Authors: Nancy Krulik
On Thin Ice (8 page)
Chapter 3
When Katie woke up in the morning, she was glad to see that the sun was shining. That meant there would be school. She was also happy to see that Jeremy’s wish had not come true.
But there was still plenty of snow. And sure enough, by the time Katie arrived at school, the whole playground was filled with kids throwing snowballs and building snowmen. Katie watched George snowboard down a small hill in the field behind school.
“You’re looking really good on that thing,” Katie shouted to him.
George waved and ran up to her. “These aren’t as steep or as much fun as the big hill on Surrey Lane,” George complained.
“You really like snowboarding, don’t you?” Katie asked.
“Totally!” George exclaimed. “I’m going to be the next Tony Raven!”
“Tony who?” Katie asked.
“You’ve never heard of Tony
Raven
?” George sounded amazed. “He’s the number one snowboarder in the whole world.”
Raven
?” George sounded amazed. “He’s the number one snowboarder in the whole world.”
“Oh,” Katie said.
“Well, you’re going to hear a lot about him soon,” George continued. “He’s coming to Cherrydale to make a commercial for Winter Wildness Clothing.”
Just then, Emma Stavros walked by. She stopped when she heard George talking about Tony Raven. “He’s not the only one who’s going to be in those commercials,” she told him. “Kerry Gaffigan is, too. Tony’s her boyfriend. And she’s the other spokesperson for Winter Wildness.”
“Yeah, well, it’s Tony who is going to sell those clothes,” George insisted. “Everyone wants to be like him.”
“I don’t,” Emma S. insisted. “I’d much rather be like Kerry.”
“Maybe that’s why they’re doing the commercial together,” Katie suggested, trying to stop an argument before it started.
“Huh?” George and Emma S. asked at the same time.
“That way men and women will both buy Winter Wildness clothing,” Katie explained.
George shrugged. “I guess. Anyway, all I know is that there is a huge party on Saturday to celebrate the new clothes. It’s going to be right here in Cherrydale. And I plan to be there.”
By this time, a group of kids had gathered around George, Emma S., and Katie. At the sound of the words “big party,” they all got really interested.
All except Suzanne. She seemed kind of bored by the whole thing. At least until she heard Emma S. say, “Yeah. They’re going to have a red carpet, celebrities, and all kinds of reporters and photographers and stuff.”
“Did somebody say
red carpet
?” Suzanne piped up enthusiastically.
red carpet
?” Suzanne piped up enthusiastically.
George rolled his eyes. He knew what Suzanne was thinking. They all did.
“Yeah, but only Tony, Kerry, and other celebrities are going to be walking on it,” George told Suzanne. “The rest of us will have to stand behind a rope or something.”
“Where is the red carpet going to be?” Suzanne asked.
“Near Surrey Lane,” Emma S. told her.
“Tony’s going to snowboard down the big hill, leap over a mogul, and land at the edge of the carpet,” George explained.
“Where Kerry will be waiting for him,” Emma S. added.
“That sounds so romantic,” Becky Stern cooed. “Doesn’t it, Jeremy?”
Jeremy rolled his eyes and groaned. So did George and Kevin.
“What’s a mogul?” Katie asked, changing the subject.
“It’s a huge lump of hard, icy snow on a ski slope,” George told her. “It’s really hard to snowboard over one.”
“Tony Raven can do it, though, right?” Jeremy asked.
“Tony Raven can do anything!” George exclaimed. “It’s going to be so exciting to see him in person.”
“Totally!” Kevin agreed. “Are you going to get his autograph, George?”
“I’m gonna try,” George replied.
“I already have Kerry’s autograph,” Emma S. boasted.
“I want to get autographs from both of them,” Zoe Canter said. “I wasn’t able to go to Kerry’s show last week.”
“Do you think we’ll get anywhere near Tony and Kerry?” Jeremy wondered.
“We can try,” Katie told him. “Bring your camera. At least we can get their photographs.”
Miriam turned to Suzanne. “Do you want Kerry and Tony’s autographs?” she asked her.
Suzanne shook her head. “Celebrities don’t ask other celebrities for autographs,” she said. “It’s tacky.”
Suzanne, a celebrity?
Katie rolled her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.
Katie rolled her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.
George had plenty to say, though. “You’re not a celebrity, Suzanne. You’re a normal kid, just like the rest of us.”
“Suzanne’s not normal, George,” Kevin disagreed.
Suzanne began to smile proudly. She was obviously glad someone recognized what a star she was.
But then Kevin added, “She’s
weirder
than the rest of us.”
weirder
than the rest of us.”
The boys all started to laugh.
Katie gulped. She had a feeling that was going to make Suzanne really angry. And when Suzanne got angry, Suzanne got mean!
But surprisingly, Suzanne didn’t get angry at all. In fact, she gave Kevin a big smile. “Maybe I’m not a celebrity yet,” she told him. “But by the time that party rolls around, I will be. We’ll see who’s laughing then!”
Chapter 4
It took a really long time for the kids in class 4A to get settled that morning. By the time they’d taken off their boots, hung up their coats, and made sure no one had misplaced their hats, it seemed like half the morning had gone by.
But that didn’t stop Mr. Guthrie from teaching. He waited until everyone was sitting in their beanbags. Then he showered them with snow. Well, not real snow. Paper snow. And each flake was different. Just like real snowflakes.
“Let me guess,” Kevin said. “Today we’re going to be learning about snow.”
Mr. G. nodded. “Good guess, Kev-o,” he answered. “Today we’re going to find out how and where snow is created in the atmosphere. But not right away.”
Katie picked up one of the paper snowflakes Mr. G. had tossed around the classroom. The flake had something written on it in icy silver letters.
“Frostbite,” Katie read out loud. She looked up at Mr. G. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked her teacher.
“It’s the answer to a riddle,” Mr. G. explained to her. “The question is written on one of the other snowflakes. Can anyone find it?”
The kids all started picking up flakes. “I’ve got it!” Mandy told Katie excitedly. She looked down at her piece of carefully cut white paper and read, “What do you get if you mix an icicle and a shark?”
“Frostbite,” Katie repeated. She giggled. “Now I get it.”
“Okay, listen to this one,” George shouted out, holding up a snowflake. “What do snowmen wear on their heads?” he read.
“Ice caps!” Andy replied, holding up his snowflake.
“This is the best joke off we’ve ever had, because we’re all a part of it,” Emma S. said.
Katie knew just what she meant. Usually it was only George and Kadeem who told jokes in the classroom. But today everyone had a chance.
“Who’s got the answer to this riddle?” Emma S. asked. “How do you know if there’s been a snowman in your bed?”
“You wake up wet!” Kadeem called from across the room. He waved his paper snowflake in the air.
Emma W. bent down and picked up a paper snowflake. “By icicle,” she read aloud.
“That’s the answer to my riddle,” Kevin told her. “How do snowmen travel around?”
“By icicle,” Emma W. repeated. She looked confused, then smiled. “Now I get it!
By i
cicle instead of
bi
cycle.”
By i
cicle instead of
bi
cycle.”
This game sure was a lot of fun.
“What sort of ball doesn’t bounce?” the teacher read from a snowflake.
“A snowball!” Emma S. told him. “I didn’t even need a snowflake to know the answer. It’s an old riddle.”
“Here’s another one,” George called out. “What did the hat say to the scarf ?”
Kevin held up a new snowflake. “You hang around while I go on a head!” he answered.
George and Kevin both laughed really, really hard.
“That was a good one!” George exclaimed. “I’ll have to remember it.”
Katie really loved being in class 4A. Mr. G. always made sure that school was exciting. Everything they did was just a little bit wacky. And that made learning fun.
She grinned. Even though it was freezing outside, being in her classroom gave her a nice warm feeling inside.
Chapter 5
“Did you know that snow is made of dirt and ice?” Kevin asked Jeremy as the kids sat down in the cafeteria at lunchtime.
“Every snowflake has six sides,” Katie added.
“And as snow falls, the flakes join together to make bigger flakes,” Emma S. said.
“I guess you guys were learning about snow in class today,” Jeremy said.
“Oh yeah,” George told him. “And we also learned where snowmen go to dance.”
“Where?” Miriam asked him.
“Snow
balls
!” George said. Then he started laughing. “That was one of the jokes Mr. G. taught us.”
balls
!” George said. Then he started laughing. “That was one of the jokes Mr. G. taught us.”
“Mr. G. is teaching you jokes now?” Suzanne asked. “Why would he do that?”
“To make class fun,” Katie told her. “He always does stuff like that.”
Suzanne shook her head and sighed. “You guys have the weirdest classroom,” she said.
Katie sighed. She knew Suzanne was just jealous. She also knew Suzanne would never admit it.
“Hey, you guys want to build a snow fort on the field during recess?” Jeremy asked.
“Totally!” Kevin exclaimed.
“That sounds like fun,” Emma S. agreed.
“And we could build a snowman soldier to defend the fort,” George suggested.
“I’m really good at building snowmen,” Becky told him. She picked up the banana from her tray. “This can be the nose.”
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