Cabin Fever
    
Crunch.
    
Lynn looked up from her book. She sighed, got up, and walked over to the window. Snowflakes danced around the frost-covered glass. Lynn rubbed her sleeve against it, and the window cleared. The ground was covered in a thick layer of white. Squirrels with snow-sprinkled backs scampered around the yard, searching for the acorns they had previously buried.
    
Crunch, crunch.
    
Lynn pressed her forehead to the cold glass and looked down. There was her little brother below her, waving and smiling mischievously. He hurled a snowball at the window. The impact made a smack. Lynn opened the window, letting the chilly midwinter air sting her cheeks.
    
“What do you want?” she called.
    
“Come play!” her brother shouted excitedly.
    
“Maybe later.”
    
In response, the boy prepared another ball of ice to throw at her. She quickly shut the window.
    
Smack!
    
Lynn scowled. She still had a mountain of homework. It was supposed to be winter break, not winter work. Still, maybe she could take a break. Before she could change her mind, or get caught, Lynn raced downstairs, donned her boots, mittens, hat, and coat, grabbed her skates, and with only the slightest glance back, left the house.
    
It was cold out, but after the stuffiness of her house, it was a relief. Lynn jogged through the snow, scaring away the few birds that were there.
    
Growing farther away from her house, Lynn’s stress slowly disappeared. Even when her brother and one of his friends tried, and failed, to hit her with an array of snowballs, she remained happy. Once she reached the skating rink her father had constructed for her and her brother, Lynn slipped off her boots and pulled on her worn-out old hockey skates. Once on the ice, she spun around and around until she fell over, dizzy and giggling. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad winter break after all.