Noelle's Christmas Crush (8 page)

“These are so pretty,” Hailey said. “Each one is like its own little magical world.”

“I can't believe every room in your house is decorated for Christmas,” Alyson said, looking around.

“Not
every
room,” Noelle corrected her. “The family room is totally reserved for my party.”

Hailey sat on the bed and started to bounce up and down. “The dress! The dress! Let's see the dress!”

“Wait till you see it,” Alyson said. “It's gorgeous.”

“Okay, okay.” Noelle opened the closet and pulled out the dress. “Ta-da!”

The dress was violet, of course, with a straight neckline, little capped sleeves, and a skirt with a tiny bit of a poof on the bottom.

“Isn't it beautiful?” Alyson asked. “You are going to look so pretty.”

Jess nodded. “That's really nice.”

“Thanks,” Noelle said. “The only problem is that I'm not sure what to wear with it. I mean, I don't think I have any shoes that go with it.”

Alyson grinned and opened the duffel bag she was carrying. “Don't worry, I've got it,” she said. “I went to four Bat Mitzvahs last year, and you have to get dressed up for each one, so I have a ton of stuff.”

She pulled out a pair of glittery silver flats. “The silver goes great with the violet, and flats are good so that you can dance and your feet won't hurt. And we're the same size.”

Noelle kicked off her boots and tried them on. “Perfect!”

Then Alyson held up some silver bangle bracelets and a silver necklace with a heart-shaped crystal on the end. “Your accessories should be silver too. But you should try everything on with the dress.”

“Yay!” Noelle cried. “I'll change in the bathroom.”

She grabbed everything and left the room. A few minutes later, she came out wearing the dress, the jewelry, and the shoes.

“You look like a princess!” Hailey exclaimed.

Jess nodded. “That looks great. You should become a professional stylist or something, Alyson.”

“That's what my mom says,” Alyson said, pleased.

“Thank you so much, Alyson. I could have never done this on my own.”

Jess walked behind Noelle. “Maybe you should wear your hair up,” she said, showing her.

“I almost forgot! I have a headband,” Alyson said, ruffling through the duffle bag. She slipped a thin silver headband studded with clear jewels through Noelle's hair. Her dark curls fell into place around it.”

“That is so cool,” Hailey said. “It's like your princess crown.”

Noelle looked into the mirror, feeling excited. “This is the perfect outfit for my first real birthday party.”

“Especially since Noel will be there,” Jess teased.

“That's right!” Hailey remembered. “Are you going to get him under the mistletoe? 'Cause there's mistletoe all over your house, so that should be easy.”

Noelle blushed. “I don't want to kiss him! I just . . . like him,” she admitted. She had never said it out loud before, and it felt weird.

“We knew that already,” Jess said.

“Yeah, it's pretty obvious,” Alyson agreed.

Noelle sat down. “My gosh! Do you think he knows?”

“Probably,” Jess said matter-of-factly. “Since you stare at him like you're in a trance whenever you see him.”

Noelle buried her face in her hands. “I knew it! He probably hates me.”

“He wouldn't be coming to your party if he hated you,” Jess pointed out.

“Yeah, he would have said no,” Hailey said.

Noelle realized they were right. “That makes sense. Now can we talk about something else, please?”

“You mean how you're going to do the Snowflake Run with me on Thursday?” Jess asked.

“Oh, yeah, that's right,” Noelle said.

“Ugh! I hate running. We do enough of that in gym,” Alyson said.

“Yeah, it's always so cold,” Hailey added.

“You guys are wimps,” Jess said. “It's totally fun. They close down all of Main Street, and then we all get hot cocoa at the bakery when it's over.”

“I can still get hot cocoa without running a mile,” Alyson pointed out.

Jess turned to Noelle. “Come on, you need to run with me. It'll be good training if you're going to try out for track in the spring.”

“But the tryouts are three months away,” Noelle said.

“Well, how about running off all those holiday cookies we've been eating?” Jess asked.

Noelle laughed. “That's probably a good idea.”

“You could work those cookies off in a nice, warm gym,” Hailey pointed out.

Jess sighed. “Okay. I know one reason you definitely can't argue with. You know that
Noel
will probably be there.”

Noelle smiled. “Okay. I'll go.”

Jess laughed, shaking her head. “I knew it! But I don't care why you're going, as long as you're going to run with me.”

Alyson shooed her off the bed. “Go take off that dress before it gets wrinkled.”

Noelle jumped up and ran out of the room, giggling. Her party was only four days away, and it was going to be perfect!

THE NIGHT OF THE SNOWFLAKE
run was clear and cold, just above freezing. Noelle had on leggings, a T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and gloves, because she didn't want to run in a heavy coat. She ran to the car, shivering the whole way.

“Thanks for taking me, D-d-dad,” Noelle said, dramatically chattering as she slipped her seat belt on.

“I haven't done a run like this in awhile,” Mr. Winters replied. “It should be fun.”

Cars crowded the municipal parking lot off Main Street, but Mr. Winters found a space. They quickly walked to Main Street, where giant lighted snowflakes shone on every telephone pole along the route. The storefronts were all decorated for the holidays, and Christmas carols blared over a loudspeaker attached to a police van by the starting line.

Spectators lined up on along the street, looking snug in puffy coats and mittens, and Noelle was jealous of them. She jogged in place, trying to keep warm, when Jess ran up to her.

“Come on, let's find a place at the starting line,” she said, grabbing Noelle by the arm.

Mr. Winters nodded to them as he stretched. “I'll be running with the old people,” he joked. “Be careful, and I'll meet you by the bakery after the race,” he said. “Don't go wandering off anywhere.”

“I won't, Dad!” Noelle called behind her as Jess dragged her off.

It looked to Noelle like at least a hundred runners had taken a place behind the starting line, which had been painted on the street in a red-and-white candy cane stripe.

“At least it's warmer in the middle of the crowd,” Noelle said, rubbing her gloved hands together.

“We'll warm up when we run,” Jess promised.

“I hope that's soon,” Noelle said.

Then the Christmas music stopped and a woman's voice came over the speakers.

“Good evening, everyone. I am Mayor Sherman,” she
said. “Welcome to our fifteenth annual Snowflake Run!”

The crowd cheered, and Jess grinned at Noelle.

“Remember, there are no winners or losers at the Snowflake Run,” Mayor Sherman went on. “This is a race about holiday cheer! At the end of the race there is free cocoa for all in front of Tamika's Bakery! Don't forget to step inside and try one of Tamika's famous snowball cupcakes. And now, without further ado, let the race begin!”

A small cannon on the police van went off, sprinkling the runners with tiny fake snowflakes. With a cheer, the runners surged forward.

Jess flashed Noelle a smile as they joined the pack. The black sky above glittered with stars, and Noelle felt like she was in the middle of something magical.

She turned to look at a display in the candy shop window when she noticed a familiar head of wavy hair a few feet in front of her. Noel!

Without thinking, she quickened her pace to catch up with him.

Of course he's fast,
Noelle thought.
He's Noel!

But Noelle was fast too, and she jogged right up next to him and gave him a little wave.

“Hey!” he said, with a surprised grin. “I didn't know you were a runner!”

“For fun, mostly,” Noelle said. “But I'm trying out for track this year.”

“Me too,” Noel said.

They fell into pace next to each other. For a while they were quiet, just looking at the decorations as they ran down the street.

“So, um, it's almost Christmas,” Noelle said.

“The Snowflake Run kind of kicks off the last stretch until Christmas, don't you think?” Noel asked. “It'll be here before we know it.”

“I can't wait,” Noelle said. “I can't wait until Christmas break, either. But first Mr. Randinelli is giving us a big test. Can you believe it?”

Noel nodded. “I have him too. He's like Scrooge or something.”

The effort of the run kept them quiet for the rest of the race, but Noelle cast a few sideways glances at him, not believing her luck. This really
was
a magical night.

The race took them to the end of Main Street, where they made a right turn into Pine Valley Park. Tamika's
Bakery sat right across from the park, and tables had been set up with big thermal containers of cocoa. To get there, they had to cross the finish line, which was marked by two old-fashioned lampposts wrapped in candy cane–striped ribbon.

Noelle took one step past the lampposts and then stopped, placing her hands on her knees.

“We did it!” she said, breathing heavily.

Noel high-fived her. “Awesome. Do you want to get some cocoa?”

Noelle was about to say yes when she suddenly remembered something—Jess! Frantically she looked behind at the runners coming up to the line, but didn't see her.

“I'm so sorry, I need to find Jess,” Noelle said. “I guess I . . . I must have lost her. . . . I'll see you later!”

She hurried off, leaving Noel looking a little baffled. A huge rush of runners came through the finish line, and Noelle pushed through them until she spotted Jess.

“Jess! Jess!” Noelle yelled, waving her hand.

Jess walked up to her.

“I'm soooo sorry,” Noelle said. “There's this big crowd, and . . .”

“. . . and you had no problem finding Noel in it,” Jess snapped. “I saw you.”

Noelle felt terrible. “I just wanted to say hi. And then we were running, and . . . ”

Jess rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Let's get cocoa.”

“And then let me buy you a cupcake,” Noelle said. “I owe you.”

“Yes, you do,” Jess agreed.

As they sipped their cups of hot cocoa, Noelle couldn't help glancing around to see if she could find Noel. Jess had every reason to be mad, but Noelle had been rude to Noel, also. What if he was mad at her too?

I probably blew it,
Noelle thought.
There's no way that he'll come to my party now.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Nice run,” her dad said. “I saw you moving fast.”

Noelle gave Jess a pleading look, hoping her friend wouldn't say anything about why she was running fast. But Jess just smiled. “Hi, Mr. Winters. Noelle was just about to get me a cupcake.”

“I'll get both of you a cupcake,” Noelle's dad said. “My treat.”

Tamika's snowball cupcakes were perfect little treats,
white cupcakes with rounded tops covered in fluffy white frosting, shredded coconut, and edible sparkles. Noelle bit into hers, but the sweetness took a backseat to her worries.

She felt bad for how she had treated Jess. She felt bad for how she handled Noel. It was a relief when her dad said it was time to go, and she bundled into the warm car.

“What's the matter, hon?” Mr. Winters asked as they drove home. “Tired?”

“No,” Noelle said glumly. “It's just . . . I'm running out of holiday cheer, I guess.”

Mr. Winters nodded. “The holiday season is wonderful, but it can also be stressful. Maybe the day after your party we'll just take some chill time, you know?”

Noelle nodded and stared at the window. Her holidays were starting to get stressful, for sure . . . but not for the usual reasons.

THE NEXT DAY, FRIDAY, WAS
just one day before her party. Noelle was dying to talk about the party at lunch with her friends, but she noticed that Jess seemed quieter than usual.

She's probably mad about last night,
Noelle guessed, but she didn't bring it up. Hailey and Alyson did most of the talking at lunch.

As soon as Noelle got home, she got right back into birthday mode.

“Okay,” she announced at dinner, “I made a chart of everything that needs to get done tonight for the party.”

“I have to go out for a bit after dinner, but I won't be long,” Mr. Winters said.

“But my party is
tomorrow
,” Noelle said. “As in, tonight is the last night we have to get ready for it. There's tons to do.”

“I can help with whatever needs to be done,” her mom said. “I've just got to bake some brownies for church Sunday morning, since I won't be able to do it tomorrow night. And Andrew can help too.”

Andrew put down his fork. “Why do I have to help? It's her party.”

Mrs. Winters gave him a
don't-mess-with-me
look. “Because we're a family and we help each other, that's why.”

Noelle took her phone from her pocket and looked at the chart. “You can vacuum the rugs,” she told her brother.

“No way am I taking orders from Sergeant Birthday over there,” Andrew said, shaking his head. “That's just not right.”

Mrs. Winters sighed. “Andrew, could you please vacuum? That's your job anyway. And when you're done I'll find something else for you to do.”