It was the middle of July, and the hottest day ever.
At least that's how it felt in my room.
My skylight window was open, but it didn't help one bit.
My fan was blowing, but it just seemed to blow more hot air around.
I was even wearing my bathing suit, and I was still hot!
My friends call me "Iggy the Incredible Inventor."
But there was no way I could invent anything today.
It was too hot for me to even think!
Suddenly my fan stopped working.
"Mom!" I called. "It's really hot in here!
Can we get an air conditioner for my room?"
My mom was getting ready to go shopping.
"We can't fit an air conditioner in your tiny room, Iggy," she called from the kitchen.
"Besides, I think the power just went out in the whole building.
The lights aren't working and the air conditioner in the living room turned off."
"My fan isn't working either!" I told her.
My brother, Tate, stuck his head in my room.
"Why don't you stop yelling and invent something?" he said.
"I can't," I said.
"It's so hot in here, my brain won't work."
"Ha-ha!" Tate laughed. "Iggy's brain is melting!"
"That's not funny!" I cried, "Mom! Tate said my brain is melting!"
"I want you two boys to get along while I'm gone," my mother said.
"It's too hot to argue."
A few minutes after my mom left, Molly knocked on our door.
Her little brother, Caswell, was with her.
"Wow," said Molly, sinking down on a chair in our living room.
"It's even hotter in your apartment than it is in ours!
Our power stopped working a few minutes ago."
"The whole building is out of electricity," explained Tate.
"Can you invent something to cool us off, Iggy?" asked Molly.
I shook my head. "Nope."
Caswell was looking at me.
"Why do you have your bathing suit on, Iggy?" he asked.
"Are you going swimming?"
"I was trying to stay cool," I told him.
Just then someone knocked on the door again.
It was Josh and Jenny, from the floor below us.
Josh's dog, Bunch, was with them.
Poor Bunch was hanging his head and panting.
He looked very hot.
I brought him a bowl of water to drink.
"Guess what?" said Jenny, while Bunch lapped noisily from the bowl.
"Our air conditioner blew a fuse."
"What's a fuse?" asked Caswell.
Josh shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure.
But Mr. Calabria said it made all the electricity in the building go out."
"Just like Iggy's brain," said Tate.
"It blew a fuse today too!"
"Very funny," I said, frowning at him.
"Iggy, can you think of a way to stay cool?" asked Jenny.
I was sick of answering this question.
Luckily, Molly answered for me this time.
"Iggy can't think," she said. "He's too hot."
"Wait a minute," I said. "I do have an idea!"
"I hope it's a good one!" said Josh.
"If I get any hotter, I'll blow a fuse too."
"Well, it's not a great idea," I said, grinning.
"But it could lead to a great idea!"
"What is it?" asked Molly.
"I'm going to put an ice pack on my head," I said.
"That will cool off my brain.
Then I'll be able to think of my next incredible invention!"