"I've gotten sessions booked for the rest of the year, so that's not something we need to worry about. I still have a few new applications that I'm going to sort out for the start of 2014," Lottie informed me. We were advancing through the halls on our way to Happy Homeroom in the winding down of the workday with Lyle following close behind. "I was hoping to announce that we would start having multiple available sessions during the day after so long of providing this activity, but unfortunately, we're not quite there yet."

I reached back in my memory for the first sessions of Happy Homeroom, a time when we didn't have the faintest clue how much success would find us with the project. It had been announced in initiation in early March seven months ago but wasn't officially launched until the twenty-fifth. Truthfully, I had been anticipating a different result by this point as well, but progress couldn't be rushed.

"I've started preparing for event sessions, which I'd say is worth noting," Lottie went on. "You'll be leading those, of course. It's directed in the same way as the ones you've seen me run, so it would be very similar to that, just that you will become the host instead of me. I think you're going to do great. Are you nervous at all?"

"No," I answered truthfully. After seven months of daily sessions, I had a firm grasp on the concept of the activity. Taking initiative was a skill that I'd mastered over time. Leading an event session was about to be a piece of cake.

"That's wonderful. I'm so glad to hear that!" Lottie replied brightly. We rounded a corner, nearing the path that would bring us to the doors. "I received an application from a participant named Jack who wants to do a Halloween special. I've set that up for a week from now on the thirtieth on the day before. He will be presenting his own holiday theme, so choosing a theme from the selection won't be necessary. Other than that, I believe that's everything you'll need to know."

We turned the last corner, emerging into the hallway that led right to the doors of Happy Homeroom. At first, we continued on in silence, steps moving in almost pure sync in the hurry to pursue the change in schedule, before Lottie spoke again.

"Oh, by the way, I was curious about something," Lottie said, her gaze darting to meet mine beside her. "I haven't heard anything from or about Isabelle since your massive fight with her last month. Is everything all right between you now?"

Right. I had pushed the thought of Isabelle out of my mind since the last time we spoke. We hadn't spoken over the phone any time afterwards, but that was for a number of reasons. After I had snapped at her, I hadn't received word from her at all and appeared to have finally succeeded to some extent to get her to leave me alone, but that was just from any other phone than the one set up in the break room. As for that phone, I wouldn't be hearing from her now that I'd unplugged it from the wall.

"I don't really like talking about it," I admitted.

"Oh, that's fine. I'm sorry," Lottie apologized. "I suppose I didn't consider that it would be a difficult topic. I think you might just need something new to think about for a while."

I followed Lottie as she thrust her way through the doorway into the room with Lyle entering directly after me. First emerging into the room, a change in the layout of the room instantly caught my eye—Small orange lights now dotted the tops of the walls, hung for the current Halloween holiday season, as the holiday was eight days from now. The new lights encased the room in a cozy fashion as the three of us made our way for the judgment table for the afternoon.

We each settled down into our chairs to prepare for the session to begin. As Lottie began to fiddle with her remote to set up for the virtual activity, my gaze snuck around the walls again, following the line of round orange lights, and a glow sunk onto the polished wooden floor in front of us as the screens were put to life. My eyes squinted to adjust to the sudden change, watching the words materialize onto the massive screen at the front welcoming us to the activity of Happy Homeroom.

"We've got a few things in particular to note today," Lottie pointed out, setting down her remote on the table to lift the paper application in front of her with her paws to proceed in scanning through it. "The applicant states that she is familiar with the procedures of Happy Home only through her parents but has never made interaction herself. She says that both of her parents have attended several initiations as well as some lessons and feels that she has grasped a general knowledge of our practices from what she's heard. She hasn't made a specific request for a theme and will be choosing from our selection. Additionally, she wishes to use the entire hour in order to receive the information and education she desires and further her knowledge in the art of interior design."

Lottie silently glanced through the information on the sheet before she set it down again. She gave the remote another press of a button, holding it down for a moment before she released it to lean in to her microphone next to her tablet.

"Let's see Goldie, please," Lottie requested into the microphone.

It took a few moments for a response to make itself clear. Quietness stretched on as Lottie eased back into a comfortable seat in her chair, but my focus had found its way to the front doors where applicants entered from the waiting room. After a pause, the doors were pushed open from the other side, providing a cautious entry for a yellow golden retriever dog in a pale green and yellow tweed dress who must not have been much older than me.

"Hello," the yellow dog, evidently called Goldie, greeted lightly as she drifted into the room. Her eyes, round and caramel-brown, darted to examine every inch of the room as if trying to burn it into her memory with a bright interest, and I noticed a darker yellow patch over her left. "Wow, what a beautiful place! I love how you've decorated for the holiday. Is there a specific place I'm supposed to stand?"

Her voice was soft and faintly sweet, almost like the audible form of honey. Something about the sound and the reserved, yet unbothered atmosphere she carried with her into the room laid the grounds for an unusual vibe. Pleasant, but unusual. I couldn't quite place it. Whatever it was, I was significantly drawn to it instantly.

"Anywhere in front of the screen behind you should be fine," Lottie replied politely, extending her paw to show Goldie where to stand.

Goldie whirled around to face the lit screen as if just discovering it for herself before stepping to stand closer in front of it. "Is this right here okay?" she inquired respectfully, stealing a glimpse back at the judgment table as she inched awkwardly into her place in front of the screen.

"That would be great," Lottie told her. "Do you know how to begin the activity?"

"Yes, I think so. I've prepared by watching a few of the former sessions to inform myself on what it looks like and how it gets done," Goldie admitted, gazing up at the screen in front of her for a couple seconds as she distractedly passed one paw over the other in thought before she turned back fully to face the judges at the table. "Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself yet. My name is Goldie. I apologize for my rude entrance, woof. I must admit that my head has been all over the place recently. I'm officially moving out of my puppyhood home to live on my own tomorrow."

"Well, that's certainly an ambitious adventure! I wish you all the best of luck on your journey," Lottie replied brightly. "You seem so young to be moving out on your own, if I may guess so. How old are you?"

Goldie's face seemed to light up at the question. "Oh, I'm turning eighteen in December!" she answered.

This perked up my attention quickly. So we had something in common.

"It's not as ambitious as it might seem, though, unfortunately," Goldie went on. "I've been to the town countless times before, staying in the public campsite they have set up over there. Tomorrow is when I begin my permanent stay, so this was the last opening for this activity I was able to apply for."

I'd begun to notice a unique articulation in the sound of her voice as well for the longer time that she spoke. Most animals were careless in the way they spoke, while she seemed careful and precise with every word. Anything she said sounded like it was taken out of some profound poetry book—I could have listened to her soft voice for hours. A warm emotion much like comfort stirred in my chest.

"Then I'm glad you could stop by before your trip!" Lottie said, though my focus was on Goldie.

"I'm happy to be here!" Goldie agreed cheerfully, but didn't let the lighthearted conversation drag on any longer as she faced the tall screen again to begin the activity at last.

I watched her as she reached up, knowing exactly what she was doing before any of us needed to say a thing, and tapped the screen gently with her paw. The original greeting message swiped out of sight at the top, transforming the blank image to the starting template of an empty wooden room. She really had done her research beforehand.

"I'm sure you've seen this in previous sessions, but here you'll find a selection of templates to use," Lottie explained. Goldie tossed another gaze over her shoulder to look back at her. "Please swipe through and choose one that you like."

"Sure! Thank you very much," Goldie replied, happily turning her attention back to the screen to explore the templates.

Goldie hardly spent a minute swiping through the template examples, seeming to have something in mind from the very start. After glancing over a few of the first examples, she quickly found a clear decision on a wood-based interior, bathed in sunlight with shelves decorating various heights of the walls for books or other items. A less common option—Someone had even claimed it to be boring once. She pressed her paw over the image nearly as soon as she had laid eyes on it, offering another joyful remark of how lovely the interior appeared, and white option-bubbles scattered along the screen as the activity was launched.

"You may begin whenever you're ready," Lottie instructed from beside me, but Goldie's focus was already bouncing between the bubbles that had appeared, fascinated by her abundant choices. "Please take all the time that you need."

"Thank you, woof!" Goldie said again. She reached up towards the screen, tapping a bubble that was set over a short shelf on the right wall at eye level and carefully scrolling through the visual selection of flowers in flower-pots after it had popped into sight. "I remember a few tips that were given in some recent lessons that I'll be keeping in mind. A little variety goes a long way and a good design provokes the emotion of intention."

And just like that, Goldie was completely absorbed in the world of her own imagination. She chose a pot of yellow, fuzzy flowers to sit on the shelf under the window and slowly began to work her way across the remainder of the screen, allowing for both light and dark wood furniture in their places along the floor. The soft piano music had faded out shortly after she had begun, however, ending with one song and transitioning into the next, but it was near the start of the next one that I took notice of something. She was humming, a gentle, happy sound, and paid no attention to the world around her as she moved thoughtfully along the screen with a sweet melody that followed the tune as if there was nothing else that mattered to her.

I had never felt this way before. My heart thumped heavily in my chest as I watched her in her careful work, all words shriveling into nothing in this situation. Thoughts crashed through my head as I desperately tried to make some sense of what I had suddenly and unexpectedly just stumbled into. Why was this happening right now? Where was this coming from? The melody she hummed just several feet in front of me was locked into my head, dancing with the realization that had fallen upon me in a single moment, questioning and questioning again whether it could have been true. I hadn't had the faintest idea that a crush could come so quickly, but then again, I'd only ever heard of crushes before now. Was that really what this was?

The room was a bit brighter than it had been when I had first entered as Goldie implemented her final plant on the opposite end of the room, a short stash of white flowers in a tan-colored flower-pot that she placed upon a dark wood dresser. My stomach swam with a fluttery, tingly sensation as she retreated to quietly study her well-composed work, and I probably couldn't have managed to say anything if I tried. Goldie only took a few seconds of silence, examining the screen in front of her as her yellow tail swayed slowly side to side in consideration, but then she turned around to face the table. My heart instantly plunged into my stomach.

"I hope it doesn't look too distracting with the different types of wood," Goldie said, offering a shy and sheepish smile. "I was trying to create a sort of duality. I suppose I didn't really consider how it could be viewed in ways other than the original intention I was going for."

"I understand where you're coming from with your concern, but I promise that you have nothing to worry about," Lottie assured her. I nearly jumped in my seat as she spoke up from my left, having almost forgotten that she was still there at all. "Are you ready to receive your results, or would you like a bit more time to look over your work?"

"Oh, no, I'm done. You can go ahead." Goldie folded her paws in front of her, politely waiting for her results.

"Sure, no problem," Lottie replied. "I think you've designed your room incredibly well. The different types of wood actually makes for a pleasant balance, in my opinion, so I'm quite fond of your approach. Variety is indeed always a good objective to strive for and you've managed to capture the right amount of variety and it's able to hold my attention. The flowers were also a nice touch. It adds a bit more realism to the space, I feel. To be honest, I'm surprised that this is your first time designing. I think you've earned ninety points from me."

Lottie entered the score from her tablet in front of her, causing a chime from the results screen on the right as it was submitted as ninety points under her name. Below the score start plastered the declaration to receive 230 points to pass the activity. It was a higher requirement minimum than most of the templates in the roster.

Oh, it was my turn. All of a sudden, my stomach was churning as if something was aggressively stirring its contents and I gave a weak clear of my throat to conceal how nervous I had become.

"Right, well," I began, but my mind had been wiped clean. What in the world was I meant to say? Every pair of eyes in the room had fallen on me, stretching every moment into a million, and Goldie's patient smile was unwavering. "I also think it looks great. Fantastic, even. You're a very talented designer. The duality you were trying to go for is definitely there and I think it was executed perfectly. This is one of the best designs I've seen yet. I hope you continue to pursue a future in designing."

Yikes, that was hard to get out. I held my tongue and ducked my head, instead directing my attention towards entering a score. I adjusted the numbers on the roster in front of me, heightening them according to the result that floated in my mind, and listened to the ding as it fell onto the screen. One hundred twenty points. All she needed to pass was twenty points from Lyle, and that was a score lower than his usual range.

Lyle shifted in his seat, reaching his arm back to offer a gentle, encouraging pat on my back as if he knew that I was flustered and was telling me everything was okay. "Well, that's certainly one way to put it," he remarked, keeping the mood light as he withdrew his arm again. Goldie continued to listen intently, anxiously awaiting her final score as she absentmindedly gripped her paws together again. "Goldie, I agree that you've got a lot of talent and a good eye for interior design. I appreciate the fact that you educated yourself on the most common tricks and mistakes before you came here today. Education and research are two of the things I value most in life, so that's what stands out to me the most as well as it makes a clear impact on your performance. Incredible work today. I'd say you nailed it. I'm giving you forty-five points."

Lyle entered his score from the tablet in front of him, lifting his head just as the double digit number dropped into place on the right side of the screen. Lottie must have submitted the final score directly afterwards as the image on the screen and the lights that peeked behind it flicked into a different appearance. A short, few-note celebratory ring escaped from the screen as the light flashed a dark and rosy pink, surprisingly distinct against the pale pink walls they bled onto, and words surfaced on the image.

SUCCESS

Excess of 15 points

"Congratulations, Goldie," Lottie declared brightly. Goldie's face immediately seemed to light up again, this time with surprise, and her caramel eyes widened as they darted to look up at the screen. "You've passed the activity. An invitation will be mailed to your new home in case you'd like to return another day for a more difficult challenge. If you would, please see me before you leave to provide me with that address. Of course, you've requested to utilize this entire hour, and since our time has not yet reached its end, you won't be required to leave until that time arrives. Is there anything you had in mind to spend the rest of this time? Would you like a few more tips, or perhaps to apply for a second session right away?"

Goldie had begun to wander closer to the results screen that announced her success while Lottie was speaking to her. She seemed stunned by the fact that she'd received enough points to pass, slowly taking in the situation as the seconds crawled by. Her gaze lingered to examine the screen before a beaming smile flooded over her face.

"Wow, I did it," Goldie realized softly to herself. Suddenly, a dull ache pinched my cheeks from smiling for so long, but it was then that I knew it wasn't whatever fake personality I had tried to put on—That was me. You did it.

After taking in the information for herself, Goldie stepped to spare a glance at Lottie at the judgment table again.

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I'm just really happy," Goldie admitted. "Sharing something I've created with others is something unfamiliar to me. Seeing that it's worth something means so much to me. This is a big moment for me."

"That's no problem at all," Lottie assured her. "We're here to help you achieve the outcomes you wish for, no matter what they may be. That's something we will always stand for here at the HHDA. I remember that you said you wanted to further your knowledge on designing, so I'd be happy to teach you a few more techniques, if you'll allow me just a few minutes to take down some notes on the session."

"Oh, sure, absolutely! Take your time, woof," Goldie answered.

While Lottie jotted down notes at the bottom of the application sheet, Goldie was patiently standing in front of the screen. She didn't move much except to occasionally shift her weight between her feet, eyeing the virtual space that she had decorated and appearing satisfied with what it had brought her. Just the smile on her face in such a fashion that she didn't even seem to realize it was there made me all the more fond of her.

What was meant to happen when all of this was done and she would leave? I didn't want to let something like this go. I could see her by my side for many months to come just to have a chance to cherish her. I could see us delighting in the little moments, the ones that made us closer without so much as realizing it. Moments like running through the rain without caring that we were drenched and just happy to be together, like dancing with one another as if we were the only animals in our own little world, like sitting under the infinity of stars and getting lost in constellations of the night. This was special and she meant more to me than a quick visit in a short activity.

But I could only sit and watch her, or rather, the back of her head, as she reviewed her work. I had to say something, at least. The right words didn't come to me immediately, so I stalled. A few times, my gaze drifted up to the clock high on the left wall—Creeping past three twenty-five—Or around the string of orange lights. The scratching of Lottie's pen against the paper accompanied the tranquil piano tune for the next minutes and time slowly slipped away from me.

A set of eyes lingering on me seemed to burn into my soul before it occurred to me that I was being watched. I turned my face to sneak a glance to my right, noticing and confirming that Lyle was already looking at me as if waiting to catch my attention. I waited for him to say something, but he didn't, instead quietly examining me from behind his thick glasses. It was like he was trying to tell me something, or trying to get me to realize something myself.

After a moment, I grew restless like I was sitting around while there was something I was meant to be doing, and I found myself easing up to my feet from my chair at last. Goldie still had her back to me as I inched around the table to make my way towards her, heartbeat dancing in the case of my chest with every step I took. A little anxiety was nothing more than an old friend to me by now and I had mastered the skill to conceal it, so this couldn't have been any different.

"Well, hello again! I know you know me already, but I just thought I'd leap on the opportunity to introduce myself," I greeted her confidently, and she turned on her heel to face me as I was speaking, dark eyes shining with a piqued curiosity. After she had turned, I reached out to slip my paw around hers, gripping it firmly so that she couldn't feel me trembling, and raised her paw to offer a light kiss on the back in welcoming.

"Oh!" Goldie blurted out at this in surprise, but I felt no tug from her as I returned her paw and straightened to my full height. She quickly appeared to recover from this, regaining her smile by the time I met her gaze as a small giggle escaped her. A smile crept over my face again. I'd made her laugh. "I do know you, Digby."

The sound of Lottie's writing had since stopped as we continued to converse. "I really did enjoy spending this time working with you," I told Goldie, then added in a sort of playful manner, "Well, the last twenty minutes, that is. Maybe we could make arrangements to spend more time outside of the activity, if you're available. Is there a way I could see you again? It doesn't have to be anything big or exciting. Whatever you would like."

"Unfortunately, I don't have all that much time to hang out," Goldie admitted. "I have a flight off of the island early tomorrow morning to move out into my new home. I wish I could say yes, but the plan is already set in place."

"What about tonight?" I inquired. "This is the last event of my workday. I could come and visit you this evening before you leave in the morning. Does that sound like something you'd like?"

Goldie offered a sheepish, apologetic smile. "I don't have time tonight either, actually. I haven't finished all of my packing yet and should probably get that done before it's too late. It serves me right for procrastinating, I suppose," she said. "I might come back to the HHDA someday to take you all up on your offer for a challenge, but besides that, this visit is all that I had time for and all I had in mind. So, unless you want to spend the evening helping me pack..."

Goldie had begun in a joking tone, toying with the fact of her ill-favored mistake, but her voice faded out. She had found something of interest over my shoulder behind me, distracted from the conversation we were sharing. I stole a glance back over my shoulder towards the judgment table to realize that Lottie had been watching us, but the moment she saw that we knew, her gaze instantly dropped back to her paper as if she hadn't seen us at all, thick eyelashes fluttering slightly as she silently blinked at the information.

"Hold that thought, okay?" Goldie said gently before she swept past me to reach the table, dropping the conversation as it stood.

Lottie heard Goldie approach as she stepped up to the table, raising her head again to offer a bright smile. "Hello, Goldie," she greeted her. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for accepting my application to come here today," Goldie replied. "I'm so happy to be here and I'm definitely going to remember this day."

"Well, I certainly hope that you'll be back another day!" Lottie remarked. "We've enjoyed having you here."

"I really hope to be. I had a great time here," Goldie told her. "Once I receive the invitation in the mail, is it the same application process, or is there something different I would need to do the second time around? I'm a bit new to all of this."

"Oh, no worries!" Lottie assured her, politely folding her paws on the table in front of her as she peered up at Goldie past her tablet. "You wouldn't need to reapply at all, if that answers your question, since with your first application you're already in our system. You would just need to resubmit with your signature to verify and the days that you're available. After that, you'd get a second letter in the mail informing you when your session takes place. Oh, we can begin our discussion whenever you're ready. I've finished up the notes I need to take. Thank you for waiting."

"Thank you as well, for helping me with my understanding of the topic! It's very thoughtful of you to walk me through this. I appreciate it so much," Goldie said happily. "By the way, you're very pretty, woof!"

Lottie gave a slight start at this, evidently not expecting such a compliment, but quickly broke down into a fluster nonetheless. "Well, um... Thank you, Goldie," she replied, reaching up to awkwardly pat away wisps of hair that had managed to escape her tightly-pinned bun, seeming self-conscious yet pleased at the statement. "I think that's very kind."

The procedure of the remainder of the time had become significantly more flexible as Lottie and Goldie grouped near the screen to discuss techniques for designing, Lyle was seated at the judgment table to wait for the session to end, and I was left on my own. I had nothing more to do here, but I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to be near Goldie, so I kept myself busy switching between seating myself in my chair at the table to wait and wandering around the room as if I was actually doing something, subtly trying to catch her eye. The phone rang once while I was drifting through the room, sending a slice of panic through me, but it was only a customer hoping for answers about the opening and closing times of the building.

It was just a couple minutes past three forty when the discussion began to wind down. I had been straying along the right wall when Lottie and Goldie broke conversation to spare glances up at the clock, and I lingered to see if they were wrapping up at last. After exchanging a few more words of discussion, it was then that Goldie started off towards the back door again to leave, offering a final polite wave to me on her way out.

Another smile found its way to my face as she pushed her way through the doorway, disappearing from the room. Even though I could no longer see her, I could predict easily that she would have been on my thoughts for a long time to come. The past events we shared continued to work their way through my mind, memories etching into my being, but what held the most lasting influence was her personality, certainly unique without doubt. In fact, the wish to be with her was not the only feeling that had stuck with me, but an urge tugged at me to become more like someone quite like who she had proved to be—Kind, gentle, patient, everything I was working to be. We all needed to be a bit more like Goldie.

And so, even though she was gone, I was happy.

Goldie never did come back to Happy Home after that. Countless faces followed the event of her brief visit, but hers was not among them. She was off living her best life somewhere while I was here, able to do nothing but think of her. And I did think of her, frequently recalling the short period of time when I had known her. We had never been meant to be, with her being destined to set off on a journey of her own and me being on my own path, nothing but a forbidden connection, but she crossed my mind no less.

For a while, regret wrenched me for forgetting to ask for a way to contact her while she was away, in case she would want to contact me, but the feeling faded as acceptance surfaced. For days afterward, just the thought of Goldie spending time by my side and listening to the melody of her soft voice was enough to set my heart off into a quicker pattern as the kind of dream where one considers but drops the possibility of it ever becoming reality. But dreams didn't always last, and in this case, neither did my feelings for her. As October crept closer into November, I gradually let go of the way I once felt about her, but a part of me still listened to her voice which rang out in the back of my mind, patiently advising my thoughts and my actions to stay positive and patient, both in myself and others. My longing to see her had gone, but she never had.

October came to an end and brought the holiday of Halloween, which meant my first event session in Happy Homeroom. Jack was... Well, I wasn't entirely certain what Jack was. His face was completely covered as he wore a bulky pumpkin over his head, leaving me unsure what kind of animal or being he was at all, and his voice was so deep that it seemed to rumble through the room. But he was eager and enthusiastic, and the session was clearly one to remember. The activity ran smoothly with no setbacks as I supervised him decorating a screen of what appeared to be a spooky event-themed haunted house, and he even received a passing score and was eligible to return. By the time it was over, I had begun to wonder when I would perform something of that sort again.

November arrived in high spirits, but I still jumped every time the phone rang in Open Advisory. Isabelle hadn't reached out in months, and yet I couldn't get the thought out of my head of a call from her out of nowhere after our friendship came crumbling down. But as every week went by without a call, it gradually became more and more likely that she was gone, just like that. Not even Lottie had heard anything from her since she stopped contacting me. Nobody quite knew for sure what had happened; all of a sudden, she had just vanished. But if it would pull me through the dismay that sunk in me every time the phone rang without fail, then maybe it was better that way.

The first snow of the wintertime fell suddenly and generously a few days into December. Several days found me kicking through the ankle-deep blanket of glistening snow to get to work, bundled up in my puffy gray winter coat to fight the bitter chill as snowflakes fluttered down around me. The mornings were a biting and stinging cold now, but the evenings less so. I savored the warmth that I could get in a season like this, even as temperatures continued to plummet in the closing of the year.

The last time I had ventured through the snow to reach work every day was when I had first started out there back in February. The walk that brought me to the building under dim, cloudy skies and glowing streetlights constantly thrust me back ten months ago when everything had begun. I had come so far since then and had so many things to remember, though not everything was good. In two months, I would have been working at the Happy Home Designer and Academy for a full year. I was ready for so many more.

"You know, I've had so many unsatisfied customers come up to me recently," Lottie remarked. "More than usual, I think. Have either of you been having that problem as well? Some have even walked out on me and told me I'd lost a good long-term customer to the business."

The steam from my hot chocolate swirled up into the air in front of my face as I held the mug between my paws, heat pulsing between the two of them. Strings of glimmering red and green lights reached around the walls of the break room as Lottie, Lyle and I gathered together to enjoy mugs of warm hot chocolate for the chilly season after a successful session in Happy Homeroom. A few gatherings in the break room for a hot beverage had become common in the growing of winter. But at the moment, only Lyle and I sat around the table in our violet chairs with mugs in paws, sipping at our drinks as they slowly cooled. Lottie had abandoned her own mug on the table as she proceeded to examine the phone like she planned to make a call, but hadn't stated why exactly.

"I've had a few," Lyle replied from my right, pausing to take a long sip of his drink before casting a glance at Lottie. "But nothing significant like that. Did they tell you why they weren't happy?"

"Some did," Lottie said, briefly looking over her shoulder at her uncle before returning her focus to the phone to continue scrutinizing it. "I've heard some say that we don't respond to calls as much as we used to, or that they're more faced with voicemail a bit more frequently than before. Generally, they're hoping for more interaction for us to give. I just can't see why anything would have changed. We haven't done anything different. I was thinking that maybe the settings on the phones got messed up somehow."

Quietness settled in the room again. As I allowed myself a sip of my drink in the break in conversation, the lack of sound made clear the soft holiday music that crept throughout the space. Now that we were moving along in the month of December, it wouldn't be long before Toy Day arrived on the twenty-fifth, the holiday that animals longed for every year to receive presents under a festive decorated tree. We had set up a few trees at Happy Home in the most populous rooms, ones that shed tiny pine needles around the edges that would eventually need to be picked up as soon as the year came to an end, but those would have no gifts underneath them.

Minutes crept by without a word. I'd gotten settled falling into a routine of taking occasional sips of my hot chocolate as it shrunk in contents in the mug over time and trying to piece out the words of the quiet music when Lyle spoke up again to address me.

"So, your birthday's coming soon," Lyle pointed out, taking a small sip of his drink before he reached out to set the mug on the table across from Lottie's. "Any thoughts on that?"

I hadn't even considered that. I had been so caught up in the fact of the changing season and the upcoming holiday that it had completely slipped my mind that my own birthday was near. On the twentieth of December, I would be one year older than I could call myself now.

"Not much," I admitted.

Lyle shifted slightly in his chair to settle into a comfortable seat, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair. "Eighteen's a big number," he told me. "Big plans. And big responsibility, as well."

I gave a nod. "I know," I replied.

"I was your age when I graduated high school," Lyle said. "And right after that, I went on to seek higher education and study psychology. Have I told you that before?"

"It doesn't sound familiar," I confessed, raising my mug to allow myself another deep sip. My drink was cooler now and I could take bigger gulps without burning my tongue.

Lyle nodded slightly, considering this, and spoke again after a few seconds' pause. "Do you have any plans for your big day?" he inquired. "Anything special?"

"I didn't have anything planned," I explained. "My parents will probably have something in mind, but other than that, I wasn't really going to do anything different."

"Well, your parents are certainly ones to not let an important occasion slide, are they?" Lyle agreed.

I opened my mouth to reply, but the words were snatched from me as an audible gasp escaped from Lottie at the phone. She lurched forward, jolting her paw back between the phone and the wall as she appeared to be trying to fish something out. Concerned by the gasp, Lyle instantly glanced over at her again.

"What? What happened?" Lyle asked.

"The phone is unplugged from the wall," Lottie declared, withdrawing the cord that had been tugged from its outlet from behind the phone and holding it out for Lyle and me to see.

I nearly doubled over as my breath caught in my throat. She knew. With the evidence so clear and undeniable, there was no way I could slip out of this situation with a lie. But if I told the truth about what I had done, I could see Lottie's face darkening in anger from here.

"I think that might have been from me," I stammered through an explanation, sending both Lottie's and Lyle's attention back to me.

Lottie didn't answer at first. She had turned back to the phone, reaching her paw back behind it again to carefully plug the cord back into the wall. I anticipated an upset frown by the time she looked at me again, but when she turned to face me, that wasn't what I received.

"It's easy to get caught on the cord when you're in a hurry, isn't it?" Lottie said. A bright, understanding smile had plastered over her face. "If you notice that you've pulled it out of place, please be sure to put it back quickly, okay?"

. . .

If there was anything that this month had taught me so far, it was that the world might not have been out to get me after all.

There was nothing like the gradual end of the year and the wintry holidays that came with it, filled with glittering lights and a warm vibe, to bring a tingle of joy to my stomach. But this year, it wasn't the holidays that occupied most of my thoughts as December slipped away. I might not have had Isabelle to celebrate with this year and would surely feel something missing without her cheerful mannerism when handing out gifts when the time came, but I was not at a loss for company. I had Mom and Dad. I had Lottie and Lyle. We were such a close-knit group even outside of professionalism and the simplicity of being near them was enough to make me smile. I was already looking forward to spending the holidays with their presence. Maybe life was okay right now.

But before the holidays would come around, there was something different I needed to focus on. Big changes were coming my way, that was for sure. I didn't have the faintest clue what my new year would bring, but that was something I had yet to figure out. And it seemed I was about to do that very soon.

On December twentieth, 2013, I awoke eighteen years old.