The One and Only Willa Bean Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2012 by Cecilia Galante

  Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2012 by Kristi Valiant

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Galante, Cecilia.

  The one and only Willa Bean / by Cecilia Galante; illustrated by Kristi Valiant.—

  1st ed.

  p. cm.—(Little wings; 4)

  “A Stepping Stone Book.”

  Summary: Willa Bean thinks that every flying friend should be one of a kind, like her owl, Snooze, and is upset when a new girl arrives at the Cupid Academy with a much larger owl, Mr. Wingston.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-98355-9

  [1. Individuality—Fiction. 2. Owls—Fiction. 3. Cupid (Roman deity)—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction.] I. Valiant, Kristi, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.G12965One 2012

  [E]—dc23 2011053001

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  For Jamie, Erin, Catherine, and Hugh, with love —C.G.

  For my One and Only (Psalm 113) —K.V.

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Willa Bean’s World

  1. A New Cupid!

  2. Fantastic Flying Friends

  3. What Happened to Onlies?

  4. The Flag Flier

  5. A School Song

  6. The Letter N

  7. Species Queasy

  8. Noble Nimbus Day!

  9. A Secret Screech

  10. Onward, Onlies!

  Willa Bean Skylight is a cupid. Cupids live in a faraway place called Nimbus, which sits just alongside the North Star, in a tiny pocket of the Milky Way. Nimbus is made up of three white stars and nine clouds, all connected by feather bridges. It has a Cupid Academy, where cupids go to school, a garden cloud, where they grow and store their food, and lots and lots of playgrounds.

  Willa Bean lives on Cloud Four with her mother and father, her big sister, Ariel, and her baby brother, Louie. Cloud Four is soft and green. The air around it smells like rain and pineapples. Best of all, Willa Bean’s best friend, Harper, also lives on Cloud Four, just a few cloudbumps away.

  When cupids are ready, they are given special Earth tasks. That means they have to fly down to Earth to help someone who is having a hard time. Big cupids, like Willa Bean’s parents, help Earth grown-ups with things like falling in love. Little cupids, like Willa Bean, help Earth kids if they feel mad, sad, or just plain stuck. Working with Earth people is the most important job a cupid has. It can be hard work, too, but there’s nothing that Willa Bean would rather do.

  Are you ready for a peek into Willa Bean’s world? It’s just a few cloudbumps away, so let’s go!

  “Good-bye, Mama!” Willa Bean waved from the cloudbus window. “Bye, Baby Louie! See you after school!”

  “Have fun today!” Mama called. “And take extra-good care of Snooze! Remember, he’s never been to the Cupid Academy before!”

  Snooze was Willa Bean’s flying friend. All cupids were given one before they started the Cupid Academy. Flying friends were from Earth, which meant they knew a lot of things cupids didn’t know. When it came time for the cupids to fly down to Earth, their flying friends would go with them.

  Snooze gave one of Willa Bean’s curls a tug. “You hear that, ma chérie?” he asked. “You must take extra-good care of me today.”

  “I always take extra-good care of you, Snooze,” Willa Bean said. She gave her little owl an eyelash kiss. “You’re my absolute favorite-est.”

  Harper was sitting next to Willa Bean. “Hey.” She gave Willa Bean a little poke. “What about me?”

  Willa Bean giggled. Everyone knew that Harper was her best friend in the entire universe. They did everything together, from sharing a seat on the cloudbus to finding cloud treasure all throughout Nimbus.

  “You’re my favorite cupid,” Willa Bean said to Harper. “Snooze is my favorite owl.”

  “I’m your only owl,” Snooze reminded her.

  “That’s right.” Willa Bean nodded. “Which is another reason why you’re my favorite. Onlies are special. Onlies are the best. Everyone knows that.” She pulled a piece of cloud treasure from her super-curly hair. “Just like this shell.”

  “Wolla-wolla-wing-wang!” Harper said. “Where’d you get that, Willa Bean?”

  “I found it in my backyard,” Willa Bean explained. “Wanna put it in our treasure chest today? After school?”

  “YES!” said Harper.

  “But you’ve found lots of shells,” said Snooze. “What’s so special about this one?”

  “It’s the only purple-and-green shell I’ve ever found,” Willa Bean told him.

  “Ah,” said Snooze. “Of course.”

  “All cupids in their seats, please!” Mr. Bibby called from the front. Mr. Bibby was the cloudbus driver. He was very nice, but he never started the cloudbus until every cupid was sitting down with their cloudbelt fastened.

  Willa Bean plopped back in her seat and clicked her cloudbelt. She wiggled her legs and gave Harper’s knee a squeeze. “I’m so excited to show Snooze to Class A!” she said. “And I can’t wait to meet everyone else’s flying friends!”

  “Me too.” Harper took a bite of a peanut butter Snoogy Bar. “I just hope Octavius doesn’t sleep through the whole thing.”

  Octavius was Harper’s flying friend. He was a bat. His favorite thing to do was sleep. He was fond of Snoogy Bars, too, just like Harper. His favorite flavor was oatmeal-raisin.

  “Speaking of Octavius,” Snooze said, “where is he?”

  Harper pointed to her orange cloudsack on the floor. “In there,” she said. “Sleeping, of course.” Harper lowered her voice. “I think Octavius is a little bit nervous about today. He doesn’t like crowds. Are you nervous about today, Snooze?”

  “No,” Snooze said. “I’ve been looking forward to today with great anticipation.”

  “What’s ancipitation?” asked Willa Bean.

  “An-ti-ci-pa-tion,” Snooze corrected. “It means that I can hardly wait. I think it will be great fun to meet all the flying friends.”

  Harper took another bite of her Snoogy Bar. “Octavius is very shy,” she said. “I hope he does all right.”

  “I’m sure he will!” said Snooze. “From what Willa Bean has told me about the Cupid Academy, everyone will make him feel most welcome.” Snooze blinked his big, round eyes. “Don’t you agree, Willa Bean?”

  Willa Bean stared straight ahead. She wrinkled her forehead. Then she pushed her bottom lip out, the way she did sometimes when she was thinking hard about something.

  “Willa Bean?” Snooze asked. “Did you hear what I said?”

  But Willa Bean was not paying attention. “Who is that?” she asked instead.

  Snooze sighed.

  Harper sat forward in her seat. “Who’s what?” she asked.

  Willa Bean pointed
to a new cupid sitting a few seats in front of them. She had small white wings. Her dark hair was twisted into two long braids and tied at each end with a tiny white bow.

  “Have you ever seen a cupid with braids like that at the Cupid Academy?” Willa Bean asked.

  Harper shook her head.

  “Do you think she’s in our grade?” Willa Bean whispered.

  “I don’t know,” Harper answered.

  “I’m going to ask her,” Willa Bean said. She fiddled with her cloudbelt.

  “Willa Bean.” Snooze tugged at another curl. “Doesn’t Mr. Bibby have a rule about staying in your seat while the cloudbus is moving? At all times?”

  Mr. Bibby had a lot of rules on the cloudbus. Sitting down before the bus started was Rule #1. Staying in your seat while the cloudbus was moving was Rule #2.

  But Rule #3 was that all cupids on the cloudbus had to be nice to each other. And right now, Willa Bean decided that she was going to follow Rule #3.

  “Don’t worry, Snooze,” she said. “I’ll be okay.”

  When the cloudbus pulled into the next cloudstop, Willa Bean crouched low next to the seats. Then she scuttled down the aisle. In a few seconds, she was at the seat behind the new cupid.

  “Hey!” Willa Bean whispered.

  The new cupid turned around. “Hi,” she said softly.

  The new cupid had big blue eyes with long eyelashes. Her hair was very dark and looked soft. When she smiled, her two front teeth stuck out a little in front.

  “What’s your name?” Willa Bean asked.

  “Lucy Summerbreeze,” the new cupid answered shyly. “What’s yours?”

  “I’m Willa Bean!” She lifted the shoulder Snooze was sitting on. “And this is my owl, Snooze.”

  Snooze made a deep bow. “Bonjour, Lucy Summerbreeze,” he said. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

  Lucy’s eyes widened. “Bonjour?” she repeated. “What’s that mean?”

  “It means hello,” Willa Bean answered. “Snooze is from France. He says a lot of words in French.”

  “Wow.” Lucy gazed at Snooze with wide blue eyes. Willa Bean felt proud. She knew Snooze was going to be a big hit in her class today.

  “Is this your first day at the Cupid Academy?” Willa Bean asked.

  “Yes.” Lucy’s voice was soft again. “We just moved to Nimbus. Last week.”

  “Do you know what class you’re in?” Willa Bean pressed. “Because I hope you’re in Class A with Miss Twizzle. That’s who I have. And Harper, too. We love Miss Twizzle. She’s the best teacher in the entire uvinerse.”

  “U-ni-verse,” Snooze corrected her.

  “That’s what I said,” Willa Bean said.

  “Who’s Harper?” Lucy asked.

  Willa Bean turned around. She was going to point to where Harper was sitting and tell Lucy that Harper was her best friend. She was going to tell Lucy how their favorite thing to do was to look for cloud treasure. Maybe she would even tell Lucy about their secret treasure chest on Cloud Five. Or maybe she wouldn’t. At least, not yet.

  But she didn’t get a chance to tell Lucy any of these things. Because just then, she heard her name being called from the front of the bus.

  “Willa Bean Skylight!” It was Mr. Bibby. He was looking right at Willa Bean in his wide mirror. “What are you doing out of your seat?”

  Willa Bean gulped.

  “Didn’t I tell you?” Snooze whispered. “Now may we go?”

  Willa Bean stood up carefully. The rest of the cupids were staring at her. She could feel her face getting hot. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bibby,” she said. “I won’t get up again.”

  “Thank you,” said Mr. Bibby.

  Willa Bean hurried back to her seat.

  “Wizzle-dizzle-doodad!” Harper whispered next to her. “You were talking to the new cupid for a long time! What’d you find out?”

  Willa Bean looked back at Lucy Summerbreeze.

  Lucy gave Willa Bean a tiny wave.

  “I think,” Willa Bean said, smiling, “that we found a new friend!”

  By nine o’clock, Class A was a sea of cupid wings and flying-friend wings. Willa Bean ran from desk to desk, looking at everyone’s flying friend. Sophie had a little black and blue bird. Pedro had a bumblebee. Raymond had a lightning bug. Hannah had a pale orange moth with black dots.

  Holy shamoley! They were all wonderful! And so different!

  “All right, Class A!” Miss Twizzle stood up behind her desk as the bell rang. “When the second bell rings, everyone should be in their seats with their wings folded!” She nodded at Willa Bean as she spoke.

  Willa Bean rushed back to her desk. Vivi was already sitting in front of her. A large blue butterfly was on top of her red hair. It had tiny legs, and it opened and closed its wings slowly. It was beautiful.

  Vivi was not Willa Bean’s favorite cupid in Class A. In fact, Willa Bean was not very crazy about Vivi at all. Vivi liked to tattle on Willa Bean. Plus, Miss Twizzle hardly ever had to tell Vivi twice to do something. It was hard to sit behind a tattletale who was also a good listener.

  Willa Bean slid into her chair and sat still.

  “I do hope Miss Twizzle doesn’t have to tell you to be in your seat every morning,” Snooze whispered in Willa Bean’s ear.

  “Nope, nope-ity, nope, nope, nope.” Willa Bean shook her head. “Hardly ever.”

  “Now I can make my first special announcement,” Miss Twizzle said. “Lucy? Will you stand up, please?”

  Willa Bean turned around. With all the flying-friend excitement, she had forgotten about the new cupid from the cloudbus! Lucy was standing behind a desk near the corner. Her cheeks were very pink, and her lower lip wobbled as she tried to smile.

  “Class,” Miss Twizzle said, “this is Lucy Summerbreeze. Lucy and her family have just moved to Nimbus. I would like all of you to give her a big welcome to Class A.”

  “WELCOME, LUCY!” Class A shouted.

  Lucy smiled. Then she covered her mouth with her hand. Willa Bean wondered if Lucy was embarrassed that her two front teeth stuck out.

  “Since it is her first day, Lucy didn’t know we were bringing our flying friends to school this morning,” Miss Twizzle said. “But a messenger cupid has flown back to Lucy’s house to get him.”

  Willa Bean bounced a little in her chair. She wondered what kind of flying friend Lucy had. Maybe it was a ladybug! Or a blue jay! Maybe it had braids, or little white bows in its wings like Lucy did in her hair! Willa Bean wished she had been able to ask Lucy herself on the cloudbus. One of Willa Bean’s favorite things was knowing something no one else did. If only Mr. Bibby hadn’t been looking in his mirror!

  “And now,” said Miss Twizzle, “it’s time to introduce our flying friends!”

  A murmur sounded throughout the room. Little wings ruffled. Small feet tapped against the floor. Willa Bean hopped up and down in her seat. This was what she had been waiting for!

  “Are you ready?” she asked Snooze.

  “Ah, oui,” Snooze answered. Oui was the French word for yes. It sounded like we.

  “Oui, oui, oui,” Willa Bean said. She liked speaking French, too.

  Willa Bean raised her hand. She waved it back and forth like a flag. She wiggled her fingers and fluttered her wings. She jiggled her feet up and down. “Miss Twizzle!” she yelled. “We’re ready, Miss Twizzle! Pick me! Pick me!”

  Snooze moved closer to Willa Bean’s ear. “Are you supposed to yell and shout like that to get your teacher’s attention?” he asked.

  Willa Bean stopped yelling. She kept her feet and wings still. “Pleasepleaseplease, Miss Twizzle,” she whisper-screamed. “Pick me, please.”

  But Miss Twizzle did not pick Willa Bean. Instead, she picked Vivi, who was sitting quietly in her seat. The large butterfly with bright blue wings was sitting very quietly, too.

  Vivi marched to the front of the room. She stood next to Miss Twizzle’s desk, facing the class. Then she reached up and fluttered her fingers. The blue
butterfly climbed onto them.

  “This is my flying friend.” Vivi raised her hand so that everyone could see her butterfly. “Her name is Buttercream Thistlepopper. She is from a place on Earth called Australia.”

  “HELLO, BUTTERCREAM THISTLEPOPPER!” Class A said loudly.

  “Hello, everyone!” Buttercream Thistlepopper’s voice sounded like a soft, high whistle. Her wings were almost as big as Vivi’s whole hand.

  “She’s lovely, Vivi,” Miss Twizzle said. “Can you tell us more about her?”

  “Well,” Vivi said, “Buttercream Thistlepopper is one of the biggest butterflies in Australia. Which makes her a real, live queen of the butterfly kingdom.”

  Vivi paused. “I just thought of something,” she said.

  “What’s that?” asked Miss Twizzle.

  “Well,” said Vivi, “since Buttercream Thistlepopper is a real, live queen, don’t you think she should be in charge of all the other flying friends?”

  Miss Twizzle blinked a few times. Then she cleared her throat. “That is certainly an interesting suggestion, Vivi,” she said.

  Vivi tossed her long red hair. “Buttercream Thistlepopper is also super-smart,” she went on. “She’s probably the smartest flying friend that any cupid has ever had. She can taste things with her feet.”

  Class A gasped.

  Vivi straightened up taller. “And she can smell things with her antennae!”

  Class A gasped again.

  “And she—” Vivi started again.

  “Buttercream Thistlepopper is an absolute marvel,” Miss Twizzle interrupted gently. “You are lucky to have her. But we have to give everyone a turn to talk about their flying friends. Thank you, Vivi.”

  Willa Bean stared at Buttercream Thistlepopper as Vivi sat back down. She was a beautiful flying friend. And Willa Bean had never heard of any animal being able to smell things with their antennae or taste things with their feet. But she was not too sure about a butterfly—or any other flying friend—telling Snooze what to do.

  “Let’s hear from Harper next,” Miss Twizzle said.

  Harper walked up to the front of the class. She gave Willa Bean a little wave.