Noelle's Christmas Crush

by Angela Darling

  She still hadn’t found the violet lightbulbs she had dreamed of, but she had some ideas for that. Still, even without them, the room looked pretty good.

  Andrew walked into the room and made a face.

  “I can’t even bring my friends in here now,” he said. “It’s like purple and pink threw up all over. Thanks.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want them in here anyway,” Noelle shot back. “They’ll mess everything up.”

  Andrew ignored her and left, and Noelle looked at the clock. She had just enough time to set out her outfit for tomorrow. The Holiday Heroes event was after school, and she knew it might be the only time all week she would be in the same room as Noel.

  She stared at her closet, wondering what to wear. The days were getting colder now, so a sweater would work. Since it was Holiday Heroes, something with holiday flair might be nice. Just like with T-shirts, she had been given a lot of sweaters as gifts, and some from last year still fit.

  She opened her sweater drawer and started rifling through them. Nothing green or red—that would be too much. Then she found a white one with a silver bell on the front. Perfect! She could wear her denim skirt and white leggings and her blue boots with the fuzz around the top.

  Satisfied, she changed into pajamas and fell asleep, feeling excited about the next day.

  When she woke up the next morning, she quickly got dressed. She checked out her look in the mirror, and she noticed a stain on the bottom of the white sweater that she hadn’t seen before. Taking a closer look, she realized it was hot chocolate.

  “Oh no,” she sighed. She ran to the bathroom and splashed some water on it, but the stain didn’t go away, it just got wider and blotchier. Frustrated, she stomped back to her room and threw off the sweater.

  What now? She grabbed the first sweater she saw, a red one with a green wreath on it, and put it on. Looking in the mirror, she frowned. It didn’t go with the white leggings or blue boots at all.

  Back to the sweater drawer. She pulled out a dark blue sweater with silver stars on it, but when she tried it on, the sleeves were too short.

  “Oh, come on!” she complained. She went back to the drawer and frantically started pulling sweaters out of it, scattering them across the floor. But nothing else looked like it would work. Everything was green or red.

  “Noelle, please come down for breakfast!” her mom called upstairs.

  “Coming!” Noelle yelled back.

  She stared at the pile of sweaters, wanting to cry. Taking a deep breath, she opened her T-shirt drawer.

  “Gotta have something blue and white in here,” she mumbled, and then she found it—a light blue long-sleeved shirt with some pink flowers embroidered around the collar. It wasn’t Christmasy, but it went with the rest of her outfit.

  She put it on and looked in the mirror. “Per—” she began, but stopped. Her hair was a mess! It was thick and curly, and Noelle didn’t mind when it got a little unruly sometimes. But all of that sweater-changing had made it look like a tangled bird’s nest.

  “Noelle!” her mom called up again.

  “Just a minute!” Noelle yelled.

  She went back to the bathroom and squirted some anti-frizz lotion into her hands and then ran it through her hair. That usually calmed it down. She ran back to her room and combed it through, and now it looked weirdly flat.

  Headband, she thought. That should work. She kept them on a hook hanging next to her dresser, but the pile was all tangled. She had to unravel a bunch of them until she got to the white one she wanted.

  She couldn’t resist one last look in the mirror. She sighed with relief.

  “Perfect!” she said, and then she ran downstairs.

  Her mom was standing by the open front door, looking down the street, where the bus stopped for the middle school kids in the neighborhood.

  “The bus just left,” Mrs. Winters reported, in that flat voice she used when she was trying not to get upset. “Go grab a muffin or something. I’ll drive you.”

  Noelle felt terrible. She knew that now her mom would have to rush to get to work, and this wasn’t how she wanted to start her day. Luckily, Mrs. Winters didn’t seem to be too upset, especially after turning on the Christmas music station while they drove to school. “I think it’s wonderful that you’re doing so much volunteering this season, sweetie,” she said. “I’m proud of you for really getting into the holiday spirit.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” said Noelle, and kissed her mom good-bye. She felt bad about making her late, and a little guilty that some of her volunteering was motivated by Noel. “I’m sorry about running late. I’ll try harder tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart,” said Mom. “Have a good day. I love you!”

  Noelle found her friends in the front hall.

  “Hey, we thought you were sick!” Hailey said.

  “Just late,” Noelle explained.

  “You look nice,” Alyson remarked.

  Jess wiggled her eyebrows. “Yeah, I bet I know why. You’re volunteering today, right?”

  Noelle blushed. “Can’t I look nice for no reason?”

  “You mean Noel reason,” Hailey joked, and Jess and Alyson burst into giggles.

  “Ha-ha,” Noelle said dryly, but she knew her friends were right. If Noel wasn’t doing Holiday Heroes, she probably would have just worn jeans and a goofy Santa shirt. She suddenly felt silly.

  Is this what happens when you like someone? she wondered. You start acting all crazy?

  Then the morning bell rang, and the girls all dispersed to their classes. Noelle’s stomach was fluttery all day, but not just because she was going to see Noel. She hadn’t really thought much about what it meant to volunteer for Holiday Heroes until today. What exactly did she have to do?

  During homeroom, she looked over the instruction sheet she had received. The kids from the special-needs classes would be attending the fair after school, and a volunteer would be paired with each kid. Each volunteer should help their buddy find the holiday presents they needed. Sounded pretty straightforward.

  But Noelle wasn’t sure what to expect. What if her buddy didn’t like her? This year she had a girl in her world civ class, Chloe, who had Down syndrome. Noelle had never really talked to her, but Chloe was friends with a girl named Andrea, and they always sat together. They talked and laughed just like Noelle and her friends did. Chloe was quieter than most kids in the class, but she raised her hand and answered questions and stuff. She was pretty much a normal kid.

  Maybe I’ll get someone like Chloe, Noelle hoped. That won’t be too hard.

  When the last bell of the day rang, she still felt a little nervous. She quickly adjusted her headband in her locker mirror and then ran to the school’s multi-purpose room.

  The large square room had a high ceiling and windows on one wall that let in the fading afternoon sunlight. Rows of folding tables contained dozens of crafts handmade by students and parents. The proceeds all went to help the school.

  Three moms were setting up cash boxes at a table on the far wall, and Mr. Clark was there again, getting ready to organize the volunteers. Noelle saw Noel across the room, but he was busy talking to some other kids and didn’t see her. She started to move toward him, when Mr. Clark started to shout out instructions.

  “Okay, here’s how it’s going to work!” he barked. “I need you guys to form a line at the entrance to the room. Mrs. Delgado is going to bring the kids in, and you guys can pair up with them one by one as they come in. So please put on a name tag and line up!”

  Everyone obeyed quickly, but as they lined up at the door, Noelle found that she couldn’t get near Noel at all. Then Mrs. Delgado appeared in the doorway, wearing a red sweater with a snowman on it.

  “What a lovely group of volunteers,” she said. “Now, listen to what your buddy is shopping for and try to help him or her find the perfect present. There’s a big selection this year. Let’s start pairing you up.”

  Noelle waited impatiently for her tur
n as she watched Noel get paired with a boy and then head off toward the tables. Finally, she reached the front of the line.

  “Hello, Noelle,” Mrs. Delgado said, looking down at her name tag. “This is Eliza.”

  Eliza had short brown hair and wide brown eyes, and she stared at Noelle a little nervously.

  “Hi, Eliza,” Noelle said, in that high voice she reserved for her little cousins.

  Eliza didn’t say anything.

  “Come on, let’s go shop,” Noelle said brightly. “I love to shop, don’t you?”

  Eliza still didn’t reply, but she followed Noelle away from the line.

  “Who are you getting a present for?” Noelle asked, and to her relief, Eliza answered her this time.

  “Mom,” she said.

  Noelle nodded. “Okay. Let’s go look at some stuff.”

  She scanned the room and saw Noel at a table with knitted scarves and hats, so she steered Eliza that way.

  “How about a hat?” Noelle asked. She picked up a blue hat with a pom-pom on top just as Noel and the boy he was with headed to another table.

  Eliza just looked at Noelle.

  “Okay, a scarf, maybe?” Noelle suggested, but Eliza shook her head.

  “No, she has a scarf!”

  Noelle glanced around again and saw Noel over by a table with some soaps and candles, so she led Eliza there.

  “Ooh, look Eliza, those are pretty,” Noelle said, still in her high voice. She picked up a bar of soap and held it out under Eliza’s nose.

  Eliza made a face. “Gross!”

  Noelle sighed and turned to see if Noel was still there, but he and the boy had moved on. She spotted him over by the jewelry table.

  “Maybe she’d like some jewelry,” Noelle said, starting to feel frustrated.

  “Why do we keep walking near that boy?” Eliza asked, in the loudest voice she had used all day. Noelle flushed, hoping that Noel didn’t hear. He was just a few feet away, but he didn’t look up at her.

  “What do you mean? We must just be shopping for the same things,” Noelle said, trying to sound casual.

  “I don’t want to get jewelry,” Eliza insisted, pouting.

  “We can at least look,” Noelle said. She stepped up to the table, right across from Noel, who looked up and smiled at her.

  “Oh, hi, Noel,” she said. “I didn’t know you were doing this too!”

  “Yes, we did see him!” Eliza insisted, and Noelle felt like melting into the floor. Noel just gave her an awkward smile.

  “This is James,” he said. “He’s looking for some jewelry for his sister, but I don’t know what to do. Can you help?”

  “How old is your sister?” Noelle asked James.

  “She’s thirteen,” James replied.

  “I bet she’d love a bracelet,” Noelle said. “My friend Jess made some really beautiful ones.”

  She moved down the table toward the bracelets, and James followed her on the other side. Behind her, she heard Eliza, who sounded upset.

  “My mom doesn’t like bracelets!” she said loudly.

  Noelle started to panic a little bit. She felt bad. She had been so worried about seeing Noel that she hadn’t been very helpful to Eliza.

  Noel scooted around the table.

  “Hey, I’m Noel,” he said, talking in his normal, soft, friendly voice. “Are you looking for a present for your mom?”

  Eliza nodded.

  “My mom really likes to cook. Does yours?” Noel asked.

  “She loves to cook,” Eliza replied.

  “There’s a table over there with some cool cooking stuff,” Noel said. “I’ll show you while Noelle helps James.”

  Eliza followed Noel, and Noelle was grateful—and impressed. Noel didn’t talk to Eliza like she was six or different or anything. He was just his nice, sweet self.

  Noelle turned to James. “Let’s pick out a really pretty bracelet for your sister, okay?” she said.

  She picked up one made of red and silver beads. “Does your sister like red?”

  James shook his head. “No. Purple is her favorite color.”

  Noelle spotted a purple beaded bracelet in the group and picked it up. “What about this one?”

  James smiled. “That’s nice.”

  Noelle smiled back. “Great. Let’s go pay for it.”

  Noelle took James over to the checkout station and helped him pay for the gift. She glanced behind them and saw Noel with Eliza, who was holding a handmade bowl and smiling happily.

  Noelle waved, and she and James walked over. “We found a really pretty bracelet that I think James’s sister is going to love. I know I would.”

  James smiled broadly.

  “Look!” said Eliza. “Noel found the best present ever for my mom!”

  “That is really nice,” said Noelle. “I bet she’ll love it.”

  “Thanks for helping James,” said Noel.

  “Thanks for helping Eliza,” said Noelle.

  “You worked as a good team,” said Eliza.

  “We did!” said Noel.

  Noelle felt herself blush.

  “Your face is getting pink!” said Eliza.

  Noelle felt herself turn from pink to red. “It’s a little hot in here,” said Noelle. Then she and Noel helped Eliza and James find their parents, who were waiting to pick them up.

  “Bye!” she waved to Noel as she practically ran to Dad’s car.

  “Bye, Noelle!” called Eliza. “Merry Christmas!”

  Lying in bed that night Noelle couldn’t help thinking about everything that happened that day—and everything that she had learned. For one thing, picking out the perfect outfit on a school morning just wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t that important, and it wasn’t fair to Mom to make her late.

  And then there was what she had learned from Noel. To just be nice, and to be yourself, no matter who you were with. It was a good thing to remember.

  And of course, it made her him even more.

  chapter 8

  SATURDAY MORNING NOELLE WAS STILL in her pajamas, searching the Internet on her laptop. She really wanted to find those lightbulbs for her party, and time was running out.

  As she was searching, she noticed some new e-mails in her inbox and decided to check them out. The first one was from her grandmother.

  Hi, sweetie.

  Did you get the e-mail I sent you last week? We need to schedule our cookie-baking day soon. Christmas is getting close—and so is your party!

  Love,

  Grandma Ruth

  Noelle felt a pang of guilt. She scrolled through her messages and found an e-mail from her grandmother that had been sent days ago; Noelle had been too busy searching for party supplies to answer it. Every year she and Grandma Ruth got together and baked batches of holiday cookies. They froze some for Christmas Day, and packaged others to give out as gifts. Noelle loved doing it; it was a special day between her and her grandmother, and she always had fun. (And the cookies were delicious, besides!)

  Sorry Grandma! I’ve been really busy with the birthday party.

  Noelle paused, thinking of her schedule. Next weekend was her party, so it would have to be this weekend. She was planning on making Jess’s present tomorrow, but that would have to wait.

  How about tomorrow? Noelle typed, and then she hit send.

  The e-mail from her grandmother reminded Noelle of all of the other things she had forgotten to do. She had bought her mother some candles at the craft fair, but she still had to find a present for her brother and her dad. Then she’d have to wrap everything. And make cards for her friends.

  She glanced at the corner of her room, where the box of decorations marked NOELLE’S ROOM sat. Every year she decorated her room for Christmas. Andrew had already done his, and it looked awesome—a crazy mess of blinking Christmas lights. But the only things decorating her room were some stray socks and the sweaters that she still hadn’t put back in her drawer.

  Noelle shut the laptop, jumped out of bed, and
quickly got dressed. If she didn’t act fast, she’d never get anything done!

  First she cleaned up her room. She put laundry in the little pink hamper and folded the sweaters, returning them to the drawers. She made her bed, then straightened the papers on her desk and the books on the pink bookshelf next to it.

  Next Noelle carefully unpacked the contents of the box and set them on her bedspread. She hung the white icicle lights above her window, stringing them on the permanent hooks her dad installed to make decorating easier. Then she stuck the snowflake-shaped lights to the window itself, using the suction cups attached to them.

  Then she took the items on top of her dresser and placed them in the now-empty box. She replaced them with the collection of Christmas-themed snow globes; her dad gave her a new one every year. Grandma Ruth always gave her an angel figurine on her birthday, and she added those to the display as well. She plugged in the lights and then stood back to admire her work.

  Then she heard a knock on the door.

  “Come in!”

  “Hey, sweetie,” her dad said. “Your grandma just called and said you two were going to decorate cookies tomorrow. I’ll bring you over early.”

  Suddenly he noticed the Christmas decorations. “Hey, I thought it was only birthday and no Christmas this year?”

  “It was never going to be no Christmas,” Noelle said. “Just Christmas with more birthday balance, that’s all.”

  “In that case, we should get the tree for your room,” Mr. Winters said, grinning.

  Ever since her first birthday, her father had bought a small real tree for her bedroom. They decorated it with a popcorn garland and homemade ornaments that Noelle had made. Noelle couldn’t believe she had forgotten about it this year.

  “Can we go now?” she asked.

  “Sure,” her dad replied. “I’ll meet you downstairs. But dress warmly. We had a cold snap last night.”