Avery's POV
I bound into the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. I am the only one in the kitchen besides Stan, my talking dog; everyone else in my family is asleep. "Hi, Stan!" I greet him chirpily.
"Oh, hey, Avery! You seem happy," he observes. I scoop out a bowlful of his favorite kibble, not even caring that the stench of dog food was likely staining my nice black-and-pink-striped sweater dress.
"Oh, Stan, I really am! The citywide spelling bee is only a week away! You know, I've won first place in a citywide spelling bee, and even in a statewide, or semifinals, but I was in second place in the national spelling bee! Can you believe that, Stan? Second place?"
"No, I can't believe that, Avery! You're the smartest girl I know, and the best at spelling. But which word did you stumble on, and who was your competition?"
"Well, the semifinals were easy because I was up against Karl Fink, and he messed up the word xanthosis." I laughed until my sides hurt. Karl Fink is my arch-nemesis. "But in the national spelling bee, I had to go against three-time winner Xavier Greene. I would have won, too, if I hadn't buckled under the pressure." I sighed, no longer beaming. The corners of my mouth were turned down in a frown, and my eyes were filled with fear and worry.
"Well, I just know you're going to win this time. I can feel it," Stan said in an attempt to cheer me up. I perked up slightly, biting my lip, a smile creeping onto my lips, but I still thought it was unlikely that I would win. "I'm on the edge of my seat now, though! Please tell me more!"
"Later, Stan," I said, reaching down to pet him as I popped a piece of bread out of the toaster, not realizing that I had been making toast as I was talking to him. "Right now I have to go to school."
...
When I walked into school, Max and Lindsay, my two best friends, aren't there waiting for me. They must be with relatives. Tomorrow is the start of Thanksgiving break, I thought.
Suddenly, a tall, pale, bony figure brushed past me, going in the opposite direction as me. I made a 360-degree turn so I faced the doorway in order to get a closer look at her. She must've been new, because I didn't recognize her. She did stand out in a crowd, though.
Her eyes were big and ice-blue and lined with liquid eyeliner. Her eyelashes were long and delicate, and I was guessing fake, though I couldn't tell. The thing that stood out about them, though, was the dark fuchsia eyeshadow that highlighted the entire area between the bottom of her eyelashes to the tip of her browbone. A bit too daring of a fashion statement for my taste, but she somehow managed to make it work.
Her blonde, almost white, hair was tied in a loose braid on her left, and her bangs stuck out messily in all directions. It looked like she had spent hours teasing her bangs with a comb, perfecting her french braid, curling the end. It looked gorgeous, though. And although it was so playful and messy, it seemed to go with her preppy, sophisticated outfit: a white peasant blouse and light blue pleated skirt that matched her eyes perfectly.
I had to get to know this girl. I made my way through the now-thickening crowd so fast, my hair floated behind me as if there was a strong wind inside. When I reached her, the girl made herself busy by reading To Kill A Mockingbird, my favorite book at the time. We already had so much in common, and we hadn't even met!
"Hi, I see you're reading To Kill A Mockingbird! I love that book, too! Hi, I'm Avery Jennings. Are you new here?"
The girl paused from her book for only a moment to answer, "Yes, I'm the new girl. I'm Queen Elsa of Arendelle, but you can call me Elsa. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So where did you move from?"
"Well, I used to live in a town called Arendelle with my sister Anna, but then our parents died and I accidentally put Arendelle in peril, but then Anna and I saved it, don't worry. So then we moved to Pasadena!"
"How did you put Arendelle in peril?" I questioned. I was on the edge of my seat!
"You know, I can't really remember," Elsa said with a small, awkward chuckle. "Can you show me around Pasadena later?"
"Yeah, we can hang out after school, and I can give you a tour of all of my favorite places!" I exclaimed. "I can even introduce you to my friend and next-door neighbor, Nikki!"
"Thank you so much! Well, see you after school, and I sure hope we have a few classes together!" Elsa called, waving goodbye as she walked inside.
I made it inside just in time, and all through that day, I anticipated being able to hang out with Elsa and Nikki after school.