On Thin Ice (2 page)
Mr. Malloy had the coolest job ever. He was a video-game designer. He got to work at home, thinking up fun games for kids — and adults — to play. Some, like the one that was going into the bowling alley, were made for arcades.
“We can bowl and play his video game for a few hours,” Jonas continued, “then go to my house for the Christmas party!”
“Ahem,” Mark Goldstein cleared his throat. “Sorry, Mark, I mean the
holiday
party,” Jonas amended. “You can bring your dreidel and show us how to play Hanukkah games. We can exchange gifts, too. Okay?”
“Gifts? What makes you think I wanna give you a gift?” Bizz punched Jonas in the shoulder.
“Back off, or I’m returning what I got you,” Jonas warned. Bizz held up her hands in mock terror.
The talk of gifts reminded Savannah of her school skating party. “Jonas, when’s your party?” she asked.
“Saturday, December 15, at three o’clock. The lanes are reserved for two hours.”
Savannah’s heart sank. Jonas’s party was the same day and time as her Academy party!
While the other kids chatted excitedly about Jonas’s party, Savannah remained silent. She knew she should tell them she couldn’t go, but she couldn’t get the words out. How could she? She hadn’t told them about the Academy skating party. She tried to imagine telling them now, maybe even inviting them to come by after the bowling party. But somehow, she didn’t think that would go over so well. They’d want to know why they hadn’t been invited to the
real
party. And Savannah knew she wasn’t ready to explain
that.
She was glad when her mother finally pulled in.
Bizz poked her head inside the door. “Hi, Mrs. Smith!” she said. “Can Savannah come snowboarding again tomorrow?”
“Hello, Bizz. Not in the morning,” Savannah’s mother replied. “She and I are going Christmas shopping.”
“Well, I certainly don’t want to stop you from doing that, just in case you’re getting something for someone special!” Bizz waggled her eyebrows and grinned. “But can she come tomorrow afternoon?”
Mrs. Smith laughed. “If she wants to, it’s fine with me!”
Savannah was eating her breakfast the next morning when the phone rang. It was Angela.
“My mom says I can come over to skate this afternoon,” she said happily.
Savannah had completely forgotten she’d invited Angela to her house. She couldn’t very well cancel those plans, even though it meant she couldn’t go snowboarding with Bizz after all. She thought about telling Angela that the rink was still covered with snow, but a peek out the kitchen window showed that her father had already cleared it. She couldn’t lie to her new friend, so she told Angela to come by after lunch.
After she hung up, she called Bizz to let her know she wouldn’t be snowboarding that day. She got the answering machine.
“Um, Bizz, I can’t meet you at the hill,” she said. “I, um, I’m not sure if I’ll be home from shopping in time. I’ll call you later, okay?”
She and her mother left after breakfast to start their Christmas shopping at the mall. Savannah looked at toys, books, CDs, and jewelry. But nothing she saw seemed quite right for the gift swap.
“Let’s go to the craft store,” Savannah’s mother finally said. “Maybe we’ll find something there.”
The craft store was one of Savannah’s favorite places. Any time she had money to spend, that’s where she went. Savannah spied the perfect gift the minute they walked in. It was a bulb-planting kit. The kit came with a bowl, special paints, a bag of white stones, and five bulbs. You painted the bowl, then filled it with the stones. When the paint was dry, you added water and planted the bulbs in the stones. In a few weeks, the bulbs sprouted roots and, later, green shoots and flowers. In the spring, you planted the bulbs in the ground. If you were lucky, the flowers grew again the next year.
Savannah thought it would be cool to have flowers in the winter. She hoped one of her classmates would think so, too. She carried the kit to the counter and pulled money from her pocket to pay. The kit cost a little more than she’d planned to spend, but she thought it was worth it.
Suddenly, as she reached for the bag, Savannah realized she’d just spent most of her savings on the kit. Where was she going to get the money to buy presents for Bizz and the others?
When they got home, Savannah hurried to her room to count the money remaining in her piggy bank. There wasn’t much left. She thought about asking her mother for an advance on her allowance, but since she didn’t know what she was going to get Bizz and the others, she didn’t know how much to ask for. What if it wasn’t enough and she had to ask for more later? Sighing, she put the money back in the bank and went to the kitchen for lunch. Her mother was on the phone in her office, but she’d left a sandwich on the table for her.
Angela showed up just after Savannah finished eating. She was dressed in a skater’s outfit — a little skirt with a matching sweater, sparkling tights, and fluffy white earmuffs and mittens. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun with a bow.
“Don’t you have a skating outfit?”
Savannah looked down at her leggings and warm sweater and shrugged. “This is what I always wear. It’s comfortable.”
The girls put on their skates and stepped onto the rink. Angela struck off for the far end, then swooped back and grabbed Savannah’s hand. “This is unbelievable!” she cried happily.
“I’ll say,” a new voice remarked.
Startled, Savannah whirled around. Bizz was standing near the rink, skates in hand. She stared at Savannah and Angela, still hand-in-hand on the rink.
Savannah dropped Angela’s hand and skated over to Bizz. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard my mom talking to your mom on the phone, so I asked if I could come over. Your mom said to bring my skates. Guess she forgot to tell you I was coming.” Bizz put her skates down and glanced at Angela. “Who’s that?”
Angela introduced herself. “Do you know Savannah from the Academy, too?”
Bizz eyed the other girl’s skating outfit. “No, I know Savannah because I’m her best friend. I’m Bizz.”
“Oh,” Angela said. She sized up Bizz’s torn blue jeans and baggy sweatshirt.
Before Bizz had a chance to say anything else, Savannah pulled her to a bench. “I’m glad you’re here! Let’s do some skating, okay?” She handed Bizz her skates.
Bizz gave Angela another suspicious look, then laced up her skates and stepped onto the rink. “I haven’t skated since last winter,” she confessed. The words were barely out of her mouth when she fell hard on the ice.
Angela skated by and giggled. “Good thing you’re wearing thick leg protection,” she said, pointing at Bizz’s blue jeans.
Bizz glared at her, then slowly stood up and started skating around the rink. As she got used to her skates, she picked up speed until she was a blur of movement. Finally, with a spray of ice chips, she came to a halt next to Savannah. “This rink is big enough for a game of hockey, you know,” she said, breathing hard.
Angela skated to Savannah’s other side. “Hockey? Who wants to watch a bunch of dumb boys play hockey?”
“It’s better than figure skating,” Bizz retorted. “Anyway, who said anything about watching? I’d play!”
“You would?” Angela shuddered. “I’d never play hockey. Would
you,
Savannah?”
“Yes, Savannah,” Bizz asked, staring closely at her friend, “
would
you?”
Well, I guess I don’t have to wonder how they’d get along if they ever met,
Savannah thought dismally.
The answer is clear — badly!
But it turned out that Savannah was wrong. At first, they all skated separately. Angela practiced spins, Bizz speed skated around the outside, and Savannah tried skating with one leg stretched out behind her. Then, slowly, they all started skating nearer to each other and saying things like “nice spin” and “wow, you’re really fast.” They had just begun playing follow-the-leader when Mr. Smith interrupted them.
“You girls look like you could use some hot chocolate,” he called from the kitchen. “I’ll bring some out.”
As Savannah sipped her steaming mug of rich chocolate, she listened to Angela and Bizz talk about how great the rink was. Her hopes rose. Maybe they would wind up as friends after all. Her hopes were dashed a moment later.
“How was the mall this morning?” Bizz asked. “Oh, were you shopping for the gift swap?” Angela asked.
Bizz looked at her. “What gift swap?”
“The gift swap we’re doing at Savannah’s big party,” Angela said. “Aren’t you coming to the party?”
Savannah wished the ground would open up and swallow her, that lightning would strike her in the head, that her father would call her inside —
anything
to keep from having to look at Bizz. Finally, though, she did risk a glance.
Bizz was staring at her, but when she spoke it was to Angela.
“I’m not sure. When is this big party happening again?” she asked. When Angela told her, Bizz gave a little snort. “Whaddya know. I’ve already been invited to another party that same day. Too bad a person can’t be in two places at once. Isn’t it, Savannah?” Still wearing her skates, she grabbed her shoes and clumped out of the yard.
Savannah felt like she’d swallowed a lead balloon. “Did I say something wrong?” Angela asked.
“No,” Savannah answered miserably. “It’s something I
didn’t
say that’s causing the problem.”
That night at dinner, Savannah picked at her food.
“Is everything okay, Savannah?” her mother asked.
“Bizz hates me!” Savannah blurted out. She told her mother what had happened. “I should have told her and the others about the school party,” she finished. “And now they’re having their own party — without me.” She put her head down on the table.
Her mother ruffled Savannah’s thick black hair. “Poor baby. You know, the first step to making things right is to talk to your friends. Explain what happened. Why don’t you give Bizz a call?”
But Savannah shook her head. “I doubt she’d talk to me tonight. I’ll — I’ll try her tomorrow.”
“I’m sure everything will work out fine,” her mother said.
Savannah hoped her mother was right — because she wasn’t sure what she’d do if Bizz no longer wanted to be her “friend to the end.”
Early the next morning, Savannah decided she’d better call Bizz before any more time passed. She dialed Bizz’s number and held her breath. But instead of a person, she got the answering machine.
“I’ll be at the slope this morning,” she said after the machine’s beep. “I — I hope I’ll see you.”
Mrs. Smith dropped off Savannah at the skatepark an hour later. It had snowed the night before, so there was a new blanket of powder on top of the old. The hill was already crowded with kids on sleds and snowboards. Savannah stood at the bottom, looking for Bizz and the others. When she didn’t find them, she climbed the hill to ask Alison if they’d been there.
But Alison hadn’t seen them. Savannah felt disappointment wash over her.