Rainy day

One weekend, Mum had a shift at the hospital, and Dad was swamped with marking, leaving no time to care for Joe and Bella. However, the siblings didn’t mind—they were excited to spend the weekend with Gran, who had promised to take them to the beach.

But there was a hitch. When they woke up on Saturday morning, heavy rain was pouring down. Bella pressed her nose against the window and asked hopefully, “We can still go, can’t we?”

When Gran arrived to pick them up, the rain hadn’t let up, and she decided they’d have to stay at her house instead.

The rain continued relentlessly. They watched a movie, played cards with Gran, and even did some homework for Monday, but the downpour didn’t stop. They tried taking Gran’s dog, Selby, for a walk, but he took one look outside, whined, and dashed back inside.

Eventually, Gran went to do some housework, and Joe decided to focus on his homework, as he had upcoming tests. Bella, too young to worry about exams, grew restless.

“I’m bored,” she complained. “I hate this weather!”

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Joe replied. “You’ll just have to make the best of it.”

Frustrated, Bella stomped off. Joe, absorbed in his maths, soon heard banging and thumping from the kitchen. Curious, he peeked in to find Bella mixing something in a large bowl.

“What’s that?” Joe asked.

“It’s a lovely cake,” Bella said cheerfully. “But you can’t have any.”

“That’s a relief,” Joe replied. “Because it looks awful. And it smells even worse!”

The mixture was lumpy, and the smell was unlike any cake Joe had ever encountered.

“It’s not for humans,” Bella explained. “It’s for Selby. I made it specially for him since he couldn’t go for his walk.”

“What’s in it?” Joe asked.

“Dog food, of course!” Bella said. “And cornflakes, yogurt, toast, biscuits, and tinned rice pudding—all Selby’s favorites.”

Joe felt queasy just thinking about it.

“Well, I hope Selby likes it,” he said.

But Selby didn’t. When Bella placed the raw mixture on the floor, Selby sniffed it and bolted out of the room.

Bella burst into tears.

Gran rushed in. “Oh dear, what’s wrong, Bella?” she asked.

“It’s raining,” Bella wailed. “It’s never going to stop! We can’t go to the beach, and now Selby doesn’t like my cake!”

Joe stayed quiet, but he understood Bella’s frustration. The day was turning out to be miserable.

“Now, now,” Gran said soothingly. “Things aren’t that bad. Let’s do something to cheer ourselves up.”

“Like what?” Bella sniffled.

“How about we bake a cake as a surprise for your parents? A cake for humans, not dogs. They’ve been working hard all day.”

“Can we have some too?” Bella asked.

“Of course,” Gran said.

“Can it be chocolate sponge?” Joe asked.

“With chocolate fudge icing and sprinkles?” Bella added.

“Absolutely,” Gran agreed.

They had a wonderful time baking the cake. By the time they finished decorating it, they realized the rain had stopped. They had been so engrossed that they hadn’t even noticed.

“Quick, let’s go out while the sun’s shining!” Gran said.

They took Selby to the park, and when they returned, Mum and Dad had arrived. Everyone was ready for a slice of cake!