Read How to Get to Rio for Free Online

pyjamas!’
    I laughed. ‘You look totally cute. You should have.’
    ‘Nice of you to say so, but no, I didn’t talk to them. I did get some intel, though.’ Izzy paused as she zipped up the tent door. ‘They were talking about the waterfall. You remember the one, Mia – at the top of the Valley of the Beeches?’
    Mia frowned. ‘Valley of the Leeches more like.’
    Izzy flopped down on her mattress. ‘Yeah, well, that’s where they’re going in the morning. We should go, too.’
    ‘Could work,’ Mia said, thoughtfully. ‘Sounds like a plan to me.’
    ‘Let’s go early to be there when they arrive. That way we don’t look like we’re stalking them,’ Izzy said, turning to me. ‘What do you think, Kit? A walk through Valley of the Leeches – I mean Beeches – and a swim at the waterfall?’
    ‘Ha, ha. You’re funny,’ I said, smiling. ‘You’re trying to get me all stressed about leeches and then you’ll take me on a hike through a valley full of butterflies or something. Well, you’re not getting me this time with that old trick.’
    Izzy shook her head. ‘Okay, that does sound like the sort of thing I’d do, but we’re not mucking around. The valley is actually full of leeches. But those guys are actually even cuter close up, so it’ll be worth it.’
    My smile dropped. ‘But you know how much I hate leeches.’
    Izzy nodded. ‘I’m scared of leeches, too,’ she said. ‘Everyone is.’
    I knew she was just saying that to make me feel better, but it didn’t. I put my hands over my face. ‘I can’t.’
    Mia gently pulled my hands from my face. ‘C’mon, Kitty. You’re the only one who hasn’t done something silly in front of those guys. We need you.’
    ‘C’mon, Kit,’ Izzy said. ‘All for one and one for all. We’d do the same for you.’
    I studied my friends’ faces in the torchlight. They were so excited about hanging out at the waterfall with a bunch of cute guys. But if I had to walk through leech territory to help them out, maybe they could do me a favour.
    ‘Okay, here’s the deal,’ I told them. ‘I will come to the waterfall, if you come to Paradise Point with me.’
    ‘But why Paradise Point?’ Mia said, looking confused.
    ‘To see Persephone.’
    ‘No way!’ Izzy said, looking fierce. ‘I’m not spending my holiday hanging out with Persesame .’
    This was just the reaction I expected.
    ‘Please,’ I begged. ‘She knows where Rio’s staying. I need her help to find him.’
    Izzy’s face brightened. ‘So this is all about Rio, then? Why didn’t you say so?’
    I shrugged. It wasn’t actually all about Rio, but I knew they’d go along with my plan if I said it was. Mia and Izzy would never understand why I wanted to be friends with Persephone, but they had no issue with going to Paradise Point to find Rio.
    ‘Okay, then,’ Izzy said with a grin.
    Mia nodded, too. ‘It’s a deal. We’ll help you find Rio and you can help us find the cute campers!’
    It was too hard to group hug in the tent, so we made up an epic handshake to make the deal official. We’d been making up crazy handshakes together for years.
    Slap-slap, tap-tap, bump-bump, elbow kiss–elbow kiss.
    Izzy clicked her fingers. ‘It needs one of these!’
    ‘It needs two of those!’ Mia said, giggling.
    While they worked out the rest of our handshake, I texted Persephone to tell her the news.
    She replied a second later.
    Beyond excited you’re coming to PP! Let’s meet for a milkshake. :)
    I bounced around on my mattress to celebrate. I couldn’t wait for Izzy and Mia to see Persephone wasn’t stuck-up like the rest of her group – that she was like us, just a tiny bit cooler. Okay, a lot cooler.
    I sent off a few more texts to sort the details of where and when to meet tomorrow afternoon. I figured three o’clock would work. That would give us time to get to the waterfall and back, get changed and make it to Paradise Point. Just as I finished texting Persephone, I