Mrs. Alvarez joined them then, carrying a large bag from the pet store. “Oof,” she said as she lowered it to the ground. “I don’t know how Santa does it!”
Everyone laughed as Ms. Ferrino and Quinn helped Mrs. Alvarez finish unloading her car. It seemed like Tommy had bought out the entire pet store!
“Please come in,” Ms. Ferrino said. “Would you like some cocoa and cookies?”
Mrs. Alvarez glanced at her watch. “I wish we could,” she said. “But Tommy’s waiting for me back at the shelter—and I want to drive Quinn home—”
“Of course—it’s Christmas Eve,” Ms. Ferrino replied. “You’ve got to get back to your own families. But maybe another time.”
“Definitely another time,” Quinn promised. “Merry Christmas, Ms. Ferrino!”
“Merry Christmas!” Ms. Ferrino called as Quinn and Mrs. Alvarez went back to the car.
Quinn was unusually quiet as Mrs. Alvarez drove her home. She stared out the car window at the night sky as the stars began to appear. Was it her imagination, or was one of them shining more brightly than the others? The longer Quinn looked, the more she believed that it was. And why shouldn’t it be? It was Christmas Eve, after all. And Quinn knew better than anyone that anything could happen at Christmastime. Quinn had been longing for a Christmas miracle—but what she hadn’t realized was that she had the power to make one happen.
“Merry Christmas,” Quinn told Mrs. Alvarez when they arrived. “Thank you for—for everything.”
“No, Quinn,” Mrs. Alvarez replied. “Thank you.”
Quinn climbed out of the car and looked up. That star really was shining brighter than the others—which didn’t surprise Quinn one bit.
“Merry Christmas, Dad!” Quinn shrieked as she bounded into her dad’s bedroom. “Wake up! It’s Christmas!”
Dad groaned a little as he pulled the pillow over his head. “Tell me it’s not still dark outside,” he said.
“Uh… let me check,” Quinn replied as she dashed over to the window. “No, it’s not dark. I mean, not really dark. I mean, it’s not pitch black.… I think the sun’s started to rise… or it’s about to, anyway.…”
Dad laughed as he pulled the pillow off his face. “I’m just kidding. Merry Christmas, sweetheart! I’m just going to get some Christmas coffee and then we can open Christmas presents.”
“Presents!” Quinn shrieked gleefully.
A few minutes later, Quinn and her dad were sitting by the tree next to a small stack of presents. Quinn had a new skirt from her aunt and a stack of books from her grandparents. Then Dad passed her a large red box.
“I hope this is right,” he said. “Let’s just say I’ve never bought anything like it before.”
Quinn’s curiosity was piqued. She untied the ribbon slowly, savoring the anticipation of the moment. Then she lifted the lid… and looked down at a beautiful pair of brand-new ice skates with gleaming silver blades.
“Ice skates?” she cried. “Dad! This is incredible! Now I can go ice-skating with Eliza whenever I want!”
“You like them?” Dad asked, beaming.
“I love them! And I’m totally surprised!” Quinn replied. “How did you know about ice skates?”
“I heard you and Eliza talking about skating when she was hanging out here after school,” he explained. “You two seem to get along so well—and I thought you might want to go skating with her sometime. I’m glad you’ve made a new friend, Quinn. I know it wasn’t easy when Annabelle moved away.”
“It wasn’t,” Quinn admitted. “And it still isn’t… but it’s getting better.”
Then Quinn glanced around the tree. “I guess nothing came from Annabelle,” she replied. “She told me she had a very special present, but I couldn’t have it until Christmas Day.”
Dad shrugged. “I only see one present left,” he replied.
“That’s for you,” Quinn said. She gave Dad the box. Inside was the most special ornament of all, painted with their cat, Piper. Quinn had never felt more proud than when Dad hung it high on the tree.
After breakfast, Quinn glanced at the clock and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Dad asked.
“I want to call Annabelle, but it’s three hours earlier there,” she said. “I probably have to wait until afternoon, but that’s, like, hours away.”
“You can help me in the kitchen,” Dad replied. “Let’s get started cooking Christmas dinner.”
“Okay,” Quinn replied. “I’m going to make some cocoa first.” When Quinn opened the fridge, she gasped. “Dad! There’s so much food in here! The fridge is stuffed!”
“Well, you know,” he began, “it is for Christmas dinner.”
“Is that a whole turkey?” she exclaimed. “How are we going to eat all this food, Dad? It’s way too much.”
“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” he replied. He was leaning into the pantry to get something, so Quinn couldn’t quite tell for sure—but it definitely sounded like he was laughing.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Quinn’s shoulders straightened. “Dad?” she asked.
“Why don’t you get the door?” Dad replied as he rummaged through the pantry. “I know there’s cocoa powder in here somewhere.…”
Quinn shrugged as she put the milk back in the fridge. She walked over to the front door, opened it…
And saw Annabelle and her parents standing on the doorstep!
Quinn was so surprised she couldn’t say a word. She must’ve made a funny face, though—her eyes all big and her mouth opened wide—because the Forresters burst into laughter.
“Surprise!” Annabelle shrieked as she flew forward to give Quinn a hug. “Merry Christmas!”
“You—you’re—you’re here!” Quinn cried, recovering from her shock. “But—I don’t understand—how?”
Annabelle’s eyes were twinkling. “I told you that your present was a big surprise!” she replied. “Oh, man! I didn’t think I’d be able to keep the secret, but somehow I did!”
“We had to come back to Marion to finalize the sale of our house,” Mrs. Forrester explained to Quinn. “It was Annabelle’s idea to surprise you.”
“We’ll be here for four whole days!” Annabelle exclaimed. “And your dad already said I could sleep over—”
“Dad?” Quinn repeated. “Dad knew?” She remembered, suddenly, the fridge packed with food and turned around to see Dad standing behind her, grinning. “Dad! You knew!”
“Once I found out, I had to invite the Forresters for Christmas dinner,” he replied. “Come in, come in! We’ve got coffee and tea—and Quinn was just about to make some cocoa—”
As Annabelle’s parents followed Dad to the kitchen, Quinn shook her head in complete amazement. “I still can’t believe you’re here. I—this isn’t the present I thought I’d give you today, but… Merry Christmas.”
And she gave Annabelle the ornament she’d made.
“Quinn! It looks just like Bumblebee!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe you made one of your famous ornaments for me. Wow!”
“It’s not much of a present,” Quinn replied. “Your Christmas present was supposed to be a much bigger deal. I’d been saving all my ornament money so that I could come visit you, but…”
Annabelle’s eyes got wider and wider as Quinn told her all about Buddy’s Christmas Eve–miracle adoption. Then she impulsively reached out to give Quinn another hug.
“Of course you had to sponsor Buddy’s adoption,” Annabelle said right away. “I would’ve been so mad if you didn’t!”
Quinn burst out laughing. “But how would you have known?”
“Because of my best friend super-psychic powers, of course,” Annabelle declared. “You think moving to a new state weakened those? No way.”
“I have a new plan to earn enough money for a plane ticket,” Quinn said. “Hopefully I can visit you during the summer.”
“That would be awesome,” Annabelle replied. “I can’t wait!”
; “Girls!” Mrs. Forrester called. “Cocoa’s ready.”
Annabelle glanced at Quinn. “Mini marshmallows?” she asked.
“Whipped cream?” Quinn replied.
Then the best friends exchanged a smile and said the same thing, at the same time. “Both!” They giggled as they hurried to the kitchen.
Christmas joy filled Quinn’s heart—especially when she thought about the Twelve Pets of Christmas, who were all waking up in their new homes. Quinn had a funny feeling that the pets—and their families—were as happy as she was. And that made it the best Christmas ever!
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Not finished celebrating the season yet? Here's a sneak peek at another book in the series:
“It’s snowing!”
Those two words were guaranteed to get Riley Archer out of bed, no matter how early it was. Riley’s eyes flew open as she fumbled for her phone on the bedside table, then squinted at the screen. It was only 6:12—her alarm wasn’t supposed to go off for another eighteen minutes—but Riley didn’t mind the earlier-than-usual wake up. Based on how loudly her little brother, Theo, was shouting about the snow, it sounded like today might be a snow day. If that was the case, Riley wanted to know about it!
Riley scrambled out of bed in such a rush that she forgot to grab her glasses. She’d been wearing glasses for a month, but she still wasn’t quite used to them. Across the room, Riley yanked open the curtains and saw… nothing out of the ordinary. There was the deserted gray sidewalk; the stubby brown grass; and the empty black streets, which were etched with odd patterns where the salt trucks had brined the roads overnight in anticipation of a storm. It was early enough that the streetlights were still on, casting a weak yellow glow as the sky gradually began to lighten.
“What snow?” Riley mumbled to herself. But it wasn’t like Theo to make up a story—or get so excited about nothing. She reached for her glasses and took another look.
Sure enough, in the warm glow of the streetlights, Riley could see it: little flurries drifting down from the leaden sky. She had to grin. Theo got excited so easily. Yes, technically it was snowing. But unless those faint flurries suddenly swirled into a blizzard, there was no way school would be canceled today. There wouldn’t even be a late start.
And—to be completely and totally honest—that was okay with Riley. After all, it wasn’t just any ordinary school day. It was the day Riley had been waiting for since September: the kickoff to Secret Snowflake! Ever since Riley had learned about Secret Snowflake on the first day of seventh grade, she’d been looking forward to it. Secret Snowflake was just one of the things that made Mrs. Darlington, Riley’s homeroom and language arts teacher, so awesome. She was really into all kinds of different, creative assignments (Mrs. D. called them “alternative learning opportunities,” whatever that meant). To Riley, the unusual projects were interesting, exciting, and sometimes even fun—and they made her really look forward to school.
Take Secret Snowflake, for example. In a few hours, the students in Mrs. Darlington’s class would pick names and, for the next two weeks, exchange small, secret gifts every day. Sure, there was some schoolwork involved—Riley was supposed to keep a daily journal about her Secret Snowflake experience and write an essay at the end of the project—but for the most part, Riley already knew that Secret Snowflake was going to be incredibly fun!
Might as well get ready for school, Riley thought. She’d already planned her entire outfit, from her ice-blue sweater to her favorite pair of boots. As a finishing touch, Riley decided to wear her dangling snowflake earrings, too.
By the time Riley got downstairs, Theo was already eating a stack of pancakes at the kitchen table. “Did you see?” he asked excitedly. “It’s snowing! Maybe we won’t have to go to school today!”
Riley paused to ruffle up Theo’s blond hair, grinning as he ducked away from her. “Flurries,” she corrected him. “They’re not going to cancel classes for a little bit of snow. But, who knows—maybe school will close early if it picks up!”
Theo looked disappointed—but only for a moment. “It’s still snow, Riley,” he insisted. “That’s better than nothing! And maybe it will get really heavy this afternoon and we can go sledding later.”
“Sure,” Riley said with a laugh. “Anything’s possible.”
After breakfast, Riley peeked into her backpack to make sure she had everything. Her binder, her books, her lunch—check, check, and check. Most important, though, Riley had remembered to pack her personalized snowflake, the very first part of the Secret Snowflake assignment. At the start of the week, Mrs. Darlington had given each student a plain snowflake made out of heavy cardstock and told them to decorate it so that it reflected their personalities. It was more challenging than it sounded, but Riley had really enjoyed the assignment. She had placed her school picture in the center of the snowflake and used each branch to highlight a different interest—music notes, a drawing of a rabbit, a chocolate cupcake, and a photo of her family. Then she’d filled in all the blank spaces with sparkly blue glitter. By the time she’d finished, Riley was really proud of her snowflake. Not only was it pretty enough that she planned to hang it in her room when she got to take it home, but it really did reflect her personality—and all the things that mattered most to her.
“Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! Bye, Theo!” Riley called as she wrapped her scarf around her neck. “See you after school!”
Then she paused in the doorway. Was it snowing harder already? “Or maybe sooner!” Riley added.
By the time Riley got to homeroom, she could tell she wasn’t the only one excited about Secret Snowflake. Some of the kids were trying to act cool, like they didn’t really care, but almost everybody else was chatting excitedly about it. Riley’s best friend, Sophia, practically pounced on her the moment she walked through the door.
“Can you believe? Secret Snowflake? Is finally here?” Sophia asked breathlessly. Her excitement made it sound like she was asking a bunch of rapid-fire questions.
“I know!” Riley exclaimed. “And there are only two more weeks until Christmas break, too!”
“Come on! Let’s hang up our snowflakes!” Sophia said as she pulled Riley across the room.
Together, the two girls hung their snowflakes on the window. The ledge under the window was crowded with boxes that would hold the Secret Snowflake presents.
“I wonder who will pick our names,” Sophia said. “Tell the truth. Is there anybody you’re hoping for?”
Riley shrugged. “Not really,” she said, trying to sound casual. “I’d be happy with anybody.”
Riley watched her friend closely to see if Sophia had noticed that Riley was keeping something from her. Because the truth was that Riley did hope, in her secret-most heart, that she would pick Marcus Anderson… or that Marcus would pick her. She’d had a crush on Marcus for almost two years now, and Secret Snowflake seemed like it would be the perfect chance to show him how she really felt.
Luckily, Sophia’s thoughts had already flitted off to another topic. “Do you think it will be hard? To come up with ten different presents?” she said. “I mean, it would be easy if I pick your name. I know you so well! But what if I pick somebody who I don’t know that well? What then?”
“That’s what the snowflakes are for, I guess—to give a few hints,” Riley replied. “Plus, I think that’s supposed to be part of the challenge. Getting to know your person a little better and all that.”
Just then, Marcus entered the room, with Mrs. Darlington right behind him. “Good morning, class,” Mrs. Darlington announced. “If you haven’t already hung your snowflake on the window, please do so now. T
hen go ahead and take your seats.”
Riley hurried across the room to her desk, tucking her hair behind her ears as she snuck a glance at Marcus. He was standing by the window, goofing with Austin as the boys hung up their snowflakes. She didn’t want Marcus to catch her staring… but if he happened to glance her way at the same time, well, that would be pretty incredible.…
As the bell rang, Mrs. Darlington placed a small silver box on her desk. “And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” she announced with a big smile. “One by one, I’ll call you to come pick a name for your Secret Snowflake. Remember, once you pull a name, you’re sworn to secrecy! We’ll go in alphabetical order. Marcus Anderson.”
Riley watched as Marcus got up from the seat in front of her, ambled across the classroom, and pulled a slip of paper out of the box. He read it, smiled, and slipped it into his pocket. Then he looked right at Riley—and smiled again!
Why did he do that? Had Marcus picked her name? Was he giving her a sign?
Riley’s heart was pounding with such anticipation that she almost didn’t hear Mrs. Darlington call her name.
“Riley Archer,” Mrs. Darlington repeated. “Riley?”
The class started to giggle.
Riley didn’t care, though. Marcus Anderson had smiled at her! She hurried up to the front of the room, thrust her hand into the box, and shut her eyes. Her fingers closed around a scrap of paper and, with her heart still pounding, Riley pulled it out.
Who would be her Secret Snowflake?
Riley was about to find out!
Celebrate the Season--The Twelve Pets of Christmas Page 9
