Heidi Heckelbeck Is Not a Thief!

by Wanda Coven

  Chapter 1: CANDY GIRL

  Chapter 2: YUMDINGERS!

  Chapter 3: I OWE YOU!

  Chapter 4: TWINS

  Chapter 5: GENIUS AT WORK

  Chapter 6: ARE YOU MAD?

  Chapter 7: RAZZLE-DAZZLE!

  Chapter 8: A NEW TWIST

  Chapter 9: IN THE DOGHOUSE

  Chapter 10: CLICK!

  ‘Heidi Heckelbeck Says “Cheese!” ’ Excerpt

  About Wanda Coven and Priscilla Burris

  Yum!

  Yummy!

  Yumsicles!

  Heidi Heckelbeck loved pizza day. She slid a hot slice of pepperoni pizza onto her lunch tray. Then she sat down with her friends Lucy Lancaster and Bruce Bickerson.

  “I have great news!” said Bruce.

  “What?” asked Heidi and Lucy at the same time.

  Bruce looked around to make sure no one was listening. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. “My latest invention is finished!” he said. “But don’t tell anyone. It’s top secret!”

  Bruce’s inventions were always top secret. He didn’t want anyone to steal his ideas, but he trusted his two best friends, Heidi and Lucy.

  “What’s it called?” asked Heidi excitedly.

  Bruce leaned forward so only the girls could hear. The girls leaned in too.

  “I’m calling it the Bicker Picker-Upper,” he whispered.

  “What does it do?” Lucy asked.

  “It picks stuff up automatically,” said Bruce.

  “Like a robot?” asked Heidi.

  “Like a robot’s arm,” Bruce said.

  “What kinds of things does it pick up?” asked Lucy.

  “Stuffed animals, action figures, socks, underwear, pajamas—basically everything on my floor,” said Bruce.

  “It picks up your room?” Heidi questioned as she took a big bite of pizza. “THIS I gotta see!”

  “Me too!” said Lucy.

  “Can you guys come over after school tomorrow?” asked Bruce.

  “Probably,” said Heidi.

  “I’ll check with my mom,” Lucy said. Then she pulled her baby owl notepad from her backpack.

  Lucy also took out a pink pen shaped like a lollipop. The lollipop had a spiral design and sparkled with pink and silver glitter. She wrote a reminder on her notepad:

  The lollipop lit up as she wrote. Heidi dropped her pizza on her lunch tray and stared at Lucy’s pen.

  “WHERE did you get THAT?” asked Heidi.

  Lucy twirled the pen in front of her friends.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said. “My dad brought it back from his last business trip.”

  “I LOVE it!” said Heidi. “May I see?”

  “Sure!” Lucy said.

  But just then the bell rang. It was time to go back to the classroom. Lucy dropped the pen into her backpack.

  “I’d better show you at recess,” she said.

  “But I want to see it NOW!” Heidi complained.

  Lucy laughed. “I promise I’ll show you LATER!”

  “Oh, okay,” said Heidi.

  Then they cleared their trays and headed down the hall.

  At recess Heidi, Bruce, and Lucy sat on the steps at the edge of the playground. Lucy pulled out her lollipop pen and notepad.

  “Watch this,” she said.

  Lucy drew a smiley face. Again, as soon as she pressed the tip of the pen against the notepad, the topper began to glow and the glitter sparkled even more.

  “That is SO cool!” Heidi said. She couldn’t take her eyes off the lollipop pen.

  “It even has a strawberry scent,” said Lucy, holding the pen under Heidi’s nose.

  Heidi took a big whiff. “Mmm,” she said dreamily.

  Then Bruce took a sniff. “Smells fruity!” he said.

  “May I PLEASE try it now?” begged Heidi.

  Lucy handed the pen to Heidi. Heidi drew a turtle on Lucy’s notepad. Then she drew a daisy.

  “Okay, that does it!” declared Heidi. “I HAVE to have one!”

  “Now let ME have a turn!” said Bruce.

  Heidi handed the pen to Bruce. He took off his glasses and studied the pen. Then he tested it.

  “The technology is quite simple,” he said. “I’ll bet I can make one of these in my lab.”

  “MAKE one?” questioned Lucy.

  “Sure,” said Bruce. He handed the pen back to Lucy.

  “I’ll settle for a store-bought one,” said Heidi. “I can’t wait that long.”

  Lucy suddenly gave Heidi and Bruce a little nudge.

  They looked up and saw Melanie Maplethorpe and Stanley Stonewrecker walking toward them. Melanie thought she, herself, was so great. It drove Heidi crazy.

  “What’s going on over here?” asked Melanie. “Not that I really care or anything.”

  “Lucy has got a cool new pen,” said Heidi.

  Melanie looked at the pen in Lucy’s hand. “What’s so great about a lollipop pen?” she asked snootily.

  “Watch this,” said Lucy. Then she began to write on her notepad.

  Melanie’s eyes grew wide when she saw the glittery pen sparkle and glow when Lucy used it. She loved anything that sparkled.

  “See?” said Heidi. “Isn’t that the coolest pen EVER?”

  Melanie ignored Heidi. She would never admit that she liked anything Heidi liked. But Stanley didn’t mind saying so.

  “Yumdingers!” he exclaimed. “That pen looks good enough to EAT!”

  Mom and Aunt Trudy already had dinner going when Heidi got home from school. Aunt Trudy often had dinner with the Heckelbecks.

  “You’ll never guess what!” shouted Heidi as she walked through the door.

  Mom held two dry lasagna noodles up to her ears. “Indoor voice!” she said.

  “Sorry,” said Heidi.

  “Okay, what’s your big news?” Mom asked as she layered a ribbon of lasagna noodle over some meat sauce.

  “Lucy got a new pen!” said Heidi breathlessly. “It’s a lollipop that lights up and sparkles and everything! May I get one?”

  Mom frowned.

  “PLEASE?” begged Heidi. “I want one more than anything in the whole world!”

  Aunt Trudy chuckled as she sliced cucumbers for the salad. “Lucy’s pen sounds pretty neat!” she said.

  “It IS!” said Heidi, washing her hands at the sink. “The topper even smells like strawberries!”

  Heidi tossed a handful of toasted almonds and cranberries into the salad.

  “I’m sure it’s an incredible pen,” said Mom. “But you can’t always expect to get the latest new thing.”

  “That’s true,” agreed Aunt Trudy. “But I do need to pay Heidi and Henry for helping me repot my herb plants. This might be the perfect thing.”

  “Did you hear that?” sang Heidi as she did a little victory dance. “It’s payday!” Then she thought for a moment. “But Henry won’t want a sparkly light-up lollipop pen that smells like strawberries.”

  Henry walked into the room. “What wouldn’t I want?” he asked.

  “A sparkly lollipop pen that lights up,” said Heidi.

  “Ding! Ding! That answer is CORRECT!” said Henry, sounding like a game show host. “Do I win a prize?”

  “Yup! You just won yourself a SUCKER pen!” said Heidi.

  “Very funny,” said Henry.

  “Okay, if you could have any kind of pen you wanted—what would you pick?” asked Heidi.

  Henry tapped the side of his head with his pointer finger. “I know!” he said. “I’d pick a pirate sword pen!”

  “Then it’s settled,” said Aunt Trudy. “I’ll look for a lollipop pen and a pirate sword pen at Lena’s Crafts tomorrow.”

 
; “Well, blimey, sis!” cried Henry. “Methinks we struck it rich!”

  Heidi grabbed Lucy by the arm as they entered the classroom the next morning. “My mom said I could get a lollipop pen just like yours!” she said excitedly.

  “Then we’ll be TWINS!” Lucy said.

  “It’ll be so fun!” said Heidi.

  The girls squealed and jumped up and down.

  During language arts, Lucy wrote a poem about her new lollipop pen. Mrs. Welli, their teacher, asked her to recite it in front of the class. Lucy stood up and showed her pen so everyone could see it. Then she read her poem.

  Everyone clapped.

  “Well done!” said Mrs. Welli. “What a clever poem!”

  Heidi wanted to write a poem when she got her lollipop pen too. On the bus ride home from school she began to think about how it would go.

  The bus lurched to a stop. Heidi jumped out and ran all the way home. Henry was waiting for her at the door.

  “Finally!” Henry said.

  “Is she here yet?” asked Heidi.

  “Just got here!” said Henry.

  They charged into the kitchen.

  “Hi, Aunt Trudy!” said Heidi the moment she saw her aunt. “Do you have the pens?”

  “Hi, kids!” said Aunt Trudy. “Let me see. I just may have something for you two. . . .”

  She pulled a small paper bag out from behind her back.

  Heidi and Henry shrieked and raced toward Aunt Trudy. Mom sighed and set grilled cheese sandwich strips and tomato soup on the table.

  “Close your eyes and hold out your hands,” said Aunt Trudy.

  The children did as their aunt asked.

  “No peeking!” Aunt Trudy said.

  Heidi heard the paper bag crinkle. Then she felt the shape of a lollipop pen in her hand.

  “Open your eyes!”

  Heidi and Henry opened their eyes.

  “Shiver me timbers!” said Henry when he saw his pirate sword pen. “I love it!” He pretended to have a swordfight. Then he poked Heidi in the back with the tip of the pen.

  “Stop it!” complained Heidi.

  Henry jumped back.

  “What’s YOUR problem?” he asked.

  Heidi plunked down on a chair and put the purple lollipop pen on the table. It had swirls just like Lucy’s, but it didn’t have any glitter, it didn’t light up, and it didn’t even have a fruity scent.

  “Oh dear,” said Aunt Trudy. “Did I get the wrong one?”

  Heidi didn’t want to hurt her aunt’s feelings. “No,” she said quietly. “It was really nice of you to get me a lollipop pen.”

  But Aunt Trudy could tell Heidi was disappointed.

  “I’ll keep looking,” her aunt said.

  But Heidi doubted her aunt would find a pen like Lucy’s. After all, Lucy’s father bought it somewhere far away.

  Heidi swirled a grilled cheese stick in her tomato soup. Now Lucy and I won’t get to be twins after all, she thought.

  Honk! Honk!

  “It’s the Lancasters,” said Heidi’s mother.

  Heidi and Lucy were supposed to go to Bruce’s house that afternoon. Now Heidi didn’t feel much like going. She dragged herself out the door.

  When they got to the Bickersons’, Bruce and his dog, Frankie, greeted the girls at the door. Bruce had on his white lab coat and safety glasses. Frankie wagged his tail and ran in circles around the girls. Lucy knelt down and scratched Frankie behind the ears. Heidi watched glumly.

  “What’s the matter, Heidi?” asked Lucy as she stood up. “You’ve been quiet ever since we picked you up.”

  Heidi sighed. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s just that my aunt bought me a lollipop pen and it doesn’t light up, sparkle, or smell good, like yours.”

  “That’s too bad,” said Lucy.

  “Can I see yours again?” asked Heidi.

  “Sure,” said Lucy. She pulled the pen from her backpack. Heidi studied it longingly.

  “I can still MAKE you one,” offered Bruce.

  Heidi handed the pen back to Lucy. “That’s okay,” she said.

  “Speaking of inventions,” said Lucy as she carefully put her pen back in her backpack, “let’s see Bruce’s famous Bicker Picker-Upper!”

  “I thought you’d never ask!” he said excitedly.

  Bruce led the girls to the basement door. The air smelled damp and musty as they thumped down the wooden stairs. He guided them into his laboratory.

  “Welcome to the Den of Discovery!” he said proudly. “Also known as the Bickerson Lab.”

  Bruce had a workbench with a microscope, beakers, flasks full of liquids, a test tube rack, and a gooseneck lamp. A poster on the workbench wall read GENIUS AT WORK. Bruce dragged over stools for Heidi and Lucy to sit on. Then he picked up a black metal box with a joystick on top.

  “Now this simple device is the soon-to-be world-famous Bicker Picker-Upper,” said Bruce in a very scientific-sounding voice.

  Heidi and Lucy clapped.

  “I shall demonstrate how to use this simple device,” Bruce went on. “Notice the blue plastic ball on the floor.”

  The girls nodded. Then Bruce sat on a stool.

  “I will retrieve the ball without leaving this stool. Watch closely.”

  Bruce pushed the joystick forward. The box whizzed and whirred, and a long metal arm began to stretch forward. When the arm reached the ball, Bruce pushed a button. A metal claw at the end of the arm opened up. He touched the button again and the claw grabbed hold of the ball. Then Bruce pulled back on the joystick and the arm retracted back toward the box. He released the ball into his hand and held it up.

  “Voilà!” he said.

  “Hey, it actually works!” said Heidi.

  “Of course it works!” Bruce said.

  “It reminds me of the claw arcade game,” said Lucy.

  “Similar technology,” said Bruce. “You want to try?”

  The girls took turns picking up the ball. Then they tried to pick up other things, like Frankie’s dog toys, a fuzzy slipper, and a large action figure.

  “Bruce, someday you’re going to be famous,” said Heidi.

  “I want to invent something that changes the world,” said Bruce.

  “Like what?” asked Lucy.

  “I’m not sure yet,” said Bruce. “But I want to do something BIG.”

  “You will,” said Lucy.

  “Until then, let’s play Ping-Pong,” suggested Heidi.

  Bruce and Lucy laughed. They played Ping-Pong until Heidi’s dad came to pick them up.

  Heidi ran across the playground toward Lucy and Bruce. She shielded her eyes from the morning sun.

  “Hey, guys!” she said cheerfully.

  “Hey,” said Bruce.

  “I had a blast at your house yesterday,” Heidi said.

  “Me too,” said Bruce.

  Heidi looked at Lucy. “Wasn’t it fun?” she asked.

  Lucy looked the other way.

  “What’s the matter, Lucy?” asked Heidi.

  “Nothing,” her friend said coldly.

  Heidi looked at Bruce to see if he knew anything. Bruce looked at the ground.

  Heidi turned back to Lucy. “What’s going on?” she pressed.

  Lucy lowered her eyebrows and pushed her lips together. “As if you didn’t know,” she said.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Heidi.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you,” Lucy said crossly. “My lollipop pen is missing! It wasn’t in my backpack when I got home last night.”

  Heidi blinked in disbelief.

  “So please give it BACK, right now!” Lucy said firmly.

  “But I don’t have it,” said Heidi. “Maybe it fell out of your backpack at Bruce’s.”

  “I checked all over,” Bruce said, “but I couldn’t find it.”

  “Maybe it’s in my dad’s car,” suggested Heidi.

  “Nice try,” Lucy said.

  “What’s THAT supposed to mean?” asked Heidi.


  “Think about it,” said Lucy. “You wanted a lollipop pen, then your aunt didn’t get you the right one—and now mine is MISSING!”

  Heidi’s face fell. “You really think I stole your pen?” she asked.

  Lucy looked away for a moment. “Well, it sure looks that way,” she said.

  “Wow,” said Heidi. “What kind of friend do you think I am?”

  Lucy just turned and walked away.

  Heidi and Lucy didn’t speak to each other the rest of the day. At recess Lucy walked off with Natalie Newman. In science Lucy picked Bruce to be her partner. Heidi couldn’t wait for the day to end.

  Heidi dropped her backpack on the floor when she got home. The loud ker-thunk got Mom’s attention. She looked at Heidi’s long face.

  “What’s the matter, pumpkin?” she asked gently.

  Heidi sighed heavily and plunked onto a kitchen chair. “Lucy thinks I took her lollipop pen,” she said. “But I didn’t.”

  Mom sat down beside Heidi. “Can I help you find it?” she asked.

  “Maybe,” said Heidi. “She lost it somewhere between Bruce’s house and her house. Can we check Dad’s car?”

  “Sure,” said Mom. “Dad’s working at home in his lab today, so his car is in the garage.”

  Heidi’s face brightened. “Can we check right now?”

  Mom nodded. She grabbed Dad’s keys, and they headed for the garage. They searched between the seats and under the seats—they even looked under the floor mats. But all they found were two Goldfish crackers, a take-out napkin, and a quarter.