After parking in the very crowded lot of the mall, Alyssa and her mom made their way toward the main entrance. Alyssa took in the red velvet bows adorning the palm trees that were scattered throughout the lot. The overall effect was… different. As if reading Alyssa’s mind, her mom wrinkled her nose and said, “Bows on palm trees just isn’t quite the same thing, is it?”

Alyssa laughed and nodded. “Let’s hope things look more Christmassy inside!”

Moments later, they were delighted to see that the main entrance to the mall had been transformed into a winter wonderland! A display at the center of the entranceway showcased a snowy scene with fluffy snowmen surrounded by a candy-cane fence. A hand-painted sign said THIS WAY TO SANTA’S WORKSHOP!

Alyssa looked and could see Santa’s Workshop in the distance, across from the food court. As she and her mom walked through the entrance hallway, Alyssa realized that Christmas carols were piping over the loudspeakers. Most of the individual stores had their own Christmas-themed signs and decorations adorning their front windows. A big grin lit up Alyssa’s face.

“Okay, it’s definitely starting to feel like Christmas now!” she told her mom, happily linking arms with her.

All around them, shoppers bustled about, their arms laden with packages. A big crowd was gathered at the coffee shop at the end of the hallway, and Alyssa was delighted to see that this shop had the same snowflake cups they had back home in Massachusetts every December. Her friends Ryder and Lauren always used to say it was officially the holidays once the coffee shop brought out the snowflake cups. Alyssa made a mental note to tell Ryder and Lauren about the cups later. They might not have snow in Florida for the holidays but at least they had snowflake cups!

“Look! Bookstore!” Alyssa told her mom, tugging her into the store. Books were one of Alyssa’s favorite gifts to give. She already had an idea of what to get Cody—he was obsessed with video games and she knew there was a new book series out that was based on one of his favorite games.

“Mom, I’m going to head to the back of the store to look for something for Cody, okay?”

“Sure thing, honey,” her mom replied. “I’ll be in the cookbook section looking for a slow cooker cookbook for Aunt Sharon. That seems to be her latest cooking obsession.”

“Ooh, good idea,” Alyssa called over her shoulder as she headed back toward the kids’ section. On her way there, a table of crafting books caught her eye. One book in particular jumped out at her. It was an advanced guide to knitting sweaters. Gorgeous, ornate sweaters, Alyssa realized as she flipped through the book. The patterns were really complex, but Alyssa knew someone who could tackle them—her friend from back home, Ryder, who was the best knitter Alyssa knew. He’d taught Alyssa everything she knew about knitting. Alyssa was a really good knitter, but Ryder was practically professional level—he’d even started the knitting club at Alyssa’s old school. If anyone could manage an advanced sweater pattern, it was Ryder. She picked up the book and added it to the plastic basket she was carrying.

The book series Alyssa had in mind for Cody was easy enough to find—it was on display in the middle of the kids’ section. Alyssa picked up the first book in the series and began reading the description on the back cover.

“Are you into that game?” a girl’s voice asked.

Alyssa looked up and saw two girls her age standing in front of her. She recognized them from school but wasn’t sure of their names. She was pretty sure they were best friends because they always ate together at lunch. The girl who had spoken to her was tall with red hair that she wore in a messy but effortlessly cool-looking bun on top of her head. The other girl had curly brown hair and big brown eyes.

“I’m Elle, by the way,” the red-haired girl added a moment later. “And this is Rachel. Haven’t we seen you at school? Palm Meadows? You’re new? Alyssa, right?”

Alyssa felt a wave of different emotions all at once. Excitement that these girls were introducing themselves. Nervousness because she didn’t know what to say or which question to answer first. And then complete and total awkwardness after she spoke.

“No,” she blurted out. “I’m not.”

“Oh…” Elle said slowly, a confused look flashing across her face. “Sorry, we thought you were this girl from our school. You look just like her.”

“Oh, wait, I’m her!” Alyssa said quickly. “I meant I’m not into this video game.…” She held up the book she was holding. “It’s for my brother. He’s obsessed with this game, so I thought he might like the book.” Alyssa realized she was speaking really fast. And kind of loud. “I was answering your first question,” she mumbled.

Great job, Alyssa, she thought. Some kids from school finally talk to you outside of class and you act like a total weirdo.

But Elle and Rachel didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they both grinned, and Rachel even laughed. “Don’t mind Elle,” she said cheerfully. “She likes to ask a million questions and confuses pretty much everyone she meets.” She turned to Elle and playfully swatted her on the shoulder. “Stop bombarding the poor girl!”

Elle gave an exaggerated eye roll to Rachel, but then her grin got even wider. “Sorry about that. Rachel’s right—I do ask too many questions! So, you are definitely Alyssa, right? From school? If you don’t like video games, what do you like? How old is your brother?”

Alyssa and Rachel looked at each other, both on the brink of laughter.

“Oh, man, I’m doing it again, aren’t I?” Elle added. Then all three of them burst out laughing.

As Alyssa caught her breath, she couldn’t help but smile. Elle and Rachel were so easygoing and friendly! Alyssa couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed that hard with someone who wasn’t her brother. Probably not since we moved here, she thought. Then she realized Elle and Rachel were looking at her expectantly.

“Right. Yes, I’m definitely Alyssa. My brother is Cody. He’s in eighth grade.”

“Is he here with you?” Elle asked, craning her neck to look around the store.

“No, he’s at a sleepover with his friend from soccer. We’re new, but he already has a ton of friends from soccer. I’m just here with my mom.”

Way to point out you don’t have any friends to hang out with on a Saturday night, Alyssa thought. She asks me what I like, and I basically tell her I have no friends instead of answering her.

“That’s cool,” Rachel said, and Elle nodded.

They must think I’m so boring.

“Well, I think my mom is waiting for me. I should go,” Alyssa said a moment later. “But thanks for saying hi. I mean, it was nice meeting you,” she mumbled. She felt her cheeks turning red and wished her hair was down so she could hide behind it like she usually did when she was feeling this embarrassed.

“We’ll see you at school!” Rachel said cheerfully.

“I think we have the same lunch period,” Elle added. “Hey, maybe you can sit with us on Monday?”

Alyssa couldn’t believe it—they wanted her to sit with them even after she acted so awkwardly?

“I’d love that!” she said happily.

“Great, we’ll see you Monday!” Elle said. “Oh, and you should totally get the book for your brother. I read the first two in the series, and they’re really good.”

With that, the two girls waved goodbye and walked away. Alyssa dropped the book in her basket and then decided to get Cody the second one, too. He deserved it for being the perfect icebreaker with the girls from school—even if he didn’t know it!

After paying for her purchases, Alyssa joined her mom at the front of the store. They were both hungry and decided it was a good time to break for dinner.

Alyssa went to grab a table while her mom went to the pizza place to buy slices and sodas for each of them. Alyssa chose a seat across from Santa’s Workshop so she and her mom could enjoy watching the little kids line up to get their photo taken with Santa while they ate.

“A slice of mushroom for me and a cheese slice for you,” her mom announced a few minutes later as she put a plastic tray onto the table. “Plus one slice of white pizza cut in half for us to share, as always.”

“Yum, thank you,” Alyssa said, reaching for her slice.

Between bites of pizza, Alyssa’s mom asked her about the girls she’d seen her talking to in the bookstore.

“They’re from my school,” Alyssa explained. “The red-haired girl is Elle, and the girl with the curly hair is Rachel.”

“They seemed nice,” her mom said after she finished chewing.

“Yeah, they were really nice, and really friendly, but I kind of clammed up.” Alyssa put her piece of pizza down and wiped her fingers on a napkin. “I hate how awkward I get when I meet new people. When someone finally wants to be friends, I act all weird and shy.”

“I’m sure you didn’t act weird, honey,” her mom said encouragingly. “And there’s nothing wrong with being shy. Lots of people are shy. Including yours truly. I bet those girls liked you very much.”

“Wait, did you say you’re shy, too?” Alyssa couldn’t believe it. Her mom was as confident and outgoing as Cody!

“You bet I am. Especially when I first meet new people,” her mom replied. “Sometimes it just takes me a little while to warm up. I’ve always been like that.” Her mom paused to take a sip of soda. “I haven’t really made many friends at my new job yet. I miss having a friend to eat lunch with like I did at my old job.”

“Wow, I never knew that,” Alyssa said. “I thought people just flocked to you the way they do with Cody.”

Her mom laughed. “Nope. Cody is one of a kind in that department. But you know what I find really helps me with my shyness? Not agonizing over it. If I’m a little shy or awkward when I meet someone new, I don’t beat myself up about it. I remind myself that I know that the next time I see them, I’ll feel a little more comfortable, and maybe before long I’ll get to know that person enough that I can relax and be myself.”

“Relax and be yourself,” Alyssa repeated. She remembered how nervous she felt when she’d first started talking to Ryder and her friend Lauren at her old school. But then Ryder invited her to join knitting club, and soon she was really comfortable with both of them and Alyssa’s shyness was a thing of the past. “Easier said than done,” she said finally. “But maybe not impossible.”

“To making new friends,” her mom said, raising her cup of soda for a toast. “To you and me making new friends! Soon enough, we’ll both have someone to eat lunch with!”

Alyssa clinked cups with her mom and then remembered that she actually did have lunch plans on Monday with Elle and Rachel. She told her mom, who clinked cups with her a second time.

“Listen to me giving you advice,” her mom joked. “Maybe I should be asking you for tips instead!”

About an hour later, Alyssa was all shopped out. She’d separated from her mom for a little bit so she could shop for her. Alyssa knew her mom loved candles, and she found a candle in the shape of a palm tree decorated with Christmas decorations. Even though it was a palm tree, it smelled like pine. It was silly, Alyssa knew, but she also knew her mom would love it. The perfect present to commemorate their first Christmas in Florida. As she waited at their designated meet-up spot, Alyssa noticed that the pet store had a sign in the window advertising animal adoptions. She checked her watch—she was a few minutes early. Definitely enough time to go check out the animals!

Alyssa loved all animals, but cats were always her favorite. Her mom had promised her she could get one when they moved to Florida and, true to her word, had asked a few times since they’d arrived if Alyssa wanted to go visit the local animal shelter to pick out a cat. Even though Alyssa wanted a cat more than almost anything, she had decided to wait until next summer to get one. She didn’t want to bring a new pet home and then not get to spend a lot of time with it because she was at school all day. She’d be home all summer and could help her new pet get accustomed to its new home by being there for it. But there was no harm in looking!

Inside the pet store, there were about twelve cages, half with dogs and half with cats. Alyssa beelined over to a cage in the corner that contained three adorable kittens—two were black and one was orange.

“Hello, sweet babies,” she cooed, sticking her finger through the bars of the cage to give one of the black kittens a gentle scratch on the head.

As she looked at the other cages, Alyssa noticed that some of them had cards that said HURRICANE RESCUE and wondered what that meant. She caught the eye of a woman who worked for the shelter and asked her.

“Those are pets who lost their homes due to recent hurricanes,” the woman explained.

“That’s so sad,” Alyssa replied. “Is that what happened with these little kittens?”

“No, those kittens were found in Sunset Valley Park. We find stray cats there sometimes.”

“That’s right near where I live,” Alyssa exclaimed, recognizing the name of the park that was just a few blocks from her home.

The woman nodded. “We care for the cats who live there, providing them with vaccinations and food, and we have a neuter-and-release program to prevent too many kittens from being born, but sometimes there are litters of new kittens. When we can, we try to find homes for the kittens.”

“Why not all the cats?” Alyssa asked.

“Cats that have only known life outside often prefer it that way,” the woman said. “That’s what makes them happy. We just make sure they are cared for and fed.”

With that, the woman excused herself to go talk to a family who had come in to adopt a dog. Alyssa smiled and took one last longing look at the kittens. She wasn’t sure she could really wait until summer.