Scoop by Scoop

Every Sunday, the competition starts. The three of us will set our alarm clocks to wake up earlier than anyone else. I had set my alarm clock to six in the morning, hoping that my siblings wouldn’t start before me.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Groaning, I reach over to my nightstand and slap the top of my alarm clock. “Too early on this cold winter day,” I mumble. I curl back into my warm blanket and fall asleep again.

My eyes blink open to the whirring sound of the vacuum cleaner. They chose their chores first! I think with despair. I jump up from my bed and rush to the bathroom, where I start the only chore that was left for me. I will definitely be shoveling the driveway while they build an igloo, I think cheerlessly, scrubbing madly at the toilet bowl.

When I’ve finished cleaning the toilet and sink, my brothers come into the bathroom to watch me clean the bathtub as they taunt me about how I’d overslept and got stuck with the longest chore. “Whoever finishes last has to shovel the driveway, remember?” my older brother reminds me with a smug smile when we put on our big coats and snow pants to go outside.

The three of us step outside into the knee-deep snow and shield our eyes from the brightness. My brothers dash off to play in the yard. I trudge to the driveway, my feet dragging in the snow, and grab the shovel. Each shovelful of snow feels heavier than the one before. I grunt with effort as my siblings yell with joy.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of a shovel scraping against the driveway concrete. Turning around, I see my brothers busily scooping snow from the driveway. “We’re not helping; we just need blocks of snow for our igloo,” my younger brother explains hastily.

Soon, scoop by scoop, we clear out the driveway together and dig up enough snow to build the igloo of our dreams. We spend the rest of our peaceful Sunday in the igloo drinking the sweetest hot cocoa ever.