Scavenger Hunt, Guess and Draw Tournament and… Snow Day?
Poppy was at Sky Toronto's office first thing in the morning. Time was running short and she looked a mix of guilty and perplexed at everything that happened while she was playing Hide and Seek. Sky's warning letter had been the last one she was able to read, still with Tiny's glistening fresh on her mind.
She didn't grab a wink of sleep after reading it.
"I'm sorry I wasn't around, Sky, but I'm here now. How long do we have?"
"Queen Poppy, I was aware you were participating in a long game of Hide and Seek so I got my team to prepare for the upcoming event." Sky Toronto stood in front of the wide window of his office. The mountains in the distance were almost invisible because of the morning fog.
"So, everything is under control?" Poppy asked, taking a notebook and a pencil from her hair. "We have about four times more trolls this year. Do we have enough sleds? How about extra blankets? Country Trolls specifically may not be prepared for this kind of weather and, by all that is troll-y! The Rock Trolls! They live next to a Volcano! They may not even know what snow is!"
"Blankets, tea supplies, coats, sleds and snow-critters are going to be ready so nobody will be cold or bored."
"Wow, Sky, thanks…" Poppy leaned against the chair, finally feeling like she could relax. "I wasn't expecting Snow Day to come early this year."
"It's not Snow Day," Sky Toronto snapped a finger and his secretary immediately brought him an amount of papers that explained what was going on in detail. "Our meteorologists pointed out that these two days of snow aren't going to stop our yearly Snow Day - which is happening on schedule, by the way."
"Two extra days of snow?" Poppy looked puzzled. Her thoughts were already running wild with the amount of games she would have to come up with to fill two whole days and still have fresh ideas for her regular Snow Day.
"It's an odd combination of moist atmosphere and low temperatures from the mountains. The wind is blowing in our direction this year." Sky explained, handing her the explanatory scrapbook filled with characters with squeaky voices.
"Right. I'll get everyone ready then. I'll work on the announcement." Poppy stood up, looking fierce and ready to face that cold weather.
It wasn't going to be bad, she realized. Trollstopians would have a lot of fun. Some of them may even see snow for the first time. All she needed to do was to get them prepared to have enough supplies to last two very cold days.
According to her calendar, the storm would come on Friday Night, exactly when she had promised Branch to arrive at the bunker so they could spend the weekend together. There was no way she would change her plans. She would stay with him the entire weekend like she had promised. It had been such a long time since they talked, Poppy wanted to know about his progress with other trolls and the projects he had been developing.
But to dedicate her weekend to her boyfriend, Poppy needed backup with her queen duties. So, she made up her mind and decided to ask Val and Holly to help the Snack Pack. Smidge, Biggie and Guy Diamond knew the Snow Day routine and with the two extra girls to help, things would run smoothly.
She was determined to find her friends…. Until a letter was delivered with the most delightful invitation to a Scavenger Hunt.
Okay… so other things could wait two hours, right?
"It was the most fun game of all time y'all!" Holly galloped happily out of Lownote Jones spaceship. "I can't wait to tell Val!"
"Let's find her! I need to share a few words with the two of you anyway!" Poppy suggested and she turned to Guy Diamond, who just opened his hair and pointed at his son soundly napping. "It's okay, Guy. We'll find you later."
"My other version is so fun!" Holly continued talking, explaining to Poppy how she'd like to invite herself for a chilly one of these days.
Poppy, on the other hand, was quietly pondering about her other version. Pushy Poppy was an embarrassing alternate and a small pang of worry swelled in her chest, wondering if Branch had seen that whiny and annoying girl in his multidimensional explorations.
Which she still wanted to know more about. They had spent so much time apart with that Hide and Seek game that she had lost track of his nightmares. She wanted to know if they had gotten better and, sincerely, now that she knew about Pushy Poppy, - oh boy - she wondered if she would have nightmares, too.
"I was wondering when you would show up!" Val said as soon as both girls entered Hard Rock Hollow. The grumpy rock girl was tapping her foot impatiently. "We are going to be late for the Guess and Draw Tournament!
"Oh my Hair, the tournament is today, I almost forgot about it!" Holly squealed.
"Jeez, it completely slipped my mind, too!" Poppy checked her hug watch. She had barely slept the night before and she still needed to tell the girls about Snow Day. It was going to be a full agenda or what?
"Let's take the Metroll to make it on time." Val suggested and all three girls quickly headed to the station, walking as fast as they could.
"I want to tell you girls about my strategy to win the game…"
"Actually, Val, hold on." Poppy yawned and smiled at her friends. "I'm going to need help with something and I was wondering if you girls would be up for it."
"Yay, anything you need, Poppy!" Holly replied, placing her hands on her hips, completely ready to help the queen.
"Yeah, shoot."
"Okay…" Poppy lowered her voice and leaned closer to her friends so nobody else would hear them. "I've had news this morning and we must prepare for two days of snow next weekend."
"Woohoo, it sounds fun!" Holly squealed.
"I've been in a meeting with Sky and supplies are going to be ready. Blankets, tea, everything."
"Ugh," Val groaned in annoyance, "Sometimes I forget you're The Queen and you have those boring meetings."
"Anyway," Poppy continued after the interruption, "the boring part is taken care of, Val. What I would like your help with is to keep everyone entertained during the weekend."
"More fun games!"
The Metroll whistled, announcing the arrival at the station. The three girls climbed inside and quickly found a seat to resume their conversation.
"The Snack Pack already knows the routine of Snow Day," Poppy explained. "Tug usually leads the games, but since we have more trolls to participate this year, I wondered if you girls would help them out."
"Absolutely." Holly replied and Val grinned, crossing her arms in agreement. "What are you going to do?"
"Oh…" Poppy blushed, looking out of the window, observing the trees going by, "I promised Branch to spend time with him. I want to keep that promise, so I won't be part of the snow games."
"How romantic." Holly joined her hands with sparkly eyes and Val just raised her eyebrow, giving Poppy a knowing look.
"So… while we freeze our butts, things in the bunker will be pretty heated up."
Nobody said another word until the train arrived at their destination, but the burning cheeks of a certain queen explained what was on their minds.