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Early the next morning,the streets of Firetown were calm.But inside Bernie’s shop,Ember was hard at work,slapping stickers onto various items.
When it was time to open,she adjusted the Red Dot Sale pin on her apron.“Take a breath,”she reminded herself.“Calm as a candle.”
When she rolled up the shade on the window,a crowd of customers was waiting,but Ember kept her cool.She smiled and opened the door.
“Morning,”she said.“Welcome to the Fireplace—”
Before she could finish,customers rushed in,practically tramplingher flames.
One customer headed toward some cans arranged in a pyramid.Instead of taking the top can,the customer yankedone out from the bottom.As the stack wobbled,Ember hurried over.
“Whoa,whoa!”she cried.“They’re all the same.Just take one from the top.”She handed a can to the customer.“Thanks for shopping!”
Another customer heavedan armload of red stickers onto the counter.“So many stickers for sale!”the customer grunted.
“Are these fragile?”asked another customer as they swept a shelf of delicate items into his basket.
“No,wait!”cried Ember—too late.
Smash! Several shatteredon the floor.
Ember stifleda yell.She tried to calm herself and keep her cool.Then she saw another customer about to put a log in his mouth—without even paying!“You have to pay before you eat,”she reminded him,yanking the log away.
The morning passed by in a blur.Amid the endless stream of customers and the constant ring of the cash register,Ember tried to stay calm.Her father was counting on her.But the customers had so many questions!
“Does this come in a large?”
“What’s your return policy?”
“Has anyone seen my husband?”
Ember’s flames turned bright red. Take a breath, she reminded herself.
“My dad broke this,”said a Fire child, holding up a damaged toy.
Make a connection, Ember told herself through grittedteeth.
“Mind if I test this kettle?”asked a customer,just as the kettle released a highpitched whistle.
Ember was about to blow her top,too.It was all too much.
She strained to keep her cool.But any moment now,she’d blow.She could almost feel her flames turning purple.
“Back in five minutes!”Ember choked out through gritted teeth.
She rushed from the room,her hand clampedover her mouth and sparks flying. She made it down the basement steps.Then she let out a fiery blast.“Ahhhhhh!”
As the smoke cleared,Ember panted, trying to recover.That was when a pipe in the basement began to vibrate.
The pipe groaned,squealed,and then...cracked. Whoosh! It shot a stream of water straight at Ember.
Ouch! She ducked as it doused part of her flame.
More water gushedfrom the pipe,quickly flooding the floor.Ember gasped when the brick support column in the middle of the basement shuddered.
As water continued to fill the basement, Ember dodged the painful spray.She had to do something before the situation got even worse.Thinking fast,she grabbed a trash can lid and a fireplace poker.She climbed onto some floating debris and then reached toward the cracked pipe.
Water stung her flames as she pushed the lid against the broken pipe,stopping the spray. She melted the poker in her hand and used it to weldthe edges of the lid against the pipe. Then she held her breath and released her grip.
The lid stayed put.The water stopped!
But as Ember glanced around the waterlogged basement,she began to panic.“Oh, no.Stupid temper.Not today!”
Her own flame was damaged,too.She grabbed a few sticks from a shelf and ate them,replenishingher flame.“What is wrong with me?”she cried.
A picture frame floated on the water. When it began to move,Ember sucked in her breath.Two streams of water fountained up out of the pool and two watery hands appeared,holding the frame.Then Wade Ripple, a young Water man,sat up.He was bawlinghis eyes out!
Ember gasped.“What the...?”she said.
Wade studied the picture in the frame and cried some more.“What a happy family,”he said,sniffling.“Is that you and your dad ?”He pointed at the picture of Ember sitting on her father’s lap,blowing out birthday candles.“I love dads.And it’s your birthday!”He cried so hard now,his tears splashed Ember.
She winced,shielding her face.“Who are you?”she demanded.“What are you doing here?”
“I don’t know!”Wade sobbed.“I was searching for a leak on the other side of the river and got sucked in.This is bad!I can’t lose another job!I just can’t seem to find my flow.”
When he stood,Ember couldn’t help noticing that he was tall and very muscular.“Dang,”she whispered.Her flames burned pink.
Wade glanced down.“Ugh,that pipe squishedme all out of shape,”he said.He shook his body until the muscles disappeared and his belly ploppedback out.“That’s better.”
“Dude,just get out of here,”Ember pleaded,growing impatient now.“I gotta clean this mess before my dad sees what I did.”
Wade stopped crying and straightened up.“Oh,actually...,”he said,sloshing toward the other side of the room.He grabbed a pen and notepad from under his shirt.“I’m afraid I’m going to have to write you a ticket.”
“A ticket?”cried Ember.
“Yeah,I’m a city inspector,”said Wade.“And this pipe is definitely not up to code.”
Ember held her face with her hands.“I sucked a city inspector into our pipes?”
“I know—ironic,right?”said Wade.He poked at the pipe,which rumbled.
“Stop messing with that!”cried Ember.
“I need to make sure it’s solid,”Wade explained.
“It’s solid,”Ember confirmed.“I should know.My dad built it himself.”
“Wait,”said Wade,glancing up.“Your dad did?”
“Yes!With his bare hands,”said Ember with pride.“Every brick and board.This place was a ruin when he found it”
“Wow,he did all of this himself?”asked Wade.“Without permits?”He began to weepagain.
Ember gulped.“Uh...”
“I’m gonna have to write that up,too,”said Wade.“First I’m sucked into a pipe,and now I have to write citationsthat could get this place shut down.Oh gosh,it’s just too much!”Tears streamed from his eyes.
Ember flared up.“Shut us down ?”
“I know!”wailedWade.“It’s awful!”
“No!You can’t shut us down,”Ember begged.“Please!This is a big day for me.It’s our Red Dot Sale!”She lungedfor Wade’s notepad.
“Hey,take it easy,”he said,flowing out of her path.“This is as hard on me as it is on you.”He scribbled furiously on his pad.He sloshed toward the basement window.
“Get back here!”cried Ember.
“Sorry,”said Wade.“I gotta get these to City Hall before the end of my shift.”Without another word,he poured his body through the high,narrow window and disappeared.
Ember was right behind him.She ripped off her apron.Then she blazed through the window and chased after Wade.“Get back here!”
At that moment,a pipe joint began to leak.
But Ember didn’t notice.