Heidi Heckelbeck and the Snow Day Surprise Read online

  THINK SNOW!

  Ker-plunk!

  Mom dropped a box labeled HEIDI WINTER on the kitchen counter.

  Dad dropped another box beside it, labeled HENRY WINTER.

  Heidi was the first one to spy the box with her name on it.

  “What’s in THERE?” she asked.

  Henry looked over and spotted the box with his name on it. “Let me guess,” he said. “Is THAT where we’re going to LIVE this winter?”

  Heidi rolled her eyes. “Do you really think we’re going to hibernate in boxes, like bears in a cave?!”

  Henry held up his hands. “Well, why not? We can each have our own PRIVATE space, finally!”

  Mom laughed and opened Heidi’s box. She pulled out a snowflake sweater. “These boxes have winter clothes to keep you two bear cubs warm,” she explained.

  Dad opened Henry’s box and said, “We got them out of storage because we heard it might snow today!”

  Heidi and Henry looked at each other and squealed.

  “Does that mean we’re going to have a SNOW day?” asked Heidi.

  Dad switched on the TV. “Let’s listen to the weather report and find out!” he said.

  Heidi and Henry sat at the kitchen table and faced the TV.

  “There’s Melanie Maplethorpe’s MOM!” cried Heidi, pointing at the TV.

  Missy Maplethorpe was the local weather reporter.

  Her daughter, Melanie, was Heidi’s classmate and not-so-very-best friend.

  “Duh, everybody knows THAT,” said Henry.

  “Come on, you two,” said Mom as she turned up the TV volume. “Let’s hear what Missy has to say.”

  The weather reporter stood in front of the Brewster Library with a microphone in her hand. She had a blond ponytail, like her daughter, and she wore a pink winter coat with white fur trim.

  “Brewster beware!” Missy began, her scarf flapping in the wind. “We could be in for the blizzard of the century! Please stay tuned for updates. We may even have some school cancellations this week.”

  Heidi and Henry clapped their hands and shouted, “YAAAAY!”

  Mom and Dad covered their ears.

  “Okay, settle down!” Mom said with a smile. “It’s time to bundle up in your winter clothes. School hasn’t been canceled yet!”

  JINX!

  Heidi and Henry clomped onto the bus in their winter boots.

  Almost everyone had on winter clothes. There were hats with pom-poms and hats with kitty-cat ears. Kids had on puffer jackets and warm boots, too.

  But there was one kid on the whole bus who wasn’t dressed for a snowstorm. It was one of Heidi’s best friends, Bruce Bickerson.

  Bruce only had on a light rain jacket and black rubber boots.

  Heidi slid into the seat next to him and whispered, “Bruce! Didn’t you HEAR? A BLIZZARD is coming!”

  Bruce calmly nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Well, according to MY calculations, we’re only going to get rain,” he told her.

  Then Bruce held up his tightly wrapped umbrella.

  “Look, I know you’re an amazing scientist and everything,” said Heidi, “but Missy Maplethorpe said we’re going to get the BLIZZARD OF THE CENTURY. And she never goofs up the weather.”

  Bruce shrugged and said, “I’ve been tracking this storm on my Super Bicker Weather Tracker. The chances of Brewster getting a blizzard are slim. But I CAN guarantee lots of rain.”

  Heidi sighed. “Sometimes your scientific explanations are so, SO annoying.”

  “Hey, science is NEVER annoying,” Bruce remarked.

  Heidi folded her arms. “Well, it is TODAY, because EVERYONE wants it to SNOW.”

  “I like snow days too!” Bruce said defensively. “But, unfortunately, we’re not going to get any from this storm.”

  Heidi looked away and stared out the window at the dark gray clouds. Then she heard something tapping on the roof of the bus. Tap! Tap! Tap! She looked at the ceiling. Tappity-tap-tap!

  Oh, merg! Heidi thought. It’s RAINING.… Bruce totally jinxed the blizzard!

  STORMY FEELINGS

  The rain drummed on the roof of the bus. By the time they rolled up to the school, the drumming had turned to pounding rain.

  Heidi watched kids shuffle toward the bus door. One by one, they hopped down the stairs into the driving rain.

  Bruce popped open his umbrella and stepped off the bus. He waited for Heidi.

  “There’s room for both of us under here!” he called.

  Heidi still wasn’t happy about Bruce’s weather forecast.

  “I’m good!” she said. Then she leaped off the last step and charged toward the school building. Rain slapped her cheeks and clothes. By the time she reached her classroom, she was completely soaked.

  Heidi hung up her wet jacket. Even her wool sweater had gotten wet.

  Yuck! I smell like a stinky old waterlogged sheep, she thought.

  Then she draped her soggy mittens and hat on top of her cubby.

  That’s when Lucy Lancaster, Stanley Stonewrecker, and Melanie sloshed into the classroom.

  “Ugh, I’m SOPPED!” cried Lucy.

  Stanley squeezed water from his fleece beanie. It dripped on the floor.

  “So, where’s the so-called blizzard, Melanie?” Stanley complained. “Your mom PROMISED SNOW.”

  Melanie peeled off her soggy pink mittens. “What do you think rain turns INTO, Stanley? Give up? SNOW!” Melanie answered. “And when my mom says it’s going to snow, then it’s going to SNOW.”

  Melanie glared at Stanley, and Stanley glared right back at her. Then he stormed off.

  “Hey, guys!” Heidi said with a wave.

  Melanie whipped around quickly. “Oh, this is perfect! Are YOU going to complain about the weather TOO?”

  Heidi backed away and hid behind Lucy.

  Then Melanie clamped her hands on her hips and addressed all the classmates who were around her.

  “Listen up!” she commanded. “I’m only going to say this ONE MORE TIME. MY MOM SAID IT’S GOING TO SNOW. SO IT WILL. END OF STORY.”

  Then she squeaked away in her wet boots.

  “What’s HER problem?” Heidi asked Lucy.

  Lucy sighed. “All the kids are mad because her mom’s weather report was wrong.”

  Heidi glanced over in Melanie’s direction. She was still fending off angry, wet kids.

  All of a sudden a strange feeling swept over Heidi—something she had barely ever felt before.

  Heidi felt sorry for Melanie!

  RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY!

  It poured all day long.

  On the bus ride home, Heidi tried to imagine if all the rain had actually been snow. It would have been up to her waist!

  But it wasn’t snow. It was just a ton of water.

  At their stop, Henry leaped off the bus into a puddle that splashed on Heidi.

  “STOP!” she cried.

  But Henry didn’t stop. He stomped through every puddle on the way home.

  Heidi steered clear of her brother and the puddles.

  When they clomped into the mudroom, their winter clothes were heavy with water.

  “Did you two swim home from the bus stop?” asked Mom.

  Heidi peeled off her jacket. “NO,” she said, annoyed at being wet and uncomfortable again. “It was more like taking a freezing-cold shower with our clothes on.”

  Mom pulled off Henry’s boots. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Why don’t you both put on some dry clothes, and I’ll have a surprise waiting for you in the kitchen.”

  Henry ran straight upstairs. He loved surprises. Heidi loved surprises too, but the only surprise she really wanted
was snow.

  After they changed, Heidi and Henry returned to the kitchen.

  “Okay, keep your eyes closed, and no peeking!” Mom said.

  Heidi and Henry shut their eyes. Then Mom placed something on the table.

  “Now open them!” Mom cheered.

  Heidi and Henry opened their eyes. They each sniffed their mugs and peeked inside.

  “HOT CHOCOLATE!” Henry cried.

  Mom placed another bowl on the table. “And mini marshmallows!”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Heidi said as she pushed her mug away. “But how can we have hot chocolate without SNOW? It’s all WRONG.”

  Henry grabbed a fistful of mini marshmallows and sprinkled them on top of his hot chocolate. “Well, it doesn’t feel wrong to ME!” he said. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure yours doesn’t go to waste.”

  But Dad was too fast for Henry. He swooped into the kitchen and whisked Heidi’s hot chocolate away.

  “One hot chocolate per person is plenty!” Dad said with a wink.

  Mom joined them too, with a cup of tea. “Oh, cheer up, Heidi, dear. Missy Maplethorpe is still calling for snow.”

  Heidi sat up in her chair. “You mean maybe we’ll get a snow day after all?”

  “Oh, Great Clouds of Huge Blizzards—please let Missy Maplethorpe be right this time!” Henry begged.

  Everyone laughed.

  At bedtime Heidi wore her snowflake pajamas for good luck. As she crawled under the covers she imagined waking up to a winter wonderland with the world frosted in snow.

  * * *

  In the morning Heidi leaped out of bed, pulled back her curtains, and almost screamed.

  There wasn’t a single snowflake anywhere! In fact, it was still pouring rain, and the world looked like one big puddle.

  “MERG IT ALL!” Heidi grumbled.

  She picked out a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. She didn’t bother with a sweater. As she walked downstairs Heidi heard the news blaring in the kitchen.

  “Hang on to your hats, Brewster!” Missy Maplethorpe warned. “This storm is not over yet! All this water could still turn into a huge BLIZZARD. I’m asking everyone to stay prepared.”

  Heidi humphed as she sat at the table. “Blizzard, shmizzard.”

  The whole Heckelbeck family agreed. It sure didn’t look like it was going to snow.

  That morning every kid at Brewster Elementary had on a raincoat.

  Every kid except Melanie. She wore a down jacket, snow pants, and a thick winter beanie.

  “You’re all going to look so SILLY when this rain turns into SNOW!” she cried from the middle of the hallway.

  But nobody paid her any attention. They just squeaked by in their wet rain boots.

  Heidi found Bruce and tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Do you think Melanie’s mom is right THIS time?” she asked.

  Bruce drew in a deep breath. “No. I predict nothing but rain for the rest of the week. Sorry, Heidi—I know how badly you wanted a snow day.”

  Heidi twisted her mouth to one side.

  “Well, I STILL want a snow day!” she said. “But I also want Melanie’s mom to be right. Watching Melanie get ignored isn’t at all like I thought it would be.”

  Bruce nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s kinda sad. Still, I just don’t see any snow in our future.”

  Heidi sighed because between all the wrong predictions and rainstorms, Melanie was getting washed out.

  MISERABLE MELANIE

  “No outdoor recess today!” Mrs. Welli announced. “We are going to watch a movie about whales instead.”

  The entire class groaned.

  Normally, a movie would be a whale of a good time, thought Heidi. But this weather is just plain gross!

  As the day wore on, Heidi noticed something strange besides the never-ending rain. There was a gray cloud hanging over Melanie Maplethorpe.

  It was not a real gray cloud, of course. Heidi knew that was a figure of speech. Melanie just wasn’t acting like her normal bossy, annoying self. She was actually being quiet.

  During reading time Melanie hid behind her book. During math she picked at the tape on her number line the whole time. During the movie she doodled snowflakes on sheets of paper, then balled them up when she was done.

  When the last bell rang, Melanie didn’t rush to meet her friends. She stayed at her desk.

  “Melanie, school’s over for the day,” Mrs. Welli said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Then Melanie slowly got up and pushed in her chair. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she mumbled to herself.

  Heidi slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the bus. I wonder what’s wrong with Melanie.

  Heidi thought about it the whole ride home. In fact, she didn’t even notice she was sitting next to Bruce on the bus until he tapped her on the arm.

  “Hey, Heidi, I’m sorry again,” he said. “I know you were hoping for a snow day, and all you got was a rainy week.”

  Heidi blinked and realized that if she was so upset about the rain, then imagine how Melanie must have felt when the whole school blamed her for her mom’s weather forecast!

  And even though Melanie and Heidi weren’t exactly best friends, Heidi still didn’t think Melanie deserved to be teased about some silly weather.

  A plan began to hatch in Heidi’s mind.

  “That’s it, Bruce!” she exclaimed. “You’re a genius!”

  Bruce looked very, very confused. “WHAT? I am? WHY?”

  The school bus eased to a stop, and Heidi raced down the aisle.

  “I’ll fill you in later,” she called over her shoulder.

  Heidi didn’t even notice the rain on the way home from the bus stop.

  All Brewster needs is a snowstorm. Then Missy Maplethorpe’s weather forecast will be right, and kids will stop bugging Melanie, she thought. And all Melanie needs is a little magic in her life!

  SNOW TIME!

  Heidi zoomed in the back door and slid smack into her mom.

  “Not so fast!” said Mom, blocking the entryway.

  Heidi froze. Oh no! Does she know I’m up to MAGIC?

  Mom tapped her foot on the tiles. “Off with those muddy boots!” she said sternly. “I don’t want tracks all over the house.”

  Heidi sighed in relief. “No problem, Mom!” she said as she yanked off her boots and hung up her jacket. “I’m heading upstairs to dry off and do some… um, reading.”

  Then Heidi charged to her room and pulled her Book of Spells out from under the bed.

  She checked the Contents page and found a whole chapter on winter. There were spells about ice-skating, spells about snow animals, and spells about frozen clouds. She even found a spell about winter fairies.

  Finally she came across a spell called Snow Time! She read it over.

  Snow Time

  Do you wish it would snow? Maybe you want to go sledding. Or perhaps you’d like to build a snowman. Or could it be that you wish all the rainy weather would turn into a huge snowstorm? If winter is letting you down, then this is the spell for you!

  Ingredients:

  1 snow globe

  2 tablespoons of silver glitter

  5 ice cubes

  Gather the ingredients into a bowl. Hold your Witches of Westwick medallion in one hand, and hold your other hand over the mix. Chant the following spell:

  Wintry winds gust and blow!

  Snowflakes sparkle to and fro!

  Hear me cast this spell for snow!

  Heidi gathered the ingredients. She paused for a moment while holding her favorite little snow globe. It had been a gift from Aunt Trudy. With a little shake, the snowflakes swirled around the tiny gingerbread house inside.

  You are going to help make real snow now, Heidi thought cheerfully. Then she placed the snow globe in the bowl with the other ingredients.

  Heidi grabbed her medallion and cast the spell.

  WHOOSH! Glitter twinkled in the air and then vanished. Heidi smiled tri
umphantly.

  “There’s no time like SNOW TIME!” she sang to herself. Then she hippity-hopped downstairs.

  In the kitchen Mom and Dad were packing Heidi’s and Henry’s winter clothes back into their boxes.

  “I wouldn’t put our winter stuff away yet!” Heidi advised.

  Mom and Dad looked at Heidi.

  “Why not?” Dad asked.

  A frosty smile swept over Heidi’s face. “Let’s just say I have a funny feeling that snow is in the air.”

  A SPELL COME TRUE

  The next morning Heidi jumped out of bed and ran to the window. This time she clapped her hands. The whole yard was frosted with fluffy white snow—even the patio chairs had puffy white snow cushions. The tree house was iced with snow too. And, best of all, it was still snowing like crazy.

  Oh, what a spell come true! Heidi thought. Then she ran out of her room and down the hall.

  “It’s SNOWING!” she sang. “It’s SNOWING!”

  She threw open Henry’s bedroom door and continued her song, which was more like screaming now.