Cookies and Crutches Read online

  The girls took the cookies off the pan and put them on a plate.

  “They look like giant Frisbees!” cried Mary Beth.

  “Or flying saucers,” said Molly. “We will never get a badge for these cookies.”

  “Let’s taste one,” said Mary Beth.

  Mrs. Kelly had gone back upstairs.

  Mary Beth took one bite.

  She made a terrible face. She ran to the sink and spit it out.

  “It’s awful!” she said.

  “And there is something hard in there.” Mary Beth took a drink of water. “Something real hard,” she said.

  Molly broke her cookie in half.

  She saw little marble-like things inside.

  “Yuck!” she said. “I’m not eating these things. They look like beans!”

  “Now we won’t get our badge,” said Mary Beth.

  She stamped her foot. She felt mad.

  What a waste. They could not even eat the cookies.

  “I better go home,” said Molly, getting her coat on.

  “Take your half of the cookies,” said Mary Beth.

  “No thanks!” cried Molly. “There’s a hex on those cookies, and I didn’t put it there!”

  CHAPTER 5

  Cookie Badges

  On Tuesday almost everyone brought a cookie to the meeting.

  Some looked like submarines.

  Some looked like brown buttons.

  Some looked like dog chewies.

  But none looked like chocolate chip cookies.

  “Today we will try again,” said Mrs. Peters.

  “Right here. I will not help.

  “I will just watch.

  “Put in only what it says on the paper.”

  “That was our mistake,” whispered Sonny. “We put in too much other stuff.”

  “We did too,” said Molly.

  “I didn’t,” said Rachel in her running shoes.

  “Then why were your cookies so yucky?” asked Roger.

  “They weren’t yucky,” Rachel said. “They just didn’t get done. I didn’t bake them long enough.”

  “Dough-face,” said Roger. “You’re the girl who eats raw dough! Dough-face! Dough-face! Raw-cookie monster Rachel!”

  Rachel stuck out her tongue at him.

  Each Scout had his or her own bowl.

  They had their own measuring cups.

  They had only the right cookie things.

  Mrs. Peters watched them as they made their cookies.

  She put them into the oven.

  She set the timer.

  This time all the cookies turned out.

  Some were big and some were small.

  Some were square and some were round.

  Some were oblong.

  But they all were soft and warm and had melted chocolate chips in them.

  Each Scout gave Mrs. Peters a cookie to taste.

  “Wonderful!” she said.

  She passed out the cookie badges. The badges were shaped like big cookies. The Scouts pinned them onto their Scout kerchiefs. Then they ate their cookies while Mrs. Peters told them about plans for a skating party.

  It was a special party. The Scouts were all supposed to bring their dads.

  Everyone looked at Tim Noon.

  He didn’t have a dad.

  Neither did Lisa Ronning or Sonny Betz.

  “If you don’t have a dad,” Mrs. Peters was saying, “you can bring a brother, or an uncle, or even a friend.”

  “Yikes!” said Rachel. “I get to wear my new figure skates!”

  Molly didn’t have skates.

  Mary Beth had some, but they were black.

  Her big brother had outgrown them.

  “You can always borrow skates, or rent skates if you don’t have any,” said Mrs. Peters.

  “I have some, Mrs. Peters,” called Rachel from across the room. “They are white figure skates. I won’t have to borrow or rent any,” she said.

  “Fine, Rachel,” said Mrs. Peters.

  Rachel stood on her toes and made skating motions as if she were already on the ice.

  “Show-off,” muttered Roger. “I’ll bet your skates are dumb.”

  “My skates are what the stars wear to skate on TV,” said Rachel with her hands on her hips.

  “A hex on your skates,” whispered Molly with her eyes crossed.

  “And a hex on chocolate chip cookies,” said Mary Beth, moaning. “I ate too many. I don’t ever want to see a cookie again in my whole life!”

  CHAPTER 6

  Dainty Feet

  The Pee Wee Scouts counted the days until the skating party. It was on a Saturday afternoon.

  It was at the indoor skating rink downtown.

  “A hex on school,” said Molly Duff on Friday afternoon.

  She glared at Mrs. Lane.

  First grade was boring sometimes.

  Molly knew how to read.

  She knew how to spell.

  What she didn’t know how to do was skate.

  They should teach skating in first grade, she thought.

  That would be more sensible. Something she didn’t know.

  Something that was fun.

  Chug, chug, chug. The big hand of the clock climbed to the three.

  BRRRING! rang the bell at last.

  The school day was over.

  The skating party was almost here.

  In the hall, Molly met Rachel.

  She had on her running shoes.

  She had on a lavender jacket.

  Molly liked lavender. Her mother said it was too fancy a color for first grade.

  “It’s Ultrasuede,” said Rachel when she saw Molly looking at her jacket.

  Ultrasuede was very expensive.

  No one in first grade had anything Ultrasuede, except Rachel. Rachel’s family must have a lot of money, Molly thought.

  Rachel turned up the collar on her jacket.

  “My dad has figure skates too,” said Rachel. “Black ones.”

  Black-schmack. Rachel’s whole family probably were show-offs.

  A hex on her father’s black figure skates, thought Molly.

  She would have to rent skates.

  Her father would too.

  Even Mary Beth had to rent skates, or wear her brother’s black ones.

  On Saturday afternoon the Pee Wee Scouts met at the school. They wore their Pee Wee kerchiefs. Mrs. Peters got rides for the Scouts who needed them.

  Rachel was there with her white figure skates.

  They had white laces with blue pom-poms on them.

  The blades were shiny. You could almost see your face in them, like a mirror. They had notches on the end to twirl with.

  Her father had black skates. His blades were shiny too.

  His black laces had red balls on them.

  Just like figure skaters in the Ice Capades on TV.

  Lisa Ronning was there with her uncle.

  He had a red tassel cap on.

  He looked very young. Almost like a brother.

  All the fathers and uncles and brothers were laughing together.

  In the middle of all of the adults, there was one woman.

  “Who is that?” whispered Molly to Mary Beth. “Why is she here?”

  People were laughing, and pointing to Sonny.

  “It’s Sonny’s mom!” said Mary Beth. “Sonny brought his mom instead of his dad.”

  “Mrs. Peters said you had to bring a dad,” said Molly. “Or at least a brother or an uncle!”

  Mary Beth nodded. She pulled on her new wool hat.

  “Sonny does everything with his mom,” she said.

  Roger was poking Sonny, and saying, “Sissy! Bringing your mom to a fathers’ skating party!”

  Roger was bent over now, laughing.

  “My mom can skate,” said Sonny. “She can probably skate better than your dad.”

  “Ha!” said Roger. “We’ll see about that.”

  * * *

  Roger began to worry about whether
his dad could skate.

  He wondered if he could skate himself.

  He hadn’t been skating for over a year.

  He was in kindergarten the last time he was on the ice.

  Everyone piled into cars.

  All the men.

  And all the Scouts.

  And Mrs. Betz.

  When they got to the indoor rink, Mrs. Peters had everyone’s tickets ready.

  The men went to a counter to rent skates.

  The Scouts who did not have their own skates went to another counter, where they could rent children’s sizes.

  Molly and Mary Beth got in line to rent skates.

  Rachel followed them, even though she had skates of her own.

  She hung them around her neck by the laces.

  The blue pom-poms were bouncing as she walked.

  “Your feet are really big,” she said to Molly.

  “They are not,” said Molly quickly.

  “What size do you wear?” demanded Rachel.

  “I can’t remember,” lied Molly.

  “These are size ten,” said Rachel proudly, pointing to her skates. “My mom says ten is a very small size for my age. She says I have dainty feet.”

  “Size please,” said the man behind the counter.

  Molly didn’t stop to think. “Ten,” she said.

  “You don’t wear ten,” said Rachel, pouting.

  “I do too,” said Molly, taking the skates.

  When Mary Beth had rented her skates, the three girls walked over to a bench. They sat down and began to unlace the skates. They put them on.

  Mary Beth pulled hers on easily and laced them up.

  Rachel pulled hers on carefully and laced them up.

  The blades sparkled. The pom-poms danced.

  She stood up on the ice in front of Molly and twirled.

  * * *

  Molly’s skate wouldn’t go on. And it was not white like Rachel’s. It was gray. The blades were not like mirrors. They were dull.

  She pulled and pulled.

  She tugged and tugged.

  “Those are too small!” whispered Mary Beth. “Why don’t you get a bigger size?”

  Molly did not want a bigger size.

  She wanted the same size as Rachel.

  She did not have big feet.

  A hex on Rachel for saying so.

  “My socks are too thick,” said Molly. “I have to take them off.”

  She took her socks off and put them into her pocket.

  Then she tried to pull the skates on again.

  “Your feet are too big,” said Rachel.

  She stopped twirling and put her hands on her hips.

  She stared at Molly’s feet.

  “They are not!” said Molly, pulling extra hard on the skate.

  POP! It went on.

  But it felt awful.

  Molly’s toes were bent. Maybe they were even broken!

  Molly could not move one toe. She tried to lace up the skate. She had to pull the lace tightly to tie it.

  She pulled and tugged on the other skate to get it on.

  Finally it went pop! Her heel slid in. But just barely.

  Now all ten toes felt as if they were bent in half.

  How would she ever be able to stand up?

  Both Rachel and Mary Beth were twirling on the ice.

  They reached out their mittened hands to pull her up.

  Oof! She was on her feet! The pain from her toes went all the way up her ankles.

  “Come on then,” said Rachel in her size-ten skates. “Let’s skate together.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Crutches

  Molly was in the middle.

  Rachel had hold of one arm, and Mary Beth had the other.

  They skated along, pulling Molly with them.

  After a little while Molly could not feel her feet at all.

  They were numb!

  Molly’s dad came skating up to them.

  His arms were out.

  He wobbled from one side to the other.

  His knees bent in, and then out.

  “I’m not too good at this,” he said, laughing.

  Mary Beth’s father came skating over to them.

  He was better.

  But not much better.

  He slid toward them.

  Crash! He bumped into a bench, and fell onto the ice!

  Rachel’s father came gliding toward them.

  He was skating smoothly. Just like Rachel.

  His blades flashed as he came to a stop.

  Ice chips flew up where he stood.

  Most of the dads were having trouble standing up.

  They wobbled back and forth and fell onto the ice.

  “Look at Roger and his dad!” cried Rachel. “They are bumping into everyone!”

  Mrs. Peters was helping the fathers to their feet.

  She was showing them how to put one foot ahead of the other.

  She showed some of the Pee Wee Scouts how to stop.

  “Look!” called Molly, pointing.

  There, skating smoothly among all the wobbling dads, was Mrs. Betz.

  In and out, in and out.

  Then she skated arm in arm with Sonny.

  Then she skated backward.

  And then, while everyone watched, Mrs. Betz skated with both arms out and one leg out in back of her. Just like the skaters on TV!

  All the dads began to clap. Mrs. Betz bowed and waved.

  “See?” said Sonny as he whizzed by Roger. “What did I tell you? I told you my mom could skate better than your dad!”

  Roger turned red. He couldn’t call Sonny a sissy now.

  He and his mother could outskate them all!

  “Hex, hex, hex,” called Molly to Sonny and his mom.

  Her feet were aching. She felt awful.

  “Try this!” said Rachel, skating with one leg out in front of her.

  Molly tried it and toppled over sideways.

  “Come on, Molly!” they called. “You’re no fun today!”

  Molly got to her feet.

  She closed her eyes in pain, and tried again to put one leg out in front of her. It did not work.

  She turned her ankle and fell on the ice.

  “I can’t walk!” she said, trying to get to her feet.

  When her father pulled her up, she could not stand on her sore ankle.

  “It’s broken!” she cried.

  Everyone ran to help.

  They carried Molly to the bench.

  Mrs. Peters showed them how to make a stretcher with a coat, and they took her to the car.

  Molly’s father began to take her skates off.

  Molly cried in pain.

  “Let’s wait,” said Mrs. Peters, who always took charge. “It is best not to disturb a patient.”

  Molly could not believe what was happening to her.

  Her father’s car was taking her to the hospital!

  Was her ankle really broken?

  She should not have lied about her skate size.

  A hex on size ten!

  At the hospital everyone got out.

  They followed the coat-stretcher.

  It looked like a parade.

  In the emergency room a nurse X-rayed Molly’s ankle.

  The doctor came in and felt Molly’s bones.

  He looked at the X rays.

  “It is not broken,” he said. “Just sprained. You have a sprained ankle, Molly. You will have to stay off it for a while.”

  The doctor wrapped her ankle with a bandage.

  Then he got out a pair of crutches and showed Molly how to walk on them.

  In the waiting room all the Scouts gathered around Molly.

  “Wow!” said Roger. “Real crutches!”

  “My brother had crutches once,” said Mary Beth.

  Rachel was standing in back by the door.

  No one was fussing over her shiny skates now.

  No one was noticing her blue pompoms.

  Rachel h
ad never sprained her ankle.

  She had never had crutches.

  “Does it hurt?” asked Sonny.

  “Put ice on it,” said his mother.

  “We must get Molly home and into a warm bed,” said Mrs. Peters.

  Everyone followed Molly out.

  She led the parade, on her crutches.

  CHAPTER 8

  A Badge for Molly

  Molly went to bed.

  She had to miss school.

  Everyone sent her cards.

  The Pee Wee Scouts made their own cards.

  Roger’s had a girl skating on it.

  It did not look like Molly. But Molly liked it.

  Mary Beth drew a hospital bed on hers.

  And she brought Molly candy. Chocolate-covered cherries!

  Her favorites.

  Mrs. Peters sent flowers, from the whole Pee Wee Scout Troop.

  They made Molly’s room look bright and cheery.

  Every day after school some of the Scouts came to her house.

  They played Candy Land.

  Mary Beth brought Molly her homework and her school papers.

  They wrote spelling words together.

  “I wish I had a sprained ankle,” said Rachel when she came to visit.

  “You skate too well,” said Molly. “You wouldn’t fall on the ice.”

  “I used to fall when I was little,” admitted Rachel. “It took me a long time to learn.”

  Molly wished she hadn’t hexed Rachel.

  And the good skaters.

  It took time to learn to skate.

  She could learn to skate too.

  Once she got the right size skates.

  The next week Molly went back to school.

  She went on her crutches.

  On Tuesday she went to Pee Wee Scouts on her crutches.

  “I have some badges to give out,” said Mrs. Peters. “Some of you get a skating badge.”

  Everyone clapped when the good skaters got their badges.

  They all pinned them on their Scout kerchiefs or their shirts.

  Next to their cookie badges.

  The skating badge showed a picture of a skate.

  A skate with no pom-poms.

  Just a plain skate.

  “I’ll get that badge someday,” said Molly.

  “Of course,” said Mrs. Peters.

  “And now I have another badge. It is a badge for being a good patient.”