It's Snow Joke (6 page)

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Authors: Nancy Krulik

BOOK: It's Snow Joke
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Whoosh!
Lola took off down the steep mountainside at top speed. The two other stunt skiers took off after her.
Katie and her friends watched with amazement as Lola expertly zigged and zagged her way through the trees, leaped over the rock, and did a twist in the air—all in the few seconds it took for her to reach the bottom of the mountain.
“And . . . cut!” the director shouted out through his megaphone. “That was great, everyone. Take a breather and go on back up. Next we’ll shoot the scene in which Lola skis right through the open doors of the lodge.”
A few minutes later, Lola followed a cameraman toward the ski lift. The director turned to one of his assistants. “You’d better make sure they’ve cleared the lodge out for this shot,” he told her. “We don’t want any guests to get in the way of our filming.”
Just then, Carl, the head ski instructor, strolled onto the movie set.
“That ski stunt was amazing,” he told the director.
“Lola did a great job,” the director agreed. “We were lucky to get her.”
“Lola?” Carl asked, surprised.
“That’s right,” Katie said proudly.
“Well . . . I . . . um,” Carl stammered. “I . . . er . . . certainly hope that when her name appears in the credits, it also says that she’s an instructor here at the Pine Mountain Ski Resort,” he told the director.
“But she’s
not
an instructor here,” Katie reminded him. “You fired her, remember?”
Carl forced a nervous smile to his lips. “That was just a joke.”
“But Lola doesn’t want her old job back,” Katie said.
Suzanne stared at her in amazement. “She doesn’t?”
Katie shook her head. “She’s in show business now. She’s a performer.” She looked up at the top of the mountain, where Lola was getting ready to do her next stunt. “But maybe she’d agree to do her own ski stunt show every day.”
“Her own show?” Carl asked. “I don’t know about ...”
“Then I guess she could do her ski stunt show at another ski resort,” Katie said.
“Now wait a minute,” Carl said nervously. “I didn’t say no, yet.”
“Lola could do the same kinds of tricks she’s doing in this movie,” Katie suggested. She smiled, remembering how Johnny had laughed when he’d seen Katie flip and flop down the bunny trail. “Lola’s Ski Stunt Spectacular. It would be great for business.”
“Lola’s Ski Stunt Spectacular,” Carl repeated. “I like that.”
“And I think maybe she should get a raise, too,” Katie continued. “She’s going to be working really hard.”
“Boy, Katie, you’d make a really good Hollywood agent,” Rosie teased.
“Maybe I’ll let you be my agent, Katie,” Suzanne added.
Katie shook her head. Work for Suzanne? She didn’t think so.
After she finished filming her next scene, Lola skied over to where Katie, Rosie, Jeremy, and Suzanne were gathered.
“Hey, Lola, great stunts,” Carl greeted her. “Can’t wait to see what else you come up with for the folks here at Pine Mountain.”
Lola stared at him. She was very confused. “Here?” she asked. “I thought you fired me.”
That’s when Katie told her the good news.
Katie beamed as she watched Lola and her boss shake hands on the deal. Once again, Katie had proven that she could fix whatever mess the magic wind made.
“And now,” Lola said, turning toward Katie, Rosie, Suzanne, and Jeremy, “it’s time for you to have that ski lesson we never finished. Come on, I’ll teach you!”
“Take that, magic wind,” Katie whispered quietly under her breath as she and her friends followed Lola to the bunny slope.
Chapter 12
“I’m skiing! I’m really skiing!” Katie squealed with delight as she made her way down the bunny slope.
She couldn’t believe it. She wasn’t zooming down the hill at top speed or anything, but she was moving.
“This is so awesome,” Jeremy shouted.
“Hey, wait for me!” Rosie called to Katie and Jeremy as she pushed off from the top.
“Rosie, please be careful,” the director of her film cried out from the bottom. He buried his head in his hands and tried not to look as his star took a turn going down the side of the hill.
“See you guys at the bottom,” Suzanne said as she shifted her body slightly to the side, moving past Katie, Jeremy, and Rosie.
“She’s always got to be the winner,” Jeremy groaned. He was skiing even slower than Katie was.
But Katie didn’t care if Suzanne beat her to the bottom. Katie was just glad to be upright and not on
her
bottom!
Lola was a really good teacher. Not only was Katie skiing, but she wasn’t scared of falling anymore. Lola had taught them all how to fall correctly so they wouldn’t get hurt. The trick was to fall uphill on your tush. The kids had all had a good time flopping down backward in the snow to practice that.
Of course, Suzanne had boasted that that would never be something she’d have to do. She was positive she wouldn’t fall.
But that didn’t stop it from happening.
“WHOAAAA!” Suzanne shouted as she lost her footing and fell backward into the snow.
Suzanne was struggling to get back on her feet. But getting up was a whole lot tougher than falling down.
“Hold on, Suzanne,” Lola called and took off from the hilltop. “I’m on my way.”
When Katie, Rosie, and Jeremy reached Suzanne, Jeremy said, “Nice trip. See you next fall.”
Rosie giggled. “That was a funny one, Jeremy.”
Suzanne groaned.
Katie felt bad. Even though Suzanne had been kind of awful today, Jeremy shouldn’t make fun of her. Falling could happen to anyone.
“You know what, Suzanne?” Katie said, trying to change the subject. “When I stand this way, all I can see is your face. Your whole body is camouflaged like a polar bear in the snow.”
Suzanne smiled gratefully up at Katie. “And if I pull my scarf over my face you can’t see me at all,” she told her.
Just then, Lola skied over. “Okay, where’s Suzanne?” she asked Katie, Jeremy, and Rosie.
Suzanne pulled the scarf from her face. “See, I told you it worked!” she boasted.
“That is pretty cool,” Jeremy admitted.
“I’ll say,” Rosie agreed. “Like a special effect in the movies.”
Lola smiled and reached out her hand. “Here, I’ll help you up,” she offered.
Katie grinned. It was really great that everyone was finally getting along.
As they skied the rest of the way down, Katie suddenly felt a cool breeze blowing on the back of her neck. She gulped nervously. Oh, no! Was the magic wind coming back again?
Was she going to switcheroo into someone else? Right now? In front of everyone?
Up until now, the magic wind had only come when Katie was alone. But there was no telling what the wind would do. Maybe this time it . . .
“Man, it’s getting cold out here,” Jeremy said suddenly. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck. “That wind is really picking up.”
Phew.
Katie breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t the magic wind at all. It was just a regular, everyday, run-of-the-mill kind of wind.
Which meant she would get to stay Katie Carew.
At least for now.
Soapy the Snowman
Katie and her friends never let a dreary winter day keep them from having fun. In fact, on really cold days, they just make their snow-men indoors. You can, too. Here’s how to make your own Soapy the Snowman. (Have a grown-up help you using the toothpicks.)
You will need:
2 cups of mild, powdered laundry detergent
½ cup of warm water
Toothpicks
An electric beater
A mixing bowl
Twigs, buttons, a pipe cleaner, tiny beads
or birdseed, orange tempera paints, and any
thing else you’d like to use to give your snow
man personality!
Here’s what you do:
1. Pour the detergent into the mixing bowl. Add the water and mix it until the laundry detergent feels like dough. Allow the dough to sit for about five minutes.
2. Shape the soap dough into three balls.
3. Stack the balls. Start by gently pushing a toothpick halfway into the bottom ball.
4. Push the middle ball onto the top of that toothpick. Then repeat this for the third snowball, which will be Soapy the Snowman’s head.
5. Now it’s time to decorate your snowman! Start with his button eyes. Then add a row of small beads or seeds to give him a great smile. Twigs are terrific for arms. You can even paint a tiny twig orange and use it as a carrot nose. Let your imagination go wild!
When you are all finished, leave Soapy the Snowman alone to dry. It could take a few hours. But be patient. Soon you’ll have a snowman pal who won’t ever melt away!

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