by Wanda Coven
Heidi smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead and cried, “What have I done now?”
She chased after Dusty and tried to pick up the messes he left in his path.
The linen closet door flew open. Dusty pulled out all the towels and draped them over the banisters. Then he shook a giant box of cotton balls and Heidi watched the white fluffs drift down like snow. When she looked up, Dusty was gone.
Now where is he? Heidi wondered. She heard banging coming from the laundry room and followed the sound. Dusty had pulled all the laundry out of the washer. As Heidi picked up the wet clothes, Dusty shook a whole container of soap pods onto the floor. He began to stomp on them. Splat! Sploosh! Splurp! The bright blue-and-green soap splattered the walls and the floor.
When he was done messing up that room, Dusty raced into the hall and slid down the stairs.
“STOP!” Heidi yelled, tearing after him. But Dusty zoomed on through the kitchen, knocking over a full jug of milk on the kitchen table. Then—whoosh!—he slipped out the back door. Heidi stopped just as she was about to bump smack into Dad, who was coming in from taking out the trash.
“Not so fast,” Dad said.
Heidi froze. Did Dad see Dusty?
“I believe you are grounded,” Dad said, “which means no leaving the house.”
Heidi turned around. Then Dad pointed to the overturned jug of milk, which was still dripping onto the floor.
“Did you spill all that milk?” her father asked.
Heidi laughed nervously. “Wellll, I think I may have bumped into the table by accident when I was passing by.” She looked timidly at her father.
Dad did not look happy. “Please wring out the sponge and clean up the milk,” he said.
Heidi went to the sink. She took the sponge, ran water over it, and squeezed it. Outside the window, Heidi could see Dusty scrambling down the driveway and away from the house.
Oh, phew, phew, and DOUBLE phew! Heidi thought. Now Dusty can be somebody else’s problem!
MYSTERY MESS
Heidi skipped happily down the hall to her classroom the next morning. All the messes at home had been picked up, and Dusty had not returned. Everything was finally back to normal—that is, until Heidi noticed a crowd gathered in the hallway.
Melanie Maplethorpe, Stanley Stonewrecker, and Bryce Beltran were standing nearby.
“What’s going on?” Heidi asked.
Melanie turned and looked Heidi up and down. “Oh, didn’t you hear?” she said in her oh-so-snooty way. “The school is about to give you an award, and we’re all here to celebrate.”
Heidi raised an eyebrow and looked at Bryce and Stanley for more information.
Bryce laughed and waved Melanie off. “She’s only joking. We have no idea what’s going on. Principal Pennypacker asked everyone to wait here in the hall.”
Heidi nodded. Wait for what? she wondered. She really wanted to know what was going on. The crowd was directly outside her classroom. Heidi stood up tall to get a better look inside, but there were too many kids blocking the door.
“SHHHHHHH,” somebody warned. “Principal Pennypacker’s coming!”
The principal opened the door and stepped into the hall.
“Good morning, children,” he began. “Everything is okay, but today Mrs. Welli’s class will meet for art in Mr. Doodlebee’s room. Everyone, that is, except for Heidi Heckelbeck. Could I speak with you alone, Heidi?”
Heidi blushed. Why did the principal call me out in front of the WHOLE class? she wondered. This is SO embarrassing!
And to make matters worse, her classmates all stared at her as they shuffled off to art.
Principal Pennypacker ushered Heidi into the classroom. Her teacher Mrs. Welli was standing beside Heidi’s desk, which had been turned upside down. Heidi’s books and school supplies were spilled all over the floor. Heidi’s cubby had been raided too.
Her polka-dot rain boots were lying on Mrs. Welli’s desk, and her lime-green lunch containers were on top of the guinea pig cage. Even her dirty gym clothes were draped over her classmates’ desks and chairs.
“Heidi,” said Mrs. Welli in a gentle tone, “did you make this mess?”
Heidi shook her head.
“Perhaps there’s something you want to tell us?” asked Principal Pennypacker.
Heidi looked at her teacher and the principal. Hey! she thought. They think I did this!
“Wait,” Heidi declared. “You’ve got it all wrong! I PROMISE I did not do any of this.”
Principal Pennypacker looked at the classroom. “Can you think of any other way this might have happened, Heidi?”
It’s totally my magical mess-maker Dusty’s fault, Heidi wanted to say, but she could never admit that to her teacher and the principal.
Instead, she tried to get out of this weird situation as quickly as possible. “Would it be okay if I cleaned everything and joined my class in art?”
Principal Pennypacker looked at Mrs. Welli and nodded. Then they stepped into the hall to talk privately.
Heidi sighed and began to pick up the mess. As she collected her things she heard someone giggle. She looked over and saw Dusty hiding behind the fish tank. He’d been spying on Heidi the whole time.
“Okay, Dusty. Enough is enough,” she declared as he ran away. “If it’s a mess you want, then it’s a mess you’ll get.”
SO MESSED UP
When Heidi got home from school, she grabbed a box of Oaty-O’s and a family-size bag of potato chips and ran up to her room. Maybe if I make a huge mess, Dusty will go back to cleaning—instead of making messes, Heidi reasoned. Then again, maybe we’re both just completely crazy.
Heidi shut the door and began to mess up her room—big time. She pulled all of her clothes out of the drawers and flung them all over the place. She unloaded her bookshelf and scattered her books, toys, and stuffed animals across the floor. She tipped over her wastebasket, her pencil cup, and the laundry hamper. Finally she dumped the Oaty-O’s and potato chips all over the floor.
CRUNCH! SCRUNCH! CRUNCH! SCRUNCH! She walked over the cereal and chips, mashing them into the carpet.
When she was done, Heidi stood back and admired the mess. If Mom sees this, she’ll ground me through middle school! But Heidi didn’t care. She had to catch Dusty.
She also needed to get back her Book of Spells. She snuck into Mom and Dad’s room, grabbed the book off Mom’s dresser, then she ran back to her room and hid under her bed to read her book. This is an emergency, she told herself.
She had to find out two things: What had gone wrong with the spell? And how could she make Dusty disappear?
While she waited for Dusty, Heidi looked up the How to Clean Everything! spell. This time she read the fine print, which she had overlooked before.
1. In a spell that calls for hair, a witch must always use her own hair—or it will cause magical mistakes.
Heidi had used Henry’s hair in the spell! So that’s why Dusty is so annoying!
2. A witch must also always thank the housekeeper for a job well done.
“That has to be why Dusty went bananas,” Heidi whispered. “I never thanked him for his help!”
Wham! The door banged open.
Heidi peeked out from under the bed and saw Dusty skittering inside. He studied the chaos and rubbed his hands together.
“Now, this is a perfectly wonderful mess!” he cried. “Just the kind I like to clean up!”
Dusty got right to work. He tidied, dusted, swept, vacuumed, and organized, and he even folded all the clothes and put them away again. Heidi’s room was spotless! Her plan had worked. Making a mess had caused Dusty to go back to cleaning. She wriggled out from under the bed and hopped to her feet.
“Thank you for a job WELL DONE!” she declared.
Dusty was surprised, but he smiled broadly. She could tell that her thanks meant a lot to him. “You’re welcome, Heidi!” he said.
And—POOF!—Dusty vanished in a cloud of sparkles. He
even returned the Book of Spells to her mother’s room.
Heidi let out a really looong sigh and flopped onto her freshly made bed, which smelled like flowers. Had he washed everything in her room too?
I did it! Heidi thought. My troubles are over, except for one thing. I’m still grounded. MERG.
A FAMILY HEIRLOOM
The phone rang that evening.
“It’s for you, Heidi,” Mom said, handing her the telephone.
Heidi held it in front of her and pressed the speaker button.
“Hello?” she said.
“Hey, it’s Bruce. My mom wants to talk with your mom about a ride to the movies tomorrow night.”
Heidi covered the receiver and looked at her mother. Mom shook her head and whispered, “Sorry, no movies. Remember, you’re still grounded.”
Super-merg, Heidi growled to herself. What a mess I’ve made of everything! She had used magic for a job she should’ve done. She had forgotten to thank Dusty for helping her—and then he went loopy and broke Mom’s vase. Now she had to let down her friends too.
“I’m really sorry,” Heidi said, “but I can’t go tomorrow night. I’m kind of grounded.”
Bruce was quiet for a moment.
“That’s too bad, Heidi,” he said. “But don’t worry—the movie will still be great after you’re un-grounded!”
Heidi smiled. Only a true friend would forgive her for messing up the plan. She said good-bye to Bruce and hung up. Then she handed the phone back to her mother, who was looking at the table where the vase had been. Suddenly Heidi had an idea.
“Hey, Mom? Maybe we could shop for a new vase this weekend,” Heidi suggested. “A hand-blown one that you can give to me when I grow up?”
Mom looked at Heidi and grinned. “Now, that’s a wonderful idea,” she said as she pulled Heidi close to give her a hug. And even though Heidi was still grounded, all was well at the Heckelbeck house.
Check out the next book starring
HEIDI HECKELBECK
“Roar!”
“ROAR!”
“ROARRR!”
Heidi and Lucy squealed and hid underneath one of the picnic tables on the playground. Heidi’s class was playing Cheese Dinosaur Tag, and Stanley Stonewrecker was the dinosaur. The rest of the class—or, at least, those who were playing—was the cheese. And, of course, in this game the dinosaur loves cheese and won’t stop until he gets some.
“He’ll never find us under here,” Lucy whispered.
Heidi plunked onto the ground and accidentally bumped into a pair of pink polka-dot flats under the table. Heidi stared fearfully at the shoes because she knew exactly who they belonged to—Melanie Maplethorpe, her least favorite girl in the class.
Melanie peered under the table and glared at Heidi. “What do you think you’re doing?” she cried, pushing the toe of her shoe into Heidi’s side.
“Sorry,” said Heidi as she dragged out the word like saw-ree.
Then Lucy noticed Melanie had a magazine in her hand.
“What are you reading?” asked Lucy, trying to change the mood under the table.
Melanie turned the magazine around so Lucy and Heidi could see the cover.
“I’m reading She-She Magazine,” Melanie said, lightening up. “It’s my absolute favorite.”
About the Author and Illustrator
WANDA COVEN has always loved magic. When she was little, she used to make secret potions from smooshed shells and acorns. Then she would pretend to transport herself and her friends to enchanted places. Now she’s able to visit other worlds through writing. Wanda lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and son. They have three cats: Hilda, Agnes, and Claw-dia.
PRISCILLA BURRIS has illustrated numerous books and materials for children, parents, and teachers. She enjoys painting cakes and creating art for products, which include murals, greeting cards, and rubber stamps! Priscilla lives with her family in Southern California.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Wanda-Coven
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Priscilla-Burris
Little Simon
Simon & Schuster, New York
HeidiHeckelbeckBooks.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LITTLE SIMON
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First Little Simon hardcover edition September 2018
Copyright © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Also available in a Little Simon paperback edition.
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Designed by Ciara Gay
Jacket design by Ciara Gay
Jacket illustrations by Priscilla Burris
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Coven, Wanda, author. | Burris, Priscilla, illustrator.
Title: Heidi Heckelbeck is so totally grounded / by Wanda Coven ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris. | Description: First Little Simon paperback edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2018. | Series: Heidi Heckelbeck ; 24 | Summary: Having decided housecleaning is too much for her to handle, Heidi Heckelbeck pulls out her Book of Spells and conjures up a helper, with disastrous results. | Identifiers: LCCN 2017056688 | ISBN 9781534426443 (pbk) | ISBN 9781534426450 (hc) | ISBN 9781534426467 (eBook) | Subjects: | CYAC: House cleaning—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. | Witches—Fiction. | Family life—Fiction. | Behavior—Fiction. Classification: LCC PZ7.C83393 Hjm 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017056688