Be Brave, Willa Bean! Read online

  All the other cupids gathered around Sophie. She was getting ready to shoot up toward a baby cloud.

  “Bend your knees real low,” Harper suggested. “That always helps me go extra high.”

  “And keep your arms super-close to your ears,” said Pedro.

  “And point your fingers,” said Raymond.

  “And don’t arch your back,” said Lola.

  “STOP!” Sophie clamped her hands over her ears. “I NEED SUPER-EXTRA QUIET WHEN I FLY!”

  Willa Bean wondered if being quiet was the secret to flying high. She didn’t know if she could be that quiet. Especially before she flew. Being quiet was too hard. At any time.

  “Shhhh!” Pedro said. “Everyone stop talking!”

  All the cupids fell silent.

  Willa Bean watched Sophie carefully as she stood in the middle of the circle.

  Sophie took a deep breath. She bent her knees. She straightened her back. She raised her arms, pointed her fingers, and wiggled her wings.

  And then she shot into the air, straight as a line.

  Willa Bean looked up. All she could see were the bottoms of Sophie’s brown school shoes. They were a little dirty. Something was stuck to one of the heels.

  Slowly, Sophie stopped going up. Her shoes started coming back down. Willa Bean could see her socks, and her legs, and finally her wings. Sophie fluttered down next to her.

  “I couldn’t reach it!” Sophie gasped. “I tried and tried, but it’s so high!”

  Willa Bean shivered a little.

  Harper patted Sophie on the back. “Ringle-dingle-doo-dah, Sophie! That was great! You were so close!”

  Raymond, who was wearing a bright red hat today, was next.

  “You should take off your hat,” Hannah suggested. “That way, you’ll go faster.”

  But Raymond did not take off his hat. He said it was a lucky hat. Willa Bean wondered if Raymond’s lucky hat was his secret to going up high. She did not have a lucky hat. Maybe it was time to get one.

  Raymond bent his knees and straightened his back. He placed his arms close to his ears, just like Sophie. But when he went up in the air, he wobbled. And when he tried to straighten himself out, he wobbled again.

  Down, down, down he came. His red hat was puffed wide with air. So were his cheeks.

  “I told you to take off your hat!” Hannah insisted.

  “It wasn’t my hat!” Raymond said. “I’ve been feeling a little wobbly all day. Ever since this morning, actually. I don’t think I ate enough breakfast.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, now me!” Vivi pushed her way into the middle of the circle. She straightened her green bow and flattened her skirt. She closed her eyes and raised her arms above her head. She shot up into the air.

  Vivi went very, very high. Even higher than Sophie. But she did not touch the baby cloud.

  Vivi came back down. Her face was mad-looking. “I want another turn,” she said. “My foot slipped when I tried to start! That’s why I didn’t get very high.”

  “No way!” Pedro said. “Harper and Lola and Hannah and Willa Bean all still have to go! There won’t be time if you take another turn!”

  “Hmph!” Vivi said.

  Willa Bean took another tiny step outside the circle. She hoped no one noticed.

  Hannah and Lola and Harper all had their turns. Lola and Hannah went very high. Even higher than Vivi had gone. But they did not reach the tip-top of the baby cloud above them.

  Harper took off from the ground like a rocket. She went so high that Willa Bean couldn’t even see her shoes anymore.

  “Wow!” Lola shouted. “Harper’s outta here!”

  The cupids put their hands over their eyes and squinted up into the sky.

  “Do you think she got Tip-Top?” Pedro asked.

  “Maybe!” Hannah yelled.

  Suddenly, the bottom of Harper’s shoes appeared. Then her socks, and her knees, and finally, all the rest of her. Harper stood back down on the ground. There was a big smile on her face. She opened her hand very slowly. Inside was a piece of baby cloud. It was blue and fluffy and already starting to melt.

  All the cupids yelled and jumped and patted Harper on the back. “Awesome, Harper! You did it! You did it!”

  “Okay, Willa Bean!” Pedro shouted. “It’s your turn! You’re the last one! See if you can beat Harper!”

  Willa Bean’s stomach felt like it was full of fireflies. And they were whizzing around like crazy. She felt very horrible. And sick, too. Like she might throw up.

  “Let’s go, Willa Bean!” Harper shouted. “You can do it! Show us your stuff!”

  Willa Bean swallowed hard. She walked into the middle of the circle. All the cupids were staring at her. She did not want to go. She knew she would not be able to beat Harper. She would not even be able to go as high as Sophie.

  “Just do your best,” Harper said. “And concentrate real hard.”

  Willa Bean’s lower lip trembled. Her knees shook.

  And just then, the bell rang.

  “All right, cupids!” Miss Twizzle called. “Recess is over! Let’s get back in line!”

  With a shout, the cupids turned around and followed Miss Twizzle.

  “We’ll start with you next time we play, Willa Bean!” Harper said. “Don’t worry!”

  Willa Bean stayed behind a little as Harper raced up ahead. She could feel her breaths coming out of her mouth in little spurts.

  It was going to be impossible not to worry. Worrying was one of the things she did best.

  Later that night, Willa Bean got ready for bed. First, she put on her yellow nightgown and fuzzy orange slippers. Then she turned on the two night-lights by her bed. She opened her door a little so she could see the light in the hallway. Finally, she went over and tapped on her closet door.

  There was no answer.

  Willa Bean tapped again, a little harder this time.

  Still no answer.

  She puckered up her lips and gave a low whistle. “Snooze!” she whispered. “Are you in there?”

  A rustling sound came from inside the closet, followed by a short sneeze. “Oui,” Snooze answered. Oui meant yes in French.

  Willa Bean swung open her closet door. Usually at this time of the night, Snooze was fluffing his feathers with his beak. Or doing his wing exercises to get ready for his night flight around the world.

  Tonight, though, Snooze had his beak tucked under one wing. He squinted as the light from Willa Bean’s room came into the closet. Then he sneezed again. It sounded like this: “Twoot!”

  “Snooze!” Willa Bean said. “You look terrible! What’s the matter?”

  Snooze blinked. “I hab a code,” he said. His voice sounded stuffy.

  Willa Bean leaned into the closet a little more. “A what?”

  “A code,” Snooze repeated. “I hab a code.”

  “Are you speaking in French?” Willa Bean asked. “Because I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

  Snooze ruffled his feathers weakly. He sniffled through his beak, and rubbed one of his big yellow eyes with the tip of his wing. “I hab a COLD,” he said. “I’m sick.”

  “Oh, Snooze!” Willa Bean reached up and cradled her little owl in her arms. “You have a cold! That’s why your nose is all stuffy! Where did you get a cold from?”

  Snooze nestled against Willa Bean’s arm. “I hab no idea,” he said.

  “It’s all that flying you do out in the uvinerse,” Willa Bean said. “Maybe you got it in Morocco.”

  “It’s pronounced u-NI-verse, Willa Bean,” Snooze said. “Not u-VI-nerse.”

  “That’s what I said.” Willa Bean nodded. “Uvinerse.”

  Snooze sighed. He closed his eyes.

  “Do you need any medicine?” Willa Bean asked. “When I get sick, Mama gives me a teaspoon of moonbeam syrup. It tastes yucky, but it always makes me feel better in the morning. Do you want me to get you some moonbeam syrup?”

  “I don’t think
moonbeam syrup is going to work for me,” Snooze said. “Dat’s just for cupids.”

  “Well, what do owls take when they get sick?” Willa Bean asked. “You have to take something, or else you won’t get better!”

  Snooze shook his head. “There isn’t any medicine for owls. We just hab to stay quiet and get lots of extra sleep.” He closed his eyes again and pulled one wing over his eye. “A little extra companionship helps, too.”

  “What’s companionship?” Willa Bean asked.

  “Being with you,” Snooze answered. “I don’t like being alone when I’m sick. It makes me feel even worse. Being with you makes me feel better. I always feel a little stronger afterward.”

  Willa Bean patted Snooze’s head softly. She smoothed his wing feathers and let him snuggle close against her. Snooze curled his tiny feet under him. He breathed in and out through his stuffy nose.

  “Snooze?” Willa Bean said after a moment.

  “Hmmm?” Snooze opened one eye.

  “Do you like flying up high?”

  “I do,” Snooze said.

  “What about the dark?” Willa Bean asked. “Do you like flying in the dark?”

  “I do,” Snooze said again. “Very much.”

  “But isn’t it scary?” Willa Bean asked. “Flying up so high? And in the dark?” She shivered just thinking about it.

  Snooze ruffled a wing feather. “No. It’s quite exciting, actually.”

  “But what if you fell when you were high up? And how can you see without any lights on? How can you tell where you’re going?”

  “I’ve never fallen,” Snooze said. “That’s what my wings are for. They keep me up. And there are plenty of lights out there. What do you think the moon is? And all those stars?”

  “But there’s lots more dark than stars,” Willa Bean said. “And what if one of the stars wasn’t working right, and it wasn’t bright enough, and you thought you were flying the right way but really you weren’t, and you crashed into something or got lost out there in the middle of the uvinerse and no one could ever find you again?” She took a breath. “Then what?”

  Snooze blinked. “I’m dizzy all of a sudden,” he said.

  “But still,” Willa Bean said. “What if?”

  “Nothing like that has ever happened,” Snooze said. “To the best of my knowledge, all the stars are working just fine. And they probably will be for quite some time.”

  Willa Bean thought about the trip Harper had taken last weekend with her father. They had flown all the way around the Milky Way and then home again. It had been super-dark. So dark, Harper said, that she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face!

  Willa Bean couldn’t imagine doing such a thing.

  Ever.

  Even if every single star in the Milky Way was working perfectly.

  “Willa Bean?” Snooze scuttled to the edge of her arm again. “One of the best things about companionship is that it doesn’t require very many words. You can just be together. Without talking. Now I need lots of rest to get better, and you need to go to sleep so you can do well in school tomorrow. So let’s not talk anymore tonight, okay? Let’s just snuggle.”

  “Okay,” Willa Bean said softly.

  Snooze folded his feet back under his chest. “And, Willa Bean?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Pas de souci,” Snooze said.

  “Pah duh soo-see?” Willa Bean repeated. “What’s that mean?”

  “It means don’t worry so much!” Snooze answered. “Worrying is for walruses, ma chérie, not cupids.”

  With that, Snooze wiggled in close to Willa Bean’s arm. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

  And after a long, long time—and a little bit more worrying—Willa Bean did, too.

  The next morning, Snooze tapped Willa Bean’s nose with his beak. “Bonjour!” he said.

  Willa Bean rubbed her eyes. She wrinkled her nose. “Snooze,” she said sleepily. “You need to swish with mouthwash before you breathe on me.”

  Snooze walked back and forth across Willa Bean’s blankets. He ruffled his tail feathers. He blinked his eyes. They were round and bright. “Ah, Willa Bean!” he said. “I feel like a brand-new owl!”

  Willa Bean sat up. “No more stuffy nose?”

  “Nothing of the sort!” Snooze said. “I told you a good night’s sleep and your companionship would make me feel better. And I was right. I feel like I could fly to Jupiter and back!”

  Willa Bean gave her little owl a hug. “I’m glad, Snoozer. I hate it when you’re sick.”

  Suddenly, she remembered what today was.

  It was Flipday!

  Which meant that after school, Harper was coming home with her! To sleep over!

  Willa Bean jumped out of bed. She got dressed and brushed her wings. “Good morning, little wings!” she said. “It’s a very fantastic day for us! Harper is coming over to spend the night!” Her wings flapped back and forth. They were excited, too.

  Willa Bean tried very hard to press her hair down again, but it would not cooperate. BOING! BOING! Oh well. Her hair really did have a mind of its own.

  Willa Bean slipped on her sandals and went downstairs for breakfast.

  “Good morning, little love!” Daddy said. He was sitting at the table with Mama, eating breakfast. “Would you like some help brushing your hair?”

  Willa Bean sat down. “I already brushed my hair,” she said.

  Daddy looked over at Mama.

  Mama sighed.

  “Well, I’m off,” Daddy said. He picked up his quiver in the corner and slung it over his shoulder. Inside the quiver were six golden arrows, glowing in the morning light. They looked like slivers of a sunbeam.

  Daddy leaned over and gave Willa Bean an eyelash kiss. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said. “Have fun at school.”

  “Good-bye, Daddy,” Willa Bean said. “Good luck!”

  She stared at Daddy’s arrows as he flew out the door. She was not allowed to touch his golden arrows. Not ever. The same went for Ariel. And for Baby Louie, too, of course. None of them would have golden arrows until they were grown up. Sometimes, though, it was very hard not to touch them. They were so beautiful. And so golden. They were treasure-super-plus.

  On the other side of the kitchen, Ariel was opening and shutting the cupboard doors. “Mama, where’s the peanut butter?” she asked.

  “I think we’re out,” Mama said.

  Ariel turned around. “We’re out of peanut butter? How are my friends and I supposed to make Snoogy Bars tonight without peanut butter?”

  “Don’t worry,” Mama answered. “Baby Louie and I have to head over to Cloud Seven today for more diapers. I’ll get peanut butter while I’m there.”

  Willa Bean sat up straighter in her chair. “Can you get extra for me, too, Mama? Harper and I are making our own Snoogy Bars.”

  “Oh no, you’re not,” said Ariel. “That’s my slumber-party project, not yours. You keep out of this kitchen tonight, you little pest.”

  “You’re not the kitchen boss!” Willa Bean said. “Harper and I can make our own Snoogy Bars if we want to. Right, Mama?”

  “Why can’t you just do it together?” Mama asked. “Everyone can make one gigantic batch of peanut butter Snoogy Bars, and then you can all share them.”

  “Absolutely not,” Ariel said. “I don’t want Willa Bean anywhere near my Snoogy Bars. Or my friends. And you promised, Mama. You said that if Willa Bean had Harper over, they wouldn’t get in our way!”

  “I did say that.” Mama looked at Willa Bean. “You and Harper will have to think of something else to do, sweetheart.”

  “That’s not fair!” Willa Bean said.

  “Too bad.” Ariel made a googly face at Willa Bean.

  Willa Bean stuck her tongue out at her big sister.

  “Whiner,” Ariel said.

  “Stinker!” Willa Bean yelled.

  “Girls,” Mama said. “Please. If you can’t remember the Cupid Rule, I will cancel everyone’s sl
eepover.”

  Sometimes Willa Bean wished she had never even heard of the Cupid Rule.

  The very best way

  To spend your day

  Is to try to be kind—

  All the time.

  It was much too hard to be kind all the time.

  Especially to pain-in-the-wing older sisters who thought they were the boss of you.

  “Good morning, Willa Bean,” Mr. Bibby said a little while later when the cloudbus pulled up. “How are you today?”

  “Great, Mr. Bibby!” Willa Bean said. She stared at his bow tie. It was purple with pink stripes. “That’s a neat bow tie!” she said.

  Mr. Bibby grinned. “This is my lucky bow tie,” he said. “Have a seat now. And fasten your cloudbelt.”

  Harper popped up from their favorite seat in the back. “Willa Bean! Look! I have my wingsack packed! For tonight!”

  Willa Bean sat down next to Harper. She looked at her best friend’s wingsack. It was bright orange with strings on the top. The inside was stuffed. There was even something poking out of the top. “What’s that?” Willa Bean asked.

  “My plastic oar!” Harper yanked open the wingsack and pulled out the oar. “So we can play water boat when we go flying in the dark later!”

  Willa Bean swallowed hard. “What else did you pack?”

  “Tons of stuff!” Harper took everything out and put it on the seat between them. “Look!” Inside Harper’s wingsack, there were:

  Yellow shortie pajamas with tiny white bows on the sleeves

  Purple slippers

  An eyeglass case

  A green flashlight

  Four packages of Cloudburst Crunch—two for each of them!

  Six rubber spiders

  A lightning-and-thunder noisemaker—with extra batteries!

  One can of lavender mooncream

  Harper leaned over and whispered something in Willa Bean’s ear. It had to do with the spiders, and the lightning-and-thunder noisemaker, and the lavender mooncream.

  Willa Bean began to giggle. Then she began to wiggle. “You thought of everything, Harper! We are going to scare the wings off of Ariel and her friends! I can’t wait!”