Читать книгу Llama Out Loud! - Annabelle Sami - Страница 8

There are some stories that are hard to believe. If you’re smart (which I can already tell you are, dear reader) then you won’t believe everything you’re told. For instance, I’ve never trusted fairy tales. I mean, come on. Do they expect us to believe that you can survive being eaten by a wolf? I’m also pretty sure that a house made of gingerbread would melt in the rain, or at least attract a few flies.

Since you’re clever, I’m sure you’ve always questioned those horror stories about kids that lost all their teeth eating too many sweets. Maybe you’ve watched a film and annoyed your friends by saying, ‘That would never happen in real life!’

Well, I’ll be honest with you. This story is hard to believe. But unlike a fairy tale, it doesn’t take place in a faraway kingdom. Instead, we’ll be travelling to the streets of Whitechapel in East London – a place you might hear the locals call ‘The Ends’ – where you can buy a samosa for a pound or a rainbow-coloured bagel from the many street vendors on Brick Lane. People from all around the world live under this one postcode, and even more come to visit on Sundays when the market is in full swing. It’s a small corner of London, but there’s a whole world inside it. And, despite what you might be thinking, the hero of our story isn’t some cockney geezer. It’s a girl – Yasmin.

Oh, and a llama. A toy one, of course, not a real one. That would be weird.

By now you must be thinking, that does sound unbelievable!

I know. But believe me. It’s real.

P.S. There’s one more thing you should know about Yasmin. You see, her parents haven’t stopped talking since 1991 and her brothers might as well be in training for the Most Annoying event at the Olympics. Not to mention Yasmin’s aunties, who always think they know best. Of course, Yasmin still loves them, but all the hubbub results in Yasmin making a very particular choice. A choice she upholds even to this day . . .

Actually – I can’t be bothered to do a flashback yet. Let’s just get to the story, hey? I’m sure you’ll find out what you need to know soon enough.

So where were we . . .? Oh yes. (Cue dramatic music.)

Life as Yasmin had known it, for a whole nine years and 363 days, was about to change.

Forever.