Story 7
Four friends bake a going away gift for a teacher and get into the ingredients a little more than intended.
The Winter Wonder Bakers
Hannah walked into her health class. She saw Miss Tran putting things from her desk into a box. “What are you doing?” Hannah asked.
“I’m packing up my things,” Miss Tran said. “Tomorrow is my last day.”
“Where are you going? And, why are you leaving in the middle of the year?” Hannah asked.
“I am moving to Iowa City, Iowa. My new job can’t wait until summer,” Miss Tran said. She carefully put her pen set into the box while she talked.
“What is your new job?” Hannah asked.
“I am going to teach health at the University of Iowa,” Hannah said. “The professor who was there got sick. So the university needed a teacher quickly. I’ve always wanted to be a professor. So, I jumped at the chance.”
“I am glad that it is a good move for you. But, we will miss you here at Madison High School,” Hannah said.
“That is nice of you to say, Hannah. I’m excited about my new job. But, I’ll miss all of you, too,” Miss Tran said. Miss Tran stopped packing as other students started to come in. She put the box on a shelf.
After class, Hannah pulled Tess Wilson, Annie Brown, and Pearl Shank aside. She said, “Miss Tran is leaving. She has one more day. I think we should do something to say goodbye. How about if you all come to my house after school? We can make a fancy giant cupcake.”
“That’s a good idea,” Annie said. “She’s my best teacher. I wish she didn’t have to leave. Why is she leaving in the middle of the year? Did she get fired?”
“I don’t think she got fired,” Pearl said. “She’s one of the best teachers in the school.”
“No, she didn’t get fired,” Hannah said. “She’s going to teach at the University of Iowa. She’s going to be a professor. It’s like getting a promotion. So, do you guys want to make her a giant cupcake? My mom has a mold that makes great ones.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Tess said. “I’ll ride with you and Todd.” Tess was a friend of Hannah’s, but she was also Hannah’s brother Todd’s girlfriend.
Annie said, “Do you want to ride with me, Pearl?”
Pearl said, “That would work well. I rode with my brother. So, he can take the car and go home. Will you take me home after we are done?”
“Sure,” Annie said.
After school, the four girls started baking. Hannah got out a recipe. She said, “First, we need to bake the cake. Then we should make a double batch of frosting. We have to stir and boil the frosting. Next, we have to add red food coloring to half of it.
Pearl started making the cake. She put four cups of flour in the bowl. She said, “Hannah, I used all the flour.”
Hannah said, “Thanks for letting me know.” As she talked, she put “flour” on the shopping list.
Pearl didn’t realize that she had flour on her hands. She touched her leg and left flour on her black pants. Then she brushed her hair away and put flour on her face. Tess said, “Pearl, glad to see you are getting into it.”
“Getting into what? What are you talking about?” Pearl asked. Then Tess, Hannah, and Annie started giggling. “What’s so funny?” Pearl asked. “And what’s that?” she asked as she pointed at Annie’s face. Pearl, Tess, and Hannah laughed.”
“What?” Annie asked. “I thought we were laughing at Frosty over there!”
“You have no room to talk, Rudolph,” Tess said.
Annie touched her nose and looked at her finger. “What is that and how did it get there?”
“It’s food coloring,” Hannah said. “You probably dripped a little. And one drop of food coloring goes a long way.”
Tess said, “Annie and Pearl, can you two stand together so I can get a picture? It’ll show off our baking skills. And, it will help us remember that Rudolph and Frosty both helped!” The girls all laughed as Tess pulled out her cell phone and snapped a picture.
Hannah said, “We should get another one with all four of us in it. We can give Miss Tran a copy.”
“That’s a great idea,” Tess said. “I’ll go up and ask Todd to come take one of us all.”
Tess left the room and Pearl said, “I think we should have two Frosty faces and two Rudolph’s.” As she talked, she rubbed flower on Hannah’s face. They all started laughing. Pearl and Hannah rubbed more flour on each other’s faces. When Tess and Todd walked in the room, Annie touched a red finger to Tess’s nose.
All four girls were giggling when Todd snapped the picture. He said, “If it isn’t the Winter Wonder Bakers. It’s supposed to snow tonight. That should work out really well for the four of you.”
What do you think?
- Without asking others for input, Hannah decided that a large cupcake would be a good going-away gift. Do you think the choice was a good one? Do you think it was OK for her to make the decision on her own?
- What do you think the people in the story meant by calling Pearl “Frosty,” Annie “Rudolph,” and the four girls “Winter Wonder Bakers”?
What would you do?
- Say your favorite teacher was leaving. Who would you ask to help you do something special and what would you say to them?
Life Skills in This Story:
- Making decisions
- Knowing holiday dates and traditions
- Asking for help with activities
- Using counting words
- Understanding job titles
- Writing on a gift tag
- Choosing cooking methods
- Choosing microwave containers
- Keeping an ongoing grocery list
- Sizing recipes
- Recognizing common baking ingredients
- Measuring for a recipe
- Understanding basic cell phone functions
- Adjusting behavior for different situations
- Protecting your skin
