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class.
    In the hallway Mark said, “So, it’s almost Thanksgiving. What does your family do?”
    His question surprised Jasmine . She had forgot ten that Thanksgiving was coming. In their house, the joy of the season w as always oversh adowed by the sorrow of losing M om close to the holiday. For the last few years all she could remem ber were microwave dinners and D ad camped out in front of the television watching football.
    Jasmine pushed away the sting of thinking about her mom being gone and answered as truthfully as possible. “We don’t usually do anything for Thanksgiving.”
    Mark was shocked. “Really? Our place is always a mad house of people and chaos with kids everywhere. ”
    Jasmine’s Thanksgivings used to be that way as well. She remembered the holidays fi l led with people, music, laughter and fun. They would go to M om’s parents’ house where Jasmine and her cousins would play and run all day. On the drive home she would fall asleep and D ad would carry her up to her bed. Or if her dad was stationed too far away, several families from base would arrange a pot-luck. Just like the dinners at her grandparent s’ house, the event always over flowed with people, laughter and fun.
    She pulled her self back to the moment. “That sounds like a lot of fun. I ’m glad your family celebrates the holiday.”
    “Yeah. I am , too.” He was quiet for a minute so she glanced at him. He looked thoughtful.
    They near ed the locker room. “Well, I better hurry and get dressed for Dance Class . See you later?”
    “Sure. See ya! ” Mark replied with a charming smirk before continuing toward his next class .
    Jasmine’s knees melted at the sight of his dimple. She leaned against the door as her knees grew weak. It opened under the pressure of her weight and she minced steps backward into the locker room with a goofy smile on her face. If her feet touched the ground as she walked to the cubby wherein she kept her dance clothes, she was unaware.
    Jasmine withdrew to her thoughts during dance. She should have been paying better attention since the teacher was explaining what they were doing after the break but Thanksgiving wouldn’t leave her mind. It was only a few days away and it didn’t seem right that she would not be doing anything for the holiday.
    Her m om used to be the leader of the holiday celebrations. Without her, Thanksgiving and Christmas were flat, dull and empty. Now that she was growing up, maybe it was time for her to don her mom’s proverbial shoes and make the holidays a little brighter again. S he could honor her mom’s memory instead of hiding from it all the time. Her d ad might not be interested in celebrating but she could take her fate and happiness into her own hands.
    R esolved, she returned focus to dance class .. . just as the teac he r blew her whistle and told the class to hit the showers.
    Jasmine headed to Family Development and thought about what she could do to celebrate Thanksgiving. She felt certain she couldn’t tackle a turkey yet. That was a little above her level in cooking. Maybe she could have Yumi over. She and Yumi could make turkey sandwiches , and watch a movie , or just talk.
    Jasmine sat in her seat and felt centered enough to talk to Honorio.
    She turned to face him and she even smiled. “Good after noon Honorio. ”
    “Good afternoon , Jasmine . ”
    She put her books on the desk in a neat pile. As s he sat up straight and waited intently for t he teacher to begin his lesson, s he could feel him looking at her . A glance out of the corner of her eye verified it .
    She turned to acknowledge his stare. “Yes?”
    “We need to discuss your father’s request . ”
    Her anxiety over Thanksgiving completely overshadowed her dad wanting Ho norio over for dinner. What a nightmare ! Things were finally starting to bud with Mark and she had to pretend to be dating someone else again. S he decided to figure out how to simplify her life. Juggling a budding