Celebrate the Season--Home for the Holidays Page 5

  It might be time for plan B, Alyssa thought as she gathered the red ombré scarf from the basket on her dresser. She spread the scarf out on her bed and studied her work, looking for any loose stitches or mistakes. The scarf was coming along beautifully. She’d made more progress last night than she realized.

  In fact, Alyssa had made a lot of progress on the scarf and with the calico cat the night before. After dinner, she’d gone outside with her knitting and sat on a lawn chair near the driveway, which seemed to be the cat’s favorite spot. Alyssa had spotted her there the day after Becca’s visit, and Cody had reported seeing her there one evening after soccer practice. She had taken to leaving a bowl of cat food out near the driveway every morning and was pleased to see that the bowl was always empty after school.

  After about twenty minutes, Dasher, as Alyssa had begun calling the cat, had emerged out of the wooded area across the street and ambled over to Alyssa’s driveway. She ate a few bites from the food bowl that Alyssa had just refilled and then lay down a few feet away from where Alyssa was seated and began to lazily clean herself. Alyssa grinned now as she remembered explaining to the cat why she was calling her Dasher—partly because it was the name of one of Santa’s reindeer and partly because the cat seemed to like to dash away whenever she felt like it. It seemed to Alyssa that Dasher understood and even liked her name. She blinked her big yellow eyes at Alyssa and continued to contentedly groom herself. Before going inside, Alyssa got up from her chair very slowly and crouched down right next to the cat. She extended her hand and Dasher actually sniffed it! Alyssa held her breath and gave the cat a gentle scratch under her chin. Dasher stiffened up a little at first but didn’t dash away. Deciding not to push her luck, Alyssa said good night and headed inside.

  My mind is wandering again, and I haven’t even started knitting yet, Alyssa thought. I need to stop daydreaming and start knitting! She gathered up the scarf and put it back in her knitting basket and decided to head downstairs to work in the living room. She padded down the stairs silently and set the basket on the coffee table. Then she plugged in the lights on the tree so she could enjoy their twinkling while she worked.

  Alyssa quickly fell into a groove with her knitting. She was almost to the halfway point on the scarf and was determined to knit twelve rows of the raspberry color she was currently working with. This section of the scarf was where the reds would transition to pinks, and Alyssa thought the raspberry color was the perfect choice. She hoped Becca’s aunt would agree! The next forty-five minutes flew by, and Alyssa almost couldn’t believe it when she heard her mom’s alarm go off. It was time to put the knitting away and get ready for school already!

  “That’s the second time you’ve yawned so far,” Elle told Alyssa at lunch later that day. “Was math class really that boring?”

  “Sorry, I’m just tired,” Alyssa replied. She put down her tuna sandwich. “I’ve been waking up early to work on my knitting, and I think the lost sleep is just catching up with me. And if I’m being honest… math was pretty boring!”

  “I knew it!” Elle laughed.

  Just then, Rachel sat down, dropping her bagged lunch onto the table with a dramatic sigh.

  “Everything okay?” Elle asked.

  Rachel shrugged. Alyssa thought this might be the first time she’d ever seen Rachel without a big grin on her face.

  “I got a seventy-eight on my Earth science test after studying for about a million hours. I was asking Mr. Jackson if there’s some extra credit I can do.” She opened her lunch bag and pulled out her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “But he doesn’t offer extra credit. He said I should just focus on doing better on the next test, but I don’t know how I could study any harder than I already did!”

  Alyssa nodded sympathetically. “I hate when that happens. Maybe you need a study buddy or a tutor? At my old school, they had this peer-tutoring thing and their motto was Study smarter, not harder! My friend Lauren tutored kids in almost every subject because she was crazy smart.” Alyssa took a sip of her cranberry juice. “I wish I could help you, but science isn’t exactly my strongest class, either.”

  Elle drummed her fingers on the table, deep in thought. “Alyssa might be onto something here, Rachel. Maybe you can study with someone in your class who’s doing really well? Studying smarter makes a lot of sense. Who’s the top student in the class?”

  Rachel picked up her sandwich and put it back down. Then she slowly peeled the lid off her yogurt before looking up again. “It’s actually Becca,” she said finally.

  “Oh,” Elle said quietly.

  “That’s perfect!” Alyssa said excitedly. She looked back and forth between her friends. “Ask Becca to study with you. I’m sure she would.”

  Elle and Rachel exchanged a look. “Yeah, maybe,” Rachel said. But Alyssa had a feeling she didn’t mean it. Before she could press her, Rachel changed the subject to ask Alyssa how things were going with Dasher.

  “Have you lured her inside yet?” Rachel asked.

  Alyssa wanted to talk more about Becca possibly tutoring Rachel but she sensed she shouldn’t push it, so she explained that she hadn’t lured Dasher inside yet but that she had managed to pet her a little bit.

  “You need to get Elle over to your house ASAP,” Rachel said as she swirled a spoon around in her yogurt. “Cats love her—I bet she could get Dasher inside.”

  “That’s right! Becca told me how you’re the cat whisperer!” Alyssa said. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could pull them back in. Is it okay I said that? I don’t mean to keep bringing Becca up, but it’s kind of hard not to.…

  But Elle just grinned, seemingly happy to be reminded of her nickname, and Rachel laughed. “She’s totally the cat whisperer!” Rachel cheered. “I say we get together at your house and see if Elle can help you get Dasher to come inside.”

  “I think we should make it a sleepover!” Elle added.

  At that, Alyssa was beyond excited. Last week, she was sure she wouldn’t make any friends in Florida, but now she was being asked to her second sleepover of the week! But her excitement crashed quickly. What about all the knitting she needed to do? And her wish essay?

  “Earth to Alyssa,” Elle said, waving her hand in front of Alyssa’s face. “You still with us? We were talking about a sleepover? Maybe this Saturday night?”

  “I’m so sorry. I totally zoned out! Yes, let’s do it!” Alyssa exclaimed. “I need to double-check with my mom to make sure it’s okay, but I’m sure it will be. She used to let me have sleepovers all the time back home.”

  “Awesome,” Elle and Rachel said in unison.

  As the girls finished their lunches, Alyssa spotted Becca across the cafeteria at the soccer table. The kids were all goofing off, but Becca seemed to be in her own little world.

  That’s because she belongs over here with us, Alyssa thought.

  And then she had a fantastic idea. She was going to invite Becca to her sleepover on Saturday night.

  Becca was waiting by Alyssa’s locker after seventh period.

  “Hey, are you coming over to knit?” Alyssa asked.

  “No, I have soccer practice after school again, but I wanted to see if you wanted to have a sleepover on Saturday night? I checked with my parents, and it’s fine with them. We can do it at my place or yours.”

  “Funny you should say that,” Alyssa replied. She felt her heart beating excitedly in her chest. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to sleep over on Saturday night!”

  “Great minds think alike!”

  “Yes, they do!” Alyssa took a deep breath and chose her next words very carefully. “I hope you don’t mind, but I also invited Elle and Rachel, so it would be the four of us.” Alyssa watched in horror as Becca’s face fell. “I know you guys aren’t close anymore, but you’re all my friends and I just think we’d have a lot of fun together!” Alyssa spoke so quickly that her words ran together.

  “Do they know you’re inviting me?” Becca
asked.

  “Well, no, not yet, but I’m sure they won’t mind,” Alyssa said quickly.

  At least I hope they won’t mind.

  Becca looked at the ground for a long time. “You know what? I just remembered that I think I told Renee I would hang out with her on Saturday night to help plan some soccer stuff, so let’s just do our sleepover another time,” Becca said finally.

  “But what about our knitting?” Alyssa said desperately. “We need to work on our scarves, remember?”

  “Oh, I’ve finished four already.” Becca waved her hand.

  “Wait, what?” Alyssa forgot all about the sleepover for a moment. “How is that even possible?” she sputtered.

  Becca just laughed. “I told you, I’m a fast learner!”

  Alyssa shook her head in bewilderment. “I’ve been waking up early every day to knit and I’ve made half of one scarf. Do you not sleep?”

  Becca laughed again. “I guess we work at different paces, but it’s no big thing! I have to go to practice,” she added. “But thanks again for the invite for Saturday. I’m sorry I can’t make it.”

  As Becca jogged down the hallway, Alyssa wasn’t sure what she was more confused about: whether Becca really had plans on Saturday night, or how Becca had finished four scarves already!

  “Someone’s a hungry girl,” Alyssa said softly as she watched Dasher practically inhale the bowl of food she’d just put down for her.

  It was Saturday morning, and Alyssa had allowed herself to sleep in because she’d made a lot of progress on the ombré scarf the night before. She’d sat outside under the stars with Dasher lying at her feet, purring contentedly while Alyssa knitted. Alyssa explained to Dasher that it was Christmastime and told her that she used to associate Christmas with cold weather and snow, but now that she lived in Florida she was beginning to realize that the season was so much bigger than just the weather.

  Then Alyssa had told the cat all about what was going on at school with Becca, Elle, and Rachel. Dasher, of course, didn’t have any advice to offer, but Alyssa felt better after having talked about what was on her mind. She had also decided that maybe it was time to talk about it with someone who could actually give her advice about what to do… and she knew just who the perfect person was.

  “I’m going inside now for a bit. Okay, Dasher? I think it’s time to talk to Mom about all that drama I told you about,” Alyssa told the cat as she continued to devour her food. “But my friends Elle and Rachel are coming over later and they are really excited to meet you!”

  Dasher looked up from her bowl and blinked her eyes slowly at Alyssa. Alyssa smiled. She was positive Dasher understood every word she was saying.

  Back inside, Alyssa fixed herself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the kitchen table. Mrs. Sing had just returned home from her run. “Are you excited about your sleepover tonight?” she asked as poured herself a glass of cold water and joined Alyssa at the table.

  “So excited.” Alyssa nodded happily. “But I wish Becca could come, too. I invited her and she said she couldn’t make it.”

  Mrs. Sing drained her glass and put it on the table. “Do you think she wasn’t being honest with you?”

  “No… I mean, I’m not sure.” Alyssa explained to her mom that there was some history between Elle, Rachel, and Becca and they were no longer friends but that she was determined to bring them all back together.

  Mrs. Sing frowned. “That’s tricky territory, honey. Are any of them making you feel like you’re caught in the middle of this… misunderstanding… they’ve had? Do they say things about one another to you? Because that would not be fair to you.…”

  “No, not at all,” Alyssa said quickly. She could tell her mom was concerned, and she didn’t need to be. “I actually talked about it a little with Elle and Rachel and told them I wanted to be friends with everyone and they promised me that was fine with them and they haven’t ever said anything bad about Becca. Just that they used to be friends and aren’t anymore.” Alyssa paused to take a bite of her cereal. Her mom was still frowning a little bit. “And Becca has also been great about it, though I do think she turned down coming to the sleepover because Elle and Rachel will be here.”

  Mrs. Sing absently traced her finger along the rim of her empty glass. “I’m glad they aren’t trying to involve you. They sound like good friends.”

  “Oh, they are,” Alyssa agreed.

  “Do you know what happened, why they aren’t friends anymore?”

  “No, but I’m going to try to find out tonight. I think if I knew what drove them apart, I could help fix it and they can make up.”

  “Alyssa, it’s not really up to you,” Mrs. Sing said gently. “I know you want to help, but you’re just getting to know these girls. Why don’t you try to focus on that for now? If they are meant to be friends, they will be, but you can’t force it.” Her voice grew even softer as she reached out and squeezed Alyssa’s hand. “Sometimes friends just grow apart. It’s difficult, but it happens.”

  Alyssa felt her cheeks burn. She wasn’t explaining it correctly to her mom if it sounded like she was trying to force them to be friends. “No, Mom, it’s not like that,” Alyssa said firmly. “I’m telling you—I just know they should all be friends. I can’t explain how I know, but I just do. Kind of like how I just know Dasher is supposed to be my cat. And I want to be friends with all of them—I don’t want to have to choose.”

  Mrs. Sing put her arm around Alyssa and gave her a side hug. “I love that you care so much about other people, sweetie. Just make sure you allow yourself to enjoy getting to know your new friends and not worry so much about everything else. Okay?”

  Alyssa nodded, but she wasn’t sure her mom really understood what she was saying. Of course she was enjoying her new friendships, but she would enjoy them even more once everyone was friends with one another.

  “Don’t look now, but I spy a furry calico cat.…” Elle whispered.

  “Why are you whispering?” Rachel demanded as she ran over to the kitchen window.

  “I don’t want to startle the cat and scare her away!”

  Rachel and Alyssa burst out laughing.

  “Pretty sure she can’t hear us all the way in here,” Alyssa said. But as she said it, Dasher seemed to look over from the driveway. “Or maybe she can hear us! You really are the cat expert, aren’t you?”

  Elle put down the spoon she’d been using to stir the cookie batter. “Yes, I am. And you should just always assume I know exactly what I am talking about, thank you very much!”

  Mrs. Sing laughed along with Alyssa and Rachel as she walked into the kitchen to check and see how the baking was coming along. “Okay, so Dasher has made her appearance. What’s the plan?”

  Everyone looked expectantly at Elle.

  “Well, I’ve given this a lot of thought,” Elle began. “I think Alyssa should just go outside and say hello to Dasher and then come back inside but leave the door open so Dasher knows she’s welcome to come in. We can all pretend to ignore her, and she can come in and get comfortable without feeling pressure from any of us.”

  Alyssa, Rachel, and Mrs. Sing considered Elle’s plan.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Alyssa said, and her mom nodded. “Wish me luck!”

  A few minutes later, Alyssa returned to the kitchen. Rachel and Elle were hovering by the kitchen window. “You were so good with her!” Elle squealed. “I can tell she really likes you.”

  Alyssa grinned as she remembered that Becca had said almost exactly the same thing to her a few days ago. That had a tendency to happen.

  “Is she coming yet?” Mrs. Sing asked.

  “No, but she’s definitely looking,” Rachel reported.

  “Why don’t you girls get back to working on the cookies, and I’ll keep an eye on the door and let you know if there’s any movement?” Mrs. Sing said as she settled at the kitchen table and opened her laptop. “The oven is heated up and the cookie sheets are greased. Just don’t forget to
set the timer,” she added, winking at Alyssa.

  Alyssa started telling her friends about the time she was making sugar cookies and forgot to set the timer. “This was in our old house in Massachusetts and I was in the den waiting for the timer to go off but it never did. And then—”

  “Girls!” Mrs. Sing loud-whispered. “Dasher appears to be on her way in.”

  The calico cat poked her head inside the door. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen and spotted all the humans, she froze. Alyssa and her friends quickly got back to work, pretending not to notice the cat.

  “Does this look like it’s stirred enough?” Alyssa asked, holding her bowl up.

  “Alyssa, I don’t think she actually understands what you’re saying.” Rachel giggled.

  Alyssa said, “She does so!” at the exact moment Elle said, “Of course she does!”

  All three girls burst into laughter and, true to her name, Dasher dashed! But instead of dashing out the door, she dashed through the kitchen and up the stairs!

  It took every ounce of patience Alyssa had to finish working on the cookies with her friends instead of running through the house to see what Dasher was doing, but she did it! Finally, after about half an hour of kneading, rolling, and cutting out dough, the cookies were baking in the oven. Mrs. Sing promised to keep an eye on them while Alyssa, Rachel, and Elle went upstairs to see what Dasher was up to.

  Alyssa almost couldn’t believe her eyes when she got to her bedroom and saw Dasher curled up on her bed, sound asleep on her pillow.

  “Aw, she knows she’s home,” Elle said softly. “This means she’s chosen you as her person,” she added. “She must feel really safe with you.”

  Alyssa slowly approached the cat, who opened her eyes as soon as Alyssa got close. “It’s okay, Dasher—don’t dash away from me,” she said gently, holding her hand out so the cat could sniff it. Then she stroked the cat’s chin and, to her delight, Dasher lifted her head up and accepted the chin rubs. A moment later, she rolled over onto her side and showed her big white belly. Alyssa knew enough about cats to know this was the ultimate sign of trust—Dasher was meant to be her cat!