by Elise Allen
“I won’t let my frustration with Thunderbolt get to me this time,” Summer assured her sisters. She looked over at the Weeds’ sailboat, which looked more like a Viking ship than anything else. The sails were striped and torn at the edges. The bow was shaped like the head of a sea dragon, and the stern was its whiplike tail. Thunderbolt hung from the top of the mast with one hand while his brothers climbed up from the bottom like squirrels.
“You bozos ready?” Winter called to the Weeds.
In response, the Weeds hoisted a flag. It was dark and mottled, featuring the slogan “Sparkles Stink!”
“I wish we’d thought of making a flag,” Summer said wistfully. Maybe if she hadn’t wasted her time with Thunderbolt that morning, she would have had time to make one.
“I brought something that might work,” Autumn said modestly. She held up a giant crocheted scarf. Little silver stars twinkled in the background behind the simple phrase “Sparkles Shine.” The girls cheered and squeezed Autumn into a Sparkle sandwich.
“It’s perfect.” Summer beamed. They raised it up to the masthead. It undulated elegantly in the breeze. Shade bounded up the dock from the beach. It was time for the final game to begin. Summer stood up and gave the instructions. It was quite simple—they were to race across the Sparkle Sea to Sea Glass Island. Whichever team reached the island first won. Summer handed the checkered flag to Shade, who took it deftly in her feline teeth. With a regal nod of her head, the boats were off.
Summer called out directions to Spring and Autumn, who were manning the sails, while Winter scanned the area for rocks, sandbars, and other obstructions they had to avoid. Summer noted with satisfaction that they communicated well, listening to one another and calling out as they completed a task. Ninety percent of smooth sailing was simply good teamwork. The Weeds, on the other hand, yelled at one another snippily, each focused on his own idea of what the boat should do. The Sparkles easily sailed past them.
“Sandbar to the right!” Winter called. Summer followed Winter’s gaze. A murky strip of water signaled that shallow sand lay beneath.
“Tighten the sails, I’m steering to the left,” Summer called. Autumn and Spring dutifully brought in the sails. The boat skipped cheerfully away from the sandbar. Right as they were straightening out, Summer heard a yelp from the Weed boat.
“Argh!” Sleet shouted. Thunderbolt pushed the till quickly to avoid the sandbar. Their boat jolted away from the sand—and straight toward the Sparkles! Spring and Autumn cried out fearfully.
“Give up some slack,” Summer called, and dexterously maneuvered the boat around the Weeds, avoiding a crash. Quake and Twister laughed gleefully. Apparently, they found the near-collision hilarious.
“Again!” Quake called. “Let’s get ’em!” Thunderbolt’s eyes locked on Summer’s grimly. A sly smile crossed his face.
“Tighten up!” he called. His brothers hooted. Again, their boat aimed straight at the Sparkles.
“Quit it!” Winter called to them. Sleet laughed.
Sea Glass Island was in sight now. Its pale pastel shards glimmered in the sunlight, hardly different from the water that lapped against it. Summer saw Autumn clutch her stomach. Poor Autumn. All this turning must have made her seasick. They were only a minute away now, but she would need her sister’s full attention to beat the Weeds.
“Crackers and ginger ale are beneath your seat,” Summer called to Autumn. “It’ll help. I promise.”
Autumn nodded and stood up. Right as she did, Summer noticed something rising from the sea behind her. A rock! With the boys distracting them, none of them had seen that they were heading straight toward a huge jagged boulder. Instinctively, Summer pushed the till the other way. She saw everything in quick succession: Autumn, still standing, struggling to gain footing as the boom swung straight toward her stomach. It was useless to call out—Autumn was still too off balance to duck. Instinctively, Summer chanted:
Summer held out her hands before she remembered—her scepter was gone! Her spell couldn’t work without her scepter! Suddenly, from the back of Winter’s coat, a powerful column of water shot straight out between Autumn and the boom. It hit the boom straight on, swinging it back around, away from Autumn. Summer ducked to avoid the blast, which propelled the boat forward, accelerating them toward Sea Glass Island. Winter turned around in shock. How had that happened?
“Look!” Sleet cried. “The Sparkles are cheating! They’re using magic to create a motor!”
Before Summer could explain the strange circumstances, and how she had only meant to save Autumn, the Weeds had taken out their gnarled wands and were shouting.
“Zhoooshlitzphat … Optilongvaaahn … xilerachijacklephap … shweeedlelictshundylil …”
Four lines of black fog shot from the wands of Quake, Twister, Sleet, and Thunderbolt. They collided over the Sparkles’ heads, tangling and dropping like stones into the sea. The Weeds exchanged glances. Clearly, this had never happened before. Summer looked over the side of the boat to see if she could watch the nasty fog sinking. The four currents of fog seemed to be chasing one another in the water, forming a spiral. She gasped.
“That’s funny,” Spring said softly, inspecting the water. “It looks like a—”
“WHIRLPOOL!” Winter shouted. Summer pushed the till to get away from it, but it was too late. Their boat was being sucked in.
Ahead, the Weeds were gaining on Sea Glass Island. In thirty seconds, they’ll be at the shore, and we’ll be churning at the bottom of the sea, Summer thought.
She looked helplessly over at the Weeds’ boat. How to get there? Suddenly, one of the Weeds pulled their boat’s tall mast from its fixture, hopped to the stern, and started running back the length of the boat. Summer tried to see who it was, but the whirlpool was spinning them faster and faster. As the figure flung himself from the back of the Weeds’ boat, the mast diving straight down in the water, digging into the sand deep beneath, Summer realized who it was.
Thunderbolt’s body flipped upside-down 180 degrees. He vaulted from the pole, now stuck in the water, and cleared the space between it and the Sparkles’ boat. He landed in front of Summer as the boat began to twirl faster toward the doomed center.
“Hop on,” he shouted, pulling out his wand. A dark fluffy cloud shot from it. The cloud hovered solidly over their heads. Summer grabbed on to the cloud, pulling herself up and calling to her sisters. Winter and Spring pushed the weakened Autumn up, then clambered onto the thundercloud with Summer’s help. Just as the boat tipped down into the void, Thunderbolt hopped up with the girls. They watched the boat get sucked in and vanish before their eyes.
“Hold tight,” Thunderbolt said. “I can’t sustain this for long!” Summer watched anxiously as Thunderbolt focused on the Weeds’ boat. She could see sweat pouring down his temples as he strained to keep all five of them afloat. Beneath her, she felt the cloud thinning and waning. They were within a few feet of the Weeds’ boat when the cloud jolted.
“Ack!” Winter cried. Summer watched in terror as the part of the cloud where her sisters sat crumbled. Winter, Autumn, and Spring dropped straight into the angry, churning sea. Immediately, a blue stream burst from the Weeds’ boat. Twister stood, his wand aimed at Autumn.
“Slooooshwhiiip,” he cried. A gust of wind carried Autumn up and blew her back toward the Weeds’ boat. Twister caught her safely in his arms and put her on the seat beside him.
“Help!” cried a voice from the water. Winter and Spring were bobbing up and down, taking in huge gulps of water every time a wave rolled beneath them.
“Try to duck under the waves!” Summer called. She knew from practice that it was better to dive into rather than over a large wave. Winter dove through, but Spring hesitated, fearful of going through the nasty water, and got pulled deep into the wave. Before she could even think it over, Summer closed her eyes, put her arms up above her head, pictured the steady stream of a waterfall coursing straight down to the bottom, and jumped. The icy water envelo
ped and numbed her foot to head, wrapping around her like a blanket of snow. She blew bubbles from her nose to keep water from getting up and pushed her arms down to her sides, propelling her body to the surface in one swift motion. Above the water, she gasped for breath, scanning the choppy surface for her sisters. She saw Spring, her legs beating the water to keep herself buoyed. A bright red rescue tube landed in the water beside Summer. She looked back and saw Quake, his arm around another one. She made eye contact and nodded.
“Hang tight, Spring,” she called, grabbing on to the tube. “I’m coming!” Summer swam as fast as she could to Spring in swift freestyle strokes. “Grab on,” she said, and threw Spring the tube. Spring wrapped her arms around it tightly, breathing heavily. “Now for Winter,” Summer said, determined to get her sisters to safety. “But where is she?”
“Look,” Spring shouted. Summer turned just in time to see Thunderbolt high-dive into the water. He resurfaced and grabbed the rescue tube that Quake threw him, heading in the opposite direction from Summer and Spring. Summer saw Winter bobbing in the water, diving dutifully through the waves, hardly catching her breath before another one came. Thunderbolt sped toward her. Summer inhaled deeply as a wave curled and crashed over her head. When she resurfaced, Thunderbolt had one arm around Winter, fixing her into place on the tube. Summer sighed with relief. Without time to think about why Thunderbolt had helped to save her sister, she turned her attention back to her own rescue mission.
“Hold tight,” Summer instructed Spring again. Spring nodded and hugged the tube tightly. Summer tied the attached rope to her waist, then swam as hard as she could, bringing her arms over her head in strong, even strokes.
When they reached the boat, Sleet pulled them up, towels at the ready. He wrapped them tight, then dashed to the back to do the same for Thunderbolt and Winter.
Summer and Autumn immediately formed their own little cocoon around Spring, squeezing her little shivering body tight.
“I’m okay. Really!” Spring managed to say through her chattering teeth.
“You were so brave, Spring,” Autumn told her with another squeeze.
“So was Summer,” Spring answered. “Nice high-dive, by the way.”
Summer frowned quizzically at Spring. Did the seawater get to her brain? What was her little sister talking about? Then it hit her. She had high-dived off the cloud! She’d done it, without even thinking! Summer beamed and squeezed Spring’s arm tenderly.
“Thanks,” she said.
Thunderbolt slumped in beside Summer, shaking water from his shaggy hair.
“Yeah, nice high-dive, Summer,” he said. “Though of course, you couldn’t have done it without my instruction.”
“And your vault wouldn’t have been nearly as smooth without mine,” she shot back. They smiled at each other. Thunderbolt opened his mouth to say something else, but right then, the boat hit shore.
“We’re here!” Quake cried. “Finally!”
“Congratulations,” Winter said, trying as hard as she could not to sound bitter.
“For what?” Sleet asked.
“For winning, duh,” Winter said. “Your boat just hit Sea Glass Island.”
“True,” Sleet said. “But it’s got both Weeds and Sparkles in it.” Sleet gave a small smile, raised his eyebrows, and shrugged. “I guess that means it’s a tie,” he said.
Winter beamed. “A tie!” she shouted. “Sparkles, it’s a tie!”
“Let’s celebrate!” said Summer. “I’ll warm us up with some magic and then we can all grab smoothies at the Sea Glass Cabana!”
“But, Summer,” Autumn said, perplexed. “You don’t have your scepter.”
Summer shrugged. “It worked on the boat!” And before anyone else could argue, she put her hands out.
Suddenly, something loosened and shot out from Winter’s pocket, straight into Summer’s hand. It was her scepter! But how had it gotten into Winter’s pocket?
Winter, Autumn, and Spring all exchanged sheepish glances.
“Oh, tulips and tea trees,” Spring blurted, wringing her hands. “We’re the ones who stole your scepter, Summer. Please forgive us.”
“We’re sorry,” Autumn whispered.
Winter stared at the ground, her face burning. “We only did it because we thought Thunderbolt was up to no good, and we didn’t want him to hurt you,” she said quickly.
“Yes. We’re so sorry we caused you so much worry and pain.”
“We know now that the Weeds are as friendly and sweet as baby porcupines,” Spring chirped. “After all, they did save us.”
Summer sighed. It felt good to hold her scepter in her hands again. She hugged it tight, and then she brought her sisters in for an even tighter hug.
“Of course I forgive you,” she said, embracing them as fiercely as she would Shade. From behind their blissful cocoon, a voice coughed.
“Ahem,” said Thunderbolt. The Sparkles startled apart. “I believe somebody else is owed an apology.”
“We’re sorry we blamed it on you,” Winter said earnestly. “We know now that you’d never hurt our sister. You’re a good guy. All of you Weeds are. As weird as that is to say.”
Summer laughed. She knew what Winter meant. It was the nicest thing she’d ever heard Winter say about the Weeds.
“So we’re friends?” Thunderbolt asked Summer. “Do you trust me now?” His eyes searched hers.
After a pause, she nodded. But she couldn’t keep herself from adding, “Though I’d still put money on a Sparkle to beat a Weed at a sailboat race.”
Thunderbolt laughed. “Come on, everybody,” he shouted. “We all won, despite the craziest odds ever—including potential death by whirlpool. And I’ve got a great idea for how to celebrate …”
His eyes gleamed with mischief, and he motioned for Summer to come close so he could tell her his plan. Summer couldn’t wait to hear what her friend had in mind.
Epilogue
The Weeds and Sparkles sat together with Mother Nature at a table adorned with flowers in her tea garden.
“Is the tea ready yet?” Mother Nature called from the table.
“Patience, love, patience,” a deep voice grumbled from the kitchen.
Mother Nature winked at her Sparkles, who giggled mischievously. The kitchen door swung open.
“Tea is served,” Bluster said miserably. He wore a pink petticoat that came down to his elbows and knees, and over that a lace apron with frills accessorizing the neckline and cuffs.
The Weeds laughed gleefully. Though they’d agreed the competition was a tie, they made the Sparkles promise to back them up when they told Bluster that they’d lost. They wanted to see Bluster in a frilly tea outfit. As Bluster hunched over each of them, gingerly pouring tea into their delicate cups, Mother Nature beamed at the Sparkles and Weeds. It seemed to Summer that she somehow guessed that the boys had said they’d lost for the sake of sharing some fun with the Sparkles. She got the feeling that Mother Nature approved—even though it was at her friend Bluster’s expense.
“It’s so lovely to have you boys over for tea,” Mother Nature said warmly. “You really must come more often.”
“Gee, thanks,” Twister said through a mouthful of pink tea cake. “We’ll definitely take you up on that.”
“Absolutely,” Sleet said, flicking a sugar cube into the air and angling his head just right to catch it in his mouth.
Mother Nature didn’t seem put off by the Weeds’ less-than-perfect manners at all. In fact, she laughed heartily. She reached out for Summer’s hand to her right and Thunderbolt’s hand to her left. “It truly is a victory,” she said, “when you can put your losses behind you and celebrate the new things you’ve gained. Right, Summer?”
Summer smiled. Again, it felt like Mother Nature was reading her mind.
“As Spring will surely tell you,” Mother Nature continued, “sometimes you need a few weeds to help your garden grow.”
Spring nodded seriously. “Weeds hold topsoil and
protect plants from getting eaten by insects. I think some are even prettier than peonies! There’s ragweed, and dandelion, and cockleburs, and goldenrod …”
As Spring’s list went on, Summer noticed Autumn whispering to Twister. Summer followed their gaze and saw that from Twister’s lips had emerged a tiny tornado, which Autumn gently blew toward Bluster’s ankles. He tripped over it and gazed madly at his feet, searching for the invisible root or twig that tripped him. Autumn and Twister covered their giggles with their hands. Next to them, Quake offered his tea sandwich to Spring. She took a bite and exclaimed that he’d coated it in “just the right” amount of mustard seeds. Quake beamed with pride. Even Winter was enjoying the Weeds’ company, bursting with laughter at one of Sleet’s anecdotes. Thunderbolt refilled Summer’s glass of lemonade and she took it with a smile, leaning back contentedly in her chair. It was summertime, her favorite season, and she had done what her season did best—grow something from nothing. In her case, a new friendship with Thunderbolt. And looking at her sisters and the Weeds, she thought, Maybe a couple more friendships too.
About the Authors
Elise Allen is the author of the young adult novel Populazzi and the chapter book Anna’s Icy Adventure, based on Disney’s Frozen. She cowrote the New York Times bestselling Elixir trilogy with Hilary Duff, and the Autumn Falls series with Bella Thorne. A longtime collaborator with the Jim Henson Company, she’s written for Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train.
www.eliseallen.com
Halle Stanford, an eight-time Emmy-nominated children’s television producer, is in charge of creating children’s entertainment at the Jim Henson Company. She currently serves as the executive producer on the award-winning series Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Pajanimals, and Doozers.
Paige Pooler is an artist who loves to draw pictures for girls. You can find Paige’s artwork in American Girl magazine and the Liberty Porter, Trading Faces, and My Sister the Vampire middle grade series.