Snow day at Top Sail

Melody trudging through the snow

The Blau family were in for a shock. They had recently returned from visiting New Jersey in the dead of winter, just so Elizabeth could explain to Rosa the difference between seeing snow in a photograph and actually being in snow, when they woke up one morning to a vast winter wonderland.

“Look!” shouted Rosa flying into her parents’ bedroom and bouncing on their bed which was something she had been told many times not to do, “look daddy, mummy, look outside. The beach is gone.”

It was those last four words that shook her parents out of their deep slumber, believing that while they were asleep a giant tsunami had hit North Topsail Beach and washed all the sand out to sea, on its way to Africa. They screamed and jumped out of their bed. Rosa didn’t know her excitement would cause her parents to panic. She tried to make the best of it.

“See,” she pointed to the snow covered beach, “see all the sand is gone.”

George and Sybil staggered back to their bed and collapsed moaning. “Rosa, Rosa, Rosa,” began a slightly irate Sybil. “Didn’t your visit up to New Jersey teach you anything?”

“Yes, mummy,” replied a sombre Rosa.

“The sand isn’t gone is it, little one?” asked Sybil trying to crawl back into bed, grabbing her husband’s right wing in the hope he would join her, but gave up once she realised he was enthralled with the white stuff and was contemplating getting dressed and going outside.

“Oh look daddy, Melody is walking in the snow. Doesn’t she look happy?”

No, Melody wasn’t happy. Being that she slept outside, she wasn’t happy to wake up in the middle of the night with her body completely covered by the cold white stuff. She jumped up and shook her body to get rid of the snow and then spent the rest of the night wandering around looking for a safe space. Not finding one, she wandered over to the line of homes and took refuge under a deck. But now that she was hungry, she began to wander back in order to wait for her breakfast.

“No, I don’t think Melody is happy walking in the snow, young lady,” replied George now convinced that he had seen everything. A beach covered with snow and a cat walking towards the nest in it. He overruled his initial decision of going out there with Rosa. He climbed back into bed.

Rosa wasn’t sure what to do next. “Go wake up your aunt,” Sybil groaned, “I think she likes the snow.” Rosa was gleeful until she realised her aunt lived in another nest which meant she would have to go out in the snow. After her trip to New Jersey she realised that snow looked pretty in photographs, but not in reality.

“It’s ok,” she replied and so with her wings drooping, she walked slowly back to her bedroom.

“And don’t……” shouted Sybil, but it was too late. Rosa slammed her parents’ bedroom door. Sybil groaned, “why can’t you teach your daughter not to slam doors?” but George had fallen back to sleep.

About an hour or so later, the sun began to rise higher above the horizon and the snow started to melt. Rosa woke up not happy. Even though she did not want to go out in the snow she certainly didn’t want it to disappear so quickly. Timmy walked into her bedroom. “Did you see the snow?” he asked as she sat up in her bed contemplating her next move. “I guess school will be cancelled,” Timmy continued and immediately Rosa’s face lit up.

“They cancel school for snow?” she asked.

“They do in New Jersey,” he replied walking out of her room and heading towards Julia’s bedroom. “I better tell Julia about the snow.” Julia already knew about the snow. When he walked into her bedroom without knocking, something which Julia had reprimanded him about too many times to count, she was sitting at her desk looking out of the window at the fast disappearing snow.

“I guess we have a snow day,” he repeated.

“No. I already looked that up on Dad’s iPhone and there’s no snow day, so we have to get up and go to school.”

Rosa in the meantime had taken Timmy at his word and had decided that there wouldn’t be any school that day. She had taken the opportunity of sliding back under the covers where it was very warm. Soon she was fast asleep.

About half an hour later Timmy all dressed for school and on his way to get breakfast that Julia had made, shouted at Rosa who jumped out of her bed. “Rosa, why are you still asleep? Why aren’t you ready for school?”

Rosa put her wing over her heart and pretended to have a heart attack. “You told me there’s no school today,” she managed to get out between deep breaths.

“No I didn’t. I said in New Jersey they wouldn’t have school, but we aren’t in New Jersey.” Rosa could swear that that wasn’t what he had said, but wasn’t in the mood to argue with her brother. She was wondering what her next steps would be considering she was running so late.

As she sat there debating with herself, she heard Timmy and Julia discussing how they were going to get to school and realised they had no alternative but to fly there. Rosa decided she wasn’t going to school that day. She was about to get back under the covers when her father walked in and pulled the quilt off her.

“Come on young lady, time to go to school.”

“But daddy, Timmy said today was a snow day and there is no school.”

“Timmy!” shouted George walking out of her bedroom, “did you tell Rosa there was no school today?”

“No daddy I didn’t. I told her in New Jersey there wouldn’t be school today.”

“That’s ok,” Rosa heard her aunt Elizabeth’s voice and froze. She knew what that meant. She jumped out of bed quickly, pulled the quilt up so that it looked as if she had made it, gargled with mouth wash, threw on the clothes she wore the day before, and within a minute or so came flying into the dining room with a grin from ear to ear.

“What’s for breakfast?” she asked normally.” Oh hello aunty, what are you doing here?” The rest of the family stood there in shock. “Come on,” Rosa continued, “chop, chop. We’re going to be late for school,” and with that she sat down at the dining room table and waited for her breakfast. Elizabeth smiled at everyone.

“I only came over to tell everyone I just met Ruth who was doing yoga….”

“You do yoga in the snow?” they all asked interrupting her.

“Yes of course, it’s good for circulation,” she replied, “anyway, I just saw Ruth and she told me they had called school off for the day because the students from Sneads Ferry couldn’t make it in.” Everyone groaned. Rosa slid off her chair and headed back to the bedroom. “I can teach you today,” Elizabeth shouted after Rosa, but Rosa slammed her door. She knew she didn’t want that.