Chicken Pox Panic, the Read online

  “Ouch!” he cried.

  Abby helped him back to bed. Shawn was still asleep.

  Whew! Close call.

  Gotta hurry, thought Abby tiptoeing back to the kitchen.

  She turned the first cake pan upside down. It was so hot it burned her fingers. The cake came out in a crumbly mess on the plate.

  Oh, no! What’s wrong? she thought.

  Then she remembered Stacy—the fixerupper. Abby called her best friend on the phone. She came right over.

  “I want it to look like South Korea,” Abby said pointing to the map. “Shawn’s birthday is tomorrow!”

  Stacy grabbed the drawing off the fridge. “So this is the secret you were keeping from me.”

  “Please help me, Stacy,” Abby whispered. “I’ll never keep secrets from you again, I promise.”

  Stacy smiled. “It’s a deal. Now, first of all, the pans have to cool before you dump out the cake,” she explained. “But I think I can fix your mess.”

  Abby watched as Stacy worked.

  Bit by bit, she pieced the cake together with canned frosting. But the cake had ugly bumps and ridges in it.

  It looked more like the Grand Canyon than South Korea!

  Soon, the second cake pan was cool enough. Stacy turned it over, but the cake was stuck!

  Stacy groaned. “Why didn’t you butter and flour the pan first?”

  “I thought I did.”

  Stacy tried one more time to get the cake out of the pan. But it fell out in pieces.

  Abby looked at the cake in horror. “Oh, no!” she cried.

  “Oh, forget it. Just get me a streamer,” Stacy said.

  “What for?”

  “To hold the cake together,” Stacy said.

  Abby had never heard of such a thing. Did Stacy really know what she was doing?

  Abby ran to her room to get the red streamers. There was no time to waste.

  ELEVEN

  Abby rushed back to the kitchen with red streamers and tape.

  Stacy wrapped the streamer around the cake. She stuck tape on the end. Then she stepped back to have a look.

  Abby felt like a jitterbox. She didn’t know what to think of Stacy’s repair job. “Shouldn’t we frost it all over?” Abby asked.

  “When it cools some more.” Stacy slid the two layer cake into the freezer. When she closed the door she leaned against it. “Remember that pot roast you bought with your own money?”

  Abby felt jittery. “Sure, why?”

  “Well, my mother noticed it was a different brand. So I told her what we did.” Stacy paused. “I told her everything.”

  “I’m glad you did,” Abby said. “I knew we were wrong.”

  Stacy grinned and washed her hands. “She wants you to come for supper tonight.”

  “She does?”

  Stacy laughed. “We’re having your pot roast.”

  Abby’s jitters were gone. “I’ll tell your mother I’m sorry in person,” she said.

  Then she set the timer. In fifteen minutes she would check the cake.

  When Stacy left, Abby sat at the kitchen table. She thought about Shawn’s chicken pox. She thought about the birthday cake. What an icky mess it was—even with the red streamer holding it together. The white frosting could never hide the ugly mess. It still looked like the Grand Canyon. Instead of South Korea.

  Then Abby had an idea. She searched in the pantry and found what she needed. A bag of red cherry chips.

  Abby’s cake still had a chance. It would be first-rate after all. Her cake could have the chicken pox!

  The red cherry chips would hide the lumpy bumpy cake. It was perfect.

  Abby danced a jig around the kitchen.

  The buzzer rang.

  Abby jigged to the freezer and took out the cake.

  Ready!

  The next day was Shawn’s birthday. Abby got up early and decorated the kitchen with red, white, and blue balloons. Even though the party was off, she wanted to surprise Shawn.

  After lunch, the doorbell rang. When Abby opened the door, there stood the Cul-de-sac Kids. Chicken pox and all!

  “Surprise!” they shouted. “Surprise on you, Abby Hunter!”

  Letting her friends inside, Abby giggled. It was definitely a good surprise.

  The kids cheered when they saw the kitchen.

  Abby gave everyone a red marker. “Let’s put red spots everywhere. Well give everything the chicken pox!” she said.

  And that’s what they did.

  The balloons and the napkins were spotted. Even the streamers had pox dots!

  Abby put red sticker dots on the dog. Now Snow White had chicken pox, too. She barked and ran around in circles.

  Abby’s mother invited everyone to sit down. Then Shawn peeked around the corner in his pajamas. He grinned at his spotty friends.

  “Surprise!” they shouted. “Happy Birthday!”

  Abby pulled out a chair for her brother. It was at the head of the table. Then she carried in the lumpy, bumpy cake with white frosting. And red cherry chip chicken pox spots.

  Mother lit the birthday candles. They were white with red polka dots. “Happy, happy birthday, son,” she said.

  “Make a wish,” Abby said.

  Shawn closed his eyes. There were spots on his eyelids.

  Then Shawn blew out ten candles on the first try.

  Everyone cheered. Abby wanted to dance.

  It was a super itchy gitchy Saturday, so the party was short. But it didn’t matter.

  The Cul-de-sac Kids said it was the best pox party ever!

  THE CUL-DE-SAC KIDS SERIES

  Don’t miss #3

  THE CRAZY

  CHRISTMAS

  ANGEL MYSTERY

  What’s going on at Mr. Tressler’s house? Why is the living room always flickering with candlelight? What about the spooky flute music before dawn? Eric Hagel plans to find out. When the old man puts up a Christmas tree, the angel at the top comes to life! Soon, dozens of angels are flying around in the old man’s house.

  Can Eric and the Cul-de-sac Kids solve the mystery? And who will be brave enough to take a gift to the house at the end of Blossom Hill Lane?

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Beverly Lewis remembers waiting for the mail as a kid. She wrote lots of letters to pen pals and other friends. (Still does!)

  Beverly and her younger sister, Barbara, had lots of fun with their neighborhood friends. They made “Mushy Goo-Goo”—a secret recipe that included a little water and lots of dirt. They dressed their cats in doll clothes. They hitched up Maxie, their Eskimo Spitz, to a sled and went to the store in a blizzard.

  They even had a carnival to raise money for a Jerry’s Kids Telethon. And ended up in the newspaper, and later got to be on TV!

  If you like books that tickle your funny bone, look for Beverly’s next books in the Cul-de-sac Kids series.

  Visit Beverly’s Web site at www.BeverlyLewis.com.

  Also by Beverly Lewis

  Adult Nonfiction

  Amish Prayers

  The Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbook

  Adult Fiction

  HOME TO HICKORY HOLLOW

  The Fiddler • The Bridesmaid

  SEASONS OF GRACE

  The Secret • The Missing • The Telling

  ABRAM’S DAUGHTERS

  The Covenant • The Betrayal • The Sacrifice • The Prodigal •

  The Revelation

  ANNIE’S PEOPLE

  The Preacher’s Daughter • The Englisher • The Brethren

  THE ROSE TRILOGY

  The Thorn • The Judgment • The Mercy

  THE COURTSHIP OF NELLIE FISHER

  The Parting • The Forbidden • The Longing

  THE HERITAGE OF LANCASTER COUNTY

  The Shunning • The Confession • The Reckoning

  OTHER ADULT FICTION

  The Postcard • The Crossroad • The Redemption of Sarah Cain • October Song • Sanctuary* • The Sunroom

  Yo
uth Fiction

  Girls Only (GO!) Volume One and Volume Two†

  SummerHill Secrets Volume One and Volume Two†

  Holly’s Heart Collection One‡, Collection Two‡,

  and Collection Three†

  www.BeverlyLewis.com

  *with David Lewis †4 books in each volume ‡5 books in each volume

  From Bethany House Publishers

  Fiction for Young Readers

  (ages 7-10)

  by Robert Elmer

  Space scooters? Floating robots? Jupiter ice cream? Blast into the future for out-of-this-world, zero-gravity fun with the AstroKids on space station CLEO-7.

  THE CUL-DE-SAC KIDS

  by Beverly Lewis

  Each story in this lighthearted series features the hilarious antics and predicaments of nine endearing boys and girls who live on Blossom Hill Lane.

  JANETTE OKE’S ANIMAL FRIENDS

  by Janette Oke

  Endearing creatures from the farm, forest, and zoo discover their place in God’s world through various struggles, mishaps, and adventures.