Chapter 1: Busy Bee BUSY BEE Heidi Heckelbeck was the busiest girl on the planet. Dad called her Lil' Miss Busy Bee. On Monday, Heidi had swim practice with her team, the Little Mermaids. They worked on the butterfly stroke. On Tuesday, Heidi had Young Rembrandts. It was an after-school club with her art teacher, Mr. Doodlebee. The club had been working on a giant aquarium collage. Heidi made a pink neon jellyfish from paper plates, paint, and yarn. On Wednesday, Aunt Trudy took Heidi to the Fine Arts Museum. They got to see all kinds of original art, from paintings to sculptures to videos. Heidi's math tutor came over on Thursday--that's because Heidi needed help with word problems, especially the ones with fractions. And, of course, Friday night was Movie Night at the Heckelbecks'. They watched Henry's favorite movie for the fifth time. Not that Heidi was counting. Saturday morning was all about the swim meet. The Little Mermaids crushed the Aqua Maidens in freestyle and breaststroke. Then, on Saturday afternoon, Heidi accidentally booked two playdates for the same day! Luckily, Bryce Beltran and Laurel Lambert didn't mind, and they all played together. And finally, on Sunday, Heidi helped her little brother create a costume for his history project. After that she had to finish her own homework. Her whole family was impressed. "How do you do it, Lil' Miss Busy Bee?" her father asked as he pretended to interview Heidi about her busy schedule. Heidi pressed her hand against her chest. "Well, as you know, I have a FAB-U-LOUS social life, DAH-LING!" she said in a grand movie star voice. "And HOW do I do it, you ask?" Heidi picked up her daily planner. It had unicorns and rainbows all over it. She pretended to show it to a wide audience. "THIS is how I do it," she said. Then she hugged her planner close to her chest. "I would be nowhere without my trusty planner! It's the ONLY way I can keep it all straight, DAH-LING!" Dad nodded thoughtfully. "And what if you ever lost it?" he asked. Heidi placed the back of her hand against her forehead. "Oh, DAH-LING! I should simply be LOST without it!" she said. "Even a famous person such as myself needs to know when to study for math and when to go out on the town." Dad laughed. "There you have it, ladies and gentlemen!" he said. "Lil' Miss Busy Bee keeps it all straight with a planner. And now it's time for a word from our sponsor." That was Dad's way of ending the show. Excerpted from Heidi Heckelbeck Takes the Cake by Wanda Coven All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.