Heidi Heckelbeck Is a Flower Girl

by Wanda Coven

  Chap ter 1: MISS HARRIET’S

  Chap ter 2: A BAD DREAM

  Chap ter 3: LILAC POWDER

  Chap ter 4: FLOWER POWER

  Chap ter 5: PIRATE BOOTY

  Chap ter 6: WHAT IF?

  Chap ter 7: RAZZLE-DAZZLE

  Chap ter 8: THE REAL THING

  Chap ter 9: A LITTLE PRINCESS

  Chap ter 10: HARVEST MOON

  'Heidi Heckelbeck Gets the Sniffles' Excerpt

  About Wanda Coven and Priscilla Burris

  Heidi Heckelbeck had a lot on her mind. She had been spying on Principal Pennypacker for more than a week because she was pretty sure he was a witch. Why else would he have a Book of Spells in his office? At least, that’s what the book looked like. Now she just had to prove he was a witch. And on top of her witch detective work, Heidi had also been asked to be a flower girl in her aunt Sophie’s wedding.

  Aunt Sophie was Dad’s sister, and soon she was going to marry Uncle Ned in the Heckelbecks’ backyard. Well, Uncle Ned wasn’t actually Heidi’s uncle yet—not until after the wedding—but Heidi and Henry had called him Uncle Ned ever since he’d gotten engaged to Aunt Sophie. Now Heidi had to go dress shopping.

  Ugh, thought Heidi as she stood in the middle of Miss Harriet’s dress shop. She had never shopped for a fancy dress before. Now she was surrounded by them. Miss Harriet looked Heidi up and down. Then she sifted through the dress racks and pulled out dresses in a rainbow of pastel colors: strawberry, mint, yellow, cream, and blue.

  “You’ll make an enchanting flower girl in any one of these,” she said, holding the flouncy dresses in front of Heidi.

  Heidi frowned. I’ll look like a poofy powder puff in any one of those dresses, she thought. It wasn’t that Heidi hated dresses. It’s just that they weren’t exactly her style. She was more of an everyday girl.

  Heidi followed her mother into the dressing room. Then she pulled off her favorite kitty cat top and jean skirt. Heidi left on her black-and-white-striped tights and sneakers. Then she slipped a strawberry dress over her head. Mom tied the satin sash around Heidi’s waist. The dress had a scratchy skirt that stuck out like a giant lampshade.

  “I feel like I’m caught in a big fishing net,” complained Heidi. “And the skirt part is itchy.”

  “It’s called crinoline,” said Heidi’s mom. “It’s a very fancy dress material.”

  Heidi glanced in the mirror. “It looks like something Smell-a-nie would wear,” she said.

  Melanie Maplethorpe, also known as Smell-a-nie, was Heidi’s worst enemy.

  “Forget Melanie,” said Mom. “That dress is too pink with your red hair. Let’s try another one.”

  Heidi tried on another dress, and another and another.

  The mint dress made her look like she hadn’t slept in a week. The yellow dress made her look like a glass of lemonade. And the cream dress made her look like a miniature bride. Then Mom zipped the blue dress and tied the sash.

  Heidi looked in the mirror. She turned this way and that while she looked at herself.

  “I love it,” said Mom.

  “ ‘Love’ is such a strong word,” said Heidi.

  “But it looks very good on you,” said Mom.

  Heidi scratched her neck. “The ruffles make me itch,” she said.

  “You will get used to them,” said Mom. “You won’t even realize they’re there when you walk down the aisle.”

  “Merg,” said Heidi.

  “Beautiful,” said Mom.

  “Perfect!” exclaimed Miss Harriet. “Except for the black-and-white-striped tights and sneakers.”

  Miss Harriet scurried into another room and came back with a pair of light blue ballet flats. She also brought Heidi a basket to hold her flower petals. Heidi had been told a flower girl had to sprinkle flower petals all along the wedding aisle.

  Heidi slipped on the blue flats and stared at her feet. Eww, she thought as she wrinkled her nose.

  Click! Miss Harriet snapped Heidi’s picture.

  “Perfect!” said Miss Harriet as she hurried to her computer to download the picture. “I’ll give you a copy to take home.”

  The flash had made Heidi see spots. She rubbed her eyes. Then she stared at herself again in the mirror.

  “Can I at least wear my blue-and-white-striped tights with this girly outfit?” asked Heidi.

  “Sure,” Mom said. “Be your own flower girl!”

  And that made Heidi feel a teeny bit better.

  Henry held a small sofa pillow in his hands like a tea tray. On top of the pillow sat a red ring pop. He walked slowly across the kitchen, being careful not to drop the ring pop.

  “Look at me!” he cried. “I’m a RING BEAR!”

  Heidi rolled her eyes.

  “You mean a ring bear-ER,” she said.

  “Whatever,” said Henry. He circled the kitchen table. “I get to carry the rings that Uncle Ned and Aunt Sophie give each other.”

  “Big whoop,” said Heidi.

  “I also get to wear a tuxedo,” Henry added.

  “Double big whoop,” said Heidi.

  “Your aunt Sophie’s wedding is a very big whoop,” Dad said.

  “All I know is that I have to wear a froofy party dress,” said Heidi.

  “I can’t wait to see THAT,” said Henry.

  “Merg,” growled Heidi as she stomped out of the room.

  That night Heidi had a bad dream about the wedding. In her dream, the skirt on her fancy party dress had grown enormous. The ruffles around her neck had climbed all the way up to her chin. Then she realized it was her turn to walk down the aisle. The guests all stared at her. Heidi tried to bend over to pick up her basket of petals, but she couldn’t. She tried again and tipped over. Heidi lay on her stomach, kicking her feet, like a bug in a swimming pool.

  Then, bing! Just like that, she woke up, except she was still kicking. Heidi had gotten all twisted in her covers. Finally she wriggled free of the sheets and sighed in relief.

  Later at school, Heidi told her friend Lucy Lancaster about the wedding and the flower girl dress.

  “You’re so lucky!” Lucy exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to be in a wedding.”

  “Do you want to trade places?” asked Heidi.

  “Very funny,” said Lucy. “So, what’s your dress look like?”

  “I brought a picture,” Heidi said. “But you have to promise not to laugh.”

  “Promise,” said Lucy.

  Heidi reached into her back pocket and pulled out the photo Miss Harriet had taken in the store. She started to hand it to Lucy, but before Lucy got it, Melanie snatched it out of Heidi’s hand.

  “Let ME see!” cried Melanie.

  “Hey, that’s MINE!” cried Heidi.

  Melanie looked at the picture and squealed with laughter.

  “Oh my gosh,” cried Smell-a-nie in between giggles. “That dress is SO icky!”

  Stanley Stonewrecker snuck up behind Melanie and grabbed the photo out of her hand. Melanie kept right on laughing as Stanley looked at the picture.

  “Wow, Heidi,” said Stanley as he handed the picture back to Heidi. “You look great in that dress.”

  Melanie huffed in disgust.

  Lucy peeked at the photo. “Stanley’s right, you do look great,” she said. “And PS, Melanie, if you think THAT dress is icky, you should get a whole new wardrobe.”

  Melanie folded her arms and turned up her nose.

  “I’ll bet Heidi won’t even be able to walk in that dress,” said Melanie. “She’ll probably trip and fall when she walks down the aisle.”

  Heidi couldn’t believe what Melanie had just said. It was as if she knew Heidi had had a bad dre
am about falling down at the wedding. How does she do that? Heidi thought. And what if I really do fall down in front of everybody?

  It was too awful to think about.

  On Saturday, Heidi helped Aunt Trudy clean out her basement. Aunt Trudy was Mom’s sister, and she was also a witch. Aunt Trudy had the best castoffs. Heidi had gotten things like glass beads, jeweled charms, funky buttons, pressed flowers, and empty makeup containers. Cleaning at her aunt’s house was like going on a treasure hunt.

  Today, Aunt Trudy had a whole list of things for Heidi to do. She had her fold clothes for giveaway boxes, pack books for the library book drive, and clean shelves. On one shelf Heidi found a shoe box filled with seashells, sea glass, and dried starfish. She poked through the box.

  “These shells are so pretty,” Heidi said.

  Aunt Trudy looked over her shoulder. “I collected them ages ago,” she said. “Feel free to take them, or I’ll put them in a giveaway box.”

  Heidi set the shoe box in her take-home pile. Then she got back to work. Heidi thought about the wedding as she dusted off a shelf.

  “Aunt Trudy, have you ever been a flower girl?” she asked.

  Aunt Trudy tossed a book into one of the boxes. “No,” she said. “But I always dreamed of being one.”

  “You did?” questioned Heidi. “Why?”

  “Because being a flower girl is a special honor,” said Aunt Trudy. “And you also get to wear a fancy dress and walk down the aisle.”

  “Yuck,” said Heidi. “That’s the worst part, if you ask me.”

  “Don’t you like to dress up?” asked Aunt Trudy.

  “Well, sometimes,” admitted Heidi. “I just don’t like to be in the spotlight.”

  “Why not?” said Aunt Trudy.

  “Because what if I trip and fall in front of all the guests?”

  Aunt Trudy looked over the top of her glasses. “So what if you did?” she said. “It would make a good story.”

  “I just don’t like it,” said Heidi.

  Aunt Trudy put her arm around her niece. “Being in the spotlight is special,” she said. “And your aunt Sophie picked you to be her flower girl because she loves you and thinks you’ll do a good job.”

  “I know,” mumbled Heidi.

  “Just pretend you’re on a fashion show runway in Paris,” Aunt Trudy said.

  Heidi tried to picture herself on a runway in Paris. It actually sounded kind of fun.

  Then her aunt picked up a pile of old winter clothes and put them on a card table in front of Heidi.

  “Let’s fold these and put them in a shopping bag,” Aunt Trudy said.

  Heidi nodded and pulled a sweater from the pile. Something fell onto the floor. It was a little satchel. It must’ve been wrapped in the sweater, thought Heidi. She picked up the satchel and undid the drawstring. The bag was filled with purple powder. Heidi sniffed the powder. Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!

  “Bless you!” said Aunt Trudy. She gave Heidi a tissue, and then she began to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” Heidi asked, wiping her nose.

  “The lilac powder!” said Aunt Trudy. “Lilac powder makes witches sneeze.”

  “It does?”

  “Yup, every time,” Aunt Trudy said.

  Heidi found this very interesting.

  “Does it work on ALL witches?” she asked.

  “Every last one.”

  Wow, Heidi thought. I could use this lilac powder on Principal Pennypacker. If he sneezes, I’ll know for sure he’s a witch.

  “May I take this satchel home?” Heidi asked.

  “Sure,” said Aunt Trudy as she began to sweep the floor. “I’ve got plenty of lilac powder.”

  Heidi stuffed the satchel into her pocket. She had forgotten all about being a flower girl. Now all she could think about was how to get Principal Pennypacker to smell the lilac powder.

  On Monday, Heidi spied on Principal Pennypacker at school. She hadn’t figured out exactly how she was going to get him to sniff the powder, but she had to find a way. She sat on the school steps and watched the principal oversee the children at drop-off. He waved and talked to the parents who had rolled down their car windows. Hmm, thought Heidi. Drop-off is too busy. I’ll have to find a better time.

  On the way to art class Heidi saw Principal Pennypacker giving a tour to a mother and two children. Heidi remembered what it was like to be new. I’m sure glad that’s not me, she thought.

  Heidi paused at the water fountain, and as she drank she kept an eye on the principal. He showed the family the student artwork hanging in the hallway. I’ll never get him to sniff the lilac powder when he’s on a school tour, she thought. Heidi wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and continued down the hall. Principal Pennypacker smiled as she passed by.

  At lunch Heidi chose a seat near the faculty table. The principal sat at the head of the table. She watched him eat a slice of pizza. If only I could sprinkle a little lilac powder on his pizza, thought Heidi. But it would be way too obvious.

  Lucy and Bruce Bickerson set their lunch trays down next to Heidi.

  “So, how’s the whole flower girl thing going?” asked Lucy.

  “Same,” said Heidi. “Mostly boring and pretty dumb.”

  Lucy laughed. “You’re so funny,” she said. “Most girls would give anything to be a flower girl.”

  Heidi shrugged and pulled the cheese off her pizza.

  “Not me,” she said.

  At recess Heidi stood in line for foursquare and watched Principal Pennypacker. He was talking to her teacher, Mrs. Welli. Darn, thought Heidi. He’s always with somebody. Then she noticed a patch of dandelions on the playing field behind the principal and her teacher. This gave Heidi an idea.

  She stepped out of line, ran to the field, and began to pick dandelions. Then she pulled the satchel of lilac powder from her pocket. Heidi undid the string and sprinkled the powder on the top of the flowers. Then she skipped toward the principal with her bouquet.

  “Hello, Heidi,” said the principal. “I hear you’re going to be in a wedding this weekend. What fun!”

  “Sort of,” Heidi said. Then she held the flowers out in sniffing range. “Would you like to smell my fresh-picked flowers?”

  Principal Pennypacker leaned over.

  “Why, I’d love to,” he said.

  He smelled the dandelions. Heidi waited for a big sneeze. But nothing happened. She pulled the dandelions out from under the principal’s nose and walked away. That’s weird, she thought. Heidi sniffed the dandelions to see if the powder still worked.

  Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!

  Merg, thought Heidi as she tossed the dandelions into the bushes. I guess Principal Pennypacker’s not a witch after all. She was a bit disappointed. It had been fun spying on him. Oh well, she thought, and ran back to the foursquare game.

  Wedding talk was the only talk at the Heckelbeck house all week. On Friday a large van delivered tables, chairs, and a large white tent. On Saturday several people in matching aprons set the tables and cooked food in the Heckelbecks’ kitchen. The wedding would begin at four o’clock that afternoon.

  Soon it was time to get ready. Dad, Uncle Ned, and Henry got dressed in Henry’s room. Heidi, Mom, Aunt Sophie, and Aunt Trudy got ready in Heidi’s parents’ bedroom. Mom clasped Aunt Sophie’s pearl necklace. Aunt Trudy tied Heidi’s sash and clipped a powder-blue flower in Heidi’s hair.

  “Hold still, missy!” said Aunt Trudy.

  “But this dress is itching me!” said Heidi.

  Heidi did her best to hold still. Then Henry burst into the bedroom in his tuxedo. He had a plastic sword in his hand and a black eye patch over his left eye.

  “Ahoy, me hearties!” cried Henry as he jumped onto an ottoman and pretended to scan the horizon.

  Heidi ignored Henry’s behavior, but she studied his outfit.

  “You look like a miniature man,” she said.

  Henry planted his fists on his hips.

  “Methinks I am a
well-dressed pirate!” he said. “And my treasure chest is chock-full of loot.”

  “What kind of loot?” asked Heidi. “It better not be anything from my room.”

  “Sparkling jewels and dazzling gems!” shouted Henry. “And today I added a very valuable ring to my treasure.”

  Heidi had a funny feeling. She knew what kind of ring Henry had added to his loot. She ran across the room, grabbed Henry by the arm, and dragged him into the hall.

  “Do you have Aunt Sophie’s wedding ring?” asked Heidi.

  “Of course!” said Henry. “I’m the RING BEAR!”

  “The ring bear-ER,” Heidi corrected. “Now, where is it?”

  “What?” asked Henry.

  “The RING!”

  “It’s in my treasure chest!” Henry said.

  “Does Uncle Ned know you have it?”

  “No,” Henry admitted.

  “Well, you better give it back,” said Heidi.

  “But Dad gave it to me!” argued Henry.

  “I don’t care if Dad gave it to you. Get it NOW,” said Heidi. “If Uncle Ned doesn’t have the ring, he and Aunt Sophie won’t be able to get married.”

  “Oh no!” said Henry. “Will you help me look for it?”

  Heidi let out a heavy sigh. “Come on,” she said. “We haven’t got much time before the wedding begins.”