Emma Buchanan ran her fingers down the creases her brand new Motorola KRAZR made in her jeans pocket.
“Emma, you are seriously obsessed,” Emma’s best friend, Juliette Sanchez observed.
“Well, sorry,” Emma said huffily. “I’ve been deprived of a cell phone for fifteen years of my life, okay? Cut me some slack.”
“We’re here,” Rosa, Juliette’s mother announced. She turned back to face the two girls. “This is the right house, yes?”
“Yes,” Emma confirmed, staring at the split-level yellow brick house that stood before them.
“Yes, no?” Rosa continued. “I was right, no?”
“Yes, Mamá,” Juliette sighed, opening the door of the silver SUV. “Bye.”
“Have a great time, girls,” Rosa called. “I know it’s a New Year’s party, but try to be home by one.”
“Well,” said Juliette as the two girls walked up the steps to the house. “Here we are.”
“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “Here we are. I wonder if Cal missed me. I wonder if he thought about me at all.”
Juliette turned to face Emma. “Obviously he did,” she said with no expression in her voice. “He loooooves you, remember. Now, before we ring the doorbell, how do I look?”
Emma surveyed Juliette. Her friend’s thick, ebony-colored curls were perfectly styled with not a single hair out of place. Her deep chocolate-colored eyes were framed by flawlessly-applied mascara and her lips were coated with a glossy coat of N.Y.C. Strawberry Lemonade lip gloss. Emma caught of whiff of Clinique Happy, Juliette’s signature scent. Juliette wore a red empire-waist dress from Forever 21, accompanied by white tights with black polka-dots on them, black arm warmers, and black Ugg boots. She looked gorgeous. “You look great, Jule,” Emma informed her friend. “What about me?”
Emma’s honey-colored tendrils were curled as best possible, and they added a bit of color to her pale attire. She wore white skinny Levis, light blue plaid BC flats, and a light blue Hollister top that matched her eyes. “Perfect, as usual,” was Juliette’s comment. Then she rang the doorbell.
Sounds of footsteps came from within the house, and someone jiggled the doorknob as Emma and Juliette squeezed each other’s hands and took a long deep breath. When the door had finally opened, a tall slender women peered out and gave them a warm smile.
“Why hello!” the women began, opening the door widely. “You must be Emma. And this is…?”
“Juliette Sanchez,” Emma added, completing her sentence. “She’s my best friend.”
“I’m Mrs. Baxter,” the woman said, holding out her hand. “Cal’s mom.” Juliette smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you.” She replied politely.
“Well why don’t you come in?” Mrs. Baxter continued. “The party’s just begun!” Emma stepped inside and shook off her fur-hooded bomber, laying it on the nearest tabletop. “Everyone’s outside,” Mrs. Baxter added. Emma smiled nervously and walked over to the patio door. With one hand, she pushed it open and the rush of the winter wind and party music blew her in the face.
“Everything’s so…perfect!” Juliette remarked, admiring the tea candles adorning the tables and the lights wrapped around the beams of the gazebo. A mob of teenagers surrounded the refreshments table, and a large group of excited party goers bopped to Chris Brown’s Kiss Kiss out on the dance floor. Emma weaved her way through the crowd until she spotted who she was looking for. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his glistening buttery blond locks gelled into place, and his adorable ice blue eyes framed with long dark lashes. He was perfect.
“Emma,” said the perfect boy. “Hi!” He strolled over to her, trying not to hurry, even though he wanted to. It seemed to take him ages to get there. He was suddenly very aware of his hands, which were stuffed into his pockets. They seemed to be taking up too much space. He took them out and then put them back in. He didn’t know what to do with them.
“Hi Cal,” her voice was a beautiful as she was and when he heard it for the first time in almost two weeks, a wave of, well, of something, washed over him. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her.
There was an awkward silence as they both stood there. Emma fidgeted with the ring on her thumb and Cal bit his lip and tried to hide his hands. When had they become so useless? Then, almost at once, Cal leaned toward Emma and Emma leaned toward Cal and they embraced. Cal held on tight to Emma–he didn’t want to let go. So this is what hands are for, he thought. That and holding a girl’s, which was what he planned to do next with Emma.
“So, um,” Emma stuttered as they pulled away. NO! Cal screamed in his mind. No, don’t let go! Ever!
“Yeah, ah,” Cal responded. When they weren’t hugging or kissing (the mistletoe at Bryce LeBonski’s Christmas party hadn’t been enough-he wanted more), they had nothing to talk about. “Do you want something to drink?” Cal asked. Finally something intelligent had been able to come out of his mouth.
They walked over to the table where the refreshments were and Cal poured Emma a glass of lemonade. It was chilly outside, and he shivered in his striped Abercrombie & Fitch polo. Emma was shivering too. If he had been in a movie, Cal would have had a nice leather jacket and he would have offered her it, but it was real life, and Cal was freezing in his short sleeves.
“I think,” Emma said, taking a sip of her lemonade. “I’m going to go get my jacket from inside. Be right back.” Before Cal could say a word, Emma had disappeared.
“Hi Cal.”
Cal turned around and saw Juliette. He didn’t know much about her, except that she was Emma’s best friend and probably the prettiest girl in the tenth grade.
“Uh, hey.” Juliette looked gorgeous. And she was smiling at him.
“So, been snowboarding lately?” she asked while pouring instant cocoa into a cup and filling it with hot water.
“Yeah, I just went last weekend,” Cal answered excitedly. How had Juliette known that he loved to snowboard? He lived for snowboarding.
“I’m itching to get out on the slopes,” Juliette responded, sipping her hot cocoa. “I can’t wait until I get my license next month. It’ll be so great to be free. I won’t have to beg my brother to drive me. I can just hop in the car and go up for the day.”
“Yeah,” Cal said slowly. “I mean, totally. That’s exactly how I feel.” He paused for a second. “You snowboard?”
“Yeah,” Juliette said enthusiastically. “Since I was five. My older brother, Marcos-he’s in college now-got me started. And it was just like, the sport for me. The feeling when you fly off the snow and you’re like, totally free, for a few seconds, I mean, like, just, like, above, everyone and everything. Like you’re a little closer to, well, I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I’m just weird like that.” She blushed.
Cal stared. That was exactly how he felt. No one had ever understood his passion for snowboarding. His friends had tried it, sure, but they didn’t get it. No one ever had. Until now. “Wow,” Cal said. “Yeah. I mean, wow. You, like, get it. You’re the first person I’ve met that ever has.”
Juliette grinned. “Yeah.”
“Well, maybe, we could go snowboarding sometime. You and me, you know. I mean, if you want.” Cal smiled. He had never been able to have a real conversation with a girl before. The only girls he ever talked to were girls like Emma, girls he was insanely in love with, and he could never think straight around them. But Juliette, Juliette was different. She was well, well, Call didn’t know how to explain it. But she was different, that was for sure. And he liked it.

“C’mon, the countdown’s about to start,” Juliette began, pulling Emma by the sleeve. It was a few hours later and approximately two minutes until New Year’s.
“Uh, Jules?” Emma began, reluctantly following her best friend into the crowd. “I kinda want to talk to Cal.” Juliette stopped amidst the riled up teens and stared at Emma for a brief moment.
“Uh, sure, you go do that,” she said, suddenly pushing Emma away and walking to the head of the group. Emma frowned. That was weird. She thought, looking around to find Cal.
“Hey Em,” a voice came from behind her. Emma whirled around to find Cal grinning madly at her, party hat atop his head and party blower in his mouth. Emma began to laugh, a bubbly little laugh that made Cal’s heart tingle.
“You look funny,” Emma remarked, gazing up into Cal’s dreamy blue eyes. Suddenly the crowd began to countdown from ten.
“Ten…nine…eight…”
“All this time,” Cal started, sliding his hands around Emma’s waist and pulling her closer. “I’ve wanted to be with you.” Emma put her arms around Cal’s shoulders and breathed in the smell of Polo by Ralph Lauren cologne wafting up from his polo.
“Five…four…three…two…”
“Me too,” Emma replied, closing her eyes and leaning forward.
“ONE!!!” The crowd grew into a wild mob, jumping up and down and cheering loudly. Fireworks blasted in the air, and party blowers screeched loudly in the ears of all mankind. But amidst the chaos and commotion, Emma and Cal stood in the center, clutching each other gently and kissing to their hearts content.
It was the new year.

On the other side of the crowd, Juliette stood alone, cheering wildly with her classmates and friends. She spotted two people that weren’t cheering: Cal and Emma. That was because the two were wrapped around each other, their lips glued together. Juliette took a deep breath and found herself shuddering.
“Hey Juliette,” said a male voice. Juliette turned around and saw Cody Coyatt, an eleventh grader and one of the coolest boys at St. John’s College Prep High School. He leaned in close, so his mouth was almost touching hers. For a second, Juliette thought he was going to kiss her, but he opened his mouth and spoke. “Wanna dance, baby?” Juliette smelled the beer on his breath. She didn’t want to be there anymore.
“I’m not your baby,” she said, pushing Cody away. She walked towards the house quickly, trying to keep her eyes off Emma and Cal, and called her mother to come pick her up. But even later, when she was lying in bed, she couldn’t get the image of Emma with Cal out of her mind. It was Emma in Cal. It always had been, and always would. She concentrated on accepting the fact as she fell asleep on the first day of the new year.

Come morning, Juliette’s cell phone rang, awakening her from a deep sleep. She glanced at the clock. It was nearly eleven.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hey, Juliette? I was wondering, maybe, if you still wanted to go snowboarding sometime?”
It was Cal. His voice made her heart sting as if a giant yellow jacket had stung it. But at the same time, it pounded harder than ever. She wanted to hear it. She wanted to be near him. Even if he was in love with Emma, she couldn’t help her feelings for him.
“Sure,” Juliette replied, trying to contain the grin that was creeping up her face. “my brother’s driving up tomorrow at seven.”
“Works for me,” Cal responded.
“Okay, see you then,” Juliette said happily.
“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Cal said and then hung up.

Emma lay on her bed, wrapped in a warm towel. A blue colored face mask covered her face and two cucumbers lay upon her eyes. Suddenly her cell phone rang. Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth’s For Good rang in the air. Emma ripped the two slices of vegetables off her face and reached for her pink Samsung.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Hey Emma,” a quiet voice spoke from the other end. “It’s Grammy.”
“Oh, hi Grammy,” Emma replied cheerfully. Grammy, her father’s mother, was cool, unlike her mother’s mother, who was in a wheelchair, smelled like baby powder, and was constantly telling Emma and her twelve-year-old sister, Kelly, how much they’re grown. Grammy had been a professional skier before Emma was born and now she took Emma and Kelly on scary rides at amusement parks and came over for brunch every Sunday. In the meantime, she was a novelist. She wrote bestselling young adult fantasies. Kelly was obsessed with them.
“Emmy, pumpkin, how are you?” Grammy’s cheerful voice rang out on the other line.
Cal’s face popped into Emma’s mind. She grinned. “Great, Grammy. I’m great.”
“Ooh, what is it, Emmy? Wait don’t tell me,” Grammy paused. “Is it a boy? Is that it?”
“Well, yeah,” Emma replied sheepishly.
“Aw, I knew it,” Grammy chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you’re great, pumpkin. I was wondering if you wanted to join me for a spa day tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Emma said excitedly. “I’d love to, Grammy.”
“Great, sweet pea. Bring anyone you want.”
The first person Emma thought of was Cal. She wanted to spend all her time with him now. But of course she couldn’t bring him to a spa day. “Thanks, Grammy. I’ll go call Juliette now.”
“My good-as-a-granddaughter,” Grammy said matter-of-factly. “Wonderful. I’ll see you tomorrow at eightish, pumpkin, okay?”
“Kay, Grammy,” Emma said, smiling. “Bye.”
“Bye, Emmy,” said Grammy. “Love you.”
“Love you too,” Emma said and hung up. She dialed Juliette’s number confidently. Juliette had seemed a little down at the party yesterday, and Emma was eager to make it up to her friend.
“Hi?” Juliette said, sounding weary.
“Hey Jules!”
“Oh, hey Emma!”
“So,” Emma said slowly. “Grammy’s taking me to a spa day tomorrow and you’re invited. Cool?”
“Uh…” Juliette stuttered. “Well…ah…I’m sorry Em, I can’t.”
Emma frowned. Juliette had never refused a spa day before. Emma knew she should be polite, but this was Juliette, and her curiosity got the best of her. “Why?” Emma asked.
“Um…” Juliette trailed off. “Uh…well…you see…the truth is-”
“Jules,” Emma interrupted impatiently. “Just tell me the truth.”
“Oh. Um. My mom’s calling. Sorry, gotta go!” Juliette breezed. Then with a click she hung up the phone. Emma turned off her phone. That was rude. She thought, gazing at the lit up screen. It showed a picture of her and Juliette at the County fair, about to ride the Swirl-o-Whirl; the scariest, most thrilling ride in history. Well, in their opinion anyway. There smiling faces beamed, yet nervous wrinkles were formed on their forehead. But even though the were scared, they still clutched each other’s shoulders and embraced in a loving hug. Emma sighed and gazed at the photo. Why can’t my friendship with Juliette be like that again? She thought. And why wasn’t Juliette telling the truth?

It was the next morning, and Cal shook out his hair as he stepped out of the shower. Noticing that it was nearly seven, he quickly pulled on striped boxers and black Burton snowboarding pants and a white turtleneck. Then he grabbed his red jacket, a black beanie, and his blue Burton board, which he had saved up for himself when he was thirteen. The doorbell rang downstairs.
“Honey, your friend is here,” Mrs. Baxter called. Cal thundered down the stairs.
“Have fun,” Mrs. Baxter said, kissing his forehead.
“Bye Mom,” Cal said pointedly. He walked outside and felt very heavy in his snow clothes. Luckily, Juliette met him wearing bright pink snowboarding pants and a black jacket, looking equally awkward. The two looked at each other and cracked up.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” said Juliette.
“Hey, get in the car!” shouted a young, Hispanic man from the driver’s seat of a beat up Audi.
“Coming, Marcos,” Juliette called to her brother. “C’mon,” she said, turning back to Cal. “Let’s go tear up the slopes!”
Suddenly a sky blue Toyota came screeching down the street and honked wildly at them before squealing across the intersection.
“That was weird,” Cal and Juliette said in unison before heading into the car.

Meanwhile, Emma sat at the breakfast table scooping Kellogg’s Wheaties out of a ceramic bowl as she waited for her grandma to picker her up.
“Honey! Grammy’s here!” Mrs. Buchanan called from the den. Emma stood up from the table and poured the sloppy milk into the sink.
“Coming!” she cried, picking up her Victoria’s Secret tote and rushing to the front door. “Hey Grammy!” Emma greeted, opening the door and closing it behind her. Grammy’s sky blue Toyota was parked at the curb, with Grammy waving wildly from the inside.
“Jump on in!” she exclaimed, poking her head out the window. “Out appointment is at eight o’clock and it’s seven fifty six!”
“Hi!” Emma began, buckling her seatbelt.
“Let’s hit the road!” Grammy cried, slamming on the brakes and making a sharp u-turn.
“Whoa! Slow down Grammy!” Emma replied, grasping the arm rest.
Grammy ignored her granddaughter’s comment and began racing down the main street of the neighborhood; Cal’s street. As the Toyota raced down the street, Emma caught sight of something she wished she hadn’t seen: Cal and Juliette. They were laughing together, and the smiles across their faces made Emma feel sick to her stomach.
“So that’s why she couldn’t come,” Emma said aloud to herself.
“What was that Pumpkin?” Suddenly Grammy screeched to a halt and began honking at a passing car. “Don’t you dare try to get in front of me!” Grammy yelled. “I have a manicure appointment that I’m late for!” Emma tried to smile, but the wound in her heart was too deep for words.

“Okay, is everyone cool?” Marcos asked, securing his board to his feet. Marcos, Cal, and Juliette sat on a bench at the foot of the slopes, getting ready to board.
“Yeah,” Juliette said with a smile so bright it shamed the sun. Marcos may have been twenty-three, but he was still the coolest brother ever. Juliette was glad to have him along.
“Yeah,” Cal agreed, standing up and testing his board.
“Great,” Marcos said. “Then lets hit it. I’m going up to Miracle Mile for a while. Jules, do you have your cell on.”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Juliette said, feeling her phone in her pocket.
“Okay, then, see you losers in a while,” Marcos said, chuckling. He squeezed Juliette’s shoulder and bent down. “This guy, Cal,” he whispered. “You like him, don’t you?” Juliette blushed bright red and swatted her brother away.
“C’mon, Cal,” she said loudly. “Race you to the ski lift.”
The ski lift ride was long, because Cal and Juliette were headed up to Summit Run, which was at the very top of the mountain.
“Oh my goodness, look how high we are,” Juliette squealed, gulping at the sight of the ground some five stories below.
Cal laughed. “Don’t tell me you’ve never been down Summit Run,” he joked.
“Yeah, but the ski lift gets me every time,” Juliette explained, smiling.
They had reached the top and they slid off the lift and stopped to fasten their snowboards to their feet.
“Wow,” Cal said appreciatively. Spread out in front of them was a beautiful mountain, blanketed in snow. In the distance were the snow capped mountains, with the rising sun peeking out from behind them. Juliette grabbed Cal’s hand, not thinking anything of it, and pulled him towards the run. “Race you,” she exclaimed. “Loser buys the hot chocolate!”
“You’re on,” Cal cried, jumping into motion. He quickly pulled ahead of Juliette and when he looked back, she stuck her tongue out at him and went faster.
Juliette was gaining speed. She was almost even with Cal when there was a sudden drop. She suddenly lost control and tumbled down the mountain, landing right on Cal.
He grabbed her in his arms and pretended to wrestle with her. Then he stopped and was still. Juliette dared not move, enjoying Cal’s arms around her. She felt as if her heart would burst. Then Cal’s cell phone rang. It was Emma.
Cal stuffed his gloved hand into his pocket and rummaged around for his black Nokia.
“Hello?” he answered, wiping his brow.
“Cal?” a voice said quietly from the other line. Juliette leaned in so close she could hear her every word.
“Oh hey Emma!?” Cal replied cheerfully.
“Um, hey Cal. Uh, I was wondering…”
“Yeah?”
“Well…um…where are you?” Juliette shook her head wildly. She couldn’t let Cal tell her that he was with her.
“I’m with Juliette. Why?” he answered. Juliette clapped a hand over her eyes and lay down in the snow.
There was a pause.
“Oh. Really?”
“Yeah, oh, Emma I should hang up now. The reception isn’t that great around here. I’ll see you later!” After Emma had said good-bye, Cal snapped his phone shut and put it back in his pocket. Juliette lay there in the snow, staring up at the crisp blue sky and breathed in the fresh smell of mountain air.
“So…” Cal began, standing up with his snowboard in hand. “Race you to the top of the hill!”

It was the next morning, and Cal shook out his hair as he stepped out of the shower. Noticing that it was nearly seven, he quickly pulled on striped boxers and black Burton snowboarding pants and a white turtleneck. Then he grabbed his red jacket, a black beanie, and his blue Burton board, which he had saved up for himself when he was thirteen. The doorbell rang downstairs.
“Honey, your friend is here,” Mrs. Baxter called. Cal thundered down the stairs.
“Have fun,” Mrs. Baxter said, kissing his forehead.
“Bye Mom,” Cal said pointedly. He walked outside and felt very heavy in his snow clothes. Luckily, Juliette met him wearing bright pink snowboarding pants and a black jacket, looking equally awkward. The two looked at each other and cracked up.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” said Juliette.
“Hey, get in the car!” shouted a young, Hispanic man from the driver’s seat of a beat up Audi.
“Coming, Marcos,” Juliette called to her brother. “C’mon,” she said, turning back to Cal. “Let’s go tear up the slopes!”
Suddenly a sky blue Toyota came screeching down the street and honked wildly at them before squealing across the intersection.
“That was weird,” Cal and Juliette said in unison before heading into the car.

Meanwhile, Emma sat at the breakfast table scooping Kellogg’s Wheaties out of a ceramic bowl as she waited for her grandma to picker her up.
“Honey! Grammy’s here!” Mrs. Buchanan called from the den. Emma stood up from the table and poured the sloppy milk into the sink.
“Coming!” she cried, picking up her Victoria’s Secret tote and rushing to the front door. “Hey Grammy!” Emma greeted, opening the door and closing it behind her. Grammy’s sky blue Toyota was parked at the curb, with Grammy waving wildly from the inside.
“Jump on in!” she exclaimed, poking her head out the window. “Out appointment is at eight o’clock and it’s seven fifty six!”
“Hi!” Emma began, buckling her seatbelt.
“Let’s hit the road!” Grammy cried, slamming on the brakes and making a sharp u-turn.
“Whoa! Slow down Grammy!” Emma replied, grasping the arm rest.
Grammy ignored her granddaughter’s comment and began racing down the main street of the neighborhood; Cal’s street. As the Toyota raced down the street, Emma caught sight of something she wished she hadn’t seen: Cal and Juliette. They were laughing together, and the smiles across their faces made Emma feel sick to her stomach.
“So that’s why she couldn’t come,” Emma said aloud to herself.
“What was that Pumpkin?” Suddenly Grammy screeched to a halt and began honking at a passing car. “Don’t you dare try to get in front of me!” Grammy yelled. “I have a manicure appointment that I’m late for!” Emma tried to smile, but the wound in her heart was too deep for words.

“Okay, is everyone cool?” Marcos asked, securing his board to his feet. Marcos, Cal, and Juliette sat on a bench at the foot of the slopes, getting ready to board.
“Yeah,” Juliette said with a smile so bright it shamed the sun. Marcos may have been twenty-three, but he was still the coolest brother ever. Juliette was glad to have him along.
“Yeah,” Cal agreed, standing up and testing his board.
“Great,” Marcos said. “Then lets hit it. I’m going up to Miracle Mile for a while. Jules, do you have your cell on.”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Juliette said, feeling her phone in her pocket.
“Okay, then, see you losers in a while,” Marcos said, chuckling. He squeezed Juliette’s shoulder and bent down. “This guy, Cal,” he whispered. “You like him, don’t you?” Juliette blushed bright red and swatted her brother away.
“C’mon, Cal,” she said loudly. “Race you to the ski lift.”
The ski lift ride was long, because Cal and Juliette were headed up to Summit Run, which was at the very top of the mountain.
“Oh my goodness, look how high we are,” Juliette squealed, gulping at the sight of the ground some five stories below.
Cal laughed. “Don’t tell me you’ve never been down Summit Run,” he joked.
“Yeah, but the ski lift gets me every time,” Juliette explained, smiling.
They had reached the top and they slid off the lift and stopped to fasten their snowboards to their feet.
“Wow,” Cal said appreciatively. Spread out in front of them was a beautiful mountain, blanketed in snow. In the distance were the snow capped mountains, with the rising sun peeking out from behind them. Juliette grabbed Cal’s hand, not thinking anything of it, and pulled him towards the run. “Race you,” she exclaimed. “Loser buys the hot chocolate!”
“You’re on,” Cal cried, jumping into motion. He quickly pulled ahead of Juliette and when he looked back, she stuck her tongue out at him and went faster.
Juliette was gaining speed. She was almost even with Cal when there was a sudden drop. She suddenly lost control and tumbled down the mountain, landing right on Cal.
He grabbed her in his arms and pretended to wrestle with her. Then he stopped and was still. Juliette dared not move, enjoying Cal’s arms around her. She felt as if her heart would burst. Then Cal’s cell phone rang. It was Emma.
Cal stuffed his gloved hand into his pocket and rummaged around for his black Nokia.
“Hello?” he answered, wiping his brow.
“Cal?” a voice said quietly from the other line. Juliette leaned in so close she could hear her every word.
“Oh hey Emma!?” Cal replied cheerfully.
“Um, hey Cal. Uh, I was wondering…”
“Yeah?”
“Well…um…where are you?” Juliette shook her head wildly. She couldn’t let Cal tell her that he was with her.
“I’m with Juliette. Why?” he answered. Juliette clapped a hand over her eyes and lay down in the snow.
There was a pause.
“Oh. Really?”
“Yeah, oh, Emma I should hang up now. The reception isn’t that great around here. I’ll see you later!” After Emma had said good-bye, Cal snapped his phone shut and put it back in his pocket. Juliette lay there in the snow, staring up at the crisp blue sky and breathed in the fresh smell of mountain air.
“So…” Cal began, standing up with his snowboard in hand. “Race you to the top of the hill!”

Emma sat on her bed that night, examining her perfectly plucked blond eyebrows. She tried to concentrate on the stray hair that ruined them, and plucking it off, but her eyes kept straying back to her new KRAZR, which sat silently on her nightstand, taunting her. She wondered what Cal was doing right then. What Juliette was doing. What Cal and Juliette were doing. Together. She pushed the thought out of her mind and plucked the stray hair out with a painful pull at her forehead.

It was early that night, and Juliette, Cal, and Marcos sat in the beat up Toyota wishing they had something warm to eat.
“I’m starving!” Cal said, clutching his aching belly. Juliette giggled in the back seat and pulled her legs up to her chest.
“Me too,” she replied quietly. Marcos guwaffed.
“You just stuffed yourselves at the snack bar,” he said, keeping his eye on the icy road. “How can you be hungry!?”
“All that running up the hills I guess,” Cal alleged, pulling at his seatbelt. Marcos spotted a small building. “Burt’s Burger House” it blared in green neon lighting. He pulled into the parking lot.
“Go grab a couple o’ burgers. I’d like a double cheeseburger with no onions,” he remarked. Cal beamed.
“Really?” He jumped out of the car and pulled Juliette along beside him. A rush of warm, toasty air rushed upon them as they flung open the door; different from the chilly night air that stung their eyes moments before. the café was full of booths, most ragged and old, plus several tables, bar stools, and a jukebox. Despite the low income surroundings, Burt’s Burger House was quite popular. The booths were stuffed to the brim with families, the bar stools were accompanied by passing truck drivers, and at one full length table a group of kids sang Happy Birthday to a little boy. A waitress came up beside them and smiled brightly, holding a tray in one hand.
“Can I help you?” she said, looking at each of them cheerfully.
“Um…” Cal faltered. “Can we order some burgers to go?” The waitress laughed heartily.
“What, you don’t like our restaurant? Yes, it is a little low on the nice stuff but we do make some mean French fries.”
Cal shrugged. “Sorry,” he explained. “We’re rushing to get home.” The waitress knit her eyebrows together and then her eyes brightened as she nodded, as though a wave of realization washed over her.
“Ohhh,” she began, smiling and razing her eyebrows at Juliette. “I see. I’ll take your order in a second.” And then with that, she rushed off and delivered a steaming hot burger patty to a pair of miserable looking grandparents.
“That was weird,” Juliette piped up. Cal turned, forgetting that she was there. Then he looked down. He suddenly remembered that he was still holding Juliette’s hand, and the weird thing was, neither of them wanted to let go.

Juliette sat in the very back seat of the darkened car, the familiar aroma of fast food wafting into her nostrils. She wrapped her Abercrombie sweatshirt-clad arms around her legs and pulled them up towards her. She had exchanged her boarding outfit for jeans and a sweatshirt and was feeling very cold. And with her dark, wavy locks hanging limp in a high ponytail, she felt very unattractive. She didn’t want Cal to see her this way.
Cal’s cell phone began to ring and Juliette jumped at the sound. Marcos, up front, was silent as he drove, listening to music on his iPod. Juliette and Cal had talked at first, but eventually fallen silent. Juliette didn’t mind. It wasn’t a bad silence.
“Hello?” Cal said, flipping open his phone. Juliette held her breath. Why did she feel like she was violating Emma? Emma and Cal weren’t going out, and she had liked him just as long as Emma had. She wasn’t stealing him, was she?
He paused, listening, and frowned. “We’re on our way home right now. Yeah,” he flashed a shy grin at Juliette and squeezed her hand lightly. “I had a great time.” There was another pause. Juliette heard the person on the other line talking. She darned not move-she didn’t want Cal to take his hand off of hers.
“I already ate,” said Cal. “Okay, see you in a bit. Love you.” Juliette’s heart skipped a beat. Who was it? “Bye Mom.” She sighed with relief and slowly scooted closer to Cal, until their thighs were touching. Then, the next thing she knew, she had fallen asleep, her head on Cal’s shoulder, his hand wrapped around hers, and her heart pounding triumphantly from underneath her Abercrombie sweatshirt.

Emma lay on her bed. Thinking. The red letters on her alarm clock blared into the darkness of her small bedroom. A car whizzed by the house, and the next door neighbor’s dog barked mournfully. Emma sighed.
Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun…
Emma jumped, startled by the sudden noise her phone made as it vibrated on her nightstand. Emma grabbed it and squinted so she could see the LED screen.
It was Cal.
Emma looked at her clock. 10:54. What was he doing calling her at this time of night?
She pressed TALK and held the phone to her ear. “Hello?” she whispered timidly.
“Emma?” the voice was shy. “Um, I was wondering…”
“Yes?” she replied quietly.
“Um…uh…” Cal’s voice trailed off. “Meet me at the treehouse.”
Then he hung up.
Emma clutched the phone to her ear for a few more seconds before quickly shoving it into her pocket. Cal still cared about her! He still wanted to see her! She nearly dashed out the door before she realized she was in her pajamas.
Emma threw open her closet door and grabbed her favorite oversized volleyball sweatshirt. She pulled it on over her pajama top and slipped out of her pajama bottoms. She found her faded light wash skinny jeans and pulled them on. Next, she stepped into her chocolate colored Ugg boots. She was set. She looked cute, but not like she had put a lot of time into it. Stuffing some pillows under her bedspread so it would look like she was already asleep, Emma threw open her French doors and dashed out into the cold night.
It was only a block to the “treehouse,” what kids called the local teen hangout center. Emma saw that there was a party going on inside, probably a post-new year’s party, since it was the third of the new year.
She spotted Cal immediately. He was sitting alone on a bench between two sprawling oak trees. When he saw her, a sudden look of horror passed through his eyes before his face spread into a wide grin.
“Hi, Emma,” he said softly, standing up. “I missed you.”
Emma’s face broke into an uncontrollable grin. How could she have ever thought that there was something going on between him and Juliette. Obviously he was just being nice. She wondered why she hadn’t realized it before.
“So,” Emma said flirtatiously, sitting down on the bench. Cal took a seat next to her. “Would you like to inform me why you told me to come here in the middle of the night?” She rubbed her hands together, shivering in her sweatshirt. Cal took her hand in his own and it immediately warmed.
“I thought, I thought you weren’t coming,” Cal said nervously, glancing over her shoulder.
“What are you looking at?” Emma asked, turning around.
“Nothing,” Cal said sheepishly. He turned and gazed into Emma’s eyes intensely. “Just you.” He leaned towards her. It was the most perfect kiss she had ever had. It seemed to go on forever. Emma never wanted to pull away. Cal rested his hand lightly on the small of her waist. Suddenly, a gasp pierced the air. Cal and Emma pulled apart.
Emma didn’t have to turn around to know that something was incredibly wrong. She could see it in Cal’s eyes. But she turned anyway and saw Juliette standing there.
“What are you doing here?” Emma snapped.
“Cal called me,” Juliette retorted, making a huge effort to keep her voice steady though her face was reddening and her eyes were brimming with tears.
Emma turned back to her beloved Cal. He started to speak but she wouldn’t hear a word of it-wouldn’t believe that Cal would do this.
“Yeah right,” Emma exclaimed, her voice cracking. “You-you disgust me, you boyfriend stealer.”
“He isn’t your boyfriend,” Juliette cried, tears pouring down her face.
“Well, he sure isn’t yours,” Emma exclaimed, her face reddening. Tears drizzled out of her blue, blue eyes. “He was mine first. I can’t believe you would steal him!”
“I can’t believe you think I would!” Juliette replied, wiping her eyes. “I would never do that, Emma.”
“Yes you would,” Emma cried. “And you did.”
Juliette’s head dropped, then she looked back up defiantly. “It isn’t stealing if he was never yours to begin with.”
“I saw him first!”
“So?”
“So he’s mine!”
“He isn’t a thing, Emma. He can choose whoever he wants to.”
“And he chose me,” Emma said, grinning for what seemed like the first time. “You saw it. He was kissing me, not you. So ha!”
Her ex-friend’s face looked so sad that Emma couldn’t help feeling sorry for Juliette.
“Hey!” Cal exclaimed. Emma had forgotten that he was there. “Can I please say something.” He looked flustered and embarrassed.
Emma put her hand possessively on his. “Go on,” she said sugar-sweetly.
“Yeah,” Juliette spit out. “What did you want to tell me, Cal?”
“You mean tell me!” Emma retorted.
“Both of you,” Cal cut in. He took his hand off of Emma’s and stared at the ground. “I’m, I’m moving.”
“WHAT?” Emma and Juliette cried out in unison.
“To Colorado,” Cal explained. “My dad got transferred and they have wicked slopes. So I’m going with him.”
“When?” Emma managed to croak out.
“Tomorrow,” Cal said quietly. “I just wanted to say goodbye. To both of you. I’ve had such a great time getting to know you.” He stood up stiffly and gave Emma a hug, then Juliette. “Bye,” he said somberly, walking out of the clearing. Emma and Juliette stared after him in silence.
“Oh,” Juliette said quietly. “Emma, I am-”
“-So sorry,” Emma finished. “I just got so jealous when I found out you guys were hanging out.”
“But he was totally yours first,” Juliette cut in. “I should have never tried to steal him away. I’m sorry.”
“You had a total right to,” Emma clarified. “I didn’t own him, you know.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have,” Juliette replied.
“Promise we’ll never fight over a boy again,” Emma said solemnly.
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” Juliette giggled. Then Emma broke out into laughter.
“Friends?” she asked.
“Friends,” Juliette agreed. “Forever.”
“Forever,” Emma echoed. She threw her arms around Juliette. “I missed you.”
“I missed you more,” Juliette mumbled.
“Oh my gosh,” Emma exclaimed. “My parents have probably found my empty bed by now.”
“My mom is probably freaking out,” Juliette agreed.
The two girls linked arms and dashed down the street laughing and chatting along the way. They were friends forever. Nothing could ever change that.