Heidi Heckelbeck Is Not a Thief! Read online

  Heidi walked slowly back into the house and flopped onto the couch in the family room. Maybe I should ask Bruce to make Lucy a new pen, she thought. Then Lucy and I can be friends again. That gave Heidi an even better idea. What if I make a new pen for Lucy?

  Heidi jumped from the couch and zoomed to her backpack. She pulled out the lollipop pen Aunt Trudy had given to her and examined it closely. There must be a spell that can make this pen as cool as Lucy’s.

  Heidi ran upstairs and pulled out her Book of Spells and her Witches of Westwick medallion from under her bed. She studied the Contents page and found a chapter called Jazz It Up! Under that she found a spell called Fancy Utensils! She flipped the pages and read the spell.

  Fancy Utensils!

  Are your forks and knives plain and boring? Do your serving spoons need pizzazz? Could your writing utensils use some razzle-dazzle? Then this is the spell for you!

  Ingredients,

  2 dashes of glitter

  2 cups of fruit punch

  1 ice cube

  Mix the ingredients together in a shallow baking pan. Completely cover the utensil with the mix. Hold your witches of westwick medallion in one hand and place the other over the pan. Chant the following spell:

  Note: If you want your utensil to have a fruity scent, add this chant to your spell:

  Heidi bookmarked the page. This should do the trick! she thought.

  Heidi crept down the stairs. She leaned over the banister and listened. She heard her mother on the phone in her office. She already knew Henry was in his room and Dad was in his lab.

  Then Heidi tiptoed quickly into the kitchen and got to work. She grabbed a shallow brownie pan and a measuring cup. Then she scanned the shelves in the pantry for fruit punch. Nothing in here, she thought.

  Heidi looked in the fridge, but all they had was lemonade and orange juice. I know, she thought. I’ll mix them together and make my own fruit punch! She poured a cup of lemonade into the pan, followed by a cup of orange juice. Then she plopped an ice cube into the mix.

  Heidi covered the pan with a plastic lid, grabbed a big spoon, and hurried to the craft closet in the downstairs hallway. She rummaged through bins of pipe cleaners, pom-poms, and rubber stamps.

  Then she dug out some red glitter. Good enough, she thought. She shoved the tube of red glitter into her skirt pocket and carried the pan to her room. Heidi shut the door with the back of her sneaker.

  She set the pan on the floor and pulled off the lid. She carefully squeezed two dashes of glitter into the mix. Heidi stirred the ingredients with the spoon. Then she laid her lollipop pen in the pan so that it was covered with the magical potion.

  Next Heidi slipped her Witches of Westwick medallion over her head. She grasped the medallion in one hand and held the other over the mix. Then she chanted the spell and added the scent part of the spell. The mix bubbled beneath the palm of her hand and settled. Heidi peeked into the pan.

  “Oh my gosh!” she cried as she pulled the pen out of the pan. “What happened?”

  The lollipop pen had twisted into the shape of a pretzel and blinked like some kind of crazy Christmas light. Heidi sniffed it. It smelled lemony and orangey. Well, it sparkles and it smells good, thought Heidi. But now you can’t write with it.

  “Merg,” she growled. “I should’ve used real fruit punch.”

  Heidi heard a soft knock on her door. “Who is it?”

  “It’s Mom,” said her mother as she opened the door. She walked into the room with an armful of laundry. Her eyes went right to the pan and the Book of Spells on the floor.

  “What on earth are you up to?” asked Mom—even though she knew exactly what was going on.

  Heidi turned around. “I know I’m not supposed to use my witching skills without asking,” Heidi said gloomily. “But I wanted to make a new lollipop pen for Lucy so we could be friends again. And look what happened.”

  She held out the sparkly, blinking pretzel pen for her mother to see. Mom didn’t scold Heidi. She put down the laundry and sat down beside her daughter.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Mom said. “Pen or no pen, you and Lucy will be friends again.”

  “It sure doesn’t seem like it,” said Heidi.

  “Give her some time,” suggested Mom. “She needs to think things over.”

  “But she thinks I’m a THIEF!” said Heidi. “And that really hurts my feelings.”

  “The truth will come out,” said Mom.

  Then the phone began to ring. Mom got up and dashed down the hall to answer it. She came back with the phone. She covered the receiver with her hand.

  “It’s Bruce,” whispered Mom. “He wants to know if you’d like to come over and play Frisbee.”

  “May I?” asked Heidi.

  “Sure,” Mom said. “I think a little fresh air and a playdate are just what you need.”

  She handed the phone to Heidi.

  “Hi, Bruce,” Heidi said. “I’ll be right over.”

  Mom dropped off Heidi at the Bickersons’. Bruce and Frankie were waiting out front.

  “Let’s play in the backyard,” said Bruce.

  Heidi followed Bruce through the side gate. Then they tossed the Frisbee back and forth. Frankie barked and tried to get the Frisbee.

  “Is Lucy still mad at you?” asked Bruce, throwing the Frisbee backhand.

  “Pretty much,” said Heidi as she caught the disk. “She still thinks I stole her lollipop pen.” She tossed the Frisbee back to Bruce.

  “That stinks,” said Bruce as he hurled the Frisbee toward Heidi.

  The Frisbee soared over Heidi’s head and out of reach. Frankie raced after it and grabbed the disk between his teeth. Then he scampered across the yard to his doghouse.

  “Hey, come back here!” cried Bruce as he chased after his dog.

  Bruce got down on his knees. Then he crawled halfway into the doghouse.

  “Heidi!” Bruce shouted. “Come here!”

  Heidi ran over and knelt beside the doghouse. Bruce handed Heidi the Frisbee and slowly backed out. Then he got to his feet.

  “I have caught the thief!” Bruce exclaimed.

  He had Lucy’s lollipop pen in his hand.

  Heidi squealed and grabbed the pen.

  “Bruce, you’re a LIFESAVER!” cried Heidi as she jumped up and down.

  “Just a day in the life of a superhero,” said Bruce.

  Heidi laughed. “Let’s call Lucy,” she said.

  They ran in through the back door. Bruce grabbed the phone and handed it to Heidi. She dialed Lucy’s number, which she knew by heart. The phone rang for forever.

  Mrs. Lancaster finally answered.

  “Hello. Is Lucy there?” asked Heidi.

  Mrs. Lancaster put Lucy on the line.

  “Hello?” said Lucy.

  “We found your pen!” Heidi blurted out.

  Then Lucy screamed. Heidi held the receiver out so Bruce could hear.

  “I think she’s happy,” said Heidi.

  “Just a little,” said Bruce, laughing.

  “WHERE?” asked Lucy.

  “Bruce found it in Frankie’s DOGHOUSE!” said Heidi. “It has a couple of teeth marks, but it still works perfectly.”

  “I’ll be right over!” Lucy said, hanging up the phone.

  Bruce and Heidi ran across the lawn to greet Lucy.

  Heidi pulled the lollipop pen from her back pocket. “Here,” she said.

  Lucy looked at the pen in disbelief, but she didn’t take it. “I want you to have it,” she said.

  Heidi looked at the pen longingly. “No,” she said, handing the pen to Lucy. “This is YOUR special pen, and I don’t ever want it to come between us again.”

  “I’m so sorry, Heidi,” said Lucy. “I should’ve known you weren’t a thief. I feel terrible.”

  “That’s okay,” Heidi said. “I’m just glad we can be friends again.”

  The girls hugged.

  Then Heidi’s mother pulled up in the driveway with Aunt T
rudy. The girls ran to the car window. Bruce and Frankie followed behind.

  “Bruce found Lucy’s pen!” said Heidi.

  “Thank goodness!” Mom said.

  “I found something too,” said Aunt Trudy.

  She handed a small brown paper bag to Heidi. Heidi peeked in the bag and pulled out a green lollipop pen, a purple lollipop pen, and a lightsaber pen. All of them lit up—just like Lucy’s. Heidi sniffed the lollipop pens. Green apple and grape.

  She squealed.

  “Where did you find them?” she asked.

  “Not telling,” Aunt Trudy said with a witchy wink.

  Heidi handed the grape lollipop pen to Lucy and the lightsaber pen to Bruce. Then she raised her green lollipop pen in the air.

  “To best friends!” she said.

  Lucy and Bruce held up their pens.

  “To best friends!” they cheered.

  “Okay, everyone strike a pose!” said Mom as she held up her camera phone.

  The friends held out their new pens and made goofy faces.

  “Now say ‘Heidi Heckelbeck is not a thief!’ ” Mom said.

  “HEIDI HECKELBECK IS NOT A THIEF!” they shouted. Then they busted up laughing.

  Click!

  And Mom got a very sweet photo.

  Wiggle!

  Jiggle!

  Jaggle!

  Heidi stood on a kitchen chair and looked in the mirror that hung by the back door. Mom used this mirror to put on lipstick before she left the house. Heidi used it to look at her loose tooth.

  “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “It’s SUPER-loose!”

  “Which one is it?” asked Mom.

  Heidi turned around on the chair and put her finger on her tooth. “My fwunt one!” she said.

  She wiggled it again.

  “Wow, that is really loose,” agreed Mom.

  “Well, it had better not fall out!” Heidi declared.

  Mom looked puzzled. “Why not?”

  “Because Picture Day at school is in TWO days,” Heidi said. “And I don’t want a big hole in my smile.”

  “Then stop wiggling it,” suggested Mom.

  “That’s easy for you to say!” Heidi said, poking her tooth with her tongue.

  “Get your mind on something else,” said Mom.

  Heidi tried to think about something else. She looked at the ceiling and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Then she sighed.

  “It’s no use,” she said. “All I can think about is my loose tooth.”

  WANDA COVEN has always loved magic. When she was little, she used to make secret potions from smooshed shells and acorns. Then she would pretend to transport herself and her friends to enchanted places. Now she’s able to visit other worlds through writing. Wanda lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and son. They have three cats: Hilda, Agnes, and Claw-dia.

  PRISCILLA BURRIS has illustrated numerous books and materials for children, parents, and teachers. She enjoys painting cakes and creating art for products, which include murals, greeting cards, and rubber stamps! Priscilla lives with her family in Southern California.

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster

  New York

  Meet the author and illustrator and get activities at

  KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Wanda-Coven

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Priscilla-Burris

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Little Simon paperback edition January 2015

  Copyright © 2015 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in a Little Simon hardcover edition.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Designed by Ciara Gay

  Jacket design by Ciara Gay

  Jacket illustration by Priscilla Burris

  Jacket illustration by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Coven, Wanda.

  Heidi Heckelbeck is not a thief! / by Wanda Coven ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris. — First edition.

  pages cm. — (Heidi Heckelbeck ; #13)

  Summary: Accused of stealing her best friend’s cool new pen, young witch Heidi Heckelbeck must turn to her Book of Spells to clear her name.

  ISBN 978-1-4814-2324-3 (pbk) — ISBN 978-1-4814-2325-0 (hc) — ISBN 978-1-4814-2326-7 (eBook) [1. Friendship—Fiction. 2. Pens—Fiction. 3. Witches—Fiction. 4. Magic—Fiction.] I. Burris, Priscilla, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.C83393Him 2015

  [Fic]—dc23

  2014003871