How To Open — A Storm Drain

In the sprawling, rain-slicked suburb of Grey Meadows, twelve-year-old Mia Kessler was known for two things: her encyclopedic knowledge of weather patterns, and her ability to fix things that adults had given up on. So when a week of torrential rain turned Maple Street into a shallow river, and the town’s only storm drain clogged, trapping a family of ducklings in a swirling eddy, everyone looked at Mia.

The grate was ancient, a heavy lattice of cast iron set into the curb. Water churned over it, carrying leaves, trash, and the frantic peeps of three tiny ducklings. Firefighters were stuck in traffic two towns over. A neighbor had already broken a crowbar trying to pry it open. how to open a storm drain

“Mom!” she shouted. “The freezer pack from my lunch—the blue gel one!” In the sprawling, rain-slicked suburb of Grey Meadows,