The Friendship Bracelet

by Arlene Stewart

“Sixth grade!” all three said at once.

  The beauty of coincidence washed over Olivia, making her feel better. “Well, all I can say is cool!”

  The three middle schoolers started to laugh.

  “Kids, you want to move out of the way?” said one of the moving men unloading an elliptical trainer.

  Austen steered the girls onto the sidewalk. “We were just going to Main Street so Zoe can check out the crafts shop. You want to come with us?” he asked Olivia.

  Nice! thought Olivia, nodding her head yes. I’ll go to the library later.

  As she leaned down to pick up her bike, she noticed that Austen was wearing a friendship bracelet around his ankle. The pattern was awesome, with diamonds and X’s and O’s. What meanings can those colors have: dark blue, light green, and orange?

  “I want to get some threads so I can try that pattern,” Zoe was telling him while pointing to the bracelet. “Do you think the crafts store has them?” she asked.

  “Probably,” he replied. “I went in there earlier, but some dude was hogging all the space around the threads. Hey, Zoe, look. Olivia has a friendship bracelet too. Blue and white—cool colors.”

  “I know Katonah Crafts has lots of supplies for friendship bracelets,” said Olivia. “My mom owns the shop.”

  Zoe and Austen broke out in big smiles.

  “That’s so cool,” said Zoe, putting her phone away. “I just texted my mom. Let’s go!”

  Austen turned to Olivia. “Here, let me walk your bike for you,” he said.

  She thanked him with a smile and couldn’t help thinking that, sometimes, being a klutz paid off.

  Chapter 10

  “I really want something that’s brighter orange than Thermo,” a voice familiar to Olivia was saying. “Saturday is the earliest you can get in the metallic threads?”

  When the three walked into Katonah Crafts, Ethan Fleckman was studying the Dyno Threads catalog with Miss Ruth Ann.

  Olivia’s heart sank. Please, please, don’t let him call me any gross names in front of Austen and Zoe, she prayed.

  “Oh, hello, dear,” said Miss Ruth Ann to Olivia. Then, she lowered her glasses and looked up at Austen with interest. “Weren’t you just here a little while ago?” she asked him.

  “Yes, I was,” he said, throwing a look at Ethan. “But it was crowded, so I came back.”

  “Miss Ruth Ann, this is Zoe and her cousin Austen,” said Olivia, introducing them. “Guess what? Zoe’s family is moving into Alex’s old house.”

  “That’s nice. Welcome to Katonah,” said Miss Ruth Ann.

  “Alex’s house? What happened to her?” interrupted Ethan, looking startled.

  “They moved to Paris?” replied Olivia, who wanted to say what he would have: “Duh, where have you been?” But instead, she turned to Zoe and Austen. “This is Ethan Fleckman. He’s in my class,” she said. “I mean our class.”

  “Hi,” said Ethan, barely looking at them. “Yeah, but is Alex coming back soon?” he asked Olivia.

  “No, they moved. Why?”

  For once Ethan seemed to be speechless.

  “Olivia, why don’t you show your friends around the shop while we finish here?” Miss Ruth Ann quickly said.

  Olivia nodded like that was a good idea and steered Zoe and Austen toward the embroidery and craft threads section, where there was a small round table and chairs. Austen immediately sat down and stretched out.

  “This place is so cool, Olivia,” said Zoe, picking up a pattern book. “Has your mom had it for long?” She thumbed through a few pages and then pulled out a chair.

  “Ever since I can remember,” replied Olivia, sitting down too. “She’s in the city right now, at the crafts show, checking out what’s new.”

  Austen reached over and untied the friendship bracelet from his ankle. “So, Zoe, maybe Miss Ruth Ann can tell you where to find the pattern for this?” he asked her. “Didn’t you want to make one?”

  Before Zoe could reply, a voice said, “It’s the Mega Diamond XXOO pattern. Where did you get it?”

  Austen looked up at Ethan. “Where did I get it? My brother gave it to me,” Austen said with a little coolness in his voice.

  “Well, it’s advanced,” replied Ethan. “Super advanced.”

  “I’ll tell him you said that.” Austen laughed.

  Ethan looked flustered for a brief moment, and then he laughed too. “OK,” he said. Turning to Zoe, he added, “The pattern is in the Galaxy book, over there on the top shelf. If you need help, text me. Here’s my number.”

  “Sure,” said Zoe, pulling out her phone. “And what’s yours, Olivia?”

  All four started sharing their info. Olivia was a little surprised Ethan took hers.

  “OK. Got it. See you,” he said after a minute. He stood up and reached behind the counter for his skateboard. “Hey, Olivia,” he said before leaving. “If you want this, it’s yours.” He tossed her something and then walked out.

  Olivia snagged it with one hand and then looked down.

  It was a pink friendship bracelet with hearts and the name Alex in the middle.

  OMG! she realized. Ethan was going to give this to Alex. She was his secret crush!

  Chapter 11

  “Oui! Oui! Yes, yes, Alex. It’s your old house. Zoe’s parents bought your house. Can you believe that?” Olivia reported the next morning on Skype. Because it was six hours later in Paris than in New York in the summer, she’d had to wait overnight to share all the huge, huge 411: the house news, the Austen news, the crazy Ethan Fleckman/friendship bracelet news.

  “Ollie, no! Our house… That is so weird. Did you go inside?”

  “Nope,” Olivia replied.

  “Uh-oh, I have to go. Papa’s friends just walked in. They have a daughter my age, but I want to hear more later. Au revoir!”

  “Au revoir.”

  “Ollie?”

  She looked up to see her dad coming in with Sullivan.

  “Let’s go up to the town courts,” he said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “I want to try out my new racket. Come on, on your feet.”

  Olivia immediately jumped up, eager to play. She always got in the best workouts with her dad because he was so fast and didn’t just let her win. “OK, I’m almost ready. I just have to walk Sully.”

  “You didn’t do that yet?” he replied, trying to look stern but missing by a mile. “Make it snappy. You know how crowded the courts get on the weekends.”

  “OK, Dad. Be right back,” she replied, heading toward the front porch. “Come on, Sully.”

  As Sullivan pulled her around the corner from the Parkway onto Bedford Road, Olivia had a view straight down the town green, with a good view of Alex’s old house. Oh, wow, there’s Zoe, she thought, watching her new friend step out onto her front porch and hold open the front door. “Zoe, Zoe!” she shouted but then stopped.

  Because Elin Pierson was walking right behind Zoe.

  Immediately, Olivia dived behind a bushy pine tree, yanking Sullivan behind her. I feel like a spy, she thought, slowly pulling apart two branches and peeking out. There was Elin, tucking her super-long blond hair into a baby-blue bike helmet. She hopped on her bike, the one with the blue streamers and white basket, and Zoe followed.

  Uh-oh, this can’t be good news, Olivia thought, letting go of the branches. Too late, she realized the branches would spring back and swipe her in the face. “Ooh, that hurts!” she cried. “Come on, Sully,” she added with tears in her eyes.

  After that, Olivia’s morning got a little better because the town park wasn’t crowded when they drove up in her dad’s ancient Land Cruiser, the car he would never part with despite its having well over three hundred thousand miles.

  Itching to nail down an empty court, her dad hopped out first. “See you inside, kiddo,” he said over his shou
lder. “Try to keep up.”

  Olivia broke into a jog and had almost made it past the bike racks when Zoe rode in with Elin.

  “Hey, Olivia,” cried Zoe, taking off her helmet. “I thought that was you.”

  Olivia stopped for a minute. “Yup, I’m here with my dad,” she replied, pointing to the courts. “Hi, Elin,” she said.

  “Oh, hi there,” Elin replied in a flat voice.

  Olivia noticed that Elin was wearing a perky pink-and-white tennis outfit with pink sneakers. Sort of like a cheerleader look, Olivia thought. Then she remembered her own outfit—cutoffs and an old tank top with a rainbow on the front. Right away she thought, Why didn’t I change? This is so grungy and babyish.

  “We might meet Austen up here too,” said Zoe.

  Ping! Olivia felt a little dart in her heart. “Really? That’s super,” she said, trying to sound normal. “I better go catch up with Dad. Bye.”

  “Bye,” said Zoe.

  “Bye, Elin,” added Olivia, running off.

  She was almost on the court when it hit her.

  Along with those girlie pink sneakers, Elin was wearing a familiar-looking friendship bracelet: the Mega Diamond XXOO pattern in dark blue, light green, and orange. It looked a whole lot like the super advanced one Austen said his brother gave him.

  She stormed past her dad, grabbed her racket, and took up her position. Feeling incredibly freaked out, she told herself, I am so going to tear up this court.

  Chapter 12

  Give me the total 411, Ollie. XXXOOO

  That’s cool, thought Olivia when she saw Alex’s text. With a smile, she plunked down on the window seat in her bedroom with Sullivan, who was busy working on a rawhide chew.

  There was simply too much news to text. She would be there typing for a week. Instead, she spelled out, Skype tomorrow? XXXOOO and rested the phone on her legs.

  Super, now there was something good to look forward to, because tomorrow afternoon, she had an appointment with Dr. Justin, the orthodontist. That promised to be just awful. “Your crossbite is getting worse,” Olivia’s mom decided. “Nobody wants braces, but you’ll thank me when you’re older.”

  When I’m way older, thought Olivia at the time, because there’s no way I am going to thank anybody now.

  Her feet ached from running hard at the courts earlier, where she actually beat her dad in one game, so she stretched out her legs and propped them up on Sully. Just lolling there, staring out the window, she started to feel bummed out again. No Alex, Elin Pierson and Austen’s stupid friendship bracelet, and the possibility of braces? Can things get any worse?

  Woof! Woof! Woof! Without warning, Sullivan burst into ferocious barks and bounded off the bed. Her phone went flying across the room.

  “Olivia! Olivia!” her mother called. “Come downstairs.”

  “What is it, Mom?” she said, hurrying over to the bannister.

  “You have a guest. Ethan Fleckman is here.”

  With a sigh, she started to walk slowly downstairs.

  Chapter 13

  Thank heavens for the wisteria vine on the front porch, because Olivia didn’t have a clue why Ethan was there, and if she stood in the shadows, no one would see her. Because, seriously, Ethan dropping in like that was super weird!

  Before Olivia could even say hello, he told her, “I thought you could give these to Zoe.” He hoisted his backpack onto the corner table and unbuckled it. Olivia couldn’t help noticing it was the red bag with the image of a fierce white shark printed on the front. She remembered how Ethan started a fad with that backpack last year in fifth grade. And that was also totally weird because before that, honestly, nobody ever paid much attention to him.

  He handed her a few sheets of paper precisely stapled together. It took only a quick glance for her to make out that they were instructions for friendship bracelets, including one for the Mega Diamond XXOO pattern like Austen’s.

  “Can’t you give them to Zoe yourself? You do know she lives in Alex’s old house?” she asked, worried she’d run into Zoe’s new sidekick, Elin Magic Tresses.

  Ethan looked uncomfortable. “Yeah but maybe you can give them to her?” he repeated.

  Olivia picked up on his uneasiness. “OK,” she said and started to check out the instructions. But after a few seconds, she said, “Ethan, they’re all marked up?”

  “I know,” he replied. “I figured out easier ways to make them. You know, like shortcuts?”

  Guess he wants to be sure Zoe contacts him for help. Nobody could possibly read this scribbly mess, Olivia figured. “OK, cool,” she told him.

  A dead silence fell between them. Olivia could hear the drone of a Weedwacker down the block. “Thanks, Ethan,” she finally said.

  At the same moment, he started saying, “So I thought you and Alex used to like making bracelets too. Didn’t you get some purple and white threads from your mom’s shop to make twin bracelets?”

  “Oh, yeah,” replied Olivia. Why hadn’t she realized how much Ethan hung around Katonah Crafts when she was there with Alex?

  “I could help you finish them,” he offered right away.

  “Don’t have to. They’re done,” she explained, holding up her left arm, where she had tied on Alex’s bracelet earlier that morning, right next to her blue-and-white one from her mom.

  There was another awkward moment of silence, and then when he still didn’t reply, she tried to bail. “I’ll take these to Zoe later,” she said, pointing to the instruction sheets and then inching closer to the porch door.

  The screen door flew open in her face, and Sullivan came prancing out, followed by her mom, who was carrying two bottles of water.

  “Thought you kids might be thirsty,” she said in a bright voice. Sullivan jumped all over Ethan like he was his new best friend.

  Olivia shot her mom a quick look, a sort of What are you doing? look.

  Her mother just smiled and put down the bottles on the round table next to Ethan’s shark backpack. “Now, Ethan, what are you up to this summer?” she asked. “You always seem to be busy.”

  As if he had been dying of thirst, Ethan lunged for a bottle of water. “Thanks, Mrs. Jones,” he said, unscrewing the top and taking a long swallow. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something about flosses, but it can wait until tomorrow, when Katonah Crafts is open.”

  “No, no, of course not,” Olivia’s mom replied. “Ask me now. It’s so great to see young people doing such creative things. Isn’t it, Ollie?”

  Olivia nodded yes to be polite and once again tried to get away. Reading her daughter’s mind, her mom put her arm around Olivia’s shoulder to keep her there. “What is it you need, Ethan?” she asked.

  He took another swallow of water and then said all in a rush, “Well, I’m trying to start a club to make friendship bracelets for kids at Central Hospital. I was there on Friday to visit my cousin, and the kids were, like, super bored.”

  Before he could even finish his sentence, Olivia’s mom exclaimed, “That’s an absolutely wonderful idea!”

  “Yeah, but I need some help,” Ethan continued.

  “Katonah Crafts will give you all the supplies you need!” Olivia’s mom promised right away. “We would be delighted to.” Then she turned to Olivia. “And, sweetie, wouldn’t you like to be a part of this? Ethan, do you have other volunteers or club members?”

  “No, I wanted to ask you first,” Ethan said rapidly. “I mean, if it’s OK about the supplies?”

  “Yes, yes, we would very much like to sponsor that. And I’ll drive you whenever you need to go or make arrangements for transportation. But really, the hospital is so close, you could ride your bikes there. Well, whatever. This is a wonderful idea. Isn’t it, Olivia?” her mom said once more.

  Actually, it is a good idea, Olivia admitted to herself. I’m kind of amazed Ethan thought of it.


  “Right, Mom,” she agreed with a smile. “It’s super cool. But, uh, do you want me to help too? I could kick in some of my birthday money?”

  “Maybe you could be in the club?” he suggested instead, surprising her. “I mean, help make bracelets and drop them off at the hospital? Or even show some of the kids there how to make them?”

  “Sure,” she replied. “Anything else?”

  Sullivan jumped up on Ethan again, wagging his tail. “Look, he wants to be club mascot,” Olivia joked, while pulling him down. “Sorry, Sully, you cannot go to the hospital,” she told him.

  Ethan stood there looking blank. Guess he doesn’t go for the warm and fuzzy, thought Olivia.

  Her mom loved this club/hospital idea and seemed eager to get things rolling. “Well, how would you like to start tomorrow? We can meet at Katonah Crafts at nine o’clock, before it opens. Ollie, remember, we have the orthodontist at eleven.”

  Ethan and Olivia nodded in agreement.

  “OK! That’s settled. And what will you call your club, Ethan? You do need a name,” Olivia’s mom pointed out.

  “Don’t know,” he said, shooting Olivia a look. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be so good at English?”

  Olivia gazed above them, noticing the hundreds of tendrils of the old wisteria vine and thought, They’ve wrapped themselves together to make one strong vine. Kind of like how threads are knotted together to make a friendship bracelet.

  “How about THREADS?” she suggested. “You know, all these different threads that come together: the bracelets, the kids, and us?”

  “Cool. Yeah, THREADS is seriously cool,” agreed Ethan, packing up his water bottle. “I have to go. See you tomorrow?”

  He swung his red-and-white backpack over his shoulder. “And, Olivia, you can ask Zoe to be in THREADS too if you want. BTW, I put a couple of my old friendship bracelets in her mailbox yesterday. One was like Austen’s. Maybe you can tell her they’re there?”

  “I think she found them already, Ethan,” Olivia said, smiling. She was so relieved to learn that the bracelet Elin was wearing wasn’t from Austen. Zoe probably gave it to her, she thought. Or more likely, Elin just asked for it. After all, she just asked for free samples that day in Katonah Crafts.