Noelle's Christmas Crush by Angela Darling

end up like one of those girls on Sixteen and Spoiled who burst into tears when the balloons were the wrong color or they didn’t get the deejay they wanted.
    But at least they all got their parties, she thought miserably. I don’t even get to have mine!
    A knock sounded on the door. “Come in,” Noelle called out meekly.
    â€œIt’s me,” her mom said. “Is it okay if I go to your invitation site and send out an e-mail about the party? Just to make sure nobody is worried about getting here.”
    â€œFine,” Noelle said flatly.
    â€œOkay then. Dad’s starting breakfast,” Mrs. Winters said in a quiet voice, and then she left.
    Noelle took her time getting dressed, only heading downstairs when the smell of bacon was too hard toresist. She carried her laptop with her. Her parents didn’t normally let her use it at the table, but she had a feeling that they wouldn’t object today.
    She was right. As she sat down and opened her laptop, her dad slid a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of her.
    â€œI’m just going to see if anybody replied to the e-mail yet,” Noelle said.
    â€œThat’s fine, honey,” her dad said.
    â€œI just sent out the e-mail,” her mom said. “So people might not be replying just yet.”
    But Noelle found a bunch of replies waiting for her on the site. The first was from Hailey.
    Noooooooo! Soooooo sooooorrrrrry!
    Alyson wrote next.
    That stinks! But you still have to wear your dress today, no matter what.
    Noelle wanted to smile at that, but couldn’t just yet. She got a few other replies from kids who were sorry, andher cousin Nick was psyched that he might have a snow day Monday.
    Then, to her surprise, she saw a reply from Noel.
    You must be so disappointed. But hope you enjoy the snow day and have a great birthday.
    Noelle sighed. Leave it to Noel to send a perfect reply. Then she realized, with horror, that her mother was looking over her shoulder.
    â€œThat Noel seems like such a nice boy,” she said.
    â€œHe is,” Noelle replied, willing herself not to blush. Then she shut her laptop and picked up a piece of bacon.
    The reply from Noel helped her feel a little better. How sweet was he? But she hadn’t seen anything from Jess. Was her friend still mad at her? She must be, if she didn’t reply, Noelle reasoned, and that thought put her in a bad mood again.
    Mr. Winters put his coffee cup in the sink and stretched. “Well, at least the snow has stopped. I guess I should get to shoveling the walk—if I can find it.”
    â€œAndrew and I can help you,” Mrs. Winters said, justas Andrew appeared in the kitchen, yawning.
    â€œWait, why doesn’t Noelle have to help?” Andrew asked.
    Mrs. Winters just glared at him, and Andrew shrugged. Noelle was glad that they weren’t asking her to help. She didn’t feel like going outside in all that stupid party-ruining snow. In fact, she didn’t even feel like changing out of her pajamas.
    Without a word, she got up and put her breakfast dishes in the sink and headed up to her room. Her parents didn’t ask any questions.
    Noelle had never felt so “blah” in her life. She climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and opened her laptop again. For a few minutes she just stared at Noel’s reply. She checked her e-mail again, hoping to hear from Jess, but there was nothing. Worried, Noelle texted her.
    RU ok? No party today. Wish u were here.
    She waited a few minutes for the little beep of Jess’s return text, but it never came. Then, bored, she went back to the laptop and clicked on a computer game where she shot rainbow bubbles out of the sky with lemons over and over and over again. After a while her hand got stiffand she found herself squinting at the screen, so she reluctantly got out of bed.
    She showered and dressed in pink leggings and a sweatshirt, putting on her favorite pair of fluffy slippers.