Holes in the fence

Birthday parties and sleepovers

Cathy PoV: I had to find the perfect gift for Anne! My mom had taken me and Anna shopping and I had pocket money saved up. So I wanted to use it to get the gift.
"Hey Cathy. Look" Anna says, bringing me to a display of best friend necklaces I gasp when I see the perfect ones. One was blue and one was green and they were shaped like crowns!
"Oh Anna! These are perfect!" I say, taking them and paying. I had money of my own that I'd saved. That one gift wasn't even enough! I also get her a green baseball cap and a card with a green dog and blue bear hugging. It was perfect! And I even had some money left over to save. Anna gets her some art stuff and my mom gets her some books. I'd made sure to tell them what Anne likes. When we get home, the presents are wrapped and I write the card using my best handwriting.
"Hey Cathy Mom says get ready it's almost time to head over!" Anna calls from outside and I quickly change. As quick as I can with a broken ankle anyways. I pull on what I was wearing the day we first met. My overall shorts, T-shirt and converse. By the time I'm ready, it's time to go. As we go up the driveway, an old man and woman get out of a car and look at us in confusion just as Anne runs out.
"Cathy! You came!"
"And what about us muffin?" The old lady chuckles and Anne turns around.
"Hi nana! Hi pop!" She says before turning back to me and giving me a hug.
"Miss Aragon? Can Cathy come for a sleepover tonight?" She asks and my mom smiles.
"If your mom says it's okay then it's fine by me. And you can call me Catherine!" She says and Anne smiles, helping me up her front steps.
"Mom! Miss- I mean Catherine said that If you say it's okay then Cathy can stay over!" She says and Jane comes out of the kitchen smiling.
"Well then it's perfectly okay with me!" She says and Anne whoops.
"Hear that Cathy? You get to stay over! We can have loads of fun" she says happily, jumping up and down. I giggle as I watch her and her grandparents chuckle.
"Well well. You must be a very special friend if Anne is this excited" her nana says with a smile.
"Yes I am ma'am" I say "well at least I hope she sees me as a special friend"
"Uh yeah I do! You're my most best friend in the entire universe!" Anne says happily.
"Well isn't that nice. What's your name dear?"
"I'm Cathy" I say shyly and Anne's grandparents smile.
"Well Cathy, we're Anne's grandparents and you can call us John and Margery" her nana, Margery, says with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you both" I say and Anne grins.
"They're like the coolest. No need to be super mannerly at all!" She says as everyone walks into the kitchen. Well I hobble but anyways... it was decorated really well. A whole green theme. We sit side by side for the dinner. And for cake. Then she starts opening her gifts. From her mom she gets a hand knitted green sweater, Kitty gives her a really cool green fluffy blanket, her grandparents get her a new bike and then she opens the stuff from me and my family. She thanks everyone and gives me a huge hug.
"We should take each other's colours. It's more friendish that way" she says and I nod.
"Yeah!" So i take the green and she takes the blue. The party goes on a little longer and soon everyone has to leave. Anna swings by and drops my stuff over. All the basics. Including pepper.

***

Anne PoV: "Mom Can we sleep downstairs so Cathy doesn't have to go up and down the stairs with her broken leg?" I ask and my mom nods, helping me get the living room set up.
"There we go. Did you have a nice birthday?" She says and I nod.
"Yeah! Thanks mom! You're the best" I say, hugging her tight.

Late that night

"I wish I could be a kid forever. Being an adult sounds so boring" I say as I draw pictures on Cathy's cast because she asked me to. She said she wanted a special touch to it and had seen some drawings I've done.
"But Anne! We get to do wayyyy more as adults. And you're seven now and I'm seven next month. We're technically adults" Cathy says and I giggle.
"Yeah! We technically are!"

August

Jane PoV: "Mom I gotta find the perfect gift for Cathy. Should I get her books? She loves blue. So maybe something blue. That's her favourite colour. Ohhhhhh I dunno what to do! Mom I need to find the perfect gift" Anne was running around non stop trying to figure it out. What to get her best friend.
"Anne you're getting repetitive with your words. Settle down lamb" I say, placing a hand on her head. She stops, takes a deep breath and then calmly walks over to a display. I'd noticed that she always repeated things when she was fretting about something and was trying my best to remind her about it to help her settle.
"Ooh what about this and one other thing?" She says, holding up a blue diary and pen set and then finding a really nice blue baseball cap just like her green one.
"There we go! She'll love them lamb" I say as she finds a card and pays with the pocket money she'd saved up. She was really excited for the party. I'd picked up a few books for her and Kitty had gotten her some sunglasses with blue frames. I buy Anne her own pair in green and she keeps them on her for the rest of the day.

***

Cathy PoV: It was almost time for my party. Anne and her family were coming and so were my grandparents. I couldn't wait. And Anne's mom said she could stay the night!
"Hey kiddo ready for your surprise?" Anna says, coming into my room. I'd been put in there because there was supposed to be a big surprise for me and I couldn't see it until it was ready. I follow her downstairs and she covers my eyes as we approach the back door and step outside. When she pulls her hands away, I gasp at the sight of a new trampoline. It was so cool!
"Whoa! Thanks you guys!" I gasp and Anna chuckles.
"That's just from mom! I got you something else" she says, walking back inside.
"Thanks for the trampoline mom! I love it!" I say and she smiles.
"You're welcome. There's also this. Me and jane decided we should put a side gate into the fence for you and Anne to go back and forth as you please" she says as Anne comes barrelling through the gate giggling.
"Happy birthday Cathy!" She squeals, running to hug me. I laugh and hug back as Jane comes over with Kitty.
"Hi guys. Happy birthday Cathy" she says as Anna finally walks out carrying a huge wrapped box.
"Here's the gift from me" she says, putting it down.
"Oh! I almost forgot! I got so excited that I left your gift in my kitchen!" Anne gasps, running back to her house and coming back with a glittery blue bag in her hands which she hands to me with a huge grin. She had lost her front two teeth a few days earlier in a battle with Henry when he took Pepper and started teasing me.
"I used a combo of pocket money and my tooth fairy money to get the present. I hope you like it" she says, poking her tongue through the gap, making me laugh. My mom was setting up the bbq with Jane and Anna was pushing Kitty on her swing of our shared swing set. I put the bag with the other gifts and look at Anne.
"Let's test out my new trampoline!" I say and she nods. We take off our shoes and climb through the entrance in the safety net around it. Probably a good idea that we had one because Anne falls after five minutes and hits the net while giggling.
"Anne! Are you okay?" I ask, helping her to her feet.
"Yeah! I'm okay!" She says happily as we hold each other's hands and jump in circles.
"Cathy! Your grandparents are here!" My mom calls and we stop jumping so we can go say hello.

***

Catherine PoV: I watch as my parents hand Cathy her gift and talk to her and Anne for a little, clearly proud that Cathy had made a friend that wasn't someone in the family.
"Mom, dad this is Jane" I say as they walk over to me and Jane. She was working on making burgers and I was doing some sausages for hot dogs or to eat alone. They talk to us about how the kids were getting on and eventually it's time for food. As I guessed, Anne and Cathy sit together, practically attached at the hip as they eat their food. Finally the time comes to open gifts. From Anna she'd gotten a bike, Jane had gotten her some books, Kitty got her sunglasses and Anne had gotten her a baseball cap, a diary and a pen. My parents had gotten her bike safety gear. Cathy thanks everyone and puts on her cap and sunglasses which matched the ones Anne had.

A few hours later

Anna PoV: Cathy was having Anne over to stay. In the past year, she and her family had become like family to mine. My mom had gone out to get snacks, leaving us with Jane and Kitty who was currently asleep with her head on my lap. She was a full 3 years younger than me but saw me as her best friend. And honestly? I liked having her as a friend. She was cheerful and fun unlike other kids my age. Especially that human poop stain Henry who broke my baby sisters ankle. What made me laugh though is that Anne is way tougher than him despite being a whole head shorter. She and Cathy were sitting cross legged on the floor very seriously planning a bike ride.
"But what if henry knocks me over?" Cathy asks nervously.
"Then I'll punch him until he cries!" Anne says and Jane shakes her head.
"Anne no punching"
"But what if I'm p..pro...Anna what's that word where it means someone makes me want to?"
"Provoked. And your mom's right. As much as punching him is satisfying, it's not a very nice thing. Besides. It won't be fair because he's not very strong like us ladies is he?" I say and Anne giggles.
"No he isn't!" She says, going back to her conversation.
"I'll go with them. Keep them in check. And Henry's scared of me anyways so they'll be totally safe" I say to Jane who smiles. Just then the door opens and my mom walks in.
"Phew. It just started raining when I got in!" She says, putting the food on the coffee table. Including a pizza. I love pizza. It's literally the best food ever.