Bella bounded down the stairs, her white Autumn jacket (admittedly the only one she could find in the mess of her room at the moment) zipped up all the way. It was quite chilly outside, and she wasn't made for the cold. Her only comfort this early in the morning was that this week, they only had two days of school.

Why, you ask?

Thanksgiving, of course! It was this Thursday, and they didn't have school on Wednesday or Friday! She did have one more comfort, however.

The cul-de-sac kids had planned a Thanksgiving feast between them in Kevin's garage. Kevin's parents weren't gonna be there, so it was perfect. Bella had been looking forward to it the most.

In Italy, she always spent Thanksgiving with her family, and there was nothing wrong with that. But after nine years of younger kids pulling her tail and adults asking about school, (which she always tried to not talk about, giving short answers) she wanted kids in her own age group to spend the holiday with. Besides, a change of culture would be nice.

What different foods did they have here for Thanksgiving? What did they do to celebrate? Was it just family and eating? That's how it was in Italy. But this wasn't Italy. And who knows what strange food Rolf would bring to the table. Did his family even celebrate Thanksgiving? Or did they just call it something different? Bella did. Italians called it La Festa del Ringrazziamento, or Festival of Thanks. Rolf seemed slightly confused by the name 'Thanksgiving', but accepted the invite nonetheless.

Bella's mind buzzed with these questions. She was distracted through all her classes, and Edd had to shake her into reality more than once.

"Excited for Thanksgiving dinner?" Edd asked her at lunchtime with a smile.

"You bet!" Bella grinned widely, "The new foods, a whole different culture, I can't wait!"

"I doubt it's that different," Eddy shrugged, "Family and/or friends, dinner, football, parade-"

"But we didn't have football OR parades in Itlay," Bella said, "Just family and dinner. Tail hurts after a while."

She ran her hand over her tail, wincing.

"You didn't watch the parade?" Eddy asked. Bella shook her head.

"But the parade is the coolest part!" Ed said. Bella shrugged.

"I've seen parades before," She said, "Just never a Thanksgiving one."

"Well, it is very interesting," Edd smiled, "You'll love it."

That Thursday, everyone headed towards Kevin's house. Everyone was bringing their own dish for the dinner. Kevin was of course making the turkey, since it was his house, but had a bit of help from Nazz. Bella had made food (with the help of her dad, of course) that she thought the others would be the most eager to try, and her favorite foods from the dinner of La Festa del Ringrazziamento.

Bella had a wagon behind her with the food she had brought, along with a small box of wine. She knew the others probably wouldn't go near it (she learned from Edd that most people here weren't allowed to drink it till 18, at the least) but she couldn't go La Festa del Ringrazziamento without a sip or two. It was an Italian tradition.

Bella also had her younger cousin with her. Well, second cousin. His mom was her cousin, so he was her second cousin. But who cares about technically? His name was Jakob, and he was only four. He was her favorite of the younger kids. They loved each other very much, and she hadn't seen him since she moved. So of course he was coming with her. Jakob had on a backpack.

They arrived at Kevin's house and knocked on the door. Kevin answered and leaned against the doorway.

"S'up?" He asked. He looked down at Jakob, who was hiding shyly behind Bella, but with a smile plastered to his face, "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is my younger cousin, Jakob," Bella said, "I've missed him a lot. I hope you don't mind him tagging along."

"'Course not," Kevin shrugged and let the others in.

"Ok Jakob, si puo andare a giocare, ma stare sicino a me, capito?" Bella said to Jakob. Jakob nodded, but stayed with Bella. She smiled, "Ok, si puo stare con me. Vieni, andiamo a impostare questo cibo verso il basso."

Bella carried the food over to the table.

"Can I set it here?" Bella asked Kevin. He nodded. She set the bags of food on the table and walked over to the other room. Edd also sat down what mother had given him to bring and followed her. In the living room were all the other cul-de-sac kids. Rolf was the only one missing from the group.

"Hey everyone," Bella waved.

"Hey babe," Eddy smiled and put his arm around her, "Hey sockhead."

"Hello, Eddy," Edd said.

"Double D!" Ed greeted with a big hug, "Bella!"

"Hey, who's the little guy?" Nazz asked, noticing Jakob next to Bella. He playfully hid behind his hands, giggling.

"My little cousin, Jakob," Bella said, "Smettere di essere timido e dire ciao."

"Aw, he's adorable," Nazz said with a smile.

"Ciao, sono Jakob," Jakob said with a small wave. Jakob took off his backpack and unzipped it, pulling out a toy train. He started crawling across the floor with it, saying 'Chugga chugga, chugga chugga, chugga chugga, chugga chugga, choo choo' over and over. Bella laughed and pulled something out of her pocket. It was made of wood, and looked a little like a whistle. She blew into the whistle end and it sounded exactly like a train! Jakob looked over and laughed happily.

"Bella, vuoi giocare a treni con me?" Jakob asked.

"Forse piu tardi, Jakob," Bella answered, "Voglio parlare con i miei amici prima."

"Aw," Jakob frowned.

"I'll play with you, little dude," Nazz smiled and knelt down next to him. Bella gave Jakob another toy train and whispered to him that Nazz wanted to play. He handed her the toy and they started playing.

"So, little cousin, hmm?" Eddy asked.

"Yeah, he's really sweet," Bella said.

Soon enough, dinner was to be served. Rolf had arrived and had covered the end of the table with an assortment of strange foods. Bella had brought two main dishes, the others which had been intended for appetizers. She had said they were 'tortellini with zucca,' (a type of pasta) which some people took a few scoops of, and 'roasted pumpkin and pear soup.'

"Roasted what?" Eddy asked upon hearing the name.

"Pumpkin and pear soup," Bella repeated, "It's one of my favorite parts of La Festa del Ringrazziamento dinner. What, you've never heard of it?"

Eddy shook his head. Edd took a bowl of the soup.

"I'll be willing to try some," Edd said, smiling. Bella helped Jakob pick out what he wanted and they sat down.

"I made a quiche!" Jimmy said proudly.

After everyone sat down, they all started talking. And it wasn't the boring adult talk about the news or confusing little kid talk. It was actual talk, talk that Bella could relate to. Sorta. They told stories and laughed, and talked about how they each celebrated Thanksgiving.

"So, in Italy, y'know, people would come over," Bella was talking, "It was a big family, too. Lots of people. Sometimes I went somewhere else, sometimes people would come to my house. It was the same thing, say hi to the zie e zii, gifts and kissed from nonna e nonno, and then the little cousins. There were a few other cousins my age, but we're always busy watching over the younger ones, so not too much conversation there. Older people asking me about school and other stuff I didn't really care about. They're like 'Oh it's been so long! I haven't seen you in forever!' And I'm like 'Dude, I don't even remember your face, let alone who you are! All I know is you're my family, so hug, I guess.'"

Everyone laughed.

"Same with me," Kevin said, "So many faces and names."

"Plank's family always visits on Thanksgiving," Jonny chimed in.

"I usually visit my aunt," Ed frowned, "She has a mustache."

"Ed, be nice," Sarah snapped.

"Rolf's aunt too has a mustache," Rolf said, "Around this time of year we celebrate The Great Harvest. We eat all day and harvest our crops under the light of the full moon. Sometimes the festivities last all month."

"Yeah, usually the family stays for about a week, so it's pretty crowded," Bella said, taking a small sip of wine, "You know how hard it is to sleep with three little kids kicking you all night?"

After dinner, everyone went home. Bella, Edd, and Jakob walked inside to the loud chatter of many aunts and uncles. Bella groaned.

"Bella, come stai?" One of Bella's aunts walked up, "Sono passati secoli, come va la sculo?"

Bella faked a smile.

"Granda, la zia Alberta," She said. Bella's Aunt nodded and was about to ask another question when Bella interrupted her.

"Oh, uh, mi sembra di sentire mio padre che mi chiama," Bella lied, "Extra udito bene, sai?"

Bella rushed off and hurried upstairs. She sighed. Just some peace and quiet, that's all she wanted. She was having such a great time at Kevin's, with everyone else, at their Thanksgiving dinner.

That night, Bella slept with five little kids in her room. Jakob was one of them, and he was laying in bed with her. None of the kids could settle down, however, as their parents tried to get them to sleep at 11:00 at night.

"Ugh, five more nights of this," Bella groaned quietly, shutting her eyes.

Here's what Bella and Jakob said, in order of when they said it. (Also includes other family members)

Ok Jakob, you can go play, but stay close to me, got it? (B)

Ok, you can stay with me. Come on, let's go set this food down. (B)

Stop being shy and say hello. (B)

Hi, I'm Jakob. (J)

Bella, will you play trains with me? (J)

Maybe later, Jakob. I wanna talk with my friends first. (B)

...aunts and uncles... (B)

...grandma and grandpa... (B)

Bella, how are you? It's been ages, how's school? (Bella's Aunt)

Great, Aunt Alberta. (B)

Oh, uh, I think I hear my dad calling me. Extra good hearing, you know? (B)