Winter Wonderland #5 by Sue Bentley Page A

Luckily, his hospital was only a few streets away. Hewent back into the bedroom, and Preeti heard him talking to her mom.
    “A snow day. Cool!” She clapped her hands in delight. She enjoyed all of her classes. But if it came to school or playing in the snow with her friends—it was no contest.
    Another bedroom door opened and a small boy exploded into the hall. His dark hair was shiny, like Preeti’s. But where hers was long and straight, his was short and curly.
    “Snow! Snow! Snow! Have you seen it?” Viren cried, whirling around and waving his arms like a human windmill.
    “Yeah! Of course I have!” Preeti said, rolling her eyes. “Didn’t you just hear me and Dad talking about it?”
    At six years old, Viren was three yearsyounger than his sister and small for his age. But he made up for it by having more energy than a box of frogs. He finally stopped spinning for long enough to make a face at her.
    “I’m going to build a snow dinosaur in the garden!” he exclaimed, crossing his big brown eyes. “You can help me if you want.”
    “I’m not sure what I’m doing yet,” Preeti replied. “I might call Lisa and Hayley, and ask them to come over.”
    “Lisa and Hayley are totally boring!” Viren sneered. “All they talk about is clothes and silly girly stuff on TV.”
    “No, they don’t!” Preeti defended her two best friends. “You’re just annoyed because they don’t want to hang out with my extremely annoying little brother,” shesaid with slow emphasis.

    “I don’t want to hang out with them, either!” Viren stuck out his tongue, darted back into his bedroom, and slammed the door.
    “Boys!” Preeti sighed as she went to get dressed in warm clothes and boots. Her grandma was making breakfast when Preeti came downstairs into the bigeat-in kitchen. It was a big light room, with a table and chairs and comfy sofas set near patio doors that looked out onto the garden.
    Sunetra Nimesh wore a pale green sari, and her graying dark hair was pinned into a neat bun at the back of her head. Small stud earrings twinkled at her ears. She looked up with a warm smile. “Good morning, darling.”
    “Hi, Grandma!” Preeti sang out, sitting at the table and helping herself to the delicious freshly made chapatis. She loved it when Grandma made these for a special treat. They were much tastier than their normal breakfast cereal.
    Preeti was looking forward to the next few days. This was almost like having a winter vacation! As she ate, she beganmaking plans. Maybe she’d dig the old sled out of the barn. Then she, Lisa, and Hayley could all go to the nearby park. There was a big hill there, and it would be fun to have races down the snow-covered slope.
    She decided that she’d call them as soon as she finished breakfast.
    “I wonder what the weather forecast is.” Grandma switched on the TV.
    Preeti looked up as the announcer began speaking.
    “Heavy snow is expected for the next two weeks. People are advised not to travel unless it’s absolutely necessary. Many roads are impassable, and most schools and many businesses are closed. There are no buses running at the moment . . .”
    “Oh.” Preeti’s shoulders drooped. Hayley and Lisa both lived milesaway, all the way across town. They weren’t going to be able to get to her house. “It’s not going to be much fun staying home from school if I’m all by myself,” she said glumly.
    “It is lucky that you and Viren can play with each other,” Grandma said, pouring her a glass of milk.
    Yeah, just great—not!
Preeti thought. The last thing she felt like doing was babysitting her little brother.
    “Good morning.” Mrs. Nimesh greeted them both as she came in with Viren.

    Preeti saw that her mom was wearing a sweat suit instead of the usual skirt and jacket she wore to the law firm. She guessed that she’d decided to work from home today.
    Preeti excused herself and stood up. “I think I’ll go to the barn and check on the pets. It’s