Karen's Chicken Pox by Ann M. Martin

Author:Ann M. Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2016-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

“Sorry,” I said. “I have been meaning to do this for ages.”

My family was getting annoyed. But I did not care. I was annoyed too. I was annoyed that nobody cared if I caught the chicken pox and missed Halloween.

“Abracadabra!”

On Monday at school, Hannie and Nancy asked how I was feeling.

“Fine,” I replied. “Thank goodness.”

I had told my friends the sad story of Emily and the chicken pox when I saw them on Sunday. (We played at Hannie’s house. That got me out of the big house for awhile, which was a good thing.)

I made my friends promise not to tell anyone that my sister had chicken pox. What if I got it? Everyone would think I was weird. Chicken pox is a baby disease.

“Do not worry,” said Nancy. “I thought of a plan last night. Since it is almost Halloween, all you have to do is say a magic spell to keep from getting sick.”

I looked over my shoulder to make sure no one was listening. We were in the back of our classroom waiting for Ms. Colman to arrive. No one seemed to be paying any attention to us. But I was not taking any chances.

“Whisper the spell to me,” I said.

“Abracadabra, pix, pax, pox. Stay away, germs. And stay away, spots!” said Nancy.

“When do I say it?” I asked.

“You say it three times a day. Once when you wake up, once at recess, and once at bedtime,” said Nancy.

“Thanks,” I replied. “It is worth trying.”

“I had an idea too,” said Hannie.

This was good. I needed all the help I could get.

Just then Ms. Colman arrived.

“Good morning, class. Please take your seats,” she said.

“Tell me your idea at recess,” I said to Hannie.

I could hardly wait. If I followed Nancy’s instructions and Hannie’s, I was sure I would not get sick.

Hannie told us her idea as soon as we were on the playground.

“You have to eat lots of grapefruit with lemon juice,” said Hannie.

Ugh. I puckered my mouth. “Why?”

“I think I read somewhere that sour stuff kills germs. You would kill every germ in the world if you ate grapefruit with lemon juice,” said Hannie.

“Can I put sugar on it?” I asked.

“No, you cannot! It would ruin the power.”

“Okay. I will do it,” I said. “I will do anything not to get sick!”

I was glad we had a library period in the afternoon. It gave me a chance to do some research. I read that it can take a couple of weeks after being exposed to chicken pox germs before you get sick.

That was interesting. But I did not know when I had first been exposed to Emily’s germs. Maybe it was just in time for me to get sick on Halloween.

I decided to say Nancy’s magic spell then and there. I did not want to wait for bedtime. I said it to myself so no one would hear.

“Abracadabra, pix, pax, pox. Stay away, germs. And stay away, spots!”

At home, I ate a grapefruit with lemon juice before dinner.

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