Worry Magic by Dawn McNiff Page A

wearing his sweaty sports clothes from his morning run. Yuck.
    â€˜Double choc Magnum, you’re mine!’ he said, as he raced past me and flew out of the door.
    â€˜Quick, stop it!’ I shouted, scooting down the path after him. ‘Don’t let it go by.’
    Ting-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling!
    The ice-cream van pulled up right outside our house, blocking the whole road. It coughed out some black smoke, and then the engine conked out. But the ice-cream music just kept on
ting-a-ling
ing at top volume.
    The van was the small, old-fashioned kind. Seriously old. Like its windows could fall out any minute and squash you. Or its ice creams would make you die of mould.
    â€˜Ewww!’ I said.
    â€˜Mum!’ gasped Kyle, pointing.
    â€˜Mum?’ And then I saw what he meant. Mum was driving the van.
    Mum was an ice-cream lady? But since when?
    She got out, beaming at us.
    â€˜Do you like it, then?’ She had to shout over the ice-cream music.
    â€˜What d’you mean?’ I yelled back.
    â€˜It’s ours!’ cried Mum. ‘Our own ice-cream van!’
    Me and Kyle looked at each other. Kyle shook his head, walked over, opened the driver’s door and got in. There was a loud whacking noise and the
ting-a-ling
ing stopped.
    A lady and her toddler had come down the street to buy an ice cream. But she took one look at the grimy old van, and hurried away again while her kid screamed in her arms.
    Kyle came back over to us, his face all straight and hard. I knew my face looked like that too.
    â€˜The exhaust’s definitely gone. And the piston rings too, by the look of all that smoke,’ he said in his flat, fact-man voice. As usual, I didn’t know how he knew about stuff like that, but I totally believed him.
    It was like Mum hadn’t even heard him.
    â€˜Isn’t it retro and FAB?’ she gabbled. ‘You just have to use your imagination! It’s going to be my mobile dog-wash, see. A poodle parlour on wheels, so I can take my salon to my clients’ doors! I really don’t know why I haven’t thought of this as a career before. I mean, I’m good with animals AND I’m a hairdresser, so it’ll be dead easy.’
    Me and Kyle gave each other a tired look.
    OMG, Mum was SO NOT a hairdresser. She’d started a course years ago when she was seventeen, but somehow she never remembered that she’d dropped out after one term because she was RUBBISH. She’d always cut our hair when we were little – me and Kyle kept the photos hidden at the back of the cupboard.
    It was so silly that I half wanted to laugh. Except I knew Dad would NOT see the funny side. And he hated any dogs coming to the house cos they always sniffed Henners’ cage and scared him.
    â€˜But, Mum! Dad won’t like dogs coming round  … ’
    â€˜But that’s the whole point!’ Mum cried. ‘They WON’T come to the house once the van is done up and ready – they’ll be in there! And I think I could make some serious cash – I’ve already got three customers lined up. Janet Carter wants me to do her new rescue dog, Derek, ASAP.’
    â€˜But  …  but  …  what about the money to buy this?’ I stammered. My head was full of too many things to worry about all at once. ‘Dad said  … ’
    â€˜A hundred and fifty quid – that’s all,’ said Mum. ‘A total bargain, I reckon. And I haven’t even paid up front. I gave the car-mender man £50 – and he said I can pay him the rest when I can.’
    â€˜Yeah, well, he saw you coming. I wouldn’t pay fifteen pence for THAT rust bucket,’ muttered Kyle.
    Mum ignored him again.
    â€˜Just come in and look!’ she said, practically skipping to the van’s back door.
    We followed her. The back door was so rusted up we had to wrench it open. Inside it was still kitted out like a proper ice-cream van,