Loser

The first snow falls, and after school students get into snowball fights. That night, as the snowy battles continue, emergency lights draw the kids to Willow Street, where they learn that little Claudia has disappeared. Donald wonders if she broke her leash and ran away. His gloved hands are wet and cold from making snowballs, so he removes the gloves and sets them on a porch. He decides to search for Donald.

Donald walks down Willow Street block by block, crisscrossing and checking lumps under the snow in case Claudia is hiding or sleeping in them. Then he remembers: Alleys are where kids play. He walks into an alley and disappears into its darkness.

The alley goes right past Claudia’s house, but none of the emergency people are searching it. Donald wonders why Claudia might have run away, and he remembers how Polly once ran off, an entire mile, before plopping down in the middle of a street, satisfied that she “runned away!” Donald and his dad were right behind her and got her safely out of the street.

He keeps searching the alley. The night is cold, and the lucky bubblegum stone in his hand feels like the only warm thing left on him.

At the end of the alley, Donald walks down a street to the next alley and continues his search. His ears and hands are freezing; he wants a hot bath and a warm bed. He’s on his fourth alley when he finds himself lying on the ground, having fallen asleep from the cold. Crusty snow covers him, and freezing rain falls down his neck and up into his arms, shocking him alert. Dazed, he continues walking but falls asleep again even as he walks. He crashes into a garage door, picks himself up, continues on, and hallucinates that he’s at the old lady’s house enjoying cocoa.

Teeth chattering, he bumps into more cars, pretends to be warm, and says “piece a cake” like his father. Random thoughts rumble through his head. Bright lights nearly blind him, and a voice says, “Hold on, son, I gotcha . . .” (196).

Donald wakes up in his parents’ bed. Polly sits nearby. She yells, “Mommy, Mommy, he’s awake!” (199). The parents rush upstairs, followed by Uncle Stanley, and ask him what he was doing out in the cold. Donald explains that he was looking for Claudia. They tell him she was found right away, just before 8:00 p.m. in a car in a garage, pretending to drive. Donald was rescued after 1:00 a.m. He learns that the late-night sirens and lights weren’t for Claudia but for him.

Everyone climbs onto the bed to hug Donald. He sees light through the window and learns it’s a Snow Day. He has slept for 13 hours. Donald tries to get up so he can go sledding on Halftank Hill before the sun sets, but his dad tells him he’s grounded for the day: “And you’re going to stay grounded if I have to sit on you” (203).

Polly brings out his lucky stone and gives it to their mom. Donald insists that no one besides him should touch it or the luck runs out. His mom gives it back and asks why it was in his mouth when they found him, but he won’t tell.

For the rest of the day, Donald sits bundled up on the sofa as friends, relatives, and neighbors call or drop by to see how he’s doing. There’s lots of food and a party atmosphere. Claudia and her mother arrive, and Claudia “kisses him loudly a dozen times” (205). Claudia’s mom hugs him for a long time.

His parents tell Donald how they didn’t worry about him until 9:00 p.m., when all the other snowball-throwing kids had reported home. Then they started their own search and called the police. A snow plow operator found him. The rescue squad took over at the house, checked him out, and got him dry and warm. Mom and Dad put him between them in bed for the night.

It’s time for bed once again, but Donald slept late and he’s wide awake. He convinces his parents to let him stay on the sofa. He tries to sleep, but his thoughts are racing. Finally, he sneaks over to the front door, opens it quietly, leans out, and looks up: “He smiles. The sky is clear. They’re still there. The stars” (210). He goes back to the sofa, and in moments he’s asleep.

On a day off, the kids use the school grounds to play sports. A couple of the better football players toss the ball to Donald, who always fumbles it. The football players decide he’s a “spaz.” Hobin walks over, watches Donald drop passes, and says, “Coulda told ya” (213). They talk about the story of Donald’s crazy search for Claudia. Someone says Donald actually likes school.

They decide to choose sides for a football game. Kids scramble to join; the captains take turns picking players. As usual, Donald is left out, unwanted, but he just stands there and stares, first at one captain, then the other. The second leader, flustered, finally points and says, “‘Zinkoff.’ And the game begins” (218).