Hokey Pokey Read Online Free PDF

to step inside and lose herself in the big, soft, loving, furry embrace of Snugger. To this day neither she nor anyone else knows what Snugger looks like, it’s so dark in there. Not that it matters. All that matters is that Snugger is there to give you what you need, whenever, 24/7. She feels the need less now. Only rarely is Snuggle Stop visited by a Big Kid, and then only at night, a solitary shadow crabbing over the glittery landscape, cursing the moon that is always full over Hokey Pokey.
    It has been one of the quiet prides of Jubilee’s life that her little brother, Albert, has never stood in the line at Snuggle Stop. He hasn’t had to, becauseshe sees to it that he goes to sleep snuggled into the loving spoon of his big sister and wakes up the same way.
    Until this morning.
    She reins in Hazel. She surveys the long line. There he is, toward the end, in his striped shirt. His posture alone tells her all she needs to know. A sob ball falls from her. It’s the saddest thing she’s ever seen. She hates herself.
    She parks the bike. She moves closer. She calls, “Albert.” He looks—oh the look! He turns away. She says his name again.
    He turns. He wails, “You wasn’t there!”
    Now or never
, she thinks. She reaches for him, tugs. He resists. Then doesn’t. He allows her to pull him away from the line. She needs to distract him, make him forget. She points to the bike. “Look, Albert—want a ride?”
    Albert looks, then kicks her in the shin. “You wasn’t there.”
    She fights the tears. Abandoning him to wake up alone, choosing bike over brother—is there a rottener sister anywhere? “I know, I know, I’m sorry.”
    “And then I got exploded!”
    She looks at him. “Huh?”
    “I got exploded!” he bawls. “And I was nex!”
    She cups his shoulders. “What are you talking about?”
    “I was nex in line and then he did it!”
    “Who? What?”
    He snivels: “I was nex in line for Snugger and Destroyer came in his truck and exploded me and when I was dead the other kids went ahead of me and then I was at the end of the line!” He kicks her again.
    She’s not sure what all that’s about. She only knows she needs to steer him in a new direction. She leads him to the bike. “Look, Albert—it’s mine now. Want to ride?”
    He looks at it. He won’t give up his monkey face, but she can see a glimmer. He reaches out, pulls his hand back and kicks the front tire. The bike topples. “You wasn’t there!” She catches the bike before it hits the ground. He’s bawling harder than ever now.
    She picks him up, pulls him into herself. She’s not furry and her name’s not Snugger, but she gives him the best, the warmest, the most loving hug a sister ever gave a kid brother. She sobs into his ear. “I’msorry, honeybunny, I know, I know. Bad Jubilee. Bad. Bad. She’ll never do it again. Never let you wake up alone again, never, never,
never
.” And suddenly she’s aware that he’s clutching—
Thank you!
—his arms and legs wrapped around her, practically squeezing the breath out of her. Then a shift in his weight. He’s reaching over her shoulder, reaching for the bike—
    She lets him down. She lets him pet it. She kneels behind him, chin on his shoulder. He’s still sniffing but she knows the worst is over. He’s drinking in the full glorious view. “So—what do you think?”
    He traces his fingers solemnly over the black-and-silver flanks. “Where’d you get it?”
    “Oh, it just sort of came to me.” Get him off this track. “I call her Hazel.”
    “It’s Scramjet,” he says matter-of-factly. “It’s Jack’s.”
    Why is she surprised? Jack and Scramjet are famous, even among little kids,
especially
among little kids.
    “Not anymore. It’s Hazel.” She kisses his ear, whispers into it. “And it’s
mine
.”
    No reaction, but she knows he’s taking it in, processing. His eyes never leave the bike.
    “And y’know what?”
    “What?”
    “I think Hazel wants a new