WANDA WEIRD

By Rebecca Winch

"Wanda Weird, Wand Weird, it'd be nice if you disappeared. . . "

It is a chant that nine-year old Wanda Weir often hears from some mean girls at school. Sometimes she wonders if they are right. Maybe she is a little weird. After all, she did spend an awful lot of time daydreaming in class. Is it really weird to spend so much time daydreaming about

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spring Harbor Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781737047971

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The sun shone warmly on the Florida beach. Only a few clouds dotted the bright blue sky. It was the perfect day for a sandcastle contest. Nine-year-olds Wanda Weir and her best friend, Misty Baker, were working on their entry for the contest. There were a lot of people entered in the contest, all of them older than Wanda and Misty. It wasn't going to be easy to win.

Let's put a few more seashells on the wall, suggested Wanda. We have to make it really special if we're going to win.

We've just got to win that contest! said Misty, adding a bucket of sand to the castle and patting it firmly. Just look at our castle! It's so awesome!

Of course we'll win, Wanda replied, adding more seashells to the castle wall. Unless the judges are totally blind or something. I'll bet this is just about the best sandcastle the world has ever seen!

Wanda and Misty folded their arms and smiled proudly at their huge sandcastle. It had a moat with two drawbridges and there were four big towers, almost as tall as Wanda and Misty themselves. A high wall, all decorated with seashells surrounded the castle. Wanda and Misty added a few more seashells to their castle. It was almost time for the judges to pick a winner.

What are you going to do with your share of the prize money when we win?  I'm going to have a party with lots of pizza and popcorn and gallons and gallons of ice cream and a big chocolate cake. Or maybe I'll buy a new bike. Or maybe a pony! I always wanted a pony! Misty said, jumping up and down and clapping her hands with excitement.

The first prize is only $500, and you'll only get half of that, Wanda replied with a giggle. You can't buy a pony for $250. I'm gonna get a present for my mom and one for my dad and my Grandma Rose and maybe even a present for my little brother. And a toy for Brownie and toys for Oreo and Cookie and I'll get myself the biggest...look! she said, pointing her finger. Here come the judges! Wait till they see this! They're gonna flip!

As the five judges slowly approached Wanda and Misty’s castle, a large crowd began to gather around. The judges studied the castle carefully and whispered to each other, making notes in their notepads and nodding their heads.  There were lots of ooohs and aaahs from the people in the crowd.

Wanda and Misty smiled with pride when a man in the audience said, Amazing! I've never seen anything like it! That must be the best sandcastle in the world!

They put their arms across each others’ shoulders and posed when a woman in the crowd pointed her cell phone at them and said, Let me take  a picture of you girls with your castle.

This was probably the most exciting thing that ever happened to them, Wanda thought to herself. Who knew that being the center of attention could be so much fun? The only thing that could top this would be if they won the contest.

The crowd became hushed as the head judge began to speak. May I have all the contestants gather here in front of me.

Wanda squeezed her eyes shut and crossed her fingers as the other contestants circled close together.

Third prize goes to...

Wanda looked up at the sky and whispered in a pleading voice, Not us, not us! We want to win first prize, not to come in third!

Third prize goes to the Williams family of Denver, Colorado!

All five members of the Williams family walked up to the judges, pumping their fists in the air and smiling with pride. The crowd roared with cheers and applause as the family accepted their prize. The judges shook hands with all of them and offered their congratulations.

And here is a check for $100 for your third-place win! the head judge said, handing a check to the father of the family. Second prize goes to...

No, no, no! Don’t give us second place! Misty muttered under her breath.

Second prize goes to a group of young men who are from right here in Florida. They call themselves the Castle Kings. Come on up here and collect your check for $250 for second place, the judge said.

The three members of the Castle Kings walked up to the judges to claim their prize. Wanda noticed that for winning second prize over so many other contestants, they didn’t look very happy. They didn’t cheer or shout or pump their fists in the air. They didn’t even smile. In fact, they looked disappointed.  But then, she thought, she didn’t want to settle for second place either. She wanted to win.

And now we come to our grand prize winners! the head judge announced.

This is it! Wanda told Misty, grabbing Misty’s wrists and shaking them. They’re gonna pick us! I can feel it! We’re gonna win!

Wanda and Misty squeezed their eyes shut and crossed their fingers. There was a long pause. I can’t stand it! I can’t stand it! Misty squealed quietly. Pick us! Pick us!

Wanda felt like she was about to die from suspense. What was taking the judge so long in making his announcement?  

Finally, the head judge smiled at the girls and announced, The grand prize for the best sandcastle the world has ever seen goes to Wanda Weir and Misty Baker from Little Brook, Wisconsin! Come on up here, girls and claim your prize!

We won! We won! the girls cried, jumping around with excitement and exchanging high fives. Then they ran up to the judges to get their prize.

Here is a blue ribbon for each of you and a check for $500, the judge said, passing the check and prize ribbons to the girls. Congratulations! he said, shaking their hands.

The crowd broke out in cheers and applause. Wanda and Misty smiled broadly as they bowed to the cheering crowd.

Three college age men walked up to the girls. A tall blonde-haired guy with the bluest eyes Wanda had ever seen said, That’s some castle you have there. Let us introduce ourselves. We’re the Castle Kings. I’m Jeremy and these are my buddies, Justin and Zack. We’ve entered this contest every year for the past six years and we won it the past three years.  We grew up here in Florida and we spend a lot of time at the beach on the weekends. We’ve built a lot of castles over the years, but this is better than anything we ever built. You really deserved to win.

Congratulations, Justin and Zack said, shaking the girls’ hands.

Jeremy walked around the castle and whistled in awe. That’s some great castle you’ve got there. I have to admit you outdid us.

Thanks, Wanda said, sincerely. We saw your castle. It was really great, too. Sorry you didn’t win.

Yeah. Sorry we beat you, Misty said, hiding a giggle behind her hands.

Come on, guys, Zack groaned. Let’s get out of here.  I can’t stand any more of this.

Oh, the shame! Justin moaned, looking down at the ground and shaking his head as the guys turned and walked away. Us, the famous Castle Kings, champions for the past three years, coming in second to two little kids! How will we ever live this down?

Not just little kids, Zack said in a pained voice. Two little girl kids! That’s even worse!

Aw, come on, don’t be such bad sports! They really deserved to win, Jeremy said, giving Zack a light punch on his arm before turning and smiling and waving at the girls. We’ll get them next year!

Suddenly, the girls found themselves surrounded by newspaper reporters and TV camera crews. Congratulations, girls. a TV reporter said, shoving a microphone towards them. This truly is an amazing piece of work. Is there anything you have to say to the people out there in TV land? This will be seen nationwide.

Nationwide? You mean they’ll be able to see us back in Wisconsin? Wanda asked with awe.

They sure will, the reporter said. Is there anything you want to say to the folks back in Wisconsin?

Yes, there is. First, I want to say hi and thank you to my grandma who is taking care of our kittens and our dog while we’re here. Hi Grandma! Look at me! I’m on TV! Wanda said, waving at the camera. Then she turned to the reporter and said, We want to thank the hotel for holding this great contest. We’ve never built a sandcastle before. We’ve built a few snow castles, but never a sandcastle. You should have seen the snow castle we made in my back yard. It was a whole lot bigger than this. But my mom and dad and Misty’s mom helped us build it. Oh yeah and my little brother helped, too but he’s only five so he couldn’t help much. See? That’s them, right over there! Wanda said, pointing into the crowd.

The reporter starting turning his microphone to speak to Misty, but Wanda, in her excitement couldn’t stop talking.

There’s my mom and dad and my little brother, Kevin. And there’s Misty’s mom. They helped us build our snow castle. It was really big! But it’s melted now. But we took pictures of it! But I don’t have the pictures with me. But Mom has the pictures on her cellphone. But she doesn’t have her cellphone with her. But Dad has his cellphone with him. But he doesn’t have pictures of the castle on his phone. But it sure was a great castle!

The reporter smiled at Wanda, then he turned to Misty and asked, Is there anything you would like to add?

Can I say hi to people back home, too? Misty asked shyly.

Yes, of course, the reporter said with a smile.

I want to say hi to our teacher, Mrs. Nelson, and to our friends back in Little Brook. Hi, everyone, she said, waving. I also want to say thank you to the hotel for holding this great contest. We had a lot of fun building our castle. And I want to thank all of the judges for voting for our castle. I guess that’s all I have to say.

What are you going to do with your prize money? one of the reporters asked.

I think I'll buy a bike, Misty replied. I'd really rather have a pony, but you can't buy a pony with only $250.

 I'm gonna get the biggest... Wanda began.

Just then, a huge wave rolled in, washing away most of the sandcastle.         

Such a shame! someone in the crowd remarked. Those poor girls must feel terrible about this after all the work they put into building that thing. What do you think?

I'll ask her, someone else said.

...Alaska? someone asked. Wanda?

Suddenly, Wanda realized that she was not on a beach in Florida. She was in her fourth-grade classroom. Everyone in the classroom was looking at her and her teacher, Mrs. Nelson was talking to her.

Huh? Ask who? replied Wanda, blinking her eyes. Uh, I mean, uh, twenty-five?

The whole class laughed as Wanda's face turned red with embarrassment.

No, we finished with arithmetic some time ago. We're doing geography now. I asked you to name the capitol of Alaska.

I know! I know! cried Dexter Blake as his hand shot up in the air.

I asked Wanda, said Mrs. Nelson looking sternly at Dexter.

Wanda nibbled on her pencil and looked up at the ceiling as if she expected to find the answer there. Uh, the capitol of Alaska is...uh...Anchorage? she guessed.

Wrong! shouted Dexter, as he jumped out of his seat. It's Juneau! Everybody knows that!

I didn't ask you, Dexter. Please sit down, Mrs. Nelson scolded. Wanda, I suggest you pay a little more attention in class rather than staring out the window. I'm sure you're excited about the new snow, but that can wait until after school.

Snow? Wanda glanced out the window and saw huge white flakes coming down. Although she had been staring out the window, she had been so lost in thought, she hadn't even noticed that it was snowing.

Mrs. Nelson looked up at the clock. Class, there's just fifteen more minutes until the bell rings. I'd like you to use that time for quiet study.

Wanda felt Tara Roberts poke her in the back as she said quietly, Wanda Weird!

Tara, I asked you to study quietly. That means no talking.

Yes, Mrs. Nelson, Tara said, quickly looking down at her book.

Mrs. Nelson sat at her desk and watched as Wanda bent over her geography book. Wanda was a smart girl, but she didn't seem to apply herself very well to her schoolwork. She was always well behaved in class, but it seemed that her mind was always miles away, daydreaming. Perhaps it was time to talk to Wanda's parents.

She had known Steve and Carol Weir since they were children themselves. Steven Weir and Carol White were two of her students. It was her very first year of teaching that Steve was in her class. Carol was her student three years later. Suddenly, Mrs. Nelson felt old as she realized that she had taught the parents of several of her current students.

Now I'm getting to be just like Wanda, Mrs. Nelson thought to herself as she looked back down at her desk. Letting my mind wander when I should be grading these homework papers!

Wanda could feel Mrs. Nelson's eyes on her as she tried to concentrate on her geography book. Why was it so hard for her to keep her mind on her schoolwork? She wished she could be more like some of the other girls. No, she wouldn't want to be like Tara Roberts and her friends Kayla Marx and Olivia Frost. They were too stuck on themselves and didn't seem to care about other people's feelings. And they were always making fun of her and calling her Wanda Weird. Wanda looked over at her best friend, Misty. Misty was special in the way she accepted everybody just the way they were. Wanda remembered what Misty had told her one day.

Don't listen to those girls when they call you names, she recalled Misty telling her. "My mom told me that the only reason some kids bully others is to make themselves feel bigger. They act tough, but they really aren't. Mom says that I should