Heidi Heckelbeck Might Be Afraid of the Dark

by Wanda Coven

  Chapter 1: SCAREDY-CAT

  Chapter 2: GIRLS ONLY!

  Chapter 3: ONE LIGHT

  Chapter 4: TACO TUESDAY

  Chapter 5: NIGHT-LIGHT

  Chapter 6: I GOT THIS!

  Chapter 7: GAME ON!

  Chapter 8: THE BOY

  Chapter 9: RAINDROPS

  Chapter 10: LET THERE BE MORE LIGHT!

  ‘Heidi Heckelbeck Is the Bestest Babysitter!’ Excerpt

  Click!

  Click!

  Click!

  Heidi switched on three lights: The bedroom light, the bathroom light, and the hall light. Then she kicked off her slippers and hopped into bed.

  “I’m ready!” she called.

  She listened to her mother’s footsteps as they came down the hall and into her room.

  Her mom sighed. “It looks like daytime when you go to bed. Let me turn off one of these lights.”

  Heidi shook her head firmly.

  She always slept with three lights on. She also had two flashlights stashed in her nightstand—just in case the power went out.

  “Nighttime is FRIGHT time!” she declared. Then she hid under the covers.

  Her mother frowned and shook her head. “Someday you’ll think being afraid of the dark is silly,” she said.

  Heidi pulled the covers back down and put a finger on her lips. “Shhhh!” she shushed. “I don’t want Henry to hear!”

  “HEAR WHAT?” shouted Henry from across the hall. “That you’re SCARED of the DARK?”

  “AM NOT!” Heidi shouted back. “I just like to sleep with the lights on—that’s all.”

  Heidi heard Dad shut Henry’s door. Then Dad came into Heidi’s room and sat down on the bed beside Mom.

  “I was afraid of the dark when I was your age too,” her father said. “It means you have a very good imagination.”

  Heidi sat up in bed. “It does?”

  Dad nodded.

  “Well, that’s a relief!” Heidi said, falling back on her pillow. She was happy to know there was something good about being afraid of the dark.

  Her parents looked at each other.

  “But you still have to get your imagination under control,” her father added.

  “Oh,” said Heidi. “Merg.”

  Heidi spied a pink envelope in her cubby at school the next day. It had her name on it in swirly letters. What’s this? she thought excitedly as she snatched the envelope.

  “Go ahead, open it!” said Heidi’s best friend, Lucy Lancaster.

  Lucy had the cubby next to Heidi’s.

  The girls walked into the hallway to get away from the end-of-the-day cubbyhole rush.

  Then Heidi slipped her finger under the cupcake seal and pulled out a pillowcase-shaped card. Across the top in pink polka-dot letters it read SLUMBER PARTY!

  Underneath that it said Come celebrate Lucy’s birthday!

  “You’re having a slumber party!” exclaimed Heidi.

  Lucy nodded. “Yup, this Saturday!” she said.

  “Who’s coming?” asked Heidi.

  Lucy’s smile faded. “Well,” she began, “I was only going to invite a few people, but my mom made me invite EVERYONE.”

  “The entire class?” questioned Heidi.

  “No, silly! Just the girls!”

  Heidi hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Please don’t tell me Melanie’s invited!”

  Melanie Maplethorpe was Heidi’s least favorite girl in the class.

  Lucy sighed. “I’m sorry, but I had to include her.”

  Heidi crossed both her fingers and looked at the ceiling. “Please don’t let her be able to make it!”

  “Shh—be quiet!” whispered Lucy. “Here she comes NOW!”

  Melanie skipped toward Heidi and Lucy, waving her invitation in the air.

  “Hi, Lucy!” she cried. “I can’t WAIT to come to your slumber party!”

  Lucy forced a smile. “So glad you can make it,” she said.

  Then Melanie glanced at Heidi. “Is SHE coming?”

  Heidi frowned.

  “Of course she’s coming!” said Lucy. “Heidi is my BEST friend!”

  Melanie rolled her eyes. “Okay, whatever you say!” she said. “But we can still have fun—you know why?”

  Lucy folded her arms. “Why?”

  “Because I know some really fun games we can play!”

  Heidi noticed that Lucy’s face brightened at the mention of games.

  “Really?” asked Lucy. “What kind of games?”

  “We can play Freeze Dance!” Melanie said. “And sing karaoke songs!”

  Heidi began to tap her foot on the floor. Smell-a-nie is trying to take over Lucy’s party! she thought. And the weird thing is, Lucy seems to like Melanie’s ideas!

  “And we can have pillow fights!” added Lucy.

  “And play Ghost in the Graveyard!” said Melanie.

  Heidi blinked.

  Ghost in the Graveyard? The name sent a shiver down her back. That means we’ll have to turn out the lights! And play in the DARK!

  Then she gulped.

  And that means we’ll probably have to SLEEP in the dark too!

  “Mom, can we go for a walk?” asked Heidi.

  Heidi and Mom went on neighborhood walks when Heidi needed to talk to her mom privately.

  Mom looked at her watch. “I think we can squeeze in a loop before Henry gets home from his playdate,” she said.

  They walked out the back door and down the driveway.

  “So, pumpkin, what’s on your mind?” asked Mom.

  “It’s about Lucy’s slumber party,” Heidi said. “I’m afraid to sleep in the dark.”

  Mom patted Heidi on the shoulder. “Would you like me to call Lucy’s mother?” asked Mom. “I’m sure she would be happy to leave a light on for you.”

  Heidi thought about it for a moment and then shook her head.

  “But why?” asked Mom.

  “Because what if Mrs. Lancaster says something in front of the other girls like ‘We need to keep the lights on for Heidi’?”

  “I doubt she would do that,” said Mom.

  “But what if she DID?” asked Heidi. “Do you know what would happen?”

  Mom shrugged. “I can’t imagine,” she said.

  “It means Smell-a-nie would TORTURE me for the rest of my LIFE!” said Heidi.

  Mom sighed. “Then let’s forget that idea,” she said.

  Heidi kicked a pebble off the curb.

  “What if I picked you up before bedtime?” Mom suggested.

  Heidi shook her head even harder. “Then I’d look like a BIG baby.”

  “And I suppose that wouldn’t be good either,” Mom said.

  “It would be awful on a waffle!”

  They walked along quietly. Mom looked at the neighbors’ gardens, and Heidi tried not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk.

  “I have an idea,” said Mom.

  “What?” asked Heidi hopefully.

  “Why don’t you turn off one light at bedtime tonight?” Mom suggested. “If you turn out one light every night until the party, you’ll be ready to sleep in the dark!”

  Heidi slumped her shoulders. “What’s the point?” she said. “I’ll never make it to NO lights by Saturday.”

  “Well, you have to start somewhere,” said Mom.

  At bedtime Heidi turned on all three lights as usual.

  “Don’t forget our idea,” Mom reminded her.

  Heidi groaned and flopped onto her bed. “I don’t want to turn out a light!” she said into her pillow.

  But then she pictured Melanie chanting, “Heidi is a scaredy-cat! Heidi is a scaredy-cat!”
And that made Heidi sit up.

  “Okay,” she said in a very small voice. “One light.”

  “Which one?” asked Mom.

  “The bathroom light,” Heidi said.

  Mom switched off the bathroom light. “It still looks like daytime in here,” she said as she kissed Heidi good night.

  “Not to me,” said Heidi to herself after her mom left the room. Then she arranged her stuffed animals—a bear, a pig, a mouse, a kangaroo, and a moray eel—on either side of her for protection. She had to lie as straight as a pretzel rod so as not to disturb her stuffed animals.

  “I still don’t like it,” Heidi said. And then she fell fast asleep.

  Everybody at Brewster Elementary bought hot lunch on Taco Tuesdays—even Melanie, who was the pickiest eater in the whole school. Melanie plopped her tray of tacos on the table and sat down next to Lucy and Heidi.

  “SO!” she began. “Have you picked out your pajamas for the slumber party yet?”

  Melanie seemed to love to talk about Lucy’s slumber party all the time—and Lucy seemed to like it too.

  “I have!” Lucy said excitedly. “I’m wearing my pink polka-dot pajamas—just like the polka dots on my invitation. What about you?”

  “I’m wearing purple gingham check with lace around the wrists and ankles. I got them at Miss Harriet’s.”

  Miss Harriet’s Dress Shop had the most beautiful and most expensive girls’ clothing in town.

  “Sounds cute!” said Lucy, taking a bite of her taco.

  Sounds D-U-M-B, Heidi thought.

  “What kind of weirdo pajamas is SHE wearing?” whispered Melanie, pointing at Heidi.

  Lucy frowned. “That’s not very nice, Melanie,” she said. “You need to call Heidi by her name.”

  “Okay, what about you, Hi-DEE?” she said.

  “I’m wearing my kitten pajamas,” Heidi answered.

  “Oh, how cute,” said Melanie. “I used to have a pair like that—in KINDERGARTEN.”

  Heidi crunched a taco in her hands.

  “Um, let’s talk more about games,” said Lucy, changing the subject. “What do you think about a Suitcase Relay?”

  “I love it!” said Melanie. “I thought of something fun too.”

  “What?” asked Lucy excitedly.

  “We should tell scary stories!”

  Lucy clapped her hands. “The scarier the better!” she said.

  Then they both moaned like ghosts and broke into giggles.

  Lucy noticed that Heidi wasn’t laughing. “What’s the matter?” she asked Heidi.

  “Oh, nothing,” Heidi said. “My tacos are a little soggy.”

  The truth was, Heidi had lost her appetite. She got up and cleared her tray.

  Why did Melanie have to suggest scary stories? thought Heidi as she scraped her tacos into the trash. It seems like Lucy’s entire party is going to take place in the DARK.

  Then Heidi smiled. “And there’s only one way to fight darkness! With LIGHT! And a little bit of magic. . . .”

  Heidi was so excited that she almost hugged her dirty tray.

  Heidi dropped her books by the back door and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Then she pulled her Book of Spells out from under the bed, along with her Witches of Westwick medallion. There has to be a spell that will make the lights stay on at Lucy’s slumber party, she thought. If the lights are on, I won’t be afraid of the dark!

  Heidi opened her book and looked through the Contents. She found a chapter called Let There Be Light! In it were spells for all kinds of lights: headlights, spotlights, warning lights, Christmas lights, and strobe lights. Then she spotted one that looked just right: night-lights.

  “That’s it!” exclaimed Heidi.

  She flipped to the page and read over the spell.

  Has the power ever gone out at your house? Perhaps you have a pesky lamp that won’t stay on? Or are you the kind of witch who’s simply AFRAID OF THE DARK? Then this is the spell for YOU!

  Ingredients:

  1 flashlight

  1 half-peeled orange

  2 birthday candles

  1 plastic zipper storage bag

  Place the flashlight and the birthday candles in the plastic storage bag and seal it. Lay your Witches of Westwick medallion on top of the plastic bag and put your left hand over it. Hold the half-peeled orange in your right hand and whisper the following spell.

  This should do the trick! Heidi thought. Now I need to find the ingredients. She took one of the flashlights from her nightstand drawer and left it on the bed. Then she hurried downstairs. Mom and Henry were in the kitchen. When Henry saw Heidi, he waved his magic wand.

  “Ta-da!” he exclaimed. “I have just made Heidi magically appear!”

  Mom laughed. “Well, so you did!”

  “Bravo, Houdini,” said Heidi in a not-so-magical voice.

  Henry waggled his eyebrows up and down. “Why, thank you,” he said.

  Heidi opened the refrigerator and helped herself to an orange. Then she looked around for something to eat.

  “Do we have any granola bars?” she asked.

  “There, in the pantry,” Mom said.

  Heidi scooted to the pantry and grabbed a granola bar. She also slipped two birthday candles into the front pocket of her skirt. Then she folded a plastic storage bag and smooshed it into her back pocket.

  “I’m going back upstairs to finish my homework,” Heidi said.

  “Sounds good,” answered Mom.

  Mom didn’t suspect a thing.

  Heidi leaped out of bed on Saturday morning. Today is Lucy’s slumber party! she said to herself. She ran to her closet and pulled down her daisy overnight bag. First she packed her spell ingredients and Witches of Westwick medallion at the bottom of the bag. Then she packed a change of clothes; her toothbrush; a hairbrush; a pillow; her stuffed bear, Bearsy; and her kitten pajamas. On second thought, she switched her kitten pajamas for her polka-dot pajamas.

  Then she dashed to the hall closet and yanked her sleeping bag off the shelf. Finally, she changed and lugged everything downstairs to the kitchen.

  “I’m all ready for the slumber party!” she announced.

  Dad, who was sitting at the table with Henry, looked at his watch.

  “It’s a good thing you’re ready,” he said with a wink. “There’s only eight hours till party time.”

  “I like to be prepared,” said Heidi.

  “Well, we still have to wrap the present,” Mom said as she flipped pancakes on the griddle. When Henry heard the word “present,” he looked up from his pancake.

  “What did you get for Lucy?” asked Henry. “Did you get her STINK BOMBS?”

  Heidi rolled her eyes. “Why would I get Lucy STINK BOMBS for her birthday?” she asked.

  “Because they’re STINKY!” said Henry.

  Heidi let out a long huff. “Is that all boys think about?” she asked.

  “Pretty much,” said Henry.

  “Then I promise to get you a SKUNK for your next birthday,” said Heidi.

  “Really?” said Henry. “You’d do that for ME?”

  “Yes, she probably would,” said Dad, giving Heidi a look. “But we have a new rule: no skunks in the house!”

  “Rats,” said Henry.

  “No rats, either!” said Mom.

  “That’s not what I meant!” said Henry.

  “I know,” said Mom, laughing.

  “Doesn’t anyone care what I got for Lucy?” asked Heidi.

  “Sure, we do!” said Dad. “What did you get?”

  “I got her a friendship bracelet kit,” said Heidi.

  “EW!” said Henry.

  “Fun!” said Dad.

  “Would you like to wrap it yourself?” asked Mom.

  “YES!” said Heidi.

  “Everything’s on my desk,” Mom said.

  Heidi zoomed to Mom’s office. First she signed the fancy birthday card. Then she wrapped the present in bumblebee wrapping paper. She had a little trouble with the r
ibbon.

  “MOM!” called Heidi. “I need HELP!”

  Mom came into the office and tied the ribbon around the present. “There!” she said. “It looks BEE-autiful!”

  Heidi smiled.

  “So, how are you feeling about spending the night at Lucy’s?” Mom asked.

  “Pretty good,” said Heidi.

  “Well, if you change your mind at bedtime, we can always come pick you up.”

  Heidi smiled to herself as she thought about her night-light spell.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. I GOT this,” she said.

  Only five girls were able to make it to Lucy’s slumber party: Eve Etsy; Natalie Newman; Laurel Lambert, a new girl in the class; Melanie; and Heidi. Lucy wanted to play a game called Spiderweb first. In the family room, her parents had made a gigantic spiderweb out of five strands of kitchen string. They gave everyone a clothespin. Each girl had to pick one string and wind it around the clothespin until all the strings were collected and the spiderweb was gone.

  “Ready?” shouted Mrs. Lancaster. Then she blew a whistle that hung from a cord around her neck.

  The girls crisscrossed the room, in and out of the web of strings.

  “I wonder where my string is going to end up!” said Heidi as she bumped into Lucy.

  “Me too!” said Lucy, winding her string as fast as she could.

  “Is there something at the end of the string?” asked Laurel.

  “You’ll see!” said Lucy.

  The girls wound and wound. Finally Melanie found a goody bag at the end of her string.