A Whirlwind Vacation

by Krulik, Nancy

  “Everyone smiles when someone stands on her head,” Annabelle said.

  “Stop that!” her mother scolded her.

  Boom! Annabelle wasn’t very good at handstands. She flipped right over ... and landed on her bottom!

  Now that was funny! Katie couldn’t hold back her laughter.

  “Hey! That guard laughed!” Katie heard a man say.

  “I saw him, too,” a woman agreed. “They’re not supposed to do that!”

  “Lil! Get the camera!” Mr. McIntyre shouted. “We’ve got to get a shot of this!”

  Katie gulped. She had to stop laughing. Right away.

  But that wasn’t so easy. Once Katie got a case of the giggles, it was hard for her to hold them back.

  Just then a marching band entered the yard. Immediately, the other guards switched positions. They turned, and began marching toward the palace.

  A second group of guards lined up and began to march as well. The changing of the guard had begun.

  Cameras began clicking wildly. All of the tourists who had gathered at the gates of the palace were taking pictures of the ceremony.

  Katie gulped. She had no idea what to do. Where should she turn? Where could she go? She couldn’t just run away. Not with all these people staring at her.

  There was only one thing to do. She was going to have to try to follow what the other guards were doing.

  One group of guards was marching toward the palace. The other was marching toward the gate. Katie wasn’t sure which group she was supposed to march with. Finally, she clicked her heels together and joined the guards who were heading toward the front gate.

  “What are you doing?” one of the guards whispered to Katie.

  “I’m marching,” she whispered back.

  “You’re supposed to be over there,” the guard told her. “Your troop is leaving. We’re the new ones coming in.”

  Oops. Katie had made a big mistake. Quickly, she turned and marched over toward the other end of the yard.

  But she wasn’t fast enough. Before Katie could reach the other line, the guards disappeared through a small door in the building.

  Katie was left all alone in the middle of the yard. Everyone was staring at her. A few people started to point and chuckle.

  Katie hated it when people stared at her. She hated it even more when people laughed at her. She was so upset, she forgot she was supposed to be a dignified guard at Buckingham Palace. Instead, she did what any fourth-grader would do.

  She ran off and hid behind one of the large stone walls of the palace.

  Phew. Katie breathed a sigh of relief. It felt good to be away from all those people staring at her. She adjusted the big, black furry hat and wiped the sweat from her face. Boy, those guards sure had a tough job. It wasn’t easy standing there, perfectly still. Especially not when you were sweating under a jacket and a hat.

  Just then, a gentle breeze began to blow. Katie was glad to feel a little wind blowing. The magic wind had returned.

  And that meant Katie was in for another change.

  The wind grew stronger and stronger, circling around Katie wildly.

  And then it stopped. Just like that. The magic wind was gone.

  Slowly, Katie opened her eyes. She looked around. She wasn’t inside the palace gates anymore. She was on the other side of the gate, looking in.

  Katie glanced down at her feet. There were her red sneakers. She reached up to the top of her head. Her hands touched strands of her own red hair. The hat was gone.

  “Katie, there you are!” Mrs. Carew shouted, rushing over to her daughter. “Did you get to see the changing of the guard?”

  “I had a really close-up view,” Katie assured her mom.

  “Did you see me make that guard laugh?” Annabelle asked.

  Katie nodded. “I’ll bet he was really embarrassed about it.”

  Annabelle shrugged. “Whatever. I still won our bet.”

  Katie sighed. She couldn’t believe Annabelle wasn’t the least bit sorry for making the guard laugh in front of everyone. She had no idea what it felt like.

  Then again, why would she? It was Katie who had turned into the guard.

  And it was Katie who felt just awful about it.

  Chapter 4

  LAUGHING GUARD OUT OF STEP AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE

  Katie stood in the lobby of her hotel and stared at the newspaper headline. Beneath the headline was a picture of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Even under his big hat you could see that he had a giant smile on his face.

  Next to the picture was an article about how the guard had laughed at a little girl doing a handstand, and then had embarrassed the entire squad during the changing of the guard ceremony.

  Except it wasn’t really the guard who had done that. It was Katie. And there was nothing she could do to make things better for him.

  “So, are we ready for a morning of shopping?” Mrs. Carew asked Katie.

  Katie sighed. A morning of shopping with her parents didn’t seem like a whole lot of fun.

  “Hi there!” Vicki greeted the Carew family as she came bounding into the lobby. She glanced at Katie. “Why the long face, mate?”

  “Katie doesn’t feel like shopping,” Mr. Carew explained.

  Vicki nodded. “Well, how about Katie and I go to Hyde Park today, while you go to Harrods Department Store?”

  Katie brightened. Maybe being in the park would make her feel better about everything.

  “I’m taking Annabelle, too,” Vicki continued.

  Or maybe it wouldn’t.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Katie’s mother agreed.

  “Super,” Vicki said. “It’s settled. Annabelle should be down any minute. And then we’re off to the park.”

  “We have a park like this in Boston,” Annabelle boasted as she, Vicki, and Katie walked through the beautiful grassy gardens in Hyde Park.

  “Really,” Vicki replied. She stopped for a minute so the girls could look out over a big lake.

  “It’s called the Boston Common and ...” Annabelle began.

  “What’s this lake called?” Katie interrupted as they stopped to watch people row boats across the water.

  “Serpentine Lake,” Vicki told her. “People come from all over London to go boating. In the summer, people swim here.”

  “I’m kind of tired,” Annabelle moaned. “Do you think we could rest?”

  Katie frowned. Annabelle wasn’t happy unless she was talking about Boston.

  “Of course,” Vicki said. “You two go over to those benches. I’ll get us some ice cream.”

  “I like chocolate best,” Annabelle told her.

  “How about you, Katie?” Vicki asked.

  “I like strawberry,” Katie told her. “Thanks, Vicki.”

  “Two ice-cream cones,” Vicki repeated. “Coming right up.”

  As Vicki walked off, Katie and Annabelle wandered over toward the benches.

  “So, do you like living in Cherrydale?” Annabelle asked Katie.

  “Oh yeah,” Katie replied. “I have a lot of friends there.”

  “Have you lived there your whole life?”

  Katie nodded.

  “That must be nice,” Annabelle said. “I haven’t lived in any place for very long. My dad’s job is always changing. So far I’ve lived in Chicago, Orlando, New York, and now Boston. I really like Boston. I have a lot of friends there.”

  “That’s good,” Katie replied.

  “Not really,” Annabelle replied. “We’re moving again. To Houston, Texas. I’m going to have to make all new friends.”

  Suddenly Katie understood why Annabelle had been talking about Boston so much. She loved it there. And she didn’t want to leave.

  “Houston will be great,” Katie assured her, kindly. “You’ll learn to talk with a southern accent.”

  “It is a cool accent,” Annabelle agreed. She smiled at Katie. Then she turned her eyes toward a man on a bench a few feet away from them. He was wearing a black
baseball cap and a red shirt. He was eating a sandwich from a brown paper bag. “I think I’ve seen that guy before,” she told Katie.

  Katie looked over at the man. “Maybe he’s staying at the same hotel.”

  Annabelle shook her head. “No. That’s not it.” She hopped off the bench.

  “Where are you going?” Katie asked her.

  “To find out who he is.”

  Katie knew better than to talk to strangers. “That’s a bad idea,” she said.

  Annabelle didn’t care. She got up and walked straight toward the mystery man.

  Katie couldn’t let her do that alone. It was too dangerous. “Annabelle, wait!” she cried out as she ran after her.

  Chapter 5

  Annabelle was quick. By the time Katie caught up to her, she was already seated next to the man on the bench.

  “Do I know you?” Annabelle asked.

  The man pulled his baseball hat farther down his face. “I doubt it,” he said in a thick English accent.

  Annabelle stared even harder. “You’re that guard from Buckingham Palace!” she exclaimed. “The one I made laugh.”

  The man sat up suddenly. He glared at Annabelle. “That was you?”

  Annabelle nodded proudly. “Don’t you remember me?”

  The man frowned. “I guess so. It’s all kind of foggy.”

  “What was it about me that made you laugh when no one else could?” Annabelle asked him.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ...” he began.

  “Yes, you did,” Annabelle told him. “Everyone saw you.”

  “Don’t remind me,” the man answered her.

  “Did you get in trouble?” Katie asked nervously.

  “You can’t make mistakes when you’re guarding the Queen,” he answered with a sigh. “I’m on desk duty from now on. No more fancy uniforms. No more marching. It’s not the way I wanted to go out.”

  “Go out?” Katie asked.

  “I’m almost finished with my time in the guard,” he explained.

  “Oh,” Katie said. “So what are you going to do next?”

  “I don’t know,” the guard told her. “I don’t think anyone would hire me. I’m a real laughingstock.”

  At that moment, Vicki came over. “Girls, you shouldn’t just disappear like that,” she scolded them. “I think you know better than to talk to strangers. Come on, girls. Let’s go.” She handed the girls their ice-cream cones.

  “He’s not a stranger,” Annabelle told her. “This is the guard from the palace. The one I made laugh.”

  “Oh. I see.” The tour guide held out her hand. “I’m Vicki.”

  “Tim Becker,” the guard replied.

  “He’s going to leave the guard soon,” Katie told Vicki. “We’re talking about the jobs he could have.”

  “Girls,” Vicki said. “I don’t think ...”

  But Katie really wanted to help Tim. She had to. “Wasn’t there something you wanted to do before this all happened?”

  Tim thought for a moment. “Well, there was one thing. But ... oh, never mind. You’ll think I’ve gone bonkers.”

  “No, we won‘t,” Katie insisted.

  “Well,” Tim said slowly, “I’ve always wanted to be a stand-up comic. All my mates say I’m the funniest bloke they know.”

  “Have you ever tried doing stand-up comedy?” Vicki asked him.

  “Not really,” Tim answered. “Although everyone’s laughing at me now, anyway.”

  Katie frowned. She felt just awful about that.

  Then, suddenly she got one of her great ideas. “If everyone’s laughing anyway, why don’t you do an act in a club?”

  “It’s not that easy,” Tim told her. “You can’t just walk into a club and say you want to go onstage.”

  “Actually you can,” Vicki told him. “There’s a place right near Piccadilly Circus that has amateur night. Anyone can try to be a comic there.”

  “But I don’t have an act,” Tim said.

  “Sure you do,” Katie told him. She was getting excited now. “You could talk about all the funny things people do to make the guards laugh at Buckingham Palace.”

  Tim thought for a moment. “You tourists do look pretty funny from our point of view,” he said with a chuckle.

  “You can use my joke about the umbrella if you want,” Annabelle suggested.

  Katie sighed. Annabelle would never change. But maybe Tim’s life would.

  Two nights later, Katie sat in the small, dark comedy club. Her parents were there. So was the Bridgeman family. Vicki had brought a few other members of the tour group, too, just to be sure that Tim had an audience.

  But they didn’t really need to do that. One of the local radio stations had found out that the “Laughing Guard” was going to try to make other people laugh for a change. They had announced the time and place for the show. The club was mobbed. And not just with customers. There were a few news crews there, too.

  Katie was scared. What if Tim wasn’t funny? He’d be all over the news making a fool out of himself. And it would all be Katie’s fault ... again!

  Suddenly, a loud booming voice announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen ... here he is ... Tim Becker!”

  Tim walked onto the stage. But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he started making really weird faces. He stuck his tongue out, crossed his eyes, and did a goofy dance.

  The audience laughed really hard.

  Tim grinned. “That’s what the world looks like to me,” he told them. “Just a bunch of people making faces. You try not laughing at that.”

  He made a few more faces. The audience laughed even harder. It was impossible not to. Tim was really funny. Even the reporters were laughing!

  Katie smiled proudly. Tim was a hit! His dream was coming true. And he had Katie to thank for it. Well, actually, Katie and the magic wind. But there was no way Katie was giving any credit to that wind!

  Chapter 6

  “Oh my goodness!” Katie gasped. She was looking down from the observation deck high up in the Eiffel Tower. Her tour group had had to wait in line a long time until they got into the elevator at the bottom of the tower. Now they were squished together with lots and lots of other tourists on the deck. But it was all worth it. “I can see all of Paris from here. We’re up so high!” she exclaimed.

  Vicki nodded. “It’s 1,652 stairs to the top!”

  “I’m sure glad we didn’t have to walk up all those stairs!” Annabelle said.

  “Me too,” Katie said. “I just can’t believe how beautiful Paris looks from up here!”

  “It really is an amazing view,” Mrs. Penderbottom agreed. “But not as incredible as the Louvre art museum. I just loved seeing the Mona Lisa.”

  “I thought the Mona Lisa was really small,” Annabelle said. “We have paintings in the art museum in Boston that are much larger.”

  Katie rolled her eyes.

  “There are paintings in the Louvre that are larger, too,” Vicki reminded her. “But none more famous.”

  “It’s not about the size of the painting,” Mr. Penderbottom explained. “It’s about the talent and skill in the work.”

  “I loved Mona Lisa’s smile,” Mr. Fishman said. “It reminded me of my wife’s.” He gave his bride a peck on the cheek.

  Ew! Katie and Annabelle both looked away.

  “I’m hungry,” Annabelle said suddenly. She turned to Vicki. “Didn’t you say there was a restaurant in the Eiffel Tower?”

  Vicki nodded. “There is. But I think you’d have more fun eating the way real Parisians do. They can spend a whole afternoon sitting at a café watching people go by.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Katie said.

  “It is fun,” Annabelle agreed. “We have a really cool outdoor café near my house in Boston. I go there all the time for lunch.”

  Katie rolled her eyes again.

  “You know, I could go for one of those ham and cheese sandwiches I saw people eating yesterday,” Mr. Carew suggested.

&n
bsp; Annabelle’s father nodded. “Me too.” He turned to Vicki. “Can you recommend a good café?”

  “There’s one right near the Cathedral of Notre Dame,” Vicki said. “That’s the next stop on our tour of Paris.”

  “Notre Dame,” Katie squealed excitedly. “Do you think we’ll see the Hunchback?”

  “That’s only in the movies,” Annabelle told her.

  Katie frowned. Annabelle was such a know-it-all.

  “That’s true,” Vicki agreed. She smiled at Katie. “But I think you’ll like Notre Dame anyway. There’s no other place like it.”

  Annabelle opened her mouth to speak, but Katie beat her to it.

  “Not even in Boston?” Katie asked Vicki.

  Annabelle blushed.

  Vicki laughed. “Not in the whole world,” she assured Katie.

  Chapter 7

  Vicki wasn’t kidding. The Cathedral of Notre Dame was amazing! It was also kind of scary. The old church was decorated with huge, creepy stone monsters called gargoyles. They stuck out from the outer walls of the building, glaring angrily at the people on the street below.

  The grown-up tourists seemed really interested in the gargoyles. The Garcias and the McIntyres were even taking pictures of one another making creepy faces. But Katie thought the stone creatures were really scary.

  “I don’t like those things,” Katie said with a shiver. She turned away from the monsters’ rock-hard stares.

  “They’re really just water spouts,” Vicki assured her.

  “Creepy water spouts,” Katie corrected the tour guide.

  Suddenly Katie heard a loud rumbling. “AAAAHHH!” she screamed out. She grabbed her mother by the arm. “What was that?”

  “It was just my stomach growling,” Annabelle said with a giggle.

  “I think she’s hungry,” Mrs. Bridgeman told Vicki. “Didn’t you say there was a café nearby?”

  Vicki pointed toward the street. “There’s one right on the corner there. The girls will love it.”

  Katie was happy when she and her parents began to follow the Bridgemans away from the cathedral. She couldn’t wait to leave those gargoyles!