Whiteout by Becky Citra Page B

took carrots to the horses, and part of Robin wanted to stayoutside forever. Mom cooked the usual turkey dinner, but everyone picked at their food. Molly protested when Mom wrapped the turkey wishbone in a paper towel to dry. “I want to make my wish now .”
    I wish...I wish...I wish...
    Robin was glad when the long day came to an end and everyone could stop pretending. On Boxing Day morning, they drove Mom to the airport in Kamloops so she could fly to Vancouver.
    Mom filled the two-hour drive with instructions. “Molly needs to get dressed for school before you put the cartoons on. And if she wants a show-and-tell, make sure she gets it the night before. She’s too slow in the morning.”
    School wasn’t starting for another week, but of course Mom wouldn’t be back by then. She probably wouldn’t be home for ages. Robin stared out the truck window. Mom moved on to wearing helmets on the snowmobile. When she got to the emergency casseroles in the freezer, Robin tuned out.
    The first week back at school, the weather turned drippy. On Saturday morning, Dad and Molly built asnowman, and Robin tried skiing on the lake. The snow glommed on to her skis in thick wet clumps. Plowing through melted marshmallows would be more fun.
    After a canned-soup lunch, Dad got ready for work. He drove a snowplow for the Highways department in the winter. “‘Rain, sleet, hail or snow, we must get through,’ or something like that,” he said cheerfully.
    “That’s the mailman, Dad.” Robin stretched her mind through the afternoon. Five hours of Molly. “Can Kim come over?”
    “Okay. Just don’t ignore Molly.”
    Robin got on the phone to her best friend right away. Good. Kim was mega-bored too. A pause, and then Kim announced happily, “Mom says she’ll drive me over.”
    Perfect.
    When Kim arrived, Robin said, “Hot chocolate or computer first?”
    “Hot chocolate,” said Kim.
    “Me too,” said Molly.
    Robin set Molly up in the living room with the dvd of Shrek and then fielded questions about Aunty Liz and April while she heated the milk. No, she didn’t know if they had to use the Jaws of Life. She didn’t think April would be permanently scarred—Dad hadsaid a few scratches. And no one had said anything about amputating Aunty Liz’s legs—they were broken.
    They had been through all this before. Kim had pestered Robin with questions all week. When Robin pointed that out, Kim protested, “But you never really told me anything. Not any details anyway.”
    “I told you everything I know,” said Robin firmly.
    Her chest tightened. Not exactly everything . She hadn’t told Kim how hard she had begged Aunty Liz to come. Robin carried a steaming mug of hot chocolate with a marshmallow to Molly and then plunked down at the table beside Kim. “What’s that?”
    Kim had pulled a thick book out of her backpack and was flipping through the pages. “ The Book of Lists . I got it for Christmas. Listen to this. ‘Fifteen people buried two or three times...’ Here’s a better one: ‘Nine unusual mating habits.’”
    Robin’s mind drifted. Fat wet flakes had started to fall. That meant Dad would be later than usual. It was probably raining right now in Vancouver. Mom had said that the rain all week had washed away most of the freak snowstorm and that she’d had to go to the mall to buy gumboots.
    “You’re not listening.”
    “I am.”
    “‘Seven famous people expelled from high school.’” Kim flipped more pages. “Here’s a great one. Aaaagh! ‘Cutlery craving’!” Kim picked up a spoon and pretended to gag on it.
    Robin grinned. “Where does it say that?”
    Kim slid the book over the table. “‘Really unusual medical conditions.’ It’s probably better than getting Hula-hoop intestine.”
    The great thing about Kim was that she never changed. Robin took a sip of hot chocolate.
    “Do you want to hear about food and their filth levels?” said Kim.
    Robin wiggled her toes in her thick wool socks.