By the next day, Veronica had made her plan. She would climb Mount Mystery, take her best friend, Maddy, and leave tomorrow. But first, she would need her dad to help get ready, her mom to say yes, and Maddy’s parents to let her go. Fortunately, Maddy happened to be sleeping over at Veronica’s house that very night. All in a day’s work, she thought.

Veronica found her dad in the garage, lying on his back, his feet protruding out from under the car. “Is it ready yet?” she asked sweetly.

“Veronica, you can’t just jump in a car and drive to Mount Mystery,” he said in a muffled voice. “It takes preparation. It takes time. Everything needs to be perfect. Now, can you please hand me that tube?”

She grabbed a large metal hose on the garage wall and pressed it into his blindly grasping hand. “Here you go,” she said. “Whatcha doin’ anyway?”

“Just filling the ice tire tank,” he said. “I’m not about to get stuck on Magma Pass without ice tires—not again anyhow.”

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