Ginny sat on her bed. She drew a red heart on the card. She drew pink hearts around it. She wrote, “To S from your Secret Valentine.” She put the card in an envelope and tossed it into her sack.
She raced out the door.
Simon was waiting under the mulberry tree. “Hi, Ginny,” he said.
“Hi.”
They walked down the sidewalk.
Ginny looked at the sack in Simon’s hand. Had he made her a card? Would it have hearts? Flowers? Candy? She could hardly wait to see it.
At school, all the kids put their cards in sacks. Ginny and Simon put their cards in sacks, too.
That afternoon Miss Rose said, “Put away your books, boys and girls. It’s party time.”
One by one, Ginny opened her valentines. She had a card from everybody in class but Simon.
She opened the last card in her sack. A piece of bubblegum fell out. She read, “Snakes are cool. Girls are fine. Be my Secret Valentine. Sam.”
“Some secret,” she said. “Sam wrote his name.”
Around her, kids talked, laughed, drank punch, and ate cupcakes.
“Hey, Ginny,” said her best friend, Hope. “I have a Secret Valentine.”
Hope read, “Snakes are cool. Girls are fine. Be my Secret Valentine. Sam.”
“Some secret,” Ginny said. “Sam wrote his name.”
Hope giggled. “I think he’s cool.”
“I think he’s weird.”
A paper airplane flew past Ginny’s ear and landed in her cupcake. She dug the airplane out. “What’s this?”
“An airplane,” Hope said.
Ginny rolled her eyes. “I know that. Who made it?”
“Look inside,” Hope said. “Maybe there’s a name.”
Ginny unfolded the airplane and read, “How do you like my card? Simon.”
She turned to Simon, who sat behind her. “What card?”
“The card I gave you,” he said.
“You didn’t give me a card.”
“I did. It has a candy heart inside.”
“Which sack did you put it in?” Ginny asked.
“The one with G.T. on it.”
“I never got it,” Ginny said.
“Where is my card?” Simon asked.
“I put it in the sack with S. on it.”
Simon scratched his nose. “I never got it.”
Ginny put her hands on her hips. “Somebody stole them, and I’ll find the thief.”
She picked up her paper cup and napkin and carried them to the trash. Simon went with her.
On the way, Ginny looked at the cards on every desk. She saw a card with red hearts on Lyn’s desk. “Cool card,” Ginny said. “Does it have candy inside?”
“Yes, candy hearts,” Lyn said.
Simon whispered in Ginny’s ear, “This isn’t your card.”
“Oh.” Ginny moved on. She saw a white, lacy card on Mary’s desk. “Cool card,” Ginny said. “Who gave it to you?”
“Roger,” Mary said.
Ginny was about to give up when a loud cry bounced off the walls, like a rocket ship blasting into space. All the kids looked to the back of the room.
“I have a Secret Valentine!” Gloria shouted. She opened the card. A candy heart fell out. “I never had a Secret Valentine.”
Ginny whispered to Simon, “Is that my card?”
“Yup.”
“May I see the card?” Ginny asked.
“Sure,” Gloria said.
Ginny read, “‘To G.T.’ Now that is weird.” She smiled, for she knew how her Valentine ended up in Gloria’s sack.
“Gloria Tucker—you,” Ginny said. “Ginny Torrance—me. We’re both G.T.”
Gloria smiled. “We are.”
About that time, Sam shouted, “I have a Secret Valentine!”
He held up a card with a red heart. Pink hearts were drawn around the red heart. “I never had a Secret Valentine,” he said.
“That’s your card, Simon,” Ginny said.
“I’ll get it.”
“No.”
“Why?” Simon asked.
“I’ll tell you later.”
At three o’clock Miss Rose said, “It’s time to go home, boys and girls.”
Ginny and Simon walked down the sidewalk.
“There was no thief, was there?” Simon said.
“No. We put the valentines in the wrong sacks.”
“Why did you let Gloria keep your card?” Simon asked.
“She was so happy,” Ginny said. “How could I tell her it was mine?”
“Yup, Sam was happy, too.”
They laughed.
“It was the best card I almost ever had,” Ginny said.
“Thanks. I liked yours, too.”
“Simon, you’re a cool Secret Valentine.”
~The End~