Freddie Ramos Stomps the Snow by Jacqueline Jules

1. Too Slippery for Zapato Power?

    Sparkly white flakes swirled down from the clouds.
    “It’s sticking!” Geraldo hollered.
    Even though it was March, this was the first time we’d seen snow all year. Geraldo, Maria, Jason, and all the kids at recess were jumping for joy. I was too.
    “HOORAY!” Jason screamed.
    Usually I saved my super-powered sneakers for hero stuff. But I was too excited about the snow. I pressed the button on my Zapato Power wristband. Smoke whooshed out of my shoes, covering me in a cloud.
    “Where’d Freddie go?” Maria asked.
    Maria couldn’t see me bouncing higher than the basketball hoop and sailing over the swing set.
    “Freddie!” Maria called for me.
    “Mrs. Blake says recess is over.”
    I landed at Maria’s feet and turned off my Zapato Power. It was time to turn back into a regular kid, even if it was snowing.

    “Let’s go!” I said to Maria. When we got into the classroom,
    Mrs. Blake asked us to open our math books and study for our Friday test.
    But everyone’s eyes, even Mrs. Blake’s, kept drifting to the window, where fat snowflakes were falling. First the grass turned white, then the road.
    “How much snow do we need to cancel school?” Jason asked.
    “In Wisconsin, where I grew up,” Mrs. Blake said, “we needed two feet of snow. But around here, it just needs to be slippery outside.”
    Slippery? Was that good for my super speed? I chewed my pencil.
    Something was squealing outside. We dashed out of our seats to watch by the window.
    “That blue car is stuck,” Mrs. Blake said. “It can’t get up the hill.”
    The snow was making everyone—even our teacher—forget it was math time. Part of me was excited. Slippery roads meant no school and no test tomorrow. The other part of me was worried. If cars couldn’t move in the snow, could my super-powered sneakers?

    “ANNOUNCEMENT!” The principal’s voice came through the intercom. “SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSING EARLY.”
    “YAY!” everybody shouted, even Mrs. Blake. I was the only one in the room who wasn’t smiling.
    Maria and I walked home together.
    By that time, snow had completely covered the steps leading up to Starwood Park, where we lived.
    “Help!” Maria giggled, grabbing the rail.
    We couldn’t keep from slipping, and my purple zapatos were soaked. How could I run at super speed with wet shoes?
    “I need my boots,” Maria said. “At least you have some,” I grumbled.
    Maria looked at me. “You don’t?” I shook my head. My super zapatos were the only shoes I had.
    She patted my arm. “Don’t worry. Alonzo probably has some boots that are too small for him.”
    Maria’s big brother, Alonzo, went to high school, and her youngest brother, Gio, was in first grade. Since we were neighbors, Maria’s mom let me wear Alonzo’s clothes until Gio was big enough for them. At Starwood Park, people shared.
    “Keep your fingers crossed for a snow day tomorrow!” Maria said at the door of her apartment, 28G.
    I watched her go inside. But I didn’t open my door to 29G, even though my nose was a Popsicle and I knew my guinea pig, Claude the Second, was waiting for me.
    The metro train was rumbling by Starwood Park on its overhead track. Claude the Second would understand. There was something important I needed to find out.
    I pulled my silver goggles out of my coat pocket and took a big breath. What would happen when I pressed the button on my purple wristband?

    A puff of smoke cut right through the snowflakes. In half a blink, I was behind Starwood Park, running beside the overhead train track. The train zoomed by! Rápido! But not as fast as my Zapato Power!
    As I ran, my speed made so much heat that it pushed the curtain of snow away from me and dried up the ground. I went faster and faster, not feeling cold at all—not even my nose!

    The train fell behind me, just like every other day with Zapato Power in my shoes. If someone needed a superhero, Freddie Ramos would be ready. But in the