CHAPTER 1 The Big Win Wendy ran downstairs her arms full Inside a bright green beach bag was her bathing suit flip-flops sunblock and money for snacks at the pool Bring in the mail her mother shouted from the kitchen Okay Mom Wendy ducked past her dog Cumulus who sniffed her beach bag She stepped onto the porch and pulled a handful of mail out of the box She shoved it into her mother’s hand I’m going to wait for Jessica outside Wendy patted Cumulus’s curly-haired head and went back outside She and her 4
Weather Warrior buddies had been swimming almost every day since school let out It was just two weeks until the new school year started The Warriors were all going to the new school Cyclone Middle School where Mr Andrews would be the new vice principal And thanks to the man they had helped rescue from the flash flood there would be a new weather lab at the school Wendy wondered how many other kids were excited about starting school again Wendy said her mom as she stepped onto the front porch you have mail Wendy clapped her hands She had sent off for lots of information about weather Maybe this was one of the packets She took the envelope and traced her fingers over her name typed neatly It 5
read Miss Wendy Peters She didn’t recognize the return address Wendy tore open the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper She read the letter Then she read it again By the time she’d finished reading it for the third time she was screaming Mom Mom I won I won Won what Wendy’s mom asked Wendy shook the piece of paper I won the big essay contest Remember Mr Andrews told us about it in class at the end of the year We had to write about an interesting event in Texas history She held the paper against her heart Of course I wrote about the big hurricane in Galveston in 1900 It was a horrible hurricane that almost destroyed the island and killed lots of people Remember when we went there on 6
vacation two years ago Dad and I watched that video about it 7
