He walked up to see what Charli was looking at.

‘What are you doing, Charli?’ he asked.

‘DJ,’ she said. ‘What are you doing here? I have not seen you since we moved from the mansion on the hill.’

‘I know, I have been looking for you everywhere. Your Uncle Keith has come to say hello to your mum, so I snuck into the back seat and here I am.’

‘Oh, it is so good to see you. I have missed you. Starting a new school without you was very, very scary.’

DJ said, ‘What are you looking at?’ He got up on his tippy toes and looked out the window.

Charli put her elbow back on the window seal and rested her head on her hand and said, ‘Look, they are having so much fun. I want to build a cubby house too.’

DJ looked at Charli and said, ‘Why aren’t you then?’

Charli turned around and showed DJ her spots and said, ‘I have to stay inside until they are all gone.’

‘Well, we can build a cubby house inside your room, and I will have a sleepover with you. Come on, it will be fun.’

‘Okay,’ Charli said. ‘But we will have to ask mum and mum will have to ask Nana.’

They ran out into the lounge room and yelled, ‘We have a great idea.’

‘And what would that be, my dear?’ Mum asked.

‘Can I build a cubby house in my room?’

Charli’s mum looked at her mum, and she said, ‘I think that is a great idea.’

Mamma said, ‘I guess you can. Why not?’

As Charli ran up the hallway, her mum yelled, ‘Just do not use all my sheets, okay?’

‘Okay!’ Charli yelled back.

DJ and Charli spent the rest of the morning building their cubby house when Nan walked in with a sandwich, some milk, and pieces of fruit. ‘Here you are, my love.’

Charli said, ‘What about DJ?’

‘Oh, sorry! I did not see you, my dear. I will be right back.’ Nan walked back down the hallway and into the kitchen, and made a sandwich, some milk, cut up a piece of fruit for DJ, and took it back to the room. ‘Here you go, enjoy.’ Then she walked out shaking her head.

While mamma was hanging out the washing, Cooper asked if Nat and Nick could have a sleepover in the cubby house. Mamma said, ‘Yes, if it is okay with their mum.’

The boys jumped up and down clapping, ‘Yes!’ Cooper said. ‘Let’s go and ask your mum if you are allowed.’ And the boys ran off as happy as can be.

Meanwhile, Charli and DJ watched from the window. ‘Mm, I want to sleep in their cubby house.’ She ran out to her mum and said, ‘Can I sleep in the cubby house too? Please.’

‘No,’ mamma said. ‘You have the chickenpox. Soon you can go and play with others, but not now.’

Charli put her head down and walked slowly back to her room, and DJ followed, copying everything Charli did. When Charli realised what DJ was doing, she began to laugh. ‘Oh, you are so funny.’

DJ said, ‘I know. Let’s play a trick on them while they are gone.’

‘Mm, what can we do?’

They went and sat on Charli’s bed. They were just sitting trying to think of a good trick to play on the boys. When a door appeared on her bed.

Charli looked at DJ and said, ‘What is that?’

DJ replied, ‘I do not know. Let’s open it and see.’

When they open the round door, it in was a tunnel that went under the house.

‘Should we see where it leads?’

‘Yes,’ DJ said. ‘But you go first.’

‘Oh, you are such a scaredy cat.’ Charli replied. ‘Ready, let’s go,’ she said with a very cheeky look on her face.

DJ followed the tunnel that went under the house and into the backyard. When they came to another round door, Charli opened it and popped her head up to see she was in the boys’ cubby house. She jumped out into the cubby house, and said, ‘Come on, DJ.’

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They found themselves standing in the middle of the cubby house. Charli bend down and began to giggle and said, ‘We are going to have so much fun.’

DJ said, ‘Quickly! The boys will be back soon. What can we do to scare them?’

The boys had a radio and some books that they had set up nice and neat.

‘Let’s take them and put them back in Cooper’s room,’ Charli said giggling.

They grabbed the radio and books and carried them back through the tunnel and up into the round door on Charli’s bed.

Charli said, ‘I will go and see if the coast is clear. DJ, come on.’

They snuck into Cooper’s room and put everything back into place. The books went on his shelf and the radio next to his bed. Then they tiptoed back into Charli’s room and into her cubby house that her and DJ had made from some sheets from Mamma’s linen cupboard. But the round door was gone. Charli scratched her head and said to DJ, ‘Where has the round door gone?’

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DJ looked around and said, ‘I have no idea.’

Then they heard the boys come back, and they snuck up next to the window and watched. At first, the boys did not notice the books and the radio was gone.

Cooper was helping Nat set up his sleeping bag when Nick said, ‘Where is the radio?’ They all looked around under things and behind things, but it was gone. Then Cooper noticed the books were gone.

‘I bet Charli’s been out here.’ He walked to the house and called his mum. ‘Mum, Charli has been in my cubby house and has taken my radio and books.’

Mum replied, ‘No! I have just come inside from hanging out the clothes, and I did not see anyone go in or out of your cubby house.’ She walked into