Why is it Moving?

Amalia Clifford was overjoyed to look out her window one freezing Friday and see the yard piled with snow. "Snow day!" she exclaimed excitedly thinking gleefully of the science test she would not be taking that day.  She quickly picked up the phone to dial her best friend, Naomi Hurley to make plans to go out and play in the snow. No sooner had she picked up the phone and dialed, when her annoying little brother, Quinton barged into the room.

"Have you seen the snow?" he blurted out enthusiastically pointing toward the window. "No school today! No school today! No School today." he happily sing-songed dancing around on his sister's floor.

"Yeah, I saw the snow."  Amalia replied impatiently. "Now, shh! I'm on the phone. She quickly ushered him out of her room and went back to the phone to make plans with Naomi.

As soon as Amalia got off the phone, she went to her closet and pulled out her new purple snowsuit and put it on. Then, she found her shiny black all weather boots lying under her bed and put them on too. She headed downstairs to go to meet Naomi at the park.  There was a big hill there.

When she got downstairs, she had just put her hand out to open the front door, when her mother suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Amalia! Where are you going in this weather?" inquired her mother as if it weren't completely obvious where Amalia was going all bundled up in her snow gear.

"I'm meeting Naomi at the hill." Amalia informed her. "We're going sledding."

"Why don't you take your brother with you?" suggested her mother. "I'm sure he'd enjoy that."

Amalia shook her head quickly.  She did not want to be saddled with babysitting for her little brother. That would not be fun. He was always dragging along and picking things up off the ground and stuff. "Oh he wouldn't want to hang out with a couple of girls." Amalia assured her mother reaching for the doorknob again.

"Why don't you ask him if he wants to go?" inquired her mother.

"Do I have to?" groaned Amalia unhappily.

"Yes!" demanded her mother.

Amalia deflatedly headed back upstairs to ask Quinton if he wanted to accompany her to the hill.  Of course, he did want to come which she knew he would. Then, she had to wait an interminable amount of time for him to find and put on his snow gear.

By the time, they finally headed out and were able to meet up with Naomi, the hill was super crowded. There was barely room to stand let alone to find as spot to sled down the hill. "Where've you been?" Naomi demanded to know. "I've been waiting for an hour. It wasn't nearly this crowded when I got here."

"My mother made take him." replied Amalia dragging Quinton out from behind her where he had stopped to stomp on a particularly crunchy patch of snow.

"Oh." said Naomi. She knew how Amalia's mother could be about making her drag her little brother around sometimes, and she was very glad not to have a younger sibling of her own. "It's too crowded here now." she lamented. "I don't really want to go sledding anymore. I already took the sled home." Naomi lived not far from the park.

"Let's build a snowman!" shouted Quinton excitedly.

Amalia was about to tell him to shut up, but Naomi cut in. "That's a good idea. Let's go back to your house and build a snowman. It's a lot less crowded there." She gestured toward Quinton indicating that she was hoping they would be able to get rid of him too when they got back to Amalia's.

"Okay," Amalia said nodding in agreement immediately catching Naomi's drift.

No sooner had they set out for Amalia and Quinton's house, when Quinton turned around to catch one last glimpse of the sledders streaking down the hill. "Amalia," he quavered worriedly. "Why is it moving?"

"Why is what moving?" asked Amalia impatiently trying to drag him along. Quinton was always dawdling which is why she hated having to take him with her.

"Why is the snow moving?"

Amalia turned around and stared at her brother as if he'd lost his mind. "Don't you know how snow works?" she exclaimed in exasperation. "When people walk in it and sled in it, it moves."

Naomi chuckled.

"No, I don't mean that snow." replied Quinton. "I mean the snow behind me."

Amalia quickly looked behind her brother. There was nobody behind him and nothing was moving. She shook her head at him and sighed. "Come on." she said dragging him along.

After a few feet, Quinton turned around again. "It's moving again." he announced fearfully.

Amalia whipped around and was about to start yelling at her brother, when Naomi called out equally as fearfully. "It is moving!" She pointed to the pile of snow that seemed to be slowly moving toward them.

"Why is moving?" asked Quinton again.

"Who cares why it's moving! Let's get out of here!" shouted Amalia dragged him along as Naomi hurried after them. She felt as though she'd suddenly woken up in the middle of some weird horror movie.

Even as his sister pulled him along toward home, Quinton's curiosity got the best of him, and he kept turning around to see what was happening behind them. "It's following us!" he declared.

Amalia froze in fear and Naomi screamed. Suddenly, they heard a sharp bark from behind them. They turned around and snow went flying all around uncovering a  shivering little white puppy. All three children instantly knelt down beside it oohing and aahing over the poor little thing.

"Oh you poor thing." gushed Naomi."I guess you were the one who was following us."

"We should take him home and get him warmed up." declared Amalia. They were almost home now anyway, and they could figure out whom he belonged to later once he was warm and dry. She picked up the shivering little pup in her arms, and they began walking again.

"I told you it was moving." declared Quinton.