Author: Summer Bird

Preparing for Emergencies

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Jacob looked around. Where did mom go? She’d been right here with her shopping cart, but now the aisle was empty. He ran around the corner. She wasn’t there either. This was bad.

No panicking. He’s a big boy now. He’ll just look in the other aisles. Walking slowly, and then a little more quickly, he checked the other aisles.   She wasn’t there. She wouldn’t go home without him, would she?

Of course not. So, she was probably looking for him too. Right. He needed to sit still so she could find him. Should he find a grown up and ask for help? Maybe not yet. She’d find him soon.

So, he needed to sit and wait. He should gather supplies, in case there was an emergency.   What should he find first? Water was important, but there was a water fountain by the restrooms.

Food? That was important. If he set up a base in the bakery, there would be lots of food in case aliens came or dinosaurs came back to life or a volcano erupted in the parking lot or something.

Maybe he should find a first aid kit. Dinosaurs had sharp teeth and claws. He wandered around and found them next to the shampoo. He tucked it under his arm and kept walking.

What if a blizzard came and it got extra cold? He needed a blanket. He wandered through the aisles and found a nice looking tablecloth. That would work. He had to stand on the first aid kit to reach it, but soon he was tucking it under his other arm.

Was there anything else? Oh, without any fruits or vegetables, he might get scurvy. He needed some oranges. He went back to the produce section. But his arms were to full to pick up the oranges. He went back to the bakery and hid the tablecloth and first aid kit under a table.

The bag of oranges was a little heavy. He was happy to finally hide it under the table with the other things. He paused to admire the stash. This was going pretty well. So what did he need next?

What if there was a terrible storm? The lights might go out. He found a flashlight next to the laundry soap. That made no sense. He picked up an umbrella too just in case a hole opened up in the roof during the storm and the rain came in.

Was he ready now? What if he got sick? He couldn’t take medicine without mom here. That was a safety rule. But sometimes when he was sick, his mom gave him crackers and ginger ale.

Finding crackers was easy. They were next to the cookies. Did he need cookies too? No, his base was next to the doughnuts. But maybe he’d need a toothbrush after eating all that sugar?

He took the crackers with him back to the shampoo aisle. The toothbrushes were right across the aisle. He picked a puppy toothbrush and some toothpaste covered in stars. He stacked them on the cracker box and felt a little accomplished when he managed to balance all three on his way back to his base.

He needed to go back for the ginger ale. That was on the candy and juice aisle. Chocolate was good for emergencies right? His mom said so and mom knew best. He picked up three bars of chocolate and found a bottle of ginger ale.

Wow, the bottle was heavy. He left the chocolate on the floor. He’d come back for it. He shoved it to the side and hugged the bottle close and waddled over to his table in the bakery.

Jacob went back for the chocolate bars and then looked at his base under the table in the bakery. It would need some rearranging, but it was almost perfect. He’d need something to do if he was hiding from dinosaurs or aliens or stuck in the dark with a flashlight.

It was time to look at the toys that were over by the greeting cards. He’d always wanted to look at them more closely anyway. He rushed over and tried to decide which toys would be best in the case of volcanoes, tornados, blizzards, and dinosaurs.

That’s when mom found him. “Jacob! I was so worried. I’ve been looking for you all over the store.” Mom hugged him tight. It was nice for a moment, and then he squirmed free.

“I looked for you all over, too,” Jacob said.

“You were supposed to stay in one spot or ask for help,” mom said.

“I was going to do that, after I got a base all ready,” Jacob said.

Mom smiled. “Of course you were. Let’s go Jacob.”
Jacob tangled his fingers into the side of the cart and walked alongside it to the checkout stands. It was good not to be lost, but it’s too bad he never got a chance to hide in his base for even a little bit. Oh well.   It would be here the next time he got lost. Or aliens and dinosaurs attacked. Or lightning exploded the parking lot. Or something.

Vegetable Ghosts

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Alice’s mom had been working out with exercise tapes and walking a lot more since the new year started. Every day she stepped on the scale in the bathroom and frowned.   “What’s wrong?” Alice asked one day.

“It’s not working. I’m working out six days a week and nothing’s changed,” mom said.

“It’s because of the vegetable ghosts,” Alice said.

“What do you mean?” Mom asked.

“In class we learned that unhealthy food doesn’t have all the right nutrients,” Alice said.

“That’s right,” Mom said. “There are a lot more vitamins and enzymes and antioxidants and such in vegetables.”

“I know what vitamins are,” Alice said. “What’s that other stuff?”

“I couldn’t tell you exactly. Maybe we should look it up later. Tell me more about vegetable ghosts,” Mom said. “Did you learn about them in school?”

“Of course not,” Alice said. “Teachers don’t know about ghosts.”

“Of course not,” Mom said. “I don’t think I know about ghosts either.”

Alice sighed. “That’s because you don’t pay attention. Vegetables like to help people. After they die, they leave vitamins and stuff behind to make people healthy.”

“I guess that’s true,” Mom said.

“Here, let me draw you a picture,” Alice said. She went up the stairs to her room, and then dashed back down, skipping every other step. She sat down at the kitchen table and drew two tall triangle carrots and then a cupcake shape.

“Now I need to color it,” she said. She colored one carrot orange and then she colored the cupcake.

“You forgot that carrot,” Mom said.

“That’s the ghost carrot,” Alice said.

“Of course,” Mom said.

Alice drew an arrow from the ghost carrot to the cupcake. “Vegetable ghosts hold onto unhealthy food and try to add nutrients,” Alice said. “If you eat the unhealthy food, they sit in your body holding a place for the vitamins that you were supposed to eat.”

“So if I eat a cupcake, I eat a carrot ghost too?” Mom asked, pointing to the drawing. “And the ghost doesn’t go away?”

“Unless you eat healthy food,” Alice said. “That’s why junk food makes people gain weight. It’s all the vegetable ghosts.”

“I thought ghosts don’t weigh anything,” Mom said.

“Vegetable ghosts do, if you eat them,” Alice said.   “I don’t think you can eat any other ghosts.”

“So, how do you get rid of the vegetable ghosts?” Mom asked. She picked up the picture and her finger traced the arrow from the carrot to the cupcake.

“The vegetable ghosts are just there saving a place for the vitamins,” Alice said. “I’ll draw a picture.” She drew two more carrots and colored on in. She drew an arrow from the colored carrot to the blank one.

Alice pointed to the colored carrot. “If you eat healthy food, you get the vitamins you need and the vegetable ghosts go away because you don’t need them any more.   Then they go find more unhealthy food to hold onto.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Mom said. “But how do you know which vitamins you need?”

“If you eat lots of healthy food, eventually you’ll figure it out,” Alice said.

Mom stood up. “I think that sounds like a great plan. I’ll put your pictures on the fridge to remind me. Would you like a carrot?”

“Of course I would,” Alice said.

Charlie’s Room: The Marble

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Isaac came in to check Charlie’s homework. “You did really well, Charlie,” he said. “I think you just need to look at this one again and you’ll be done.”

“Thanks Dad,” Charlie said. He took the paper back. “Which one?   Oh. Right. I knew that.” He fixed the problem.

“Great job.” Isaac smiled. “Now go put it in your bag, and then please help your mom set the table.”

Charlie started stacking up his papers. A marble rolled to the center of the desk. It was pretty, clear on the outside and blue and white and green in the middle. “Where did that come from?” Isaac asked.

“The marble? I found it on my way home,” Charlie said.

Isaac picked it up. “It’s a nice one. Have you ever played marbles?”

“No.” Charlie put the papers in his backpack. “Do you want it? I don’t need it.”

“Thank you, Charlie.” Isaac smiled. He’d raised such a nice boy.   It was probably mostly Marianne’s influence. But maybe he’d helped a bit too.   He hoped so.

“After I set the table can I play a game on the computer?” Charlie asked.

“Of course you can,” Isaac said.

Charlie rushed out of the room. Isaac looked at his new marble. “Hello?” said a soft, high-pitched voice. Was it coming from the marble?

“Are you a who?” Isaac asked. He looked at the marble closely, trying to see their tiny civilization. Was there a speck? How would it cling to the side of a marble? Maybe it was inside the marble. But how would he hear it?

“A what? Stop turning me around.   I’m starting to feel sick,” the voice said.

“Oh sorry,” Isaac said. “How many of you are there?”

“I don’t feel comfortable telling you that, tall person,” the voice said.   “But I do need your help.”

“How can I help?” Isaac asked.

“I’ve been separated from my family. We weren’t planning on staying long on your planet, and I’m not sure how much longer this environmental suit will last.”

Isaac looked at the marble. It was an environmental suit? Was the white and blue and green center an alien? “You need me to get you back to your ship,” Isaac said.

“That’s right. We landed in a hole next to a rock,” the voice said. “It was by an area with tall grass.”

“How big was the hole? How big was the rock?”

“Bigger than me,” the voice said.

This was going to be difficult. He needed more information. He went into the kitchen. The table was already set. Marianne was stirring something on the stove. “Is that lentil soup?” He leaned in. “Smells great!”

Marianne smiled. “Thanks.   It’ll be ready soon.”

Isaac gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and left to find Charlie.   Charlie was in the living room on the computer. It looked like he was playing that game where everything was built out of blocks.   “Look out for that spider,” he said.   The spiders in the game were big and a little scary.

“They don’t do anything in the daytime,” Charlie said. That sounded a little ominous.

“Where did you find the marble, Charlie?” Isaac asked.

“It was in the gutter two houses away. On this side of the street,” Charlie said.

“Thank you,” Isaac said.

He went outside and started walking towards Charlie’s school. Two houses away, he held out the marble. “Does this look familiar?” he asked. “Which direction did you travel?”

“It doesn’t look the same from this high up,” the voice said. “Could you take me closer to the tall grass?”

Isaac crouched next to the lawn. The marble directed him right, left, left, right, right, left, forward. Eventually they found a small pebble next to a fist-sized hole. “That’s it!” the voice said.

Just then, the neighbor drove up. He got out of his car. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Isaac dropped the marble down the hole. “I dropped something,” he said.

“What did you drop? Do you need any help?” the man asked.

“No, I’ve got it,” Isaac said. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” the man said. He went inside. Isaac sat back. A few minutes later, a little metal disk the size of a tuna can floated out of the hole and hovered a few inches above the grass. Then it shot into the air, up up up.

“Safe travels,” Isaac said softly. Then he went home.

A Strange Family

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Shawn opened his lunch bag and took out a sandwich and an apple. “Thank goodness,” he said.

Mandy was sitting across from him. “Is there not a lot of food at your house?” she asked.

“No, my foster brother is a goat and sometimes I get his lunch,” Shawn said.   He bit into his sandwich and smiled.   “This is really good.”

Mandy stared, her spoon frozen in the air. The pudding fell off and back into the container. Mandy put her spoon down. “A goat? Where does he sleep? What does he eat?”

Shawn finished chewing. He was already halfway through his sandwich. “Yeah, a goat. He has a big pile of straw in the corner of his room. He likes hay. Mom sends him to his school with a big lunch bag full of hay. Except when he gets my lunch.”

“Does that happen often?” Mandy asked.

Shawn sighed. “At least twice a week. George doesn’t mind. He just eats my lunch. But I don’t have the right kind of stomach for hay.”

“How do they get mixed up?” Mandy asked. “You have your name on your bag.”

“I think it’s Arnold. He’s my other foster brother. He’s a monkey and he’s always doing stuff like that.” Shawn scowled, then took another bite of his sandwich. He smiled again.

“A monkey?”

“Yeah. He has a sleeping shelf and he makes a nest on it out of straw and leaves and stuff. He likes salads. They both like to destroy my homework.” Shawn finished his sandwich and started eating his apple.

Mandy started unpacking her lunch. “Why do they do that?”

Shawn shrugged. “I think George just likes to chew on things. The teacher wouldn’t believe my brother ate my homework until mom sent a note.   I still had to redo it. He chews on my clothes if I don’t hide my laundry basket. He got in my room once and chewed up my teddy bear.”

Mandy gasped. “That’s terrible!”

“I know. Mom said that it’s not easy when you get new brothers, but that I need to be understanding, because it’s hard for them, too.” Shawn finished his apple and opened his lunch bag again.

Mandy unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite. “What did the monkey do to your homework?”

“Arnold?” Shawn started unwrapping a granola bar. “He ripped it in shreds and put it in the toaster. It started on fire. He’s not so bad though. He likes to brush my hair. It’s really relaxing.”

“Hmmmm.” Mandy ate some more of her sandwich. “Where do they go to school?”

“They take classes at the zoo. They don’t get any homework. It must be nice.” Shawn was looking through his lunch bag again. He’d already finished the granola bar.

Mandy ate another bite of her sandwich and then put it down with a frown.   “Why don’t they live at the zoo?”

Shawn brushed the cookie crumbs off his shirt. “No room. It’s okay though. I always wanted brothers.”

Mandy picked up her sandwich again. “So how long will they stay with your family?”

“Probably two years, until the zoo finishes its expansion. Mom says that we can still visit when they go.” Shawn tipped his bag upside down, but it was empty.   He sighed and started stuffing his trash inside.

“Here, have my pudding. I won’t eat it,” Mandy said.

Shawn grinned and took the pudding and plastic spoon. “Really? That’s awesome. Maybe I should have wished for sisters. You don’t chew holes in things or throw food at people for fun, right?”

Mandy laughed. “No, of course not! Do you?”

Shawn scraped the inside of the pudding up with his spoon and then reluctantly set it aside. “Well, no, but mom says I eat too fast.”

Mandy ate another bite of her sandwich. “I suppose we all have our good points and bad points.”

Shawn smiled and put the pudding cup and spoon into his bag. He stood up. “You’re probably right. Thanks Mandy. I’ll see you in class!”

 

All By Myself

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Jared, Chris, and James decided to play a board game together.   Unfortunately, the kitchen table was covered in papers and pencils and plates and forks. Chris, the middle child, frowned. “We’ll have to clean up this mess. Let’s get started.”

He looked at his older brother Jared and his younger brother James.   Jared was looking at his fingernails.   James folded his arms and pouted.   “Why are you looking at me?” James asked.

“Well, I’m willing to pick up a bit,” Chris said. “It looks like a fun game and I’d really like to play it.   Who will help me?”

“Not me,” Jared said.

“Not me,” James said.

“Then I’ll do it myself,” Chris said.

“Call us when you’re done,” Jared said.

So Chris put away everything on the table. He put the schoolwork and schoolbooks into backpacks. He recycled the extra papers and put the pencils in the pencil jar. He put the plates and forks in the dishwasher. He found a packet of crackers and resealed them and put them in the cupboard. He threw away the candy wrappers. “I’m done,” he said.

Jared and James came back. “The table’s sticky,” Jared said.

“I put everything away,” Chris said. “So who wants to wipe the table?”

“Not me,” Jared said.

“Not me,” James said.

“Really? Fine. Then I’ll do it myself,” Chris said.

“Call us when you’re done,” James said.

Chris got a kitchen sponge wet and scrubbed at all the sticky spots. He rinsed and repeated until the sticky spots were gone. Then he got a towel and dried off the table. “I’m done,” he said.

Jared and James came back into the kitchen again. “Did you get the game out?” James asked.

Chris sighed. “No.   So, who’s going to get it?”

“Not me,” Jared said.

“Not me,” James said.

“Forget it. I’ll do it myself,” Chris said. And he did. James and Jared were sitting at the table. “Does anyone know how to play this?”

“Nope,” Jared said.

“Me either,” James said.

“Someone should read the rules. Who wants to read them and then explain them to everyone?” Chris asked.

“Not me,” Jared said.

“Not me,” James said.

“I’ll do it,” Chris said.

“Call us when you’re done,” Jared said.

So Chris read the rules. He got lost several times and had to flip back to earlier things he’d read. When he was pretty sure he understood the rules, he called his brothers back. They sat at the table and he explained the rules. “So, let’s set up the game,” he said. “It’ll go faster if we work together. Who wants to help?”

“Not me,” Jared said.

“Not me,” James said.

“Then I’ll do it myself,” Chris said. James and Jared watched while he set up the game and handed out the tokens and game pieces.

“We need snacks,” James said.

“Great idea,” Chris said. “Who wants to help me get them?”

“Not me,” Jared said.

“Not me,” James said.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Chris said. He brought back the crackers and some bags of candy. “Who’s going to help me eat all this?” he asked.

“I will,” Jared said.

“I will,” James said.

“You’re kidding,” Chris said. “You haven’t helped me do anything else. I’m going to eat them all myself. Get your own snacks if you want some. Now, let’s play the game.” And they did.

A Strange Bus Ride

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Melissa stayed a little longer than expected at the library and missed her bus.   It was winter, and the sun was already down. It was cold and dark.

Melissa sighed. The library was closing soon, so she’d have to wait out here for an hour. She tried calling home, but no one answered. She watched people walking to their cars and leaving.

A car drove by and slowed down as it passed. Melissa felt a little nervous. Maybe she should just take the next southbound bus and walk home from the closest stop. The car drove by and slowed down again.

Just then, a southbound bus came. It stopped, and the door opened. Melissa pulled out her bus pass and climbed the steps. “What is the nearest stop on your route to Sunny Pines Road?” she asked.

The driver thought for a moment. “I can let you off on Winkel Street. It’ll be the third stop. You’ll only have to walk half a mile from there.”

Half a mile? That’s better than she’d expected. “Thank you,” she said.

“No problem,” the driver said.

Melissa turned to find a seat. The bus was full of birds. Flamingoes, ostriches, swans, ducks, seagulls, canaries, and more.   They all turned and stared at her as she started walking down the aisle.

Why were there birds on the bus? She’d never seen birds on a bus before. Couldn’t they fly to get from one place to another? And why were there no other people here?

Melissa sat down by some little brown birds. They fluttered away to another seat as she sat down. The birds were all quietly chirping to each other.   When Melissa looked around, the birds looked away quickly. It was really uncomfortable.

At the next stop, a parrot came down the aisle and sat by her. It looked up at her and leaned its head to the side. “Going south?” it asked.

“Just as far as Winkel Street,” Melissa said.

The parrot nodded and ruffled up its feathers and then shook them. Then it used its beak to rearrange its feathers.   Melissa looked around. A pretty little white bird across the aisle looked like it was sleeping, with its head tucked under its wing. The white bird next to it was watching Melissa. Its feathers were all ruffled up.

Was she making the little bird nervous? Melissa looked away. The flamingoes had started honking to each other. It sounded like the little horn Melissa used to have on her tricycle.   One of them started flapping its wings as it honked and the one next to it responded by waving its wings and honking back.

A flamingo in the seat in front of them honked loudly and they all looked back at Melissa. She looked back for a moment and then looked away. A canary was sitting several seats ahead, perched on the back of the seat by the window. It was crooning softly to its reflection.

The bus stopped again. Some pretty blue birds flew into some seats near the front. Melissa turned to the parrot. It had finished rearranging the feathers on its back and was working on the feathers under its left wing.

“My stop is next,” Melissa said. The parrot looked up at her. “I didn’t know that birds rode the bus, you know. How do you afford bus fare?” The parrot leaned its head sideways again. “Do you even understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes,” the parrot said.

“So will you answer my questions?” Melissa asked.

“No,” the parrot said. Some birds behind them started twittering. It sounded like they were laughing. When Melissa turned around, it was silent and all the birds were looking away. She turned around again and slumped in her seat with a huff.

She got off at Winkel Street. She hadn’t realized there was a stop here. The sign was small and partially hidden by a tree. She turned back to look at the bus, but it was already gone.

Melissa hurried home. Her mom was in the kitchen. “Melissa, you’re home late,” she said.

“I had to catch a later bus. It was full of birds,” Melissa said.

“How strange. Where were they going?”

“South, I think,” Melissa said.

Melissa’s mom nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”