Ding! The timer chimed. A jubilant Gemma raced into the kitchen.

"Apple cinnamon muffins!" she cried gleefully. "My favorite!" She carefully lifted one from the hot tray. Just as Gemma was about to sink her teeth into the sweet treat, her mother asked her to go get the mail. Gemma sighed slowly.

"Ok…" She set down her steaming muffin and walked through the room to the door. When the brisk, fresh air hit her face, she grinned, then skipped to the mailbox. She opened it, and the usual bills, ads, and newspaper sat there. Gemma pulled them out, sighing once more. She glanced towards the road, and dropped the mail.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped. A little boy was crossing the road, playing with his rainbow slinky, not paying attention. A car was zooming down the road, the driver texting. Disaster was imminent. Gemma darted into the road, grabbed the little boy by his sleeve, and yanked him off the car's path. It rushed by, exactly where he had been moments before.

The boy looked around dazedly, with his brown curls dancing wildly about his face. "What- did- how-?" he faltered.

"You weren't paying attention," Gemma explained kindly. "That car would have hit you."

He stared at Gemma with wide eyes. "You saved my life. You're a hero!" Then he hugged her.

"No, don't call me that. I was just in the right place at the right time." She replied. His bright blue eyes still gazed admiringly at her. He hugged her again, then walked away.

Gemma grinned to herself. A hero. It felt good to be called a hero. Even for one day. She scooped up the fallen mail and with a hop, skip, and a jump she entered her house, depositing the mail on the table in the hall.

"Now, where did that muffin go…"