Karen's Chicken Pox

  At school, I forgot all about my shivers. I had a very good reason. Before lunch, Ms. Colman picked a pumpkin design out of the witch’s hat. Guess whose design she picked? Mine!

  “Congratulations, Karen,” said Ms. Colman. “You drew a wonderful, spooky pumpkin for our classroom.”

  I got to scoop out pumpkin seeds and oversee the carving so the pumpkin looked just like my drawing.

  Beady eyes. Pointy nose. Seven snaggly teeth. Crooked eyebrows. And a big jagged line running down his cheek.

  We talked about our party on Friday. When I told my class that Nannie would be helping with the bat cakes, everyone cheered. (They have tasted Nannie’s chocolates before.)

  Even if I did not feel so great, I had a very good time at school.

  At home, I worked on my costume. I even found a sheet for Emily’s ghost costume. Everything was a little harder to do because I did not feel so well. But I was not going to let a little cold stop me.

  Just a few more days to go. I was going to be okay.

  Spots!

  When I woke up on Wednesday, I felt worse than the day before. I thought my little cold must have turned into a big one. Then I looked in the mirror.

  “Moosie, help!” I said to my stuffed cat. “I have spots!”

  I jumped back into bed and pulled the covers over my head. I had to think of a plan. Maybe I could cover the spots with makeup. Elizabeth kept some in the bathroom. All I had to do was get in there without being seen.

  I went to my door and peeked out. The coast was clear. I started to tiptoe to the bathroom. Just then Andrew stepped out of his room.

  “Hi, Karen!” he said. “Ooh, you have spots!”

  He said it loudly enough for anyone who was upstairs to hear. The next thing I knew I was surrounded by half my family.

  “Karen, I am sorry,” said Elizabeth. “I know you did not want to get sick now. But you will have to go back to bed.”

  “But I really do not feel too bad. I can still go to school,” I said.

  “No, you cannot,” said Elizabeth. “Remember the quarantine? You have to be at home for a few days while you are most contagious.”

  I quickly did some math in my head. I had heard someone say something about five days. Sunday was the fifth day. Sunday was Halloween. I was going to miss Halloween. I was going to miss everything!

  I did not say another word. I went back to my room and climbed into bed. I pulled the covers over my head again. I did not want to see or talk to anyone.

  I was going to miss Halloween. And my class party. And helping at Sam’s bake sale. I was going to miss my whole life because of a baby disease! It was so humiliating.

  Knock, knock.

  I peeked out from under the covers. Daddy was standing in my doorway.

  “May I come in?” he asked.

  I did not want to talk to Daddy. But he was carrying a tray of food. I saw a big glass of juice on it, and I was very thirsty.

  “Okay,” I replied.

  I sat up, and Daddy put the tray on my bed. I took a few gulps of juice.

  “I am very sorry this had to happen now,” said Daddy.

  “It is all Emily’s fault,” I said.

  “She did not mean to make you sick.”

  “I know. But now she can go out on Halloween because she will not be contagious. I have to stay at home,” I said.

  “I agree, it is terrible.”

  “I am even mad at Hannie and Nancy. They said they could keep me from getting sick. I said Nancy’s magic spell. And I ate all those grapefruits with lemon,” I said.

  “So that is why you suddenly liked grapefruit. You thought it would keep you from getting sick,” said Daddy. “Well, maybe the magic spell and the grapefruit will help you have a milder case of chicken pox.”

  The minute he said “chicken pox,” I started feeling itchy. I had felt a little itchy and squirmy the day before. But I had decided it was only my imagination. Today I was sure my itches were real. I started rubbing my face.

  Daddy took my hands in his. “You are too grown-up for ‘Where Is Thumbkin?’ So how about a two-handed thumb wrestle?”

  I tried to smile, but I could not. Today my class was going to make decorations for the party. And here I was sick in bed. And mad at the world.

  Getting Even

  “Would you like anything from the store?” asked Nannie.

  “No, thank you,” I said.

  “I will be back soon. I will bring home some soup for lunch. It might help you feel better,” said Nannie.

  Nannie was going out to buy Halloween decorations for the house. And candy for trick-or-treaters. Now that I was sick, I would not get to be a trick-or-treater.

  I was reaching up to scratch an itchy spot when Daddy came in.

  “Please try not to scratch,” he said. “I will be back with some lotion. That should help you feel better.”

  Lotion was not going to help. Soup was not going to help. Everyone was trying their best to make me feel better. Kristy had promised to read to me when she got home. Charlie had offered to play games with me. Sam had said I could be his official bake sale consultant. Andrew was going to make me a get-well card. David Michael had told me I could borrow his games and books. Elizabeth was going to make me a special dessert.

  But none of it was going to help!

  When Daddy returned with the lotion, I told him I did not want it.

  “It will make you feel less itchy,” said Daddy.

  “I do not care. I do not want yucky lotion.”

  “Karen, I know you are feeling bad. But acting grouchy will not help matters. I will put the lotion on you. Then if you feel well enough to get out of bed, you can help me start decorating the house,” said Daddy.

  I let Daddy put on the lotion. But I made grouchy faces while he did it.

  “Come,” said Daddy. “We will see if Emily wants to help us too.”

  Seeing Emily was the last thing I needed. But getting up and helping sounded a whole lot better than being stuck in bed.

  “You two can start putting up spiderwebs,” said Daddy. “We need them in the corners of the rooms downstairs. I will put up orange streamers. We will have made a good start by the time Nannie comes home with the rest of the decorations.”

  The three of us went downstairs. When Daddy was not looking, I stuck out my tongue at Emily. She thought it was funny. She did not know I was being a meanie-mo. I decided to try harder. Emily had made me sick, and I wanted to get even.

  “Come, Emily,” I said. “We need to put spiderwebs in the den.”

  Emily followed me to the den. I twirled around and dangled a big black rubber spider in front of her.

  Emily laughed again. I decided to try even harder.

  There was a big bowl of candy corn on the table. I took a handful and popped it into my mouth.

  “Yum!” I said.

  “Candy!” cried Emily.

  “None for Emily. All for me,” I said.

  I put the bowl way up high where Emily could not reach it. Then I took another handful of candy corn and popped it into my mouth. That did it. Emily started to cry.

  Daddy heard and came to see what was wrong. “Karen, what is going on?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” I replied.

  But Emily pointed to the bowl. Daddy knew I had moved it.

  “Karen Brewer, I know you are feeling sick. But that is no reason to be unkind,” said Daddy.

  “Well, it was unkind of Emily to make me sick!” I said. I ran to my room and pulled the covers over my head.

  Karen Brewer, Germ Queen

  In the afternoon, Hannie and Nancy both called me. I asked Daddy to tell them I was too sick to come to the phone.

  I knew it was not fair, but I was mad at them too. Their grapefruits and spells had done no good at all. So I did not want to talk to either of them. I did not want to hear how much fun everyone had had getting ready for the class party while I was home sick.

  At dinnertime I did not go
downstairs. I asked to eat in my room. That way I could stay in bed being mad at everyone and feeling sorry for myself.

  Who could blame me? I was missing one thing after another. The next thing I missed was baking with my family for Sam’s sale. I could not believe it. It had been my idea to begin with!

  But by the time they got started, I was too tired to go downstairs and help. Also, I could not decorate the cupcakes because I was too germy. Karen Brewer, Germ Queen. That was me.

  I could hear everyone laughing downstairs.

  “Wait! Stop!” said Kristy. “The recipe says a quarter teaspoon of baking powder, not baking soda.”

  “Oops,” said David Michael.

  “Let me do it! I know how,” said Andrew.

  I knew how to do it too. But no one was asking me.

  My family tried not to leave me alone upstairs. They took turns coming to visit me. But I was not very friendly.

  “You are going to have the first warm cupcake, as soon as it is ready,” said Sam. “I will bring you the decorations and you can fix it up the way you like it.”

  “That is okay,” I replied. “You can surprise me.”

  I did not want to be reminded of how much fun it was to decorate cupcakes when I would be allowed to decorate only one — my own.

  When Sam left, Nannie came in.

  “I know you are feeling pretty awful. But you promised to help Emily with her costume,” she said.

  “I am not in the mood anymore,” I replied.

  My spots were itching. I was trying not to scratch, so I slapped at them instead. It did not help.

  “Maybe you will be more in the mood tomorrow,” said Nannie.

  “I do not think so.”

  “I wish you would try being nicer to your sister,” said Nannie. “But I understand why you are upset. If you do not feel up to helping, I will make her costume myself.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  At least Nannie was trying to understand how I felt. It seemed that she was the only one.

  No Ghost

  The next day was Thursday. Only three days until Halloween.

  Daddy was in his office. Everyone else had gone to school or work. That left Nannie, Emily, and me. I was lying in bed and could hear Nannie working with Emily on her costume.

  “Keep your arms at your sides for a minute,” said Nannie. “Good. Do not move.”

  I pictured Emily standing under the sheet. Nannie must have been marking places to make holes for Emily’s eyes, nose, and mouth. She would have to shorten the sheet too, so Emily would not trip.

  A little while later, Emily ran down the hallway, past my room. She was wearing her sheet. And she was crying.

  “What is wrong?” asked Nannie. “Why is my little ghost unhappy?”

  “No gose! No!” shouted Emily.

  “But you are a very good ghost,” said Nannie.

  “No, no! Emily gote!”

  “I do not understand,” said Nannie.

  Emily started sobbing. It took awhile, but Nannie calmed her down.

  “Try again to tell me what you want,” said Nannie.

  Through her sniffles, Emily said, “Emmie gote.”

  Then she started singing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”

  Aha! Nannie still did not understand. But I did. Emily knew my friends and I were going to be farm animals. Now she wanted to be one too. She wanted to be like the big girls.

  “Emily? Do you want to be a goat?” I called from my room.

  Emily came running.

  “Yes! Goat! I say goat! Karen help Emmie?” she said.

  “Maybe,” I replied.

  Nannie poked her head in the door.

  “Karen, thank you!” she said. “I could not have figured that out without you.”

  I was proud I had helped Nannie. And I was proud that Emily wanted to be like her big sister. But I was still mad about being sick. And it was all Emily’s fault.

  Emily was standing by my bed singing “Old MacDonald” again. “WEE-I-E-I-YO!”

  She was funny. I could not stay mad at her too long.

  “Oh, all right,” I said. “I will help you make your costume.”

  The phone was ringing. Nannie answered it. I heard her say hello to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was calling to see how Emily and I were feeling.

  The truth was, I was not feeling too bad. My spots were not as itchy.

  And now I had a new important job to do. I had to figure out how to make a goat costume for Emily. I had no idea how to do it. But that never stops me from doing something. I always find a way.

  Apologies All Around

  By the afternoon, I still did not have any good ideas for how to make a goat costume. I decided it was time for a little help from my friends. (Now that I was feeling better, I was not mad at them anymore. I knew it was not their fault I got sick.)

  I waited until Sam was not hogging the phone, then I grabbed it and called Hannie and Nancy.

  “Hi,” I said to Hannie. “I am sorry I did not call you back sooner. I was not feeling very good.”

  “I am sorry you got sick,” replied Hannie. “I guess my grapefruit-and-lemon-juice idea was not such a good one.”

  “That is okay. You did not give me chicken pox,” I said. “Anyway, even though I am sick, I have an important job. Maybe you can help me.”

  I told Hannie about Emily’s costume. “She wants to be a farm animal like me. She wants to be a goat. Only I do not know how to make a goat costume.”

  Hannie had some excellent ideas. I wrote them down. Then I called Nancy. She felt bad that I had gotten sick too.

  “I guess my spell did not work out. I am sorry,” said Nancy.

  “No problem,” I said. “It is not your fault.”

  Nancy had a few more ideas for Emily’s costume. I wrote them down next to Hannie’s.

  Things were shaping up. My friends and I had made apologies all around. And I had some good ideas for Emily’s costume.

  I knew Nannie would have good ideas too. Pretty soon I had a list of suggestions from my whole family.

  Kristy even had a book called The Book of the Goat. She let me borrow it. I never knew there were so many different kinds of goats. There are long-haired, short-haired, curly-haired, and straight-haired goats. There are tan ones, black ones, brown ones, white ones, and mixed ones. There are goats with horns, and goats without horns. Wow! I had lots of choices.

  I looked through the book, studied my list, and made a plan.

  “It is very nice of you to help Emily,” said Daddy. “I will be happy to buy the things you need to make her costume.”

  “That is right,” said Elizabeth. “Just let us know how we can help you.”

  I made a list for Daddy and Elizabeth. I felt very important sending them out on a shopping trip with my instructions.

  They left after dinner and came back with everything I needed. I got right to work. But I did not work for very long. Daddy said it was time to go to sleep.

  “You need your rest. You can work on the costume tomorrow,” he said.

  Tomorrow would be Friday, the day of the class party. And I would miss it. I decided not to think about the party. It would only make me sad.

  I thought about Emily’s costume instead. You know what? That made me feel pretty good.

  A Special Prize

  When I went downstairs on Friday morning, Nannie was covering a big plate of bat cakes with plastic wrap. A little plate sat beside it.

  “Good morning. How do you feel?” asked Nannie.

  “I am okay. But I will feel even better if you tell me that little plate of cupcakes is for me.”

  “It is,” replied Nannie. “You can have a cupcake-and-milk snack later.”

  Just then Daddy came into the kitchen. “Hi, honey. How do you feel?” he asked.

  “Pretty good. In fact, I feel good enough to go to a party. I think I will go upstairs and get dressed.”

  Daddy smiled. He knew I was joking.

 
“I am sorry,” he said. “But you know you have to stay home awhile longer.”

  Then Elizabeth walked in. “Hi, Karen. How are you feeling?” she asked.

  I thought about going upstairs and making a sign that said, I am better. Instead I just said, “Pretty good.”

  “I am glad,” replied Elizabeth. “I will drop off the food for your class party on my way to work. Daddy and I picked up plenty of soda at the store last night.”

  “You mean witches’ brew.”

  Elizabeth laughed. She took the plate of bat cakes out to the car. When she returned, she was carrying an envelope. My name was written on it in big letters.

  “This was under the door,” said Elizabeth.

  I opened the envelope. It was a card from Hannie and Nancy. On the front was a picture of a chicken. Inside it said:

  “That is so nice,” said Nannie. “Hannie and Nancy are very good friends.”

  They sure are! Nancy called me as soon as she got home from school that afternoon.

  “We won a special prize!” said Nancy. “You and Hannie and I. We each got a sheet of pumpkin stickers. Hannie said she would slip yours under your door.”

  “How could I win if I was not there?” I asked.

  “We drew a picture of you in your chicken costume. We did not tell you in case we did not win anything. But we did win.”

  “Wow, thanks!” I said. “Hang on a minute. I will be right back.”

  I ran to the front door. Sure enough, another envelope was waiting. My pumpkin stickers were inside with a note that said, We won!

  I ran back to the phone.

  “I got my stickers! And I got your card this morning. Thanks a lot,” I said.

  I called Hannie and she told me more about the party. By the time I finished talking to my friends, I felt almost as if I had been there. I was glad my jack-o’-lantern had been there for real. My friends said he was a big hit when he was lit up.

  It had turned out to be a pretty good day. I was almost finished making Emily’s costume. I had my prize stickers. And I was itching only a little bit.