Chapter 9

Magically, while we walked, winter just went away, like this: BLIZZARD, SNOW (not to mention WIND), less wind, LESS SNOW, CLOUDS LEAVE (underpants come OFF our heads), SUN PEEKS OUT, warmer, warm! And we were back to being a regular family in summer. I let go of Mom’s jacket, but Jenna held my hand tight all the way back to the pretty meadow.

When we got there, Jack fake-fainted to the ground. “AAAAaaahhhhh h ! ”

Then I fell too, and I pulled Jenna down with me. Mom and Dad laughed and fell down, plop, plop, next to us. The grass smelled like, I don’t know, sun. We all just lay there, warm and quiet.

After a while, Mom sang:

“Three bears in a bunch were out looking for lunch,

When suddenly, Papa Bear said,

‘Hey, what’s that I’m seeing? A small human being

With white underpants on her head!’ ”

Jenna laughed the loudest.

Then I noticed I was really hungry.

“Ham on rye, anyone?” Mom always had extra sandwiches, no matter what.

“Wow,” Dad said. “That was something. Hah!”

At first I thought he meant the ham on rye, then I knew he meant the blizzard.

“I get to tell Gram about it,” I said. I waited for Jenna to argue, but she didn’t. “Jen, you can tell the Little Three.”

“’Kay,” Jenna said. She was lying on her back, eyes closed.

“I’m going to tell Pete and Flip ALL about it!” Jack announced.

“Jack, DON’T tell about the underpants, okay?” I got all goose bumps just thinking about how embarrassing that would be.

“Aw, that’s the best part! They’re gonna love it! Hee, hee, heeheeheeheeHEE!”

I don’t think he’ll tell. He’ll just tease me about it for a million years.

Me and Jack skipped behind Dad all the way down Mount Baldy. Jenna and Mom followed us slowly back to the Clown Car.

I couldn’t wait to tell about our adventure. I could sort of feel the story inside me, like a tiny book, bouncing around while I skipped.

Then I thought about all the other stories I have in there, more tiny books, all in a row. There’s the book of when I got stitches in my head. There’s one about when Jenna won a toilet seat in the school raffle. There’s a little book about when I brought home the school’s pet iguana and Jack ran over it with his bike. You know, regular stuff.

But the one from that day on Mount Baldy was different from the others.

Definitely.

I think I might have to call it a wizard book.