The Fauntleroys' Christmas celebrations were very merry now that Jamie was home. The family decorated the tree, made snowmen, baked Christmas cookies, went caroling, but, at the end of the day, Jamie's mind came back to Rosy. He examined every corner of his mind trying to make sense of it all. Rosy was the first girl who ever kissed him. And she was the first girl he didn't think of as a girl-that is, totally gross. She was his best friend. He liked her, and he liked her. It confused him to think about what the kiss was about. Why did she kiss him? Did she like him? If she liked him, why did she run away? He finally got tired of thinking and went to his father. He was at the top of a ladder in the front yard, struggling with a tangled cord of Christmas lights. "Dad," he called up the ladder. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Jamie, hang on a sec," James said. He tossed the lights on the roof and descended the ladder. "What's up?"

Jamie looked down. "You know Rosy?"

"Yes." James' eyes lit up. "You like her, don't you?"

"Yea. I need to tell her."

"Call her up. Women like that," he advised.

Jessie had pulled up in the Passat. "What do you know about women," she asked from the driveway.

Sensing an argument, Jamie slipped away. He grabbed the phone and headed up to his room. He looked up Rosy's phone number in his book and dialed it. The phone rang, but no one answered. He threw the phone on his bed and flopped next to it. "I know, I'll go to her house," he said, jotting down her address. "Mom, I need a ride to New Bark Town," he announced as he pounded down the stairs. "Can you take me?"

Jessie tied on her apron. "Not a chance," she said. "The Neumans are coming for dinner tonight. I have no time. If you can get back before dinner, ask your father. But if you can't make it for dinner, you're not going anywhere."

He charged out the door into the yard, where his father was setting up plywood reindeer. "Dad, can you take me to New Bark Town, please," he pleaded.

"No can do, kiddo," he said, wrestling the deer into place. "I've got too much here."

"Man," he said, sitting on the fence.

"Why don't you take the bus," James suggested. "Here." He dug in the pockets of his parka and came up with a handful of change. "Be back before dinner, or else we're both dead."

"Thanks, Dad," he called, running to the bus stop. In no time, the bus came, and he was in New Bark. He searched for Birch Lane. "There it is!" He walked down Birch to Rosy's house. Something hard hit his back. He turned around to see Dallas Oak, son of Gary Oak and a classmate of his at the Tech, hurling stones at him. "What are you doing," he asked, shocked. "Quit it!"

"Go back where you belong," Dallas called. "Your kind isn't welcome here."

What the hell is he talking about, Jamie thought.

More stones flew. "I said, leave," Dallas threatened. Jamie ignored him and walked to Rosy's front door. He knocked. Rosy's father answered.

"Hi, Mr. Ketchum," he said. "My name's Jamie Fauntleroy. I go to school with Rosy. Is she here?"

"No, I'm sorry," Ash said. "She went shopping with her mother. Can I leave her a message?"

Jamie turned away. "No thanks," he muttered. "Merry Christmas, sir." Jamie raised his eyes to see a gang of boys headed by Dallas Oak before him. They formed a circle around him, taunting him. "What? You think Rosy Ketchum likes you," Dallas said. "If her father knew who you really were, he wouldn't let her see you. Ever." They threw more stones at him.

"Hey," Ash yelled out the window at them. "Get out of here, you punks! Leave that kid alone. I'll call every one of your mothers."

"Too bad, Fauntleroy," Dallas said, tripping him as he passed. "It would have been fun kicking your ass." They ran away.

"Are you okay," Ash asked Jamie. Jamie shook his head and ran to the bus stop, tears streaming from his cheeks. What do they mean, his mind screamed as the bus lurched through the streets.