“What does she teach?” Jack asks.
“Earth Science.”
He nods. “Makes sense.”
Curiosity itches at me. They must be so hopeful for a snow day for a reason. “What do you do when we get a snow day?”
Jack spins to sit sideways in his seat, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. “Don’t say you’ve never had a fun snow day.”
I scoff. “I wouldn’t say that.” Have I had a particularly memorable one? No, but that’s beside the point. “I asked whatyoudo on a snow day.”
“Sleep, for one,” Seth says.
“Read,” Fred chimes in.
“Build a snowman!” Jack says.
Yeah, that tracks.
“You, Elliot?” Fred asks, dark eyes flitting to me in the rearview mirror.
“Reading, walking around outside. That kind of thing.”
Jack’s face lights up. “We’ll do more than that when we get a snow day.”
It’s hard not to smile. “You’re so confident we’ll get one.”
His lips twitch up, like he’s trying to be serious but is too excited to stick with it. “Like Fred said, we’ve got plenty of time. I just hope it’s before Christmas.”
“Speaking of,” Seth says, swiveling in his seat to face us. “Are we still doing Friendmas?”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Jack asks.
Seth sighs. “The others aren’t as psyched about Friendmas, the jerks. They’ll do a hangout, but no Secret Santa.”
“We can do it with the four of us,” Jack says. “Right?”
“I’m game,” I say as we pull up to Jack’s house.
“Jack, think your mom will mind if we come in for a second?” Fred asks.
Jack chuckles. “She’ll probably invite you for dinner.”
Fred smiles. “I won’t impose like that, but I need to borrow a hat and a piece of paper. Gotta do Friendmas right, don’t we? Let’s get it set today. I’ll rip up paper with our names. If you draw your own, put it back.”
We follow Jack inside. “Mom, Eli, Seth, and Fred are here,” Jack calls.
Widget rushes over to us with an excited bounce, tail whipping back and forth. Seth sits down in the entryway to pet him. The rest of us take off our shoes and head to the kitchen, where Mrs. Benson is leaning on the counter, writing a list. She sets down her pen when we walk in and smiles at us. “Hi boys!”
“Sorry to drop in uninvited,” Fred says.
She scoffs. “You know you’re always welcome.”
“We’re doing a Secret Santa and need some paper.” Jack moves to the drawer where they keep notepads and pens and brings over a piece of paper and a blue pen. Fred sets to ripping up the paper and writing our names. “I’ll go get a hat.”
“Have a good practice?” Mrs. Benson asks.
Jack reappears with his orange hat and Fred drops the folded papers into it. “Some of the guys think we’re crazy, practicing the way we do,” Fred says. “They say it’s too much work. It doesn’t feel like work when it’s something you love, though, with people you like being around.”
