Kirsten and the New Girl (American Girl Collection)

Kirsten clasped Nora’s hand in hers. Now she remembered clearly that she had felt exactly as Nora did. How could she have forgotten? In her first days at school here she’d felt scared and trapped and homesick for Sweden. No one had seemed to understand her feelings. But her cousins had helped her in those difficult days. Kirsten knew how friendship could make sadness and confusion easier to bear.

So she leaned close to Nora and spoke both slowly and softly. “It might be hard right now, but every day will be a little easier. It just takes time. Soon you won’t feel like a new girl anymore. You’ll be one of us. At least, that’s how it was for me after we came here.”

Nora laced her fingers through Kirsten’s. “Did it really happen like that to you?”

“Just like that. But I had a lot of help from others,” Kirsten admitted. “Then one day, without exactly knowing how, I began to feel at home. You have to be patient. But you can believe me, Nora. You’ll be happy here if you don’t lose heart. You won’t, will you?”

“Oh, no, I won’t lose heart!” Nora shook her head so hard her braid swung.

“Do you feel a little bit better?” Kirsten asked. Nora nodded.