Cousin Caroline

Kayla Wallace could not wait to meet her cousin,  Caroline. She and Caroline were the same age. They had never met because Caroline lived in California and Kayla lived in New York City. Now, they were finally going to meet because Caroline was coming to New York for a visit.

Kayla was very excited to meet her cousin. Every day, she would ask eagerly "Mommy when is cousin Caroline coming?" Every day, she looked at the at her Mom hoping it would be the day her Mom would say Caroline was coming. Every day, it wasn't and Kayla was disappointed.  She thought the day would never arrive.

"Soon enough the day will be here and Kayla will come." Mommy assured Kayla. Kayla didn't believe her.

Finally, the day arrived. Kayla was so excited. Kayla went with Mommy and Daddy to the airport to pick Caroline up. "Hi!" she greeted Caroline warmly and happily when Caroline's plane landed, and they picked her up. "I'm Kayla. I'm your cousin. I'm so happy to meet you," She threw her arms around Caroline and hugged her. Caroline barely hugged her back, and it wasn't in a friendly manner.

When they got to the car, Caroline said, "It's kind of small, isn't it?" Kayla just stared at her. She couldn't believe how rude Caroline was.  All the way home, she was even ruder. All she did was talk about how much better everything was in California.

When they got home, Daddy showed Caroline to the guest room. Mommy pulled Kayla aside. "Don't worry." she told Kayla. "She's probably just homesick. She'll warm up to us." Kayla hoped so.

However, that afternoon things didn't get any better. Caroline didn't like any of the food they had for lunch. At first, she didn't want to play with Kayla at all and then when she did, she only wanted to be bossy and be in charge and play whatever she wanted to play. For the first time ever in her life, Kayla was actually happy for it to be bedtime. She hoped maybe the next day would be better.

In the morning, when they woke up, Kayla said cheerfully. "Good morning, Caroline. How did you sleep?"

"Lousy." replied Caroline. "You have the most uncomfortable beds in the world. I hardly slept at all.  Now,  I'm tired and my back hurts."

"Well, then why don't you take a nap." suggested Kayla through gritted teeth. She suddenly wished for nothing more than for Caroline to go back to bed or better yet to go away altogether. With most people, she would think they could go back to sleep and wake up on the right side of the bed, but she doubted that would happen with Caroline.

Of course, Caroline didn't go back to bed and she was just as unbearable as she had been the day before. "When is Caroline leaving?" Kayla asked Mommy when they were alone.

"She''ll be here another few days." answered Mommy.

Kayla frowned unhappily. She was hoping that Mommy was going to say Caroline was leaving tomorrow. She didn't care if Caroline was her cousin. She couldn't stand another day of that rude horrible girl.

"Just be nice." Mommy told her as if reading Kayla's mind. "She'll be gone soon."

"Okay, Mommy. I'll try." promised Kayla. She didn't know how she was going to stand it though.

The days dragged slowly by. Things didn't get any better. Caroline was as rude and horrible as ever. They were the longest and worst days of Kayla's life.

Finally, it was time to take Caroline to the airport. They put Caroline's luggage in the car, and they all piled in. Just like on the way home from the airport, on the way to the airport, Caroline talked about how much better California was than New York even more so now that she had actually spent some time in New York.

'She'll be gone soon. She'll be gone soon.' Kayla kept telling herself. It was the only thing that got her through the long car ride.

When they got to the airport, this time, Daddy was going to Caroline inside, Mommy and Kayla were going to wait outside. "Goodbye, Caroline." Mommy said as they got out of the car. "Thanks for coming to visit us." Kayla wasn't going to say anything but Mommy gave her a stern  look.

"Goodbye, Caroline." added Kayla in as friendly a manner as she could manage.

Caroline just looked at them and gave a sort of half wave which for her was probably the equivalent of a smile. Then, she and Daddy got her bags, and they went into the terminal.

"Do you know, Mommy," announced Kayla. "I was really excited and happy for Caroline to come and visit me, but I'm even more happy now that she's leaving."

Now, that Caroline  was gone even Mommy couldn't help smiling about it. "She's really something, isn't she?" declared Mommy.

"She sure is." agreed Kayla.

Pia Wants a Party

Pia Zborowski couldn't wait to turn 10. "I'll be double digits and everything!" she excitedly told anyone who would listen. She was sure that turning 10 must be worthy of a party - a surprise party even. She was so sure that she convinced herself that there was going to be a surprise party for her.

"How are Mommy and Daddy coming along with planning my party?" she asked her older sister Piper one afternoon.

Piper looked up from the book she'd been reading. "What?" she said in confusion.

"It's okay. You can tell me." Pia assured her. "I won't tell them you told."

"What?" repeated Piper even more confused.

Pia smiled happily. "Oh, that's okay. I get it. You're playing dumb." She skipped off gleefully convinced as much as ever that there was going to be a party for her.

Piper shook her head and went back to her book.

At dinnertime when Pia was helping Mommy set the table she informed Mommy, "I really like pink lots and lots of pink."

"Okay." replied Mommy looking at Pia strangely. She gave Pia a quizzical look. She had no idea what Pia was hinting at.

Pia smiled at Mommy. Mommy was so good at pretending she had no idea what Pia was talking about.

When she was with her father, Pia made a face. "Do you think this is a good look of surprise? Or do you think this is a better one?" She made a different face.

"Are we playing charades?" asked Daddy.

Pia burst out laughing. She never realized what good actors her family all were before. Pretending was so much fun. She was almost sorry her birthday was coming to spoil the game.

Finally, the day of Pia's birthday came.  She put on her best pink dress and carefully styled her hair in a French braid .  She stayed in her room until the doorbell rang. Then, she went downstairs but very slowly so as not to let on that she knew about the party.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, nobody was there. Pia looked around in confusion.  Then, she saw Piper. "Who was at the door?" she asked Piper.

"The mailman." replied Piper.

Pia grinned at Piper. If her family wanted to keep the game going a little bit longer that was okay with her.

Piper shrugged and went into the kitchen. She couldn't understand why her little sister was acting so weird lately.

Pia followed Piper into the kitchen. That must be where all the guests were hiding. However, when they got to the kitchen there was nobody there either. Piper went to the refrigerator and took out a water bottle. "Do you want one?" she asked Pia.

Pia shook her head no. She was really confused now. Her family was really taking this pretending thing too far. Where was her party? Where were her guests? "Where are Mommy and Daddy?" she asked Piper finally.

"I think they're in the den." replied Piper pointing in that direction.

Pia instantly brightened up again. That must be where the party was. She headed in that direction. "Don't you want to come with me?" she asked Piper over her shoulder.

"No, thanks." replied Piper.

Pia gave her sister a look of confusion. Didn't Piper want to be a party of Pia's party?  Maybe, Piper was jealous or something. Pia shrugged and went into the den.

Mommy and Daddy were there alright but they were by themselves.  Daddy was watching TV and Mommy was talking on the phone.  "Oh, Pia!" she exclaimed when Pia walked into the room. "Happy Birthday! Come take the phone. There's someone who wants to wish you a Happy Birthday."

Pia took the phone from her mother. It was Grandma. "Hi Grandma." Pia said sadly into the phone.

"What's the matter?" inquired Grandma. "Aren't you having a good birthday?"

Pia sighed deeply. "It's okay." she said. "It's just that I thought that turning 10 was worthy of a party."

"Why of course it is!" replied Grandma enthusiastically.

"I'm glad you think so." Pia told her. "Nobody else seems to think so." She finished speaking with Grandma and handed the phone back to her mother. Then, she left the room.

A few minutes later, Mommy and Daddy called her back. They were going to be going to Grandma's for dinner. Pia brightened up a little bit but not that much. She always loved to see Grandma, but it wasn't like having a party.

At Grandma's house, Mommy and Daddy and Piper let Pia go in first because she was the birthday girl.  As soon as she walked in she saw her Aunts and Uncles and all her cousins. "Surprise!" they all yelled.  Pia smiled but she noticed that none of her relatives looked like they were dressed for a party. They all looked like they'd arrive in hurry wearing whatever they happened to have on.

Pia smiled at Grandma. "You set this up!" she said accusingly but she said it in a happy way.

Grandma smiled back. "I think a girl turning double digits deserves a party."

"Thanks, Grandma. I love you." declared Pia.

"I love you too, my big ten year old granddaughter." replied Grandma.

Billy the Bully

Trisha, Tressa, and Traci Bridgeman were sisters. Trisha was the oldest. Tressa was in the middle. Traci was the youngest.  The three of them were as close as three sisters could be. They hardly every even fought.

The girls were in their kitchen one afternoon. Trisha and Tressa were doing there homework. Traci, being the youngest, didn't have as much homework as the others so she had already finished her homework.  She was staring out the window.

Suddenly, they heard the tinkling of a bell coming from the front of the house. Traci ran to the other side of the house and looked out. "It's the ice cream man!" she screamed.  She ran back to her sister's. "Let's get some ice cream!" she urged excitedly.

"We're doing our homework." Trisha reminded her.

"You go and ask Mommy for some money and get us all some ice cream." suggested Tressa.

"Okay!" exclaimed Traci. She ran up to ask Mommy for some money for the ice cream man. Then, she hurried outside to get them all some ice cream.  By now, the ice cream man was all the way down the block. That meant Traci was going to pass by that mean bully, Billy Grubbs house. She held her breath and passed by the house as quickly as she could.  She sighed with relief when she got passed the house, and there was no sign of Billy.

She reached the ice cream man and stood on line and bought three chocolate ice cream bars. She quickly turned and headed back home.

She had only gotten a few steps when a loud noise from behind her startled her. "Hey!" exclaimed a scarily familiar voice.  "Who goes there?" asked Billy jumping out in front of her. Traci didn't say anything. "I said who goes there?" Billy shouted in an even louder scarier voice.

"Traci Bridgeman." replied Traci in a tiny frightened voice.

"Well, Traci did you know that you can't pass by my house without paying the toll?" he informed her.

"The toll?" asked Traci nervously. "But, I don't have any money on me. I spent it on ice cream."

"Ice cream?" exclaimed Billy gleefully. "Let me see." He grabbed the three ice cream bars out of Traci's hands. He quickly opened up one of the packages and started eating it. "This will do." he said with his mouth still half full of ice cream. "You may pass." he waved his arm in front of her to indicate that she should go by.

"But..." replied Traci trying really hard not to burst into tears.

"Go! Go!" said Billy.

Traci quickly ran off toward home. As soon as she reached her house, she ran inside.

"Where's the ice cream?" asked Tressa noticing her empty hands.

Traci immediately burst into tears.

"What's the matter, honey?" asked Trisha sweetly. She put her arm around her little sister.
"It's okay." she said. "Don't worry about the ice cream. Just tell us what happened."

Between gasping sobs, Traci told them the whole story.

"That Billy Grubbs!" exclaimed Tressa angrily. "Tomorrow I'll get the ice cream, and I'll take care of it."

"Just be careful." Trisha warned.

"Don't worry." replied Tressa bravely. "I'm not a little kid."

The next day when the ice cream man came around. Traci stayed in the house with Trisha, and Tressa went out to get them all ice cream.  Tressa made it to the ice cream truck without seeing a sign of Billy even when she passed his house. "This is a piece of cake." she thought.

On her way back suddenly she heard a noise behind her. The noise startled her, but she wasn't really afraid.  She quickly turned around. "Hello, Billy." she said unhappily but still without fear.

"Who goes there?" Billy yelled at Tressa.

"It's me, Tressa Bridgeman." she replied. "And, I'm not giving you my ice cream."

"Then, how are you going to pay the toll?" he asked. He looked her up and down and spied the ice cream bars in her hands. His eyes lit up. "That will do." he said. He reached for the ice cream, but Tressa moved it away. "Hey!" he exclaimed angrily.

"I'm not giving you my ice cream, Billy." she told him.

"Oh yeah?" he replied getting even angrier. He shoved her really hard and she fell to the ground dropping the wrapped ice cream bars . Billy scooped them up. "Your toll's paid. You can go." he said glaring at her."

Tressa sat on the ground stunned. She didn't know which hurt more her scrapped up knee from her fall or her pride. Finally, she brushed herself off and headed toward home.

"What happened?" asked Trisha when Tressa got home without any ice cream.

"Did Billy scare you too?" asked Traci. "Did he make you give him the ice cream."

"No." replied  Tressa madly. "He made me angry and pushed me. Then, he stolen our ice cream."

Now, it was Trisha's turn to get angry. "Enough is enough." she announced. "Tomorrow we'll all go and get ice cream, and I'll take care of this."

The next day the three of them went out to get ice cream. Once again, they never saw Billy on the way there. Once again on the way home, suddenly there he was. "Who goes there?" he asked jumping out in front of them.

Traci quickly ran over to Tressa in fright. She would have run over to Trisha, but Trisha was no where to be seen.  Tressa looked around too, and she didn't see Trisha anywhere either.

"It's Traci and Tressa Bridgeman. We are aren't paying any toll, and we aren't giving you our ice cream." Tressa declared angrily. At that moment, she wasn't who sure who she was more mad at Billy or Trisha. Trisha was some big hotshot acting like she was going to take care of it, and then the moment Billy showed up she disappeared.

Suddenly something or someone gave Billy a hard shove from behind, and he fell onto the pavement. Traci and Tressa quickly turned around to see who or what it was. It was Trisha. Tressa immediately felt guilty for thinking badly of  Trisha.

"That was for my sisters!" Trisha shouted at Billy. "You are not going to take their ice cream any more. You are not going to scare them. You are not going to shove them. You are not going to bother them at all. Do you understand?"

Billy sat up and opened his mouth to protest. Trisha loomed over him and continued glaring at him. She was a lot bigger than he was.

 "Okay." he gulped in small scared voice.

Treesa and Traci couldn't help smiling both at  Billy's misery and at pride in their sister.

"And you are not going to bother my sisters again even when I'm not there." added Trisha. "Or else, I will find you, do you understand?"

Billy gulped and nodded.

"Now, your toll is paid." Trisha told him. "You can go."

"But .. I ... live here." Billy stammered.

"Then, go inside" said Trisha.

Billy hurriedly ran inside.

Tressa and Traci burst out laughing. "Oh Trisha, you're the best." said Tressa.

"You're the bravest." added  Traci.

Trisha just shrugged. To her, it was already over, and she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Let's go home and eat our ice cream." she told them

"Ice cream!" exclaimed Tressa and Traci together, and they followed their big sister down the street toward home.

Something for Skyla

Trudi Voorhees was so excited. She had earned $10.00 from her first babysitting job. She had watched the cute little girl next door for an hour while her mother ran some errands. Now, Trudi and Mom and Trudi's little sister, Skyla were heading to the store. Mom had to pick up some things she needed and Trudi wanted to spend her money. She couldn't wait.

"You're lucky." sighed Skyla. "I wish I had money."

"When you're older you can earn your own money too." replied Trudi proudly. She clutched her wallet tightly in her hand and smiled thinking about the the possibilities  of what she might buy.

As soon as they arrived at the store and entered the building, Skyla hurried over to a display of fluffy stuffed animals. "I want this!" she demanded holding up a furry black and white dalmatian puppy. Mommy ignored Skyla and took out the shopping list and began looking over it. "Please!" Skyla begged tugging on her mother's arm.

"Not today." replied Mommy gently pushing Skyla's hand away. "Come on let's go I have some things to get." She scooped Skyla up and put her in a shopping cart. To Trudi, she said "We'll meet you by the front of the store in a half an hour. Will that be enough time for you?"

Trudi nodded happily. She was only half listening anyway. In her mind, she was already happily spending her money.

"I wish I had money." Skyla mumbled unhappily as Mommy wheeled her away.

Trudi went to the make-up department. She picked up some glittery nail polish and looked at it. Then, she put it down and picked up a package of fruit flavored lip gloss. Then, she eyed a palette of pretty eye shadow colors. Everything in the department looked so great. She couldn't decide what she wanted to buy. She wished she had enough money for all of it, but she didn't.  She stood there for few minutes trying to decide but she couldn't. She decided to try a different department instead. Maybe, there would be something there that stood out for her there.

She wandered over  to the hair accessories department. She saw multi-colored hairbands. She saw glittery barrettes. She saw headbands of every size. There were just too many choices. She still couldn't decide what she wanted. Nothing stood out to her more than anything else.

Next, she went over to the clothing department. She didn't really have enough money for anything much there so she decided to skip it. She continued on over to the book section and then the music section. She was just so overwhelmed with the choices of books to read and music listen to that she couldn't choose anything in either of those sections either.

She looked at her watch. It was getting late. It would be time to meet Mom and Skyla soon. She decided to go back to the front of the store and then, quickly go through the whole store one more time to make sure she didn't miss anything. Maybe, that would help her decide what she wanted.

On her way to the front of the store, she passed the stuffed animal display that Skyla had been looking at. She picked up the little black and white dalmatian puppy that Skyla had loved. She remembered the way Sklya's whole face lit up when she saw it and how excited she'd been when she picked it up.

Just then, she caught a quick of glimpse of the time on her watch again. She had hardly any time left. She better get what she wanted, pay, and go meet Mom and Skyla. Mom didn't like to be kept waiting.

"What did you get?" asked Skyla excitedly but also a little jealously when Trudi approached them clutching her package tightly a few minutes later. She ran over to Trudi and tried to peek in the bag.

"You'll see." Trudi laughed at Skyla's eagerness and gently pulled the bag away from her little sister.

"It's probably something stupid like make-up anyway." declared Skyla turning away and pretending she was no longer interested.

"Oh, you'll like it." Trudi assured her.

"I will?" replied Skyla excitedly. "Show it to me!" she demanded.

"Skyla!" warned Mom. She would not tolerate rude behavior.

"I mean, please show it too me." replied Skyla with exaggerated sweetness.

"In the car." replied Trudi.

Skyla sighed unhappily. She did not like to wait. Patience wasn't her thing.

When they finally got to the car, got in, and put their seat belts on Skyla quickly turned to Trudi. "Now, can you show me"? she asked bursting with curiosity.

"Tada!" cried Trudi. She reached into the bag and pulled out the little stuffed dalmatian puppy.

"Hey!" exclaimed Skyla angrily. " I wanted that!" She angrily glared at Trudi for getting it and than at their mother for not getting it for Skyla.

Trudi laughed. "It's for you, silly." she said to Skyla.

"For me?" asked Skyla in a mix of excitement and confusion.

"Yes for you. I saw how much you wanted it, and there wasn't anything I really wanted."

"Thank you, Trudi. Thank you!" Skyla gushed happily. She reached across her seat and tried to hug Trudi on the other side of the car without getting out of her seatbelt but she couldn't really reach. "I love you you're the best sister in the whole world."

"Yes" laughed Trudi "Until the next time you get mad at me."

Skyla nodded in agreement. "Yes, but for now. You're  in the best sister in the  whole world." she said.

When People Are Away

Dog was just like any other dog. He walked on four legs. He barked. Sometimes, he even growled. He wagged his tail. He liked chasing balls and eating bones.

Cat was just like any other cat. She walked on four legs as well. She purred. She meowed. Sometimes, she even hissed. She liked playing with string and drinking milk.

That was the way they were when the family was around. However, when the family was away, it was a different story. When the family was away everything changed.

Suddenly Dog and Cat could stand on their hind legs. They could talk to each other (and they even got along). They could plan a whole party and invite all their friends to it. Dogs and Cats don't need as much notice to attend a party as people do so their friends could be ready at a moment's notice.

Their parties would always be pot luck. Every dog and cat that attended would have to bring some food, or dog or cat treats or a bone or catnip or something. That way there would always be enough for everyone without Dog and Cat having to completely use up their supply. If they kept running out of food, treats, bones, and stuff, the family would surely get suspicious.

There were a few times, they almost got caught. The party got so loud and out of hand that even with their superior hearing, they almost didn't hear the sound of the car pulling up in the driveway. There had been times when they forgot to put something back where it had been before the family left.

"That's strange." a family member would say when they got home. "I don't remember that being there." They would never even suspect that Dog or Cat or one of their friends had purposely moved it during the course of a party.

Sometimes, Dog kept to himself because he was waiting for the family to leave so they could have a party. Sometimes, Cat was aloof for the same reason. When they were like this, the family just thought it was what dogs and cats naturally were like. They never suspected it was because they wanted the family to leave so they could have a party.

It wasn't that Dog and Cat didn't love their human family. They did, in fact, very much. However, they loved their friends too and wanted to spend time with them.

Dog and Cat's parties were legendary. Other dogs and cats came from miles around just to attend one of their parties There were only two rules at one of Dog and Cat's parties. The first rule was no humans allowed. The second rule was don't leave any reason for humans to suspect that there had ever been a party in the first place.

Dog and Cat had several parties a week. Everything went great. None of the humans suspected a thing.

Then, it happened. One day, the littlest human asked. "Do you think the dog and cat have parties when we're away?"

Dog and Cat froze for a moment. Then, they secretly stole a glance at each other. Was this the end of their party life? Did their humans know what went on when they were not around?

"No silly!" replied the older human child. "Dogs and cats don't have parties."

"What do you think?" the little one asked the mother and father.

"I think they are too busy sleeping and waiting for us to come home." replied the mother.

"And what would they do at their parties anyway?" asked the father.

Dog and Cat were flooded with relief. They snuck another glance at each other. This time a happy glance.

The littlest one hurried over to Dog and Cat. "Oh you  poor things! You must be so bored and lonely when we're not here."

Dog and Cat snuck a third glance at each other. They were both thinking the same thing. Oh! If only the human family knew what went on when they were gone!

Little

When Joslyn woke up bright and early one morning for school, her little sister Makena was fast asleep in her bed.  Makena had a habit of sneaking into Joslyn's room in the middle of the night and curling up with her. Makena looked so cozy all curled up in Joslyn's bed under Joslyn's pink fluffy blanket. It was so unfair,  Joslyn thought as she shivered in the cold air of the early morning that wasn't even light yet. "I wish I were little." thought Joslyn jealously.

There was a flash of bright light and Joslyn fainted. When she woke up, suddenly she didn't feel quite as tall as she was before. Her clothes seemed to be a lot bigger too. They were literally falling off her. She wanted to sit down on the bed for a minute to figure out what had happened, but she couldn't reach it. "Mommy!" she shrieked and when Mommy didn't come right away she hurried into Mommy's room as fast as her little legs would carry her.

"What is it?" demanded Mommy angrily as she was awakened from a deep sleep by the sound of Joslyn's loud feet as she marched into the room. "Why are you screaming at this hour of the morning? You'll wake the neighbors."

"Look at me!" cried Joslyn unhappily. Her voice sounded really young and squeaky.

"Where are you, and what's wrong with your voice? " asked Mommy. "This is no time for games."

"Look down here!" replied Joslyn tugging at her Mother's nightgown. Her mother looked down at her side and saw Joslyn. Her mouth flew open, but no words came out. Then, suddenly tears came to Mommy's eyes. "It's kind of cute." she said. "It reminds me of when you were a little girl."

"But I'm not ..." and Joslyn finally realized her wish had been granted, and she was little again, and she didn't have to go to school. She stopped protesting and smiled happily.

"Oh, if you think you're not going to have to go to school because you're little, you're wrong. You can go to preschool with Makena." replied Mommy reading her mind.

As if she had heard her name, at precisely that moment, Makena tiredly strolled in. "Oh boy!" she exclaimed excitedly upon seeing Joslyn. "You're just my size. We can play together and go to school together and be best friends." she gushed excitedly without taking a breath.

"Oh Joy." replied Joslyn very sarcastically.

"Joslyn!" rebuked her mother sharply. "Makena." she added to Joslyn's little sister. "Go and get some clothes for Joslyn to wear."

Joslyn hung her head down. She couldn't bear the thought of wearing clothes borrowed from her younger sister even if she, Joslyn,  mostly was unrecognizable.

"You know having to wear Makena's clothes is not  the end of it." Mommy told her. "It's only the beginning. You won't be able to ride on your ten -speed bike or ride anything but the kiddie rides when we go to the amusement park on Saturday. You'll have to stay on the little kids side of the playground...."

"Stop!" screamed Joslyn.  She realized she really hadn't thought this little thing through very much "I don't want to be little again any more." She closed her eyes and waited for the flash to make her big again, but nothing happened.

"I wish I were big again." she said but still nothing happened. She was afraid whatever magic there had been was gone, and now she was stuck being little forever. Well, she might not be little forever, but she would have to go through growing up all over again at least the part to get her where she had been before she wished to be little,  The thought gave her a headache, and she began to cry. "I don't want to be little! I don't want to be little!"

"Joslyn!" screamed Makena loudly in her sister's ear. "You woke me up."

Joslyn opened her eyes and realized she was in her own bed. She carefully slid her legs to the floor happy to find out she could reach it,. Her clothes seemed to be fitting nicely.  She looked at herself in the mirror. She was just like she remembered being. She must have dreamt that she'd gotten little. She was so relieved that whatever it was seemed to be over. "I'm big." she said happily admiring her reflection.

"Hmph." replied  Makena. "I wish I were big!"

"Oh no!" exclaimed Joslyn. "Don't ever say that. Trust me, you don't want to wish to be something that you're not."

Snow Day

Jody Grisham groaned as her alarm clock went off. It was time to get up and get ready for school. She was about to roll over and go back to sleep when out of the corner of her eye she saw her mother enter her room. "Just five more minutes. Please, ma!" she begged.

"Don't rush. School's cancelled." Mom informed Jody. "It 's been snowing since last night. They've called a snow day."

Jody was suddenly filled with a burst of energy. She hurried to the window and pulled back the curtain. Sure enough the ground and road were completely covered with a thick blanket of white snow.  "Yay!" exclaimed Jody.  She quickly got dressed in a heavy yellow sweater, purple snow pants and black boots and got ready to go out in the snow.

"Where are you going?" asked Mommy. "A minute ago you could barely get out of bed."

Jody grinned. "Yeah," she replied, "but that was before I knew there was no school today."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "Now who can that be in this weather?" Mommy wondered out loud.
She went down to answer the door while Jody finished getting ready. A few seconds later, she called up the stairs. "Jody! Kaelyn's here!" Kaelyn Brice was Jody's best friend. She lived just up the street.

Jody quickly hurried downstairs. "Hi!" she greeted Kaelyn excitedly. "I was just going to come get you."

"Come outside!" urged Kaelyn. "Let's not waste a minute!" Jody and Kaelyn both loved the snow. They had loved it since they were little. They loved it so much that their mothers used to call them snow babies.

Jody hurried outside. "What are we going to do first?" asked Jody.

"Let's go sledding." suggested Kaelyn.

They went into the garage and took out Jody's big red sled. Then, they headed to the big hill at the end of their block. They took turns sledding down the hill until they got too tired and too cold, Then, they headed back to Jody's house for a break.

By then, it was lunch time, and Jody's mother had hot tomato soup and warm grilled cheese sandwiches for them. It was just what their cold bellies needed. "Thanks, Mom." said Jody gratefully.

"Yeah, thanks, Mrs. Grisham." added Kaelyn.

"Did you too have enough snow and cold for one day?" teased Jody's mother.

"No!" exclaimed both girls at once.

Jody's mother laughed.

After the girls had been fed and warmed up and their clothes had been dried. They bundled up and headed back out again. "What are we going to do now?" asked Jody.

"Let's build a snowman." decided Kaelyn.

They began rolling together a big ball of snow for the bottom of the snowman. When they finished making their snowman Jody went inside and got a hat and scarf for him and a carrot for his nose. "Well hello, Mr. Frosty." Jody greeted their creation when they were done.

"I think Mr. Frosty needs a wife." declared Kaelyn.  They build a lady snowman. Then, before they knew it they had build a whole family of snowmen; Mr. Frosty, his wife, and their two snow children.

Afterwards, they were cold and went inside to warm up again. This time Jody's mother served them cookies and hot chocolate.  "Now, did you have your fill of the ice, cold and snow?" she asked as she served their food and drinks. Both girls shook their head no.

The girls warmed up and dried off and headed out again. This time they build a snow fort and had a snowball fight. By the time, they were done it was starting to get dark. "Jody!" called her mother from the doorway. "Kaelyn's mother called. It is time for her to go home, and it's time for you to come in."

Jody and Kaelyn exchanged disappointed looks as Kaelyn headed off toward home. Jody headed in the house.  "So did you have enough of the snow for a while?" her Mom asked her.

Jody shook her head vigorously. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I wish every day could be a snow day!"