Nannie drove us to the school grounds in the Pink Clinker. (That is the name of her car.)
I set up my stand in the same spot as always. There were now six of us who had quit the team and were full-time sales-people. Here was the line-up: Bobby selling chocolate chip cookies; me selling ice cold lemonade; Hannie selling homemade friendship bracelets; Nancy selling tasty trail mix; Nicky selling fresh popcorn; Margo selling paper fans.
“Practice is starting, team!” called Kristy.
There were only fourteen kids left on the team. More than half of them were at our stands asking us questions. They wanted to find out about opening up stands of their own.
We told them about tables and signs and having plenty to sell.
“Business is very good,” I said.
Jackie Rodowsky’s dad was buying some lemonade and popcorn. (Jackie is on the Krushers’ team. He is seven.)
“These stands are really terrific,” said Mr. Rodowsky. “Have you kids thought about pooling your talents?”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means that you could all set up stands together somewhere,” Mr. Rodowsky replied. “You could hold a food and crafts fair.”
“What a neat idea!” I said.
Everyone liked it. Everyone except Kristy.
“What about practice?” she asked. “What about the World Series?”
I felt bad. No one was listening to Kristy. The kids were all talking about holding a fair. We were excited about making our plans.
“We should make a list of other things to sell,” suggested David Michael.
“I bet we could hold the fair right here,” said Hannie.
“When should we do it?” asked Nancy.
We wrote down what each person wanted to sell. Mr. Rodowsky promised to find out if we could hold the fair on the school grounds. We decided the fair would be held a week from Saturday.
“What will we do if it rains?” asked Andrew.
“Rain? What is that?” I said.
Everyone thought this was funny. It had been so long since it had rained we could hardly remember what rain was.
We set a rain date for two weeks from Saturday just in case.
Kristy was sitting alone up in the bleachers. I felt bad for her. But I really wanted to hold the fair. It was going to be so much fun!
Helping Hannie
“The heat wave continues. The temperature is expected to reach one hundred degrees again today. It is hot and dry. We need to save water. Keep your showers short. Do not water plants or lawns. This is Margie Simon reporting.”
I turned off the TV. I decided I might not want to be a weather reporter after all. There was an awful lot of bad weather news. And it was the same old thing day after day.
“See you later, everyone,” I said to my family.
It was early Friday morning. The fair was going to be held the next day. I had promised Hannie I would come over as early as I could to help her make friendship bracelets.
“I will see you over there in a little while,” said Kristy. “Mr. and Mrs. Papadakis are going to New York City for the day. I will be baby-sitting until they get back in the evening.”
There was no Krushers’ practice. And the World Series was on hold. That is because kids were busy getting ready for the fair.
Hannie was very excited about the fair. She was ready to work, and had laid everything out on the floor in her room.
“Welcome to the Friendship Factory,” she said. “Home of Hannie’s world-famous friendship bracelets.”
“We better get started,” I said. “I have to report back to my world-famous lemonade factory this afternoon.”
In a little while, we heard Kristy arrive. Then Hannie’s parents poked their heads in the room to say good-bye.
“Have fun and keep cool, girls,” said Mrs. Papadakis.
“We are cool,” I replied. “Way cool!”
Hannie gave her parents hugs. After they left, she said, “Do you think Kristy would like to help us make bracelets? I could use as much help as I can get.”
“You could ask her if you like,” I said. “But Kristy is not in such a good mood lately. She is pretty upset that her team quit. And she is unhappy with me because I started the whole thing with my lemonade stand.”
“We can make the bracelets by ourselves,” said Hannie quickly.
We worked hard all morning. And we had fun. The bracelets looked gigundoly beautiful. My favorite was the green, pink, and white one that I made.
“I think I will buy this tomorrow at the fair,” I said.
“Really? I will buy lots of lemonade from you,” said Hannie.
We worked until Kristy called us for lunch. She had made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us. But she did not keep us company while we ate them.
By midafternoon Hannie had filled a box with beautiful bracelets.
“I am going home now,” I said. “I have to make several batches of lemonade for tomorrow.”
“Thank you for helping me,” said Hannie. “I will see you in the morning. I can hardly wait!”
“Me, too,” I replied.
I waved to Kristy on my way out. She was in the living room playing with Sari. She waved back, but she did not smile at me.
When I walked outside it did not look like afternoon at all. It looked like nighttime. That is because the sky was very dark. Hannie and I had been so busy making bracelets we did not notice what was happening.
Instead of making lemonade when I got home, I ran straight to the TV room. My big-house family was there listening to Margie Simon’s weather report.
“We have severe storm warnings in effect for Connecticut. Stay tuned for updates throughout the afternoon,” she said.
Hmm. Things were getting exciting. Maybe I would be a weather reporter after all.
Storm Warnings
I never made my lemonade. By four o’clock, storm warnings were being broadcast on every radio and TV station. The weather reporters were talking about monstrous thunderstorms, hail, dangerous lightning, even possible tornados.
“The storm warning now extends through midnight. Stay tuned,” said Margie Simon.
“It sounds as though a storm is really coming this time,” said Daddy. “We need to get ready for it.”
“I will call Kristy at the Papadakises’ and tell her to do the same thing,” said Elizabeth.
We brought in everything from outside that could possibly blow away. Nannie went around unplugging appliances so we would not have lightning fires.
“I will go to the store,” said Charlie. “We need things in case the power goes out. I will get extra batteries, flashlights, bottled water, and canned food. Does anyone want to come along?”
“I do!” I said.
“Me, too,” said David Michael.
Elizabeth called Kristy again to see if she needed anything from the store. Kristy said she did not think so. She said Mr. and Mrs. Papadakis were due home in just a few hours.
Going to town was exciting. The stores were filled with people rushing around buying things for the storm, just like my brothers and I were doing. I even ran into a few people I knew.
“Hi, Mr. Korman! Are you buying batteries? Are Melody and Bill here?” I asked.
“Hello, Karen. Yes, I am buying batteries. But Melody and Bill did not come with me,” Mr. Korman replied.
“Say hi to them for me,” I said.
David Michael and I were lucky. We got to go on this exciting and important assignment.
We bought batteries and flashlights at the hardware store. (I picked out pretty flashlights. They were yellow, bright green, and hot pink. I found them in a basket for a dollar apiece.)
Then we went to the supermarket.
“Can we get popcorn?” I asked. “I think we are all out of it.”
“We are not shopping for a party, Karen,” said Charlie. “We are shopping for a storm. That means we need real food, not just snacks.”
“We can
watch the storm out the window while we are eating popcorn. It will be dark just like at the movies,” I said.
“Oh, all right. Grab some popcorn since we need it anyway,” said Charlie.
The line at the checkout counter was long. But I did not mind. I talked to lots of people.
By the time we returned to the big house, the sky was dark and green. It looked like pea soup. Thunder was rumbling. The air was still. Ooh, spooky!
The Storm
Flash! That was lightning.
Boom! That was thunder.
The storm started with a few drops of rain around six-thirty. Then it got bigger and bigger.
Woof! Woof!
“Shannon, off!” called David Michael.
David Michael was sitting on the couch in the TV room when Shannon jumped onto his lap.
Shannon is only a puppy. But she is a very big puppy. She weighs about ninety pounds. Shannon is scared of storms.
So is Andrew. He did not jump into my lap. But he followed me all over the house and tugged on my sleeve a lot.
I did not mind, though. I am very brave in storms. I think they are gigundoly exciting.
Flash! Boom!
Emily started to cry. Nannie picked her up and rocked her.
I heard a groaning sound that seemed to come from inside the walls. Then the lights went out.
You know what? I was glad Andrew was hanging on to me then. I am brave in storms. But I am not so brave when the lights go out. And the air-conditioning goes off.
“Where are those flashlights, Charlie?” called Daddy.
“I thought I put them down here in the kitchen,” replied Charlie. “But I cannot find them.”
Oh, boy. We needed flashlights to find our flashlights.
“I wish we could call Kristy to make sure everything is all right over there,” said Elizabeth. “But the phones are out, too.”
“I will go across the street,” said Daddy. “I do not think Kristy and the kids should be alone over there.”
Daddy opened the door. Then he closed it again.
“The lightning looks too dangerous now. I will just have to wait until the storm settles down a bit,” said Daddy.
Flash! Boom! We wondered how long that would be.
A Party
Finally the storm quieted down. Andrew let go of my sleeve. Emily stopped crying. Shannon came out from under the table. (That is where she went when David Michael put her down.)
It was still rainy and dark. But there was much less thunder and lightning. Charlie had found the flashlights, so I was not scared anymore.
“I will try going across the street again,” said Daddy.
He put on a rain slicker. But as soon as he opened the door Kristy, Hannie, Linny, and Sari rushed inside. Their pets Pat the Cat, Myrtle the Turtle, and Noodle the Poodle were with them. (Their pets and our pets get along fine except for cranky Boo-Boo. He just keeps to himself.)
“Wow!” said Kristy. “This storm is amazing. I decided to hurry over as soon as it calmed down.”
“Hi, Hannie!” I said. “Were you scared?”
“I was a little scared when I found out the phone did not work,” Hannie replied.
“Kristy, did you hear from Mr. and Mrs. Papadakis before the phone went out?” asked Elizabeth.
“No,” Kristy replied. “I guess they will not be able to return until tomorrow. We packed some things so we can stay here tonight.”
“That was a very good idea,” said Daddy.
(I told you Kristy is an excellent baby-sitter.)
For dinner we ate leftovers from the refrigerator. Even though the power was out, everything was still pretty cold.
“I hope my parents are okay in the storm,” said Hannie. She looked worried.
“I am sure they are fine,” replied Elizabeth. “They are probably in a hotel. That is a safe place to be.”
After dinner, we played a game of flashlight charades. Everyone shined their flashlights on the person giving the clues. It was fun. When it was my turn, I felt as if I were a movie star.
Later, Kristy told a ghost story about a teeny tiny woman who lived in a teeny tiny house and found a teeny tiny bone that she put into her teeny tiny cupboard. It was not a scary ghost story. It was funny.
Then Hannie and I went to my room. Elizabeth helped us set up a cot. Then she left us to play.
“Let’s pretend we are pioneer girls,” I said. “We are out on the prairie at night. It is dark because we have no electricity. We do not have phones because they have not been invented yet.”
“I would have to get on my horse and ride over to your house to talk,” said Hannie. “Giddy-up!”
She trotted around my room. Suddenly there was another flash of lightning followed by booming thunder. Hannie dived onto the cot and covered her head with pillows.
“I guess I am not such a brave pioneer girl after all,” she said.
We started giggling. We were so loud that Daddy came to check on us. When he saw we were all right he said, “I guess I cannot tell you to turn out the lights tonight. They are not on. But it is late and time to go to sleep.”
“Can we read for a little while?” I asked.
“Of course,” Daddy replied. “And if you get scared in the night, just call and I will come keep you company.”
I went to my bookcase and pulled out my copy of Little House on the Prairie. Hannie and I took turns reading out loud. We read by flashlight.
The rain was still beating on the windows of my room. But the storm did not feel scary anymore. It was a cozy storm now.
What a Mess
When I woke up on Saturday morning the storm was over and the sun was shining. Hannie was still asleep. I got up quietly and looked out the window. I could see that we would not be having the fair. Our yard and the streets were a complete mess.
Whole trees were lying across the road. There were fallen branches everywhere. Clean-up and repair crews were already at work.
I tried turning on a light to see if the power had returned. It had not.
Yawn. Stretch. Hannie was waking up.
“Good morning,” she said. “Is the storm over?”
“It is over. But Stoneybrook is a mess. Come look,” I replied.
Hannie came to the window.
“Wow. It really is a mess,” she said.
We got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast. A battery-operated radio was turned on in the kitchen.
“Yesterday’s storm left heavy damage in our area. For your safety, be sure to stay away from all power lines that are down. Repair crews will be working round the clock to fix them,” said the announcer.
“The phone is still out,” said Kristy. “I picked it up and there was no dial tone.”
“I am sure everything will be fixed soon,” said Elizabeth. “Here are your choices for breakfast. You can have dry cereal with apple juice to wash it down. There is peanut butter, jelly, bread, and fruit. You may also have anything in cans that will not give you a bellyache this early in the morning.”
Nannie and Charlie had already eaten. They were busy cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer. Almost everything had to be thrown out.
I decided to have Krispy Krunchy cereal and a cup of apple juice. It was a fine breakfast.
After we ate we ran across the street to check on the Papadakises’ house.
“Uh-oh,” said Hannie. “More mess.”
The window shutters from Hannie’s room were scattered in pieces on the ground. Two downstairs windows were broken. A stray garbage can was overturned on the grass. And the welcome mat that said Papadakis on it had disappeared completely.
“We better get busy,” said Daddy. “We have two yards to clean up.”
“It is a good thing we made a rain date for the fair,” said David Michael.
“It is not a rain date anymore,” I said. “It is a storm date.”
It would have been fun to have had the fair. But I was not too disappointed. Hannie and I were g
oing to pretend that we were brave and helpful pioneer girls again.
Our first job was to clean up the prairie.
Good News
In a few hours both yards looked almost as good as new.
“Now what are we going to do?” I asked.
“Sam and I are going for a walk,” replied Kristy. “We want to see what happened in the other neighborhoods.”
“Can Hannie and I come along?” I said.
“Sure,” replied Sam.
David Michael and Linny wanted to come, too. We asked Daddy and Elizabeth if it would be okay.
“Yes, you may go,” said Daddy. “Just remember the warning we heard on the radio. Power lines are very dangerous and you must stay away from them.”
“Walk only on main streets and dry land,” said Elizabeth. “Any water you find may be deeper than you think.”
“Be sure you all stick together,” said Nannie.
They had a long list of warnings. We promised to be careful on our walk.
The other neighborhoods looked a lot like ours. Some blocks were a little better. Some were a little worse.
“That car looks like a pancake!” I said. I pointed to a squashed car across the street.
“A tree must have fallen on it and been removed,” said Sam.
We pointed out all the strange things we saw. We found three garages with no rooftops and two more pancake cars.
We walked until we reached the Stoneybrook Elementary School playground.
“Oh no!” cried David Michael. “Check out the bleachers. They are ruined!”
The bleachers had been smashed by a huge tree. The tree was lying where it had fallen.
“That does it. No more games. No world Series,” said Kristy. “I guess no one would have come to the World Series anyway.”
Kristy looked gigundoly sad. She stood staring at the mess that used to be our bleachers.
Hannie and I sat on the swings. (They had not been damaged by the storm.)
“I feel bad for Kristy,” I said. “She had her heart set on having a World Series.”
“Maybe the school will rebuild the bleachers,” said Hannie.
“They probably do not have enough money,” I said. “I am sure it costs a lot.”