The Bad-Luck Spell

Ouch! I had been out of bed for all of ten seconds on Sunday morning when I stubbed my toe. I sat down on the bed, rubbed my toe, and started over.

After breakfast the phone rang. It was Hannie.

“I know I said we could play today. But I have to go visit my aunt and uncle. I am sorry,” she said.

“That is okay,” I replied. “I will see you tomorrow.”

Hmm. So far this was not my lucky day. I knew something that would cheer me up. Talking to Mommy, Seth, and Andrew in Chicago. I asked Daddy if I could call them.

“Of course,” he said. “This is a good time to call. It is early and they will probably be home.”

They were home, but it was not a good time to call. That is because they had bad news for me.

“We all want to be with you so much, Karen. But Seth is going to have to work here in Chicago a little longer than we expected. We will not be back till late November. I promise we will be home for Thanksgiving,” said Mommy.

“Thanksgiving! That is so far away. It is not even Halloween yet,” I said.

“I am so sorry,” said Mommy. “But we have no choice.”

I talked to Mommy a little longer. Then I talked to Seth and Andrew. But the call did not cheer me up. When I hung up, I felt worse.

I looked outside. It was raining. I wondered if that was more bad luck. Then I decided it was a good thing. I would stay inside and do quiet things. But while I was drawing pictures, my purple marker ran out of ink. No one could drive me downtown to buy another, so I had to draw pictures without purple.

I was glad when Sunday was over. Monday started out a whole lot better. I reached school without anything bad happening. And in class something good happened. We had a spelling bee, and guess who won. If you guessed me, you are R-I-G-H-T!

Then my luck started to change again. I spilled my milk during lunch. And at recess, Hannie, Nancy, and I headed over to the swings. But Pamela, Jannie, and Leslie got to them just before we did.

“You had better be careful,” I said to my friends. “My bad luck may be catching.”

After school I went outside to meet Daddy. I usually ride home on the school bus, but Daddy had said he was going to be out with the car anyway and would drive Hannie and me home.

“Are you sure you want to come home in the car with me? Thanks to me, we might get a flat tire,” I said to Hannie.

“I am not worried. Anyway, I already told my mom I would be going with you.”

“Hi, Karen! Hi, Hannie!” called Daddy when he saw us. “How was your day?”

“It was okay,” I said.

“Karen is having bad luck today. You had better check your tires,” said Hannie.

Daddy laughed. “My tires are fine, thank you. Jump in and buckle up.”

On the way home, Hannie and I talked about our Halloween costumes.

“I am thinking of dressing as a jack-o’-lantern,” said Hannie. “And I might dress Myrtle up as a ghost. I will throw a white handkerchief over her shell.”

“I am thinking of being a lion tamer. Boo-Boo will be the lion,” I said. “Or maybe I will be Santa Claus and Boo-Boo can be one of my reindeer.”

“Excuse me for interrupting,” said Daddy. “But Karen, I must remind you that Boo-Boo is not going to your class party. We will talk more about this later.”

Oops. I had not told Daddy about my latest party plan. If Hannie and I had been on the bus as usual, Daddy would not have heard me talking. More bad luck.

Suddenly I realized where all my bad luck was coming from. The black kitten. I knew my family should not have picked that cat. I knew it.