Chloe sighed as she opened up messages on her phone. It had been a week, now, since the fight with her best friend, Stacey. Or used-to-be best friend, Chloe thought as she frowned at her phone.

It was a normal school day, the day before winter break. Stacey and Chloe were eating lunch, when Stacey suddenly started bragging about what she was going to do during the break. “Oh my gosh. My mom promised to take me to the mall. I’m definitely getting some new Nikes there. I’m probably going to Lululemon, too. We’re going to eat lunch at a fancy French restaurant, and I’m also going to France the next day. We’re going to spend the entire week there! It will be so fun!”

Chloe, who didn’t really care about Lululemon or Nike, said, “Ok, we get it. You’re just bragging now.” She didn’t really mean it to be a harsh comment, but Stacey looked at her and gasped, as she dramatically fell on the floor.

“I… I thought I was your friend…” Stacey whimpered as she tried, but failed, to fake-cry. “Why are you suddenly so… mean to me?”

“Actually, Stacey, you’re the one who’s being kind of weird,” Chloe stated as she stood up, staring at Stacey on the ground. “You keep on saying you hate braggers and people who only think about themselves. But, who do we have here? A bragger. A person who only wants to talk about themselves. A girl who is a complainer, when she does the exact same thing as someone ‘she hates so much that she can’t survive!’” Chloe panted as she glared at Stacey. “You’re such a drama-queen. Be tougher! You feel like you are, but you’re not. Stop crying! You can’t just wait until someone feels sorry for you. You can’t depend on other people. You have to make the decisions. So there!” All those words tumbled out of Chloe’s mouth, before she could stop herself.

Stacey looked at Chloe. Chloe stared back. Stacey mumbled out, “Are you… mad at me?”

Chloe sighed in disbelief. “I’m not mad at you. Sorry, I might have said too much,” Stacey smiled, happy to know that all Chloe didn’t mean what she just said. “But,” Chloe said, “I don’t feel sorry for saying that you’re a bragger, because you… Kind of are. Sorry. That’s the truth.”

Stacey looked at Chloe, but then turned away. Chloe knew she said too much. She should have worded it differently, but her emotions just took control. There was no going back now. Chloe gathered her stuff, and left Stacey lying in despair on the ground.

That was it. No texts from Stacey since that day. “Maybe that was our last day together…” Chloe sometimes thought. But she knew she couldn’t end it like this. What could she do? Texting “sorry” wasn’t enough. Chloe groaned. “What is wrong with me…” Chloe murmured as she tossed her phone on her bed. Then, there was a knock on the door.

“Chloe? Do you want some hot coco?” Chloe’s mom asked as she peered into the room. “Sure,” Chloe grunted. Then, she remembered. Stacey loves hot coco. Wherever she went, she would always drink hot coco. She would feel better when she had a glum day. She would cheer up so much, you would forget that anything bad had happened. Those days were just so fun…

Then, an idea appeared in her head, like a lighting bulb suddenly lighting up. All the fun times Chloe had with Stacey swirled around her head. Chloe knew what to do. She grabbed her phone and texted Stacey. “Hey, do you want to drink some hot coco with me after you’re back from France? Please text me back ASAP”

Chloe placed her phone on the table, as she skipped to the living room for her hot coco.

As Chloe sipped on her mom’s homemade-hot-coco, she called to her mom, “Hey mom! Can you teach me how to make the hot coco?” “Sure, why?” Her mom replied. “Oh, I just want to make it for Stacey, so I want to practice!”

It will be okay, Chloe told herself. I got this.