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Where were the clues? What had happened to Mothball and Rutger? Did soet lost in the mail? Had they soe , kids? The questions poured out of their minds and into their e-mails, but no answer ever caement

All he could do atch the snow pile up in his front yard all through January and February The weather their viewers that it had been the worst winter on record, revealing snow tallies in fancy charts with asthe lottery winners It was March before the snow finally started to rass that desperately longed for spring

Tick hadn’this best to keep focused while he worried about not hearing fro in the Jackson County Chess Tournament in the middle of March hadn’t been the sae bracket His family seemed shocked that he’d lost the top spot, but hisstreak ended with a dull thu

His dad constantly tried to cheer hi would come soon, but after a couple of months, even his dad see to its nextfor a letter fro in the hetti and sauce from Frupey the Butler True to Sofia’s word, it had tasted wonderful, and Tick knew he could never eat the cheap stuff again

But even in the depths of the three-iven up They made a commitment to study their own journals every day, even if only for a few ht pop out and surprise theame, even if the other side offered no help And every day, no matter what, they sent an e-mail to each other

Tick felt sure he’d hit rock botto on a new one froroaned and wrote his own quick reply:

Sofia,

Howdy from America

Later

Tick

Depressed, Tick shut off the computer and slumped his way up the stairs to wait for dinner A few minutes later, he fell asleep with the Journal of Curious Letters clasped in his arms like a teddy bear

=

April sixth was a Saturday, and the sun see doith a warmth that hadn’t been felt inin the golden light, his spirits lifted despite the circu water came from everywhere as thepace, disappearing by inches a day now It wouldn’t be long before hundreds of tulips stood like fancy-hat-wearing soldiers all over the yard, the result of painstaking pre-winter planting by his mom over the years

Even Tick, not exactly a flower expert, enjoyed his

As hesidewalk, Tick took a deep breath, loving the strong s snow The scents ofleaves that had lain beneath the white stuff all winter filled his nostrils, and he felt better than he had in ood h When he saw that the e, he slipped right back into poor-little-Tick mode and went back inside the house

Later that afternoon, Tick sat at the desk in his bedroo on the math homework he’d been too depressed to finish the day before He’d opened up his , grateful that he was able to do so without freezing to death; the winter had see up his last proble, followed by the sound of footsteps co up the stairs and down the hall toward his rooirlfriend"