Heidi Heckelbeck and the Wild Ride Read online

  IT’S ABOUT TIME!

  Tick-tock!

  Tick-tock!

  Heidi and her best friend Lucy Lancaster stared at the clock in their classroom. Their teacher Mrs. Welli had given the class Choice Time until the end of the day.

  The girls had chosen to watch the clock.

  “Our THREE-DAY weekend starts in a few minutes!” said Heidi.

  Lucy muffled a squeal with the palm of her hand.

  Bruce Bickerson sat across from the girls. He was reading a book called All About Snakes.

  “What are you guys doing?” he asked.

  “We’re watching the clock until school lets out,” said Heidi without looking at him.

  “I can see that,” said Bruce. “But why?”

  This time the girls took their eyes off the clock.

  “Because we’re going to Wacky Wonders Adventure Park this weekend!” said Lucy.

  Heidi bounced in her seat. “Yeah! It has rides, games, and an INDOOR water park!”

  Lucy nodded excitedly. “Plus their Wonder Thunder roller coaster goes a hundred miles per hour AND upside down!”

  Bruce’s eyes widened. “COOL!” he said. “I’ve seen the Wacky Wonders ads on TV. Isn’t it far from here?”

  “Yeah,” said Lucy, “but that means we’re going on a ROAD TRIP!”

  The girls let out another squeal.

  “I’m packing treats to munch on the way!” said Heidi.

  Lucy rubbed her tummy. “And I’ll make a playlist of cool songs and download a movie, too!”

  Heidi flapped her hands excitedly. “It’ll be a party on wheels! Then we stay in a hotel at the park!”

  Both girls broke into the Wacky Wonders theme song. “Come for adventure! Stay for the friends! At Wacky Wonders, the fun never ends!”

  “Sounds like a blast,” said Bruce. “And by the way, you both owe me a THANK-YOU.”

  The girls raised their eyebrows and asked, “For what?”

  Suddenly the final bell rang.

  “For taking your minds off the clock,” said Bruce with a laugh. “Your weekend starts now!”

  PACK IT!

  Ka-bonk!

  Ka-bonk!

  Ka-bonk!

  Heidi dragged her overnight bag up the stairs and into her bedroom. Then she made a packing list so she wouldn’t forget a single thing.

  First she laid out her favorite palm tree bathing suit and three more outfits. She looked for matching headbands next.

  Henry, her little brother, passed by in the hallway, and Heidi was in such a good mood, she waved him into her room.

  Henry looked behind him to see if Heidi was talking to somebody else. “Me?” he asked.

  “Yes, you,” Heidi said. “I need your help. Which headband is best for a roller coaster that goes a hundred miles per hour AND upside down?”

  Henry’s jaw dropped. “YOU’RE going to ride a roller coaster that goes a hundred miles per hour AND goes upside down?” he asked. “Wow, you have more guts than I thought!”

  Heidi gulped. Suddenly she pictured what it would be like to go upside down and really fast on a roller coaster. Eek!

  “Oh, it’s no big deal,” she said casually. She didn’t want Henry to think she was chicken.

  Henry sighed dreamily. “Well, I hope a friend takes ME to Wacky Wonders someday. We’d ride everything TWICE—once with our eyes open and once with our eyes shut.”

  Heidi smirked. “You’d look pretty silly riding the merry-go-round with your eyes shut!”

  Henry laughed. Then he tapped a finger on Heidi’s stretchy purple headband.

  “Wear that one,” he said. “It looks strong enough to keep your hair in place at a hundred miles per hour.”

  Heidi plucked the stretchy headband from the others.

  “Good point,” she said, and she stashed the headband in her suitcase.

  Henry took off, and Heidi reached for her packing list. Swoosh! It fluttered onto the floor beside her bed.

  That’s weird, she thought. My window isn’t even open!

  She stooped to pick it up and noticed her Book of Spells under the bed.

  Hmm, maybe I should pack my Book of Spells, she thought. What if it rains? Or what if some of the best rides are closed?

  She grabbed her Book of Spells and buried it at the bottom of her suitcase.

  It never hurts to pack a little magic… just in case!

  BUZZKILL!

  Heidi rolled her suitcase onto the front step the next morning and sat down. Waiting for Lucy was going to be hard!

  “Don’t forget these!” Mom said as she handed Heidi a tote bag full of treats.

  Heidi hugged the bag close.

  “Thanks, Mom!” she cried. “How could I forget my dried mangoes, Ooey-Gooey granola bars, and snack mix with EXTRA pretzels?”

  “I know!” said Mom. “After you worked so hard to pick each treat and pack them!”

  Heidi jumped up and hugged Mom. At the same time, she spied the Lancasters’ minivan turning onto her street.

  “They’re here!” she cried.

  Lucy opened the side door and invited Heidi inside. The girls squealed and scrambled into the very back seat—so they could be private.

  Heidi’s mom slid the door shut and waved to the Lancasters. Heidi waved good-bye to her mom. She also waved to Henry and Dad, who were now standing on the front steps in their pajamas.

  The road trip had begun!

  Lucy pulled out her tablet.

  “Let’s watch a movie!” she suggested. “I rented Dolphin Dreams! It’s a movie about a dolphin who dreams he’s a real kid!” She clicked on the movie icon.

  “Sounds fun!” said Heidi, scooting closer to Lucy.

  The girls waited for the movie to load. The little rainbow wheel circled and circled. Then a window popped up that said UH-OH! DOWNLOAD FAILED. PLEASE TRY AGAIN!

  Lucy clicked the icon again. And again. The same message popped up every time.

  “Ugh, it’s not working!” she said. “Wanna listen to music instead? I made a special playlist for the ride.”

  Heidi loved music, so she said, “Sure!”

  Lucy opened the music app and hit play. A song Heidi had never heard before came on. But Lucy knew all the words. She sang and bounced along to the song.

  Heidi sang the refrain. It went, “Don’t worry, we got this!”

  When the song finally ended, Heidi waited for the next one. She hoped she would know this song! But then the same song started all over again!

  “Uh, I think your playlist is broken,” said Heidi. “It’s playing the same song twice.”

  “Nothing’s wrong. This song IS my whole playlist!” said Lucy. “Isn’t it great? I could hear this song a million times!” Then she went back to singing.

  And Lucy wasn’t kidding.

  Every time the song ended, it started again… over and over and over.

  Heidi folded her arms and huffed loudly. But Lucy was so into her song, she didn’t even notice.

  “How long till we get there?” shouted Heidi over the music.

  Lucy stopped singing long enough to answer, “Two hours!”

  Heidi rolled her eyes and stared out the window. Suddenly two hours seemed like forever.

  “How about a snack?” Heidi asked.

  Lucy turned down the music and said, “Sounds good! What did you bring?”

  Heidi opened the bag and pulled out dried mangoes.

  “Ew, mangoes! Gross!” Lucy said. “What else is here?”

  Lucy grabbed a granola bar, looked at it, and dropped it back in the bag. “I don’t like this kind. They’re too messy!”

  Next she pulled out the snack mix. “Why does this snac
k mix have so many pretzels?” Lucy asked. “Pretzels are the worst part! Ugh, you know, I’m not even that hungry yet. I’ll eat around the pretzels later.”

  Then she cranked up her favorite song again.

  Heidi went back to staring out the window and wondered how many times Lucy could listen to that one song.

  Probably like a BAZILLION?! Merg.

  THE WAFFLE CURE

  A giant waterslide curved out of one side of the Wacky Wonders hotel and back inside the other. Heidi and Lucy loaded their suitcases onto a rolling luggage cart. Then they went through a revolving door before they entered the lobby.

  “Mmm, it smells like waffles in here!” cried Heidi.

  “It’s coming from the breakfast bar!” said Lucy, who grabbed her mom by the arm. “Can we make WAFFLES?”

  Mrs. Lancaster nodded, and the girls raced to the free waffle station.

  Heidi and Lucy each took a fresh waffle and plopped them onto paper plates. Then they squirted whipped cream on top, along with rainbow sprinkles and syrup.

  Heidi’s mouth watered as she followed Lucy and her parents to their suite.

  Waffles make everything better, Heidi thought. Waffles and best friends, that is.

  The long car trip was behind them now. It was time to have fun!

  The girls set their waffles down and explored the suite. It had a living room, a mini kitchen, and two bedrooms. The girls ran into their bedroom.

  “I call the bed by the window!” cried Lucy.

  Heidi jumped on the other bed. “Good! Because I like the one away from the window!”

  Then they ran back to enjoy their waffles.

  “Can we go to the water park after we eat?” Lucy asked her mom.

  Lucy’s mom nodded. “As soon as you change into your bathing suits, we can go.”

  The girls wiggled in their seats. They didn’t even finish their waffles. They raced to their room and slid into their bathing suits and flip-flops.

  The girls ran down the long hallway to the water park entrance. As soon as they yanked open the door, a wave of tropical air washed over them. They stopped and stared.

  Water slides twirled into the sky everywhere they looked!

  “This is KID PARADISE!” cried Heidi.

  The water park had a shallow pool for little kids. It was called the Guppy Zone. Then there was an adventure pool for bigger kids that had a floating trampoline, an inflatable island with a castle and slides, and a rope swing. It was called the Bass Splash Zone.

  Finally there was a pool for older kids called the Shark Zone. It had a daredevil ride called the Wave Crasher.

  And circling all three pools was a giant lazy river that swimmers could float in.

  “Let’s do the Bass Splash Zone!” said Lucy.

  The girls kicked off their flip-flops, and SPLASH! They jumped into the water at the same time.

  First they swam to the trampoline and bounced. Then they slid down the slides. They even took turns on the rope swing.

  “I’m ready to float in the lazy river!” said Heidi.

  The girls each stepped into clear plastic inner tubes and jumped in the river. Heidi scooped a handful of water and splashed Lucy. This started a splash war.

  The inner tubes squeaked as they bounced off each other and floated toward the Shark Zone. Music blared, and colored lights swirled.

  “Look! It’s the WAVE CRASHER!” Lucy shouted. “Let’s go on THAT next!”

  Heidi’s stomach flip-flopped. Uh-oh, she thought. The Wave Crasher doesn’t sound fun at all!

  MAD WAVES

  As Heidi floated closer to the Wave Crasher, she watched a rider spin around on the waves until he crashed underwater. Then a video of him falling appeared on a huge screen above the water park, and the song “Wipe Out” played.

  To make matters worse, a crowd of people were watching and laughing.

  Lucy paddled out of the lazy river. “Let’s go!” she cried.

  Heidi followed reluctantly. The girls dropped their inner tubes into a bin. Lucy grabbed Heidi by the arm and pulled her into the line. Heidi watched another rider do a belly flop on the waves.

  “Uh, Lucy,” Heidi whispered, “I’m going to skip this ride.”

  Lucy spun around and faced Heidi. “What do you MEAN?! This is a TWO-person ride!” she said. “I don’t want to wipe out with somebody I don’t KNOW!”

  Heidi stared blankly at Lucy.

  “It’ll be fun. I promise!” Lucy said. “Please, Heidi. PLEEEEEASE! It won’t be the same without you!”

  Heidi finally caved. “Okay, FINE.”

  When it was their turn, the girls entered the pool and stood side by side on small surfboards that floated in the water. The waves began to bubble over their feet.

  This isn’t so bad, Heidi thought at first as the surfboard floated.

  Then the waves grew stronger and stronger… until Heidi crashed.

  “WIPE OUT!” boomed the voice from the overhead speakers.

  Heidi swished into the safety pool and heard the “Wipe Out” song playing. She looked up at the screen and saw herself crash in slow motion!

  Then Heidi was hit with another wave—a wave of laughter.

  Lucy swam up to Heidi. “You’re FAMOUS!” she joked.

  Heidi hid her face. “Ugh, this is SO embarrassing!” she cried.

  Then Heidi dove underwater and swam to get out.

  Lucy called after her, “It’s NOT embarrassing!” She giggled. “It’s FUN!”

  Heidi shook her head and said, “Not to me!”

  MAD RIDES

  “Room service, anyone?” asked Lucy’s mom, waving a menu in front of the girls.

  Room service. Those two magic words made Heidi forget how mad she was about the Wave Crasher.

  “Yes, please!” the girls cried.

  Heidi and Lucy ordered chicken tenders, fries, and sundaes. They chose three toppings on their sundaes: toasted marshmallows, caramel sauce, and cookie crumbles.

  The girls sat by the window and dipped their fries in their sundaes. Outside, the lights of Wacky Wonders twinkled magically.

  “It’s breathtaking,” Lucy said. Then she yawned deeply.

  Heidi leaned on her elbows and yawned too.

  After dinner the girls brushed their teeth and crawled into bed. They fell asleep even before they said good night.

  * * *

  The next morning the girls went to Wacky Wonders Adventure Park. The rails of the Wonder Thunder roller coaster arched over the entrance. Whoosh! A train of cars twisted over the rails and clattered down the tracks.

  “I can’t wait to go on THAT!” cried Lucy.

  Heidi looked away. Not me, she thought. That looks way too scary.

  Lucy and Heidi walked through the gate and under the roller coaster. The girls saw kids sitting on a ride around the tippy-top of a high tower. Then SWOOSH! They dropped to the bottom of the tower. They also saw a Ferris wheel gently turn round.

  The girls ran straight to the Stuffed Animal Barn. Heidi bought a stuffed mouse with a rope tail. Lucy bought a stuffed chinchilla that looked totally real.

  Heidi and Lucy stopped to watch hip-hop dancers stomp and shake in the middle of the park as a crowd clapped along.

  Next the girls played a Ring the Bottle game. Lucy missed on all three tosses. But Heidi ringed three bottles and won a prize. She chose a stretchy bracelet with her name spelled on beads.

  “Now let’s go on some RIDES!” cried Lucy. “What should we try first?”

  “How about the Ladybug Twist?” asked Heidi.

  The Ladybug Twist was a twirly ride where four ladybug carts went round and round at the same time. Lucy squished Heidi every time they twirled, and the girls shrieked with laughter.

  As soon as the ride ended, Lucy said, “Now let’s go on the Wonder Thunder roller coaster!”

  “No, thank you,” said Heidi as they climbed out of the ladybug. “I’m going to skip that one.”

  Lucy stopped in her tracks. “B
ut it’s the ride we’ve been looking forward to since we began to plan our trip!”

  Heidi shook her head. “No, Lucy. YOU’VE been looking forward to this ride. NOT ME.”

  Lucy put her hands on her hips. “What is going on with you, Heidi? First you don’t like my playlist, then you almost skip out on the Wave Crasher, and NOW you’re bailing on the roller coaster?!”

  Heidi began to grow very hot. Then all her anger erupted like a volcano.

  “What’s going on with ME?” she shouted. “I’ll TELL YOU what’s going on with me! First you MADE me listen to the SAME song in the car a billion times! Then you couldn’t even download a simple movie. And did I complain? NO! But YOU didn’t like my snacks! And then you also FORCED me to go on the Wave Crasher when I didn’t want to. Is that what you call being a good friend?”

  Lucy clenched her fists and said, “Well, I can’t help it if you’re just a big CHICKEN!”

  And that’s when Lucy’s parents stepped in between the girls.

  “Lucy, you and I can go on the roller coaster,” said her dad, taking her by the hand.

  Mrs. Lancaster put her arm around Heidi. “And we’ll find something else fun to do.”