Veronica And The Volcano

Veronica opened her eyes to the sight of her sweet sister sliding into bed next to her. “You look like a lion,” she said, as Elyse’s golden hair swept up like a wispy mane.  Elyse blinked her blue eyes at Veronica. “TV, please?” she squeaked in her five-year-old voice. Veronica reached for the remote control and turned on Elyse’s favorite show, the one starring a curious monkey. While normally she would have liked nothing more than to cuddle and watch TV in bed with her sister, today she had more important things to do.  Veronica poked Maddy, who was still snoring away on a sleeping bag next to the bed. Grumbling, Maddy pulled the fluffy bag up over her head. Veronica kept prodding her, until she finally got up. They dressed in the clothes they had laid out the night before, and ran downstairs to the kitchen, where they encountered Veronica’s mother. Veronica carried her backpack. “Mom? What are you doing up?” Veronica asked. She looked at her daughter as if she wanted to cry. “Veronica, are you sur