Emily's Sleepover

Elle bounced down the stairs, lost in her own world. She dreamed of having a house with books that covered every single wall, and of the last day of school(which was the day after tomorrow) and the softball match next Saturday, with the Winners (the opposition) versus the Killer Bees (Elle’s team.) She was so enveloped in her thoughts that she didn’t notice she had opened the refrigerator and was trying to go inside, instead of going to the front door. Blushing and looking around quickly, she prayed no one saw and hurried outside, much more alert and much more red in the face.

“Hi, Mommy,” Elle said brightly.

“Hi, Sugar,” she said, looking up from the lilies she was planting. The sun hit her face and her face was illuminated, deepening her features. Elle gasped. Her mother had never looked so beautiful to her in her life. Regaining her composure, she said,

“ I just wanted to see what you were doing. I’m gonna go in now.”

“Wait, Popkin, can you do me a favor and go check the mail? It’s Sunday and the mailman should have arrived by now.”

“Kay, Mommy.” Elle walked toward the mailbox and opened it. She saw some boring white envelopes and an ad for a vacuum. Sighing, she had almost closed the mailbox before her eye caught something colorful wedged in the back.

“What-” she said and pulled it out. She gasped, her eyes lighting up. IT was an invitation to a sleepover! At Emily’s house! Elle’s heart leaped and a surge of excitement trickled through her. Emily was Elle’s best friend, and she had the nicest house. Elle simply couldn’t wait to be there. She ran towards the garden to tell her mom, the invitation clutched in her hand(the other mail lay forgotten in the open mailbox) Elle thought of what she might bring- a bag of chips, soda, books, her DS..oh and of course her favorite stuffed toy, Snuffles.

“Mommy, Mommy!” Elle yelled. “Look! Look!” Elle’s mother looked up and smiled.

“What’s this? Wow, a sleepover!”

“Yeah, and I’m going to bring books and my DS, and Snuffles..” Suddenly she heard snickering behind her. Elle turned and saw her big brother, Lucas.

“You’re ten and you STILL sleep with a teddy bear. Why don’t you bring some diapers and a pacifier? Oh, and don’t forget to wash your hands before you drink your milk...from a bottle!” Clutching his stomach, Lucas howled all the way to the house. Elle’s mom rolled her eyes.
“I’m SO gonna get him when I’m done,” she growled in an undertone. “But don’t worry, Elle, don’t listen to your big brother.” Elle nodded but inside felt ashamed. Inside she knew she wasn’t going to the sleepover.

  Elle dragged her feet into the house. She couldn’t go, she just couldn’t. What would Emily say? Maybe she would have the same reaction as Lucas. And sleeping without Snuffles was not an option. She had nightmares without him. But how would she tell this to her mother? Elle decided that she would fake a stomach ache. Her younger sister, Andrea, had the stomach bug, Elle could pretend that she had caught it from her. She walked back outside to her mother.

“Mommy, my stomach hurts a lot,” she whined, clutching her stomach, a grimace on her face. Elle’s mom felt her forehead.

“You seem fine,” she said. “Where is your stomach hurting?”

“Uuuuummmm,” Elle muttered.”Everywhere!” She put on a wince that she hoped looked genuine. Elle’s mom looked at her suspiciously.

“Elle..”

“Owwww!!” Elle moaned unconvincingly. Her mother looked intently at her, then put two and two together and a look of understanding passed through her face.

“You don’t want to go, do you?” She said quietly.

“N-n-nooo!” Elle wailed. “I d-don’t!” She took a deep breath. “Emily will call me a baby and make fun of me.”

“Now, now, none of that,” her mother said firmly. “Elle, Emily is your best friend. She would never make fun of you. If she does, she’s not your friend and you don’t have to care about what she says anymore.” Elle looked skeptically at her mother, but just then, the light caught her face, and she looked amazing, her dark mane of hair fluttering in the wind. She realized that her mother was the one person in the world that she could always trust.

“Ok, Mommy.”

    Elle trudged upstairs, feeling a bit better about the sleepover today. She was overcomplicating things in reality. If Emily made fun of Elle, then she could forget about being Elle’s friend. If Emily didn’t, then yes, they were still best friends, as they had been for the past 2 years. Elle ripped open her backpack and put the following things in:

1. Her sleeping bag
2. Her pillow
3. Her favorite book
4. Her colored pens and paper
5. Candy
6. Snuffles (at the very bottom)

She slung it over her shoulder and put on her slippers. Walking downstairs, she found her mom holding the door open, car keys in her hand.

“I’m ready.”

   Elle pulled up in front of the Davidson’s front yard. Emily was waving from the porch. Elle waved back, though not very enthusiastically. Elle’s mom gave Elle a kiss on the top of her head and Elle was off. As Elle neared Emily, she put down her bag and rummaged around. Emily was confused.
“What is it?” Elle found Snuffles and pulled him out.

“I brought my stuffed animal. I can’t sleep without him.” Emily got a funny look on her face, and Elle closed her eyes and braced herself for the end of two years of friendship. When it never came, Emily was gone. Elle was the baffled one now. What happened? Had Emily run off to laugh about it with her family? Elle turned around, but her car was gone. What should she do now? Fortunately,(or maybe the opposite) Emily was coming through the front door. She had something in her hand. It was a stuffed animal. A tag around its neck said “Lola.” Emily looked down at her feet, cheeks turning red.

“ I can’t sleep without her, either.

   Elle couldn’t believe it. Emily had one too? Emily was still looking at her feet.
“I thought you would make fun of me,” she mumbled.

“Me too.”

“You won’t, though, since you have one too, right?” And Elle realized something big.

“Even if I didn’t, I would still never make fun of you. Because you’re my friend.” And by the way Emily looked up and smiled, Elle knew that she understood.