A Pocketful of Miracles

By Lillie Bell, Alicia Blade, and Kaitlyn Fall

Chapter Fourteen

Andrew, Mina, and Lita stood behind the arcade's glass doors, watching the snow. The buildings across the way were hardly visible through the flakes. Drifts were piling up fast along the sidewalk, six inches deep at least.

Chewing on her thumbnail, Mina said, "So, where did Amy go again?"

"I think she went to look for that boy," said Andrew. "But that was over an hour ago."

Lita stretched her arms up then interlaced her fingers behind her head. "Maybe he kidnapped her. Maybe he's secretly part of some crazy cult that preys on brilliant but awkwardly shy girls, and right now he's taking her back to his dark lair for experimental brainwashing."

Mina and Andrew cast wary glances at Lita, who only shrugged.

Sighing, Andrew turned back to Mina. "And Raye was . . . ?"

"Working. And then she was going to go home and change, but even so, she should have been here by now."

"Maybe," said Lita, "there was a huge stampede at the mall for the last box of Zhu Zhu hamster toys and Raye got trampled and rushed to the hospital and she's taking her last breaths as we speak."

Mina felt a twitch developing at the corner of her eye. Ignoring Lita, she said, "And Serena was going to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, but I would have expected her here hours ago, too."

"And I think Darien was going back to the mall for her present," said Andrew.

Lita rocked back on her heels. "Maybe they met up at the mall and got caught in the snowstorm and right now their hiding out in some snowy trench and if it keeps blizzarding like this Serena's going to get really hungry and have to eat Darien to survive." When Andrew and Mina gave her incredulous looks, she said, "What? It could happen."

The door swung open, letting in a burst of cold wind and a flurry of snow. Amy and the boy rushed inside, both shivering.

Dusting snow from her hair, Amy beamed at the three friends standing before her. "I'm so sorry we're late," she said, not sounding sorry at all as she threaded her arm through the boy's. "Everyone, this is Scott. Scott, meet Lita, Mina, and Andrew."

They stared. They shook hands. Mina and Lita traded impressed glances. Before finally Lita noticed the guitar-shaped box slung over Scott's back. "Is that a guitar?" she asked.

"It is," he said, pushing his damp hair back from his face. "Amy said all you had was a horrible Christmas CD, so I thought this might be a welcome alternative. If that's all right?"

"That sounds wonderful," said Lita.

"Do you know any love songs?" gushed Mina, clasping her hands over her heart.

Scott scratched behind his ear. "Uh . . . yeah, a couple."

Mina and Lita sighed in unison.

Smiling nervously, Scott flexed his free hand. "Maybe after feeling returns to my fingers."

"For that, I think we could use a hot cup of cider," said Amy, deftly steering Scott between Lita and Andrew and heading toward the refreshments. "Oh, and Mina?" she said over her shoulder. "Nice earrings."

Watching them go, Mina reached up and fiddled with her heart-shaped matchmaking earrings. "Ha! They work every time."

"When have they ever worked before?" asked Lita.

Mina glared at Lita, that twitch returning, but before she could retort, the door breezed open again. Raye and Chad poured through, clinging to each other and laughing hysterically.

"Oh my goodness!" said Raye, her face cherry red as she gestured back to the snowfall. "Can you believe this?"

Three pairs of eyes locked on Raye and Chad's interlaced fingers.

"No," answered Lita. "No I cannot."

"Are you guys on a date?" asked Mina.

"You could say that," said Raye, smiling to herself as Chad helped her out of her jacket. "And if I hear a single 'I told you so,' someone is getting a candy cane down their throat."

Chad and Andrew laughed. The girls did not, knowing it wasn't meant to be funny.

"Chad, have you met Andrew?" Raye introduced them, then frowned as her eyes spotted the refreshments near the back. "Who's that?"

"That's Scott," said Mina. "His car broke down. He plays the guitar. And he seems to be Amy's soul mate."

Raye's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so? Well. That would explain the earrings. Come on, Chad, let's go put these presents under the tree."

Mouths agape, Mina, Lita, and Andrew watched them walk hand-in-hand to the tinseled Christmas tree.

"That was . . . unexpected," said Lita.

Mina shrugged. "I've known Raye was hiding her true feelings for ages. Just between us, I totally told her so."

"They make a cute couple," said Andrew, although his brow was crinkled with confusion. "But what do you suppose happened to those miracles?"

"Those what?" asked Lita.

"You remember, the little red box that tried to kill Ra—"

He was interrupted by a loud whistle of wind and a chill filling the arcade. The three of them turned to see Darien and Serena stomping snow from their shoes.

"Well, there you two are," said Andrew. "We were beginning to think you were snowed in somewhere."

"A blizzard couldn't keep us from your holiday party, Andrew," said Serena, unwrapping her scarf from around her neck.

"Where's your coat?" said Mina with some alarm, noticing Darien's chattering teeth.

He pointed at a stool by the counter. "Right there." He smiled hopefully at Andrew. "Coffee?"

"There's a pot ready to go," he said. "And there are cookies and cupcakes and chips and dip and—"

"Cookies!" squealed Serena and broke through her line of friends on a beeline for the food table.

Chuckling, Darien thrust his hands into his pockets and made to follow her. "Leave some for everyone else, Meatball Head."

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. Andrew quirked his eyebrows. "Were you able to get a gift for her?"

Grin widening, Darien shrugged his friend away. "As a matter of fact, I did." He nodded toward Mina. "Thanks for the suggestion, by the way."

"You mean—"

A coconut macaroon smacked Darien on the back of his head. Spinning around, he saw Serena by the food table, arms crossed. "Just because we're dating now doesn't mean you can call me Meatball Head!"

"Sure it does," he said, laughing as he went to give her a kiss on the cheek—a tactic that would never fail to put him back in her good graces.

Andrew, Mina, and Lita gaped around the arcade. Scott was sitting on the counter, tuning his guitar, while Amy flipped through a songbook. Raye was shaking a small wrapped box by her ear, guessing at its contents, while Chad watched on, beaming. Serena was piling treats onto a paper plate and squealing with frustration because Darien kept steeling truffles and popping them in his mouth.

"Now that," said Lita, "is a really weird coincidence."

Andrew shook his head. "No. That is a miracle."

I've got a pocketful of miracles.
But if I had to pick a miracle,
My favorite miracle of all is you and me.

END

Thanks for reading! Check out Lillie Bell's and Alicia Blade's fanfiction pages for more great stories.

Kaitlyn

xoxo