Heidi Heckelbeck Is Ready to Dance!

by Wanda Coven

  Chapter 1: AN AWFUL TRUTH

  Chapter 2: EXCUSES, EXCUSES!

  Chapter 3: A SHOWSTOPPER

  Chapter 4: MAYBE? MAYBE NOT!

  Chapter 5: RISKY BUSINESS

  Chapter 6: TAP SHOES

  Chapter 7: THE BRAVERY BUG

  Chapter 8: WEIRDOS CAN’T DANCE!

  Chapter 9: HAPPY FEET!

  Chapter 10: THAT’S A WRAP!

  ‘Heidi Heckelbeck goes to Camp’ Excerpt

  About Wanda Coven and Priscilla Burris

  Heidi Heckelbeck sat on the maple-tree swing and twirled the ropes together until they were tight. Then she lifted her feet and let the swing go. She spun round and round. Her thoughts were spinning as fast as the swing.

  “You want to hear an awful truth?” asked Heidi as the swing unwound.

  “I guess so,” said her brother, Henry, who was sitting on the branch above her.

  Heidi took a deep breath.

  “Okay, here goes,” she said. “I have no talent.

  “I can’t dance.

  “I can’t sing.

  “I can’t even act.

  “I’m just a big fat nothing!”

  “Well, I’m not,” Henry said. “I’ve got talent.”

  “Like what?” asked Heidi.

  Henry stood on the branch. He put one hand on the trunk and the other high in the air. “I am an ac-TOR!” he said.

  Heidi rolled her eyes. “A BAD actor.”

  “No, a MIME actor,” said Henry. “I can act out stories without talking.”

  “No words?” Heidi asked.

  “Not a one,” said Henry.

  “Really? This I’ve GOT to see,” said Heidi.

  “Okay,” said Henry as he jumped out of the tree. “But I need a smooth floor.”

  Heidi and Henry ran inside. Then Henry hid behind the kitchen door.

  “Ready?” asked Henry.

  “Ready,” said Heidi.

  Henry moonwalked smoothly into the kitchen. He had his hands in his pockets as his feet glided across the floor. He moved his head forward and back as he walked. One heel snapped to the floor in between steps. Then he stopped and looked around. His eyes got wide as he pretended to see something.

  I wonder what Henry’s looking at, thought Heidi.

  Henry stooped and pretended to pick a flower. He pretended to smell it. Then he picked another and another. When he had a whole bunch of pretend flowers, he walked up to Heidi and offered them to her.

  Heidi smiled and pretended to take them. “Very smooth, little dude,” she said. “But it totally stinks.”

  “Why?” asked Henry.

  “Because you’ve got talent and you’re younger than I am.”

  “That’s so silly,” Henry said.

  “I have to agree,” said Mom, who had walked in during the show. “Everyone has talent. You just have to find something you like to do and practice it.”

  “But how am I going to do that?” asked Heidi. “There’s only one week until the school talent show. That’s not enough time to get good at anything.”

  “You can say that again,” said Henry. “I’ve been practicing my mime act for months.”

  “See?” Heidi said. “It takes a long time to get good at something.”

  Mom sighed.

  “You don’t need more time or more talent,” said Mom. “All you need is a good idea.”

  “Okay, fine,” said Heidi. “I’m going outside to think.”

  Heidi pushed on the screen door, and it snapped shut behind her.

  Just then Dad walked into the kitchen. “Did I miss something?” he asked.

  Heidi leaned against the maple tree and folded her arms. How come Henry got all the talent in our family? she wondered. It’s not fair. Then Heidi spied a fat stick on the ground. She picked it up and poked at a knot in the tree. She hardly heard the back door swing shut. Mom, Dad, and Henry had walked out into the yard.

  “I’ve got something to cheer you up,” said Mom. She set a tray of peanut butter cookies and a pitcher of milk on the picnic table.

  Heidi continued to jab at the knot in the tree. It sounded hollow inside. Maybe a squirrel lives in there, she thought. She stopped poking the tree. Heidi wished she could live inside a tree. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about being in a dumb talent show.

  “The cookies are still warm,” said Dad, trying to get Heidi to the picnic table.

  “And if you don’t get over here, I’m going to eat yours all up,” said Henry.

  Heidi threw her stick on the ground. “Hey!” she barked. “Stay away from my cookies!”

  “Oooh, I’m so scared,” Henry said.

  Heidi marched over to the picnic table, grabbed a cookie, and took a great big bite. Mmmm, she thought. The warm, peanut-buttery goodness made her feel a teeny bit better.

  “Maybe we can help you come up with an idea for the talent show,” said Mom.

  “Great idea!” said Dad. “Why don’t you tell jokes? You’re very funny.”

  “Too risky,” Heidi said. “I might get booed off the stage.”

  “You could hula-hoop,” said Mom.

  “I can only do three twirls,” said Heidi.

  “Ride a unicycle!” Henry said.

  “Too weird,” said Heidi.

  Heidi’s family had more ideas—baton twirling, magic tricks, a puppet show, and reading poetry. But Heidi had an excuse for everything.

  “What are Lucy and Bruce doing?” asked Mom.

  “A skit,” said Heidi. “They asked me to join them, but I didn’t want to.”

  “Why?” asked Henry.

  “Because I’m not into acting,” said Heidi. “Especially after I had to play the role of a scary apple tree in The Wizard of Oz.”

  “So you’d rather give up than try one of our cool ideas?” asked Henry.

  “Pretty much,” said Heidi.

  Bruce Bickerson set down his lunch tray and sat next to Heidi.

  “So?” he said.

  “So, what?” asked Heidi.

  “So, did you come up with an idea for the talent show?” asked Bruce.

  Heidi dropped her carrot into her lunch bag. Before she could answer, Melanie Maplethorpe, who never said anything nice to Heidi, answered for her.

  “Didn’t you hear?” said Melanie in a sugary-sweet voice. “Heidi can’t be in the show because she’s a weirdo with no talent.”

  Heidi looked at her peanut butter sandwich. Her cheeks began to burn.

  “Very funny, Melanie,” said Lucy Lancaster. “And I’ll bet you have a showstopping number planned for the talent show?”

  “Of course,” Melanie said. “I’m going to perform an Irish step dance that I made up myself. I’ve been taking lessons at the All-Star Dance Academy for four years. I’m pretty amazing.”

  Lucy rolled her eyes.

  Bruce’s mouth fell open.

  Heidi stared at her sandwich.

  “Well, see you around,” Melanie said. She did her famous twirl and walked off with Stanley Stonewrecker. Poor Stanley had to carry Melanie’s lunch tray. He smiled weakly at Heidi, but she never looked up from her sandwich.

  “Don’t let Melanie bug you, Heidi,” said Lucy. “The only thing SHE is good at is being mean.”

  But Melanie did bug Heidi. She made Heidi feel like the biggest weirdo on earth.

  “I have an idea,” Bruce said. “Maybe you could imitate Melanie for the talent show.”

  “You mean pretend to be Melanie onstage?” asked Heidi.

  “Exactly,” Bruce said.

  Heidi smiled. “Been there, done that.”

  “Oh yeah!” said Bruce. “You were Melanie for Halloween!”

  “How
could we forget?” said Lucy. “Well, I guess you can’t do that again.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to do a skit with us?” asked Bruce.

  “I’m sure,” Heidi said with a sigh.

  But Heidi wasn’t sure about anything. Meanie Melanie’s words had made Heidi feel worse than ever. Now she had to perform in the talent show just to prove she wasn’t a weirdo—even though she felt like one. But what could she do?

  “Boys and girls!” said Mr. Doodlebee, the art teacher. “Today I want you to paint a picture of your house. Add as many details as you can.”

  This sounds like fun, thought Heidi. Maybe my talent is art. Heidi painted her house frog green with crisscross shingles on the roof. Then she dabbed rosebushes with pink buds on either side of the front door.

  Heidi liked her picture until she saw Natalie Newman’s. Natalie’s house had shutters and window boxes. She had even painted a porch with rocking chairs, a flag, and a dog. Wow, thought Heidi. Natalie’s picture should be in a museum.

  Then Heidi looked back at her own picture. Suddenly it looked like a two-year-old had painted it. She tossed it aside. Looks like I have zero talent in art, she thought. But who knows? Maybe I can do something sporty in the talent show. . . .

  Heidi decided to try her hardest in gym class. Everyone went outside and the teacher split the class into two teams for kickball. Heidi was up first. I’m a good kicker, she thought as she waited for the ball.

  Stanley rolled the ball to Heidi. She kicked as hard as she could, but she missed and landed smack on her bottom. Melanie laughed in the outfield.

  Heidi got up and tried again. This time Heidi kicked the ball good and hard. The only trouble was that Stanley caught it!

  “Out!” shouted Melanie.

  Heidi walked to the end of the line.

  Charlie Chen was up next. He kicked the ball over the fence and into the woods. It was an automatic home run. He ran the bases and high-fived Heidi and some of their other teammates.

  Heidi sighed. Looks like I stink at sports, too, she thought.

  In music, the class had solo tryouts for the winter concert. Heidi loved the theme: The Songs of Broadway.

  “Are you trying out?” asked Lucy.

  “I dunno,” Heidi said. “Are you?”

  “Definitely,” said Lucy.

  Heidi twirled her hair. Maybe I should try out, she thought. Maybe my talent is singing. But what if my voice sounds funny? What if I throw up?

  Heidi’s palms felt so sweaty just thinking about it. She decided to watch some of her classmates try out first. Lucy walked to the front of the class and sang a song from Annie.

  “Very good!” said Mr. Jacobs, the music teacher, as Lucy took her seat.

  Eve Etsy went next.

  “I’m going to sing ‘My Favorite Things’ from The Sound of Music,” said Eve. When she finished singing, everyone clapped and whistled.

  “Well done, Eve,” said Mr. Jacobs. “You have perfect pitch!”

  “Eve should be on Broadway,” whispered Lucy.

  Heidi nodded and slumped down in her chair.

  After listening to Eve, Heidi decided not to try out for a solo. Melanie’s right. I have no talent, she thought.

  Heidi stopped at Aunt Trudy’s on the way home from school.

  Aunt Trudy was mixing some rosewater perfume for her mail-order business. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Melanie said I have no talent.”

  “Do you believe her?” Aunt Trudy asked while opening a bottle.

  “Yes.”

  “But what does Melanie know about your talents?”

  “Nothing,” said Heidi. “But I know I don’t have any talents.”

  “Of course you do.”

  “Name one.”

  “You’re a good sister to Henry,” said Aunt Trudy.

  “Am not. I’m mean to him all the time. Next.”

  “You’re a great baker,” Aunt Trudy said. “What about those wonderful cookies you made for your school’s cookie contest?”

  “They were kind of a disaster.”

  “Oh . . . I had forgotten. Well, your cookies might have won if you had left out the cheese.”

  “Next,” said Heidi.

  “You’re a fast runner.”

  “True. But what am I supposed to do with that? Run across the stage for my talent show act?”

  Aunt Trudy laughed. “Heidi, you’re impossible,” she said.

  “I know.”

  “Listen,” said Aunt Trudy, “don’t be so hard on yourself. I had no idea what my talents were when I was your age, but I figured it out in time. Besides, I’m pretty sure you have stage fright—and not a lack of talent.”

  “I think I have both,” said Heidi. “How can I go onstage if there is a chance I might look stupid?”

  “It’s a risk you have to take.”

  “Ugh,” said Heidi. But she knew Aunt Trudy was right. Heidi hugged her aunt and walked down the front steps.

  “You’ll come up with something,” said Aunt Trudy. “You always do.”

  “I know,” said Heidi. “But what?”

  Ka-thunk! Heidi heard a loud thump as she walked in the front door. Whump!

  There it goes again, thought Heidi. The noise sounded like it was coming from the attic. Heidi closed the front door and ran up the stairs. Then she crept to the attic door and pulled it open.

  “Hello?” she called into the rafters.

  “Heidi? Is that you?” asked Dad.

  “Yes, it’s me,” Heidi said as she ran up the stairs two by two. “What are you doing up here?”

  “Looking for an old science book,” said Dad. “It has a formula for wax-bottle soda candy.”

  “What’s that?” asked Heidi.

  “It’s liquid candy inside a mini soda bottle that’s made out of wax. You bite off the top of the bottle and drink the candy syrup inside. I used to love them as a kid. Now I want to give them a jazzy new makeover.”

  “Sounds cool,” said Heidi.

  “It is,” Dad said as he pulled a pair of black patent leather shoes from a box. He laughed.

  “What are those?” asked Heidi.

  “They’re Mom’s old tap-dancing shoes. Did you know she used to be a terrific tap dancer?”

  “Really?”

  “Miss Clickety Toes.” Dad chuckled. He put the shoes in an empty shoe box lined with crinkly paper and handed them to Heidi.

  Then Dad began to dig through another box.

  Heidi stared at the shoes. They looked just about her size. She turned them over. They had metal taps on the toes and heels.

  “Wow,” said Heidi.

  “She sure had talent,” said Dad. “And so do you!”

  “No, not me,” Heidi said. “I’m not good at anything.”

  “All you would need is a few lessons.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “What about mixing?” asked Dad. “You’re great at mixing. We could mix up a tornado in an empty bottle.”

  “No, thanks. I need to find something that I’M good at.”

  “But you are good at science experiments. I would just be giving you a little help.”

  “Nah,” said Heidi.

  Then Dad pulled a dusty book from another box. It had a cracked leather cover with gold lettering. “Aha!” he said. He blew some dust from the cover. “Here’s the book I’ve been looking for!” Dad hugged the book to his chest.

  Then he looked at Heidi. “You should think about doing a science experiment for the talent show. It’s okay to get a little help sometimes.”

  As Dad headed for the stairs, Heidi covered the tap shoes with the lid of the box and snuck them to her room.

  Hmm . . . , she thought. Maybe Dad’s right—maybe all I need is a little help. A smile spread across her face. . . .

  Heidi sat on her footstool and pulled off her sneakers. Then she wiggled her feet into her mother’s tap shoes. They fit perfectly!

  Heidi stepped in fro
nt of the mirror and tapped her toe on the hardwood floor. Click!

  Then she tapped her heel. Clack!

  Click! Clack!

  This could be fun, thought Heidi. She raced to her bed and pulled her Book of Spells out from underneath it. She looked up “dance” and found ballet, ballroom, jazz, swing, and . . .

  “Tap!” said Heidi out loud. She flipped to a spell called A Classic Tap Routine and read the directions.

  “Heidi!” Dad called. “Dinner!”

  Heidi shoved her Book of Spells back under the bed. “Coming!” she yelled.

  She pulled off the tap shoes and placed them back in the box. Then she slipped on her sneakers and smiled at herself in the mirror. I’m going to rock this talent show!

  Heidi sat down at the table. “I’m so hungry I could eat a HORSE,” she said.

  “Would you settle for some turkey meatballs and spaghetti?” Dad asked.

  “Yes, please!” said Heidi, holding out her plate.

  Dad heaped her plate with meatballs and spaghetti.

  “Wow,” said Henry. “You sound happy. WHAT HAPPENED?”

  “I’ll tell you what happened,” Heidi said as she sprinkled grated cheese on her pasta. “I finally came up with an idea for the talent show.”

  Henry slurped a piece of spaghetti.

  “You did?” asked Mom.

  “Yup,” said Heidi.

  “What are you going to do?” asked Henry.

  Heidi thought for a moment. She didn’t want to say she was doing a dance, because they would all know that at this point it would take witchcraft to pull that off. Instead she said, “It’s a surprise. You’ll have to wait and see.”