Heather Wold the Little Red-Haired Girl was in her kitchen, cleaning the dishes and placing them in the cupboards.
"Good grief, so many dirty dishes, so little time!" sighed Heather.
"Hey, Big Sister." said Henry.
"Hi, Henry." said Heather. "Just doing the dishes."
"I see." said Henry. "Anyway, your bus is here."
"My bus? To school? Good grief! I'm going to be late!"
Heather was on her way out when her mother called out.
"Heather!" called Donna, Heather's mother. "Have you done the dishes?"
"Not all of them! I'll do the rest when I come home!" said Heather.
"Okay." said Donna.
The reason Heather was doing so many household chores was simple. Her mother had fallen ill, and she had an ice pack on her head.
Heather tried to catch her bus, but it took off without her.
"Good grief!" groaned Heather. "Now I'll be really late!"
So Heather ran down the street to her school.
About half an hour later, Charlie Brown and all the other students had already arrived in their homeroom.
"Has anyone seen Heather?" asked Charlie Brown.
"Not really." said Lucy.
"She isn't usually late." said Linus.
"I can't wait any longer." said Mr. Othmar. "I'm calling the roll."
He marked the roll until…..
"Wold, Heather?"
Heather Wold just burst into the homeroom.
"Sorry I'm late!" panted Heather. "I was so busy….."
"Heather." said Mr. Othmar. "What is the meaning of being late?"
"I… I had to do Mom's household chores." said Heather. "She's taken ill."
"Good grief." said Charlie Brown.
"Looks like she'll have to take care of her mom for a while." said Linus.
"At least you made it, Heather." said Mr. Othmar.
It was lucky for Heather that her first class for the day was English, and she shared it with Charlie Brown.
"Come on, Charlie Brown." said Heather. "Let's go to class."
"Anything you say." said Charlie Brown.
So both Heather and Charlie Brown went to English class.
"Heather! You missed the bus!" said Violette.
"Sorry about that." said Heather. "Had to do some of my mom's work. She's taken ill."
"I see." said Violette.
"Anyway, here we are, English class." said Heather.
"There has to be some way for Heather to help her mother without being late all the time." thought Charlie Brown.
"Let's not worry about my mother now." said Heather. "Mr. Steele is ready to announce what we'll be learning about."
"Today," said Mr. Steele. "we will be learning about nouns."
"Nouns." said Marcie.
"Say, where's Spearmint Sammy?" wondered Charlie Brown. "Isn't he in our English class?"
But Spearmint Sammy was in his homeroom.
"Sammy, you need to go to your English class." said Linus.
"English? Who needs it?" scoffed Spearmint Sammy. "I'm not going to England!"
During her science class that day, Heather was ready for the lesson.
"What will we be learning about today?" wondered Heather.
"Today," said Mr. Chemic. "We will be learning about scorpions."
"Scorpions?" said Patty Swanson.
"Sound very stingy to me." said Lucy.
"Tell me." said Mr. Chemic. "What do you know about scorpions?"
"They have enough poison to kill a human." said Marcie.
"Very good, Marcella." said Mr. Chemic. "Anyone else?"
"Scorpions are insects." said Emerald.
"I'm sorry, Emerald." said Mr. Chemic. "Insects have 6 legs, scorpions have eight."
"Really? I thought scorpions had two arms." Emerald pondered.
"So much for knowing more than us." sighed Patty Swanson.
When school had finished for the day, Heather and Charlie Brown were on their way home.
"Charlie Brown, I just got a good idea." said Heather.
"What is it?" asked Charlie Brown.
"Why don't you help me look after Mom?" asked Heather.
"Okay. Sounds like a good idea." said Charlie Brown.
"Great." said Heather. "Come on over."
So Charlie Brown and Heather went into the Wold place.
"Charlie Brown!" called Henry.
"Hey, Henry." said Charlie Brown. "Did you have fun at day care today?"
"Day care?" asked Henry. "I didn't even go to day care."
"You didn't….. Oh good grief!" cried Heather. "I was so busy looking after Mom, I forgot to take Henry to day care!"
"Good grief indeed." said Charlie Brown.
Heather went up to her mother's room, seeing the ice pack on her head.
"How are you feeling, Mom?" asked Heather.
"Still under the weather, Heather." said Donna.
"Don't worry, Mom." said Heather. "I brought Charlie Brown over. He should be of some help."
But helping was easier said than done. Charlie Brown was preparing some tea for Heather's mother. He had finished dipping a teabag in the cup, placed some milk, and he was just about to go to Heather's parents' room when… he slipped on a bar of soap.
"WHOOOOOA!"
Charlie Brown let go of the cup as he slipped, sending the cup flying into… Heather's hand.
"Good catch!" called Charlie Brown.
"Thanks." said Heather. "Anyway, I'm up to my mom's room. She'll need this tea."
"And I'll prepare some more food." said Charlie Brown. "I've always known how to make toast."
At Fifi and Snoopy's house, Snoopy was sitting outside. He was puzzled Charlie Brown hadn't returned yet. Fifi came out to see how her husband was doing.
"Oh." said Fifi.
Snoopy looked at Fifi and held out his doggy dish. Fifi realised it was because Charlie Brown hadn't returned home yet.
"Aw….." Snoopy sighed.
As he said this, Charlie Brown returned home.
"Hey, Snoopy." said Charlie Brown. "You hungry, Boy?"
Snoopy nodded and gave Charlie Brown his doggy dish.
"Thanks, Snoopy." said Charlie Brown. "I'll prepare it."
Fifi looked down too.
"And Fifi, I'll give you some dinner too."
Charlie Brown soon came back out with a doggy dish with extra dog food.
"Here you go."
Snoopy wondered why Charlie Brown took so long.
"Heather's mom is ill, so Heather's doing housework for her."
Snoopy and Fifi looked in fear, then ate their dinner.
The next day, Heather was vacuuming the house when Fifi came over.
"Hi, Fifi." said Heather. "Want your breakfast?"
Fifi didn't answer.
"Okay." said Heather. "You want me to go to school. Very well."
Heather was just about to leave when….
"Hey! Wait for me!" called Henry.
"Oh. You need to go to day care." said Heather. "Come on."
Heather grabbed Henry's hand and walked him to Sparkyville Day Care.
"Here you are, Little Brother. Anyway, I'm late for school. I'll pick you up at about 3."
And Heather rushed off for school.
"Hope Mommy feels better soon." Henry said.
As he said this, Wally arrived.
"Henwy!" said Wally.
"Hey, Wally." said Henry. "My big sister brought me here. My mommy's ill."
Heather arrived at her homeroom while everyone waited.
"Late again?" said Lucy angrily.
"You're despicable!" Emerald said angrily.
"Sorry." said Heather. "Again, had to do household work while Mom's ill. Plus, I had to bring Henry to the day care centre."
"The sooner her mom gets better, the better." said Charlie Brown.
"Hey, Charlie Brown." said Heather. "Thanks for helping out yesterday."
"Anytime."
Tommy had suddenly arrived.
"You're late too?" said Linus.
"Typical!" scoffed Emerald.
"Sorry." said Tommy. "Overslept."
"How despicable!" Emerald said angrily.
"Emerald, it's not their fault!" said Scarlet. "You heard Heather. She has to look after her mum and had to take Henry to child care. And Tommy overslept."
"I can call anyone I want despicable!" Emerald said.
"Not everyone." Scarlet said sternly.
"Any chance you'll help out again later, Charlie Brown?" asked Heather.
"I'd love to, but I might have some homework to do." said Charlie Brown.
Later that day during lunch, Heather was on her own, disappointed that Charlie Brown wouldn't be helping her do housework. Janice came on over.
"Hey, Heather." said Janice.
"Hi, Janice." said Heather.
"Are you still upset about your mom?"
"Not really. It's that Charlie Brown won't come and help me help my mom after school."
Janice decided…..
"I'll help you, Heather."
"You'll do that? Thank you, Janice." said Heather.
"What are friends for?" asked Janice.
"Anyway, we have class to go to now. Come on, Janice."
And Heather got off the bench and went to her music class, while Janice followed.
When school was over, Heather and Janice were both on their way to the Wold place, but were stopped in their tracks by Lindsey.
"Janice. Where are you going?" asked Lindsey.
"To Heather's." said Janice. "I'm helping her do housework while her mom is ill."
"Okay, Janice. You do you." said Lindsey. "I'll see you later."
While Lindsey went home, Janice and Heather spoke again.
"What sort of housework should I do while there?" asked Janice.
"We'll have to wait and see." said Heather.
As the two girls went inside, much to their surprise, the house was sparkling and clean.
"But….. how?!" exclaimed Heather.
There was Fifi holding a vacuum cleaner and a mop.
"Fifi? Did you do this?" asked Heather.
Fifi nodded.
"Fifi….. cleaning up the house?" quizzed Janice.
Heather got down on her left knee and hugged Fifi.
"Good girl, Fifi!" said Heather. "Good girl!"
Fifi giggled.
"Now, if only Henry was….. Oh good grief! Henry!"
Heather ran to the day care to pick up her brother.
"Well, I might as well go home now." said Janice.
Janice arrived at home, much to Britney and Lindsey's surprise.
"Janice?!" exclaimed Britney.
"I thought you were at Heather's!" said Lindsey.
"Looks like someone beat us to doing the housework already." said Janice.
"Is that so?" asked Lindsey.
"Who?" wondered Britney.
"Let's just say a doggy did it." said Janice.
"That's preposterous!" huffed Lindsey. "Dogs can't clean!"
"This one can." said Janice.
"How can a dog clean a house?" scoffed Lindsey.
"It's kind of a long story." said Janice sheepishly. "This one is a bit like Charlie Brown's dog."
"And Charlie Brown wonders why he can't have a normal dog." sighed Lindsey.
Meanwhile, Heather was dashing over to Sparkyville Day Care to pick up her brother when, much to her surprise, she saw him with Charlie Brown and Wally.
"Charlie Brown?" said Heather.
"Hi, Heather." said Charlie Brown. "I knew you'd forget to pick up your brother, so I decided to pick him up along with my little brother.
"Charlie Brown? You did this? For me?"
"Hey, anything for a Little Red-Haired Girl." said Charlie Brown.
Heather ran up to Charlie Brown and hugged him, causing him to blush.
"Thank you, Charlie Brown! You really are a legend!"
Heather then turned to Henry.
"Come on, Little Brother. Let's get you home."
"Anything you say, Sis."
Heather held Henry's hand and brought him home.
"You should see the job Fifi did." said Heather.
"What did Fifi do?" asked Henry.
"When I got home, Fifi did….."
But as Heather went home, the house was dusty again.
"A dusty job?! I could've sworn it was all clean when Janice and I got home!"
The one who did the dusty work was Snoopy, who looked at Heather sheepishly.
"I guess I'll have to start from scratch." sighed Heather.
Heather grabbed the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed all the dust in the house. Suddenly, she began vacuuming Snoopy.
"Uh-oh!"
Heather turned off the vacuum cleaner, letting Snoopy go.
"Sorry, Snoopy." said Heather.
"Hmph!" scoffed Snoopy as he left the Wold place.
"Anyway, back to vacuuming."
And Heather did just that, turning the vacuum cleaner back on. Half an hour later, she was all finished.
"There. The house is all clean." smiled Heather, putting her fists on her hips. "Good as new! Now to make Mom her tea."
Heather was just about to make her mother a cup of tea when…..
"Good grief! We're out of teabags!" cried Heather.
Heather left the house.
"Heather? Where are you going?" asked Donna.
"Just going to the supermarket!" Heather called back. "Buy some teabags!"
Heather walked down, only to see Peppermint Patty on the way.
"Hiya, Heather!" said Peppermint Patty.
"Hey, Patty." said Heather.
"Where are you going on such short notice?" asked Peppermint Patty.
"I'm going to the supermarket. All out of teabags." explained Heather.
"Okay, Heather. You do that." said Peppermint Patty.
And both girls parted ways, and Heather soon arrived in the city centre.
"New Wold Supermarket. The market named after me."
Heather set foot inside, and was impressed by the size of it.
"It's a hypermarket!"
Heather went down the teabag aisle and was most surprised to see….
"Frieda?"
"Hi, Heather!" said Frieda.
"What are you doing here?" asked Heather.
"Just shopping for some snacks in case I hold another slumber party." said Frieda.
"I'm here to buy some teabags." said Heather.
Heather looked at the teabags and picked out…..
"Ah, Tetley. This should hit the spot." Heather said.
Heather returned home.
"Mommy! Daddy! Henry! I'm home!" called Heather.
"Heather. Did you get the teabags?" asked Al, Heather's father.
"Sure did." Heather said as she held them out.
"Good girl." said Al. "And good girl for helping your mother out."
"Thanks, Dad." said Heather. "And now….."
Heather went into the kitchen and was about to prepare her mother's tea.
"Let me handle the teabags." said Al. "You rest."
"A good job has earned me a rest." said Heather.
So Heather went up to her room and went to do her homework.
"Good grief! I've been helping my mom so much, I forgot to do my homework!"
So Heather got to her studies.
The next day, Heather woke up very wearily.
"Oh!" she groaned.
All the work Heather had done looking after her mother had worn her out.
"Come on, Heather!" called Henry. "You have to bring me to day care!"
"Go on your own." said Heather. "I'm too tired."
"But I need you!" said Henry.
"I guess so." Heather sighed as she got out of bed.
After changing into her normal clothes, Heather walked out of the house and brought Henry to day care.
"Have a nice day." Heather said wearily.
"You too." said Henry.
Heather went into her homeroom as weary as she ever was.
"Good grief, Heather! What happened with you?!" cried Charlie Brown.
"I've been working so hard…." said Heather. "So hard I….."
Heather drifted off to sleep.
"Heather?" whispered Marcie. "Heather! Heather!"
Marcie pushed Heather on her nose, waking up with a start.
"Johnson! 2015! Am I close?" Heather asked.
"You're not in class, Heather." said Marcie.
"Looks like Heather's our new sleepyhead!" laughed Peppermint Patty.
Heather had slept through all her classes that day. It even resulted in her being late to go home when her Math class had ended.
"Heather!" called Mr. Arithma. "Hometime!"
"Hometime?! Oh, I must've overslept!"
And Heather dashed off for home.
"How could I have slept through that class?!" exclaimed Heather.
Heather was in such a rush, she dashed past the day care centre.
"Big sister!" called Henry.
"Henry!" Heather called as she stopped in her tracks.
Heather walked back to the day care.
"Come on, Henry. Let's go home now." said Heather.
At last, the Wold siblings had arrived home, and much to their surprise…..
"Mom?!" Heather cried.
"Heather! Henry! Hello!" said Donna.
"Mom! How are you today?" asked Heather.
"Much better, thank you." said Donna. "And thank you for looking after the house."
"You're welcome, Mom." said Heather. "And now, there's only one thing for me to do!"
Heather went up to her room, changed into her sleepwear, cleaned her teeth, and hopped into bed.
"Sleep." smiled Heather.
And soon, the Little Red-Haired Girl drifted off to sleep.
"At least my mom is feeling better." she said to herself.
The next morning, Heather woke up, and as she looked at her alarm clock…..
"Good grief! 8:30! I'm late!"
Heather got out of bed, cleaned her teeth, changed into her normal clothes, and ran out of her house.
"Heather?" said Donna.
"She's late for school." said Henry.
"Oh yeah." said Donna.
"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" Heather repeated.
Suddenly, Heather saw a bus on the side of the road.
"Good grief!" cried Heather. "Trouble!"
Heather walked over to the bus, and was most surprised to see Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Janice, Lindsey, Frieda, Tommy, Schroeder, Emerald, Heather Clyde-Halverson and Scarlet.
"Good grief! What happened here?!" cried Heather.
"Bus has a flat tyre." said Linus.
"Now we'll be late!" groaned Lucy. "This leaves me no time to see my Sebastian!"
Charlie Brown looked towards Heather.
"I guess this is a good time to be late, huh?" said Charlie Brown.
"I guess you're right." said Heather.
Frieda looked towards Tommy, feeling sweet.
"Tommy! While we're waiting for our bus to have a new tyre, how about we…." Frieda said as she put her index finger on Tommy's cheek, causing him to blush.
"Frieda! We're in public!" said Tommy.
"Let them see." said Frieda.
But before Frieda could kiss Tommy, the bus driver called.
"New tyre's fitted!" called the bus driver.
"That's a relief!" said Charlie Brown.
"Come on, Frieda! Sparkyville Middle School waits for nobody!"
"Oh." sighed Frieda.
"Good! Now I can get on!" said Heather.
The bus drove to Sparkyville High, and everyone got off.
"At least we made it." said Charlie Brown.
So all the students reached their homerooms. Franklin, Violet, Patty Swanson, Pig-Pen, Peppermint Patty, Spearmint Sammy, Shermy, Marty, Erin and Adrienne were already there.
"Where were you?" demanded Violet.
"Bus had a flat tyre." said Heather. "Gave us all a good enough excuse to be late."
"That's okay then." said Violet.
"Say, where's Mr. Othmar?" asked Linus.
At this moment, Mr. Othmar arrived.
"Sorry I'm late!" said Mr. Othmar. "Car wouldn't start."
Heather felt more relieved than before.
"How does it feel to be late now?" asked Janice.
"Feels good." said Heather.
"And now, to mark the roll, then you may go to your classes." said Mr. Othmar.
During lunch, Heather was sitting with Mary Stewart.
"Arrived late again, have you?" asked Mary Stewart.
"Yes." said Heather. "But I had a better excuse this time apart from sleeping in."
"What's that?" asked Mary Stewart.
"Bus had a puncture." explained Heather.
"See?" said Mary Stewart. "Being late isn't always a bad thing! As the old saying goes, better late than never."
"Can't argue with that." said Heather.
"Anyway," said Mary Stewart. "My mom's going for a doctor's appointment."
"Doctor's appointment?" asked Heather.
"So how's your mom now?" asked Mary Stewart.
"My mom feels better than before." said Heather.
"That's great news!" said Mary Stewart. "Anyway, Heather. I'll see you in class."
"Bye, Mary." said Heather.
Later that day, Heather arrived home.
"Heather! You're back!" said Donna.
"Hi, Mom!" said Heather.
"Did you run late again?" asked Donna.
"Yes." said Heather. "But this time, I had a better excuse."
"Yes?"
"My bus had a puncture, and Mr. Othmar arrived late too." explained Heather.
"See." said Donna. "Being late isn't always a bad thing."
"I know. Mary told me today."
"Isn't that nice of Mary?"
Speaking of Mary Stewart, she arrived home where her mother was waiting.
"How was the doctor, Mom?" asked Mary Stewart.
"Mary." said Miriam, Mary's mother. "I don't know how to tell you this, but….."
"Yes?" asked Mary Stewart.
"There's a bun in the oven." said Miriam.
"Bun in the oven?" quizzed Mary Stewart. "You mean…..?"
Miriam nodded.
"It's happening!" cheered Mary Stewart. "It's happening!"
Next day, Mary Stewart saw Heather speaking with other girls.
"Hi, Heather!" said Mary Stewart.
"Hello, Mary." said Heather.
"I have some fantastic news!" said Mary Stewart. "There's a bun in the oven."
"What are you trying to get at, Mary?" asked Janice.
"I'm…. I'm…. I'm going to be a big sister!" cheered Mary Stewart.
"Wow! My best friend becoming a big sister!" said Heather. "You know what this calls for?"
"Not really." said Janice.
"Slumber party at my house!" Heather decided. "And everyone's invited! Even the boys!"
"Heather invited us to a slumber party?" said Charlie Brown.
"That's right, Charlie Brown!" said Heather. "You're all invited."
All the boys cheered.
"We're invited to a slumber party!" cheered Linus.
"A girl inviting boys to her slumber party!" cheered Schroeder.
That evening, all the boys and girls who could had arrived at Heather's house. Frieda brought the snacks she'd brought at New Wold Supermarket the other day.
"Hi, Heather." said Mary Stewart. "Thanks for inviting me to your slumber party."
"Anything for a friend, especially one who's going to be a big sister soon."
"Hey, Heather. I'm glad you invited all the boys to your party." said Schroeder.
"Especially when your girlfriend's getting a new family member soon." said Heather.
Heather looked at all her guests, making sure she hadn't missed anyone.
"Let's see….. Franklin, Shermy, Linus….. Good grief! Where's Charlie Brown?!"
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Heather opened it and….
"Hi, Charlie Brown!" said Heather.
"Hey, Heather. Sorry I'm late." said Charlie Brown.
"That's alright." said Heather. "Better late than never, right?"
"Just what I said." said Mary Stewart.
"Come on in, Charlie Brown." said Heather. "Plenty of room."
And Heather hugged Charlie Brown, causing him to blush.
Schroeder looked towards Mary Stewart and hugged her.
"Congrats, Mary. Becoming a big sister soon." said Schroeder.
"Thanks, Schroeder." said Mary Stewart.
"Pillow fight!" shouted Lucy.
And everyone grabbed pillows, having playful fights. Sally and Eudora jumped on Mary Stewart's bed, Schroeder played piano, and Heather and Charlie Brown sat on the sofa, looking at each other with love.
"Thanks for throwing this, Heather." said Charlie Brown.
"It's the least I could do." said Heather. "For my friends helping me, and for celebrating my bestie becoming a sister soon. What more could you ask for?"
Heather kissed Charlie Brown's right cheek, making him blush. Well, everyone continued to have their fun until very very very late. Well, better late than never.