Big Brother by Susannah McFarlane

 
    It was set to be the perfect summer weekend for Emma Jacks. The Jacks family had spent the hot Saturday afternoon at the local swimming pool. Both Emma and her brother Bob had invited friends to go with them and then stay for a sleepover. Emma had invited two of her best friends, Isi and Elle. After take-away fish and chips on the way home, they had gone back to the Jacks’ house to get stuck into the serious part of the evening, preparing the sleepover. Best friends, movies and the biggest bag of lollies and snacks the girls could sneak into the house—who could ask for more?
    The girls pulled the mattress off Emma’s bed and dragged in the big mattress from the spare room to make one enormous bed in the centre of her room. They had piled up doonas and pillows and cushions to make it super comfy and Emma’s mum let them move the TV into the bedroom for the night. The window was wide open so if the cool change ever came a breeze would flow through.
    â€˜I know it’s hard to sleep when it’s so hot but you’re not allowed to watch TV all night,’ said Emma’s mum, who was walking past the bedroom as the girls settled down.
    â€˜No, Mum, as if!’ said Emma. After all, she and her friends had lots to talk about and midnight feasts to eat as well. It would be perfect, at least nearly perfect. There was one possible problem: Emma’s big brother, Bob.
    â€˜Mum, is Bob going to be here tonight?’
    â€˜Of course he’s going to be here, he lives here,’ said Emma’s mum.
    â€˜I mean, does he have to be here? Can’t hego to Otto’s house instead of Otto staying here?’ replied Emma. ‘Bob’s always so annoying and he tries to embarrass me in front of my friends. It’s even worse if he has a friend over.’
    â€˜He’s not that bad,’ said her mum.
    â€˜You know he is when he is with one of his friends,’ cried Emma. ‘He’s always spying on me. What about the time he drilled a hole in my bedroom door …’
    â€˜That wasn’t good,’ agreed Emma’s mum.
    â€˜Or when he built the tree house right above my bedroom window,’ reminded Emma.
    â€˜Maybe he just likes being with his little sister,’ suggested her mum.
    â€˜I don’t think so, Mum,’ said Emma, rolling her eyes. Emma thought she knew why her big brother was always watching her—he was waiting for opportunities to annoy her or get her in trouble.
    â€˜Well, sometimes it can be good to have a brother,’ said Emma’s mum. ‘And, anyway, you girls of all people should be able to manage big brother security.’
    She was right. Not only were Emma, Elle and Isi excellent sleepover planners, they were also all agents in under-twelve divisions of the top-secret spy agency, SHINE . Emma, code name EJ12, was the longest-serving agent with many missions under her belt as part of the Code-cracking Division. Isi, IJ12, was in the Science and Invention Division where she helped create new spy-gadgets and Elle, EK12, had just completed her basic training for the Transport Division. All the girls were secret agents and all were determined that Bob wouldn’t be able to ruin this sleepover. First they created an ingenious hiding spot for the midnight feast lollies (inside a box, inside a bag, in Emma’s laundry basket) and then they set a motion detector at Emma’s bedroom door.
    â€˜We have so brother-proofed this room,’ said Elle, who had extra experience in this area, having two older brothers.
    â€˜I don’t know how you cope,’ Isi said to her. ‘It’s much easier having younger sisters. They do take my stuff but it’s simple to get back.’
    â€˜You just have to be on constant alert,’ said Elle. ‘Right, Em?’
    â€˜Right,’ agreed Emma. ‘Actually, I’m suspicious,’ she added. ‘Normally Bob would have tried to do something