A whole month had passed by, and now it was April 8th. The students were excited because next week was spring break, and many of them had vacation plans. Today, Zooey and Riley had new letters from their pen pals, though Violeta hadn't heard from Pedro yet.

"Oh, I can't wait until spring break," Zooey said. "I thought it would never get here."

"Spring break doesn't even start until this Friday at noon," Riley chuckled.

"What are you planning on doing, Zooey?" Violeta asked.

"My parents and I are planning on staying in Orchid City," Zooey said.

"I'm going to Santa Fe to see my granny," Riley chimed in. "What about you, Violeta?"

"I'm just going for a staycation," Violeta replied.

Becky was nearby, and she'd heard the conversation. "Aw, poor Violeta, you're stuck at home for the entire spring break—that's too bad," she teased.

"It's really not that bad, Becky," Violeta frowned.

Then Becky noticed the letters Riley and Zooey had. "Oh, look, you have letters," she said.

"They're from our pen pals," Riley said.

"Well, let's hear what they have to say," Violeta smiled.

Riley and Zooey opened their letters and read them carefully.

"Wow, Deshane is going to be the maid of honor in her cousin's wedding this May," Zooey gaped. "I can't wait to see a picture."

"Paulette says a new bakery opened in her hometown, and the sweets from there are merveilleuse," Riley said.

"Where's your letter from your pen pal, Violeta?" Becky asked.

"I haven't heard from him yet," Violeta said.

"Oh, dear, and it's already been a month since you sent him a letter," Marcy said.

"I do hope he hasn't forgotten about you," Becky teased.

"Thank you," Violeta said flatly. When the bell rang, she said, "Well, I'll see you in class." She went inside with her friends, leaving Becky disgusted.

"Becky and Marcy have a point, Violeta," Zooey said. "It's been a month since you sent Pedro that letter. Maybe he did forget about you."

"Zooey!" Riley snapped.

"Thank you, Zooey," Violeta said flatly. She wished Zooey and Becky would stop rubbing in the fact that Pedro hadn't sent her a letter yet.

The rest of the school day went by, and now it was time for dismissal. Just like every day, Violeta rode home on her scooter—and when she got home, she was in for a big surprise.

"Ah, mija, ya llegaste—look what came in the mail for you today," Guillermo smiled. He picked up a postcard and handed it to Violeta.

Violeta looked at the postcard to find a beautiful picture of butterflies with a bouquet of flowers, and she turned it over to read what Pedro had to say—and she was surprised.

Querida Violeta,

¿Cómo estás? I'm sorry I couldn't come to celebrate your Quinceañera, but I know just how to make up for that. It's been 10 years since we started writing letters to each other, and I think it's time for something new. I realized that your spring break is happening during Holy Week, which is when I myself have spring break. My parents and older brother thought this would be the perfect time for me to come and visit. Therefore, I'll be coming to Orchid Bay on April 11th to see you, and I'll be going back on the 19th. I really look forward to this. ¡Nos vemos!

Abrazzos,

Pedro

"Pedro is coming for Holy Week?" Violeta gasped.

"Oh, que bueno, mija," Guillermo smiled. "You're finally going to meet Pedro in person!"

Violeta was feeling a lot of emotions right now, but she was mostly happy and excited. She couldn't wait to meet Pedro.

That night, during dinner, Violeta showed her mother the postcard, and Elena was happy for her daughter.

"Oh, Violeta, that's wonderful," Elena smiled. "You still have that extra bed in your room, right?"

"Sí, Mami," Violeta said. "Pedro can sleep in that one."

"You'll have to get him a welcome gift after school tomorrow," Guillermo said.

"Okay," Violeta said. She could hardly wait until this Friday.

The next day, Violeta showed up at school, and she couldn't wait to tell her friends the good news. When she saw Zooey and Riley, she went up to them. "Hola, Zooey, Riley," she smiled.

"Hi, Violeta," Riley smiled back. "You're in a good mood."

"Yes, you're even happier than usual," Zooey pointed out.

Becky came up and said, "She probably just wants to spend as much time with you as she can since you're both going to be out of town for break. It's her way of showing how much she'll miss you."

"Actually, I'm going to be too busy the whole spring break to even think about Riley and Zooey," Violeta said.

Becky and Marcy were surprised while Riley and Zooey were shocked.

"What?" Riley asked.

"Violeta Juarez, how can you not miss us when we're going to be out of town for spring break?" Zooey asked.

"Listen, I have the biggest, most exciting news ever," Violeta smiled. "I got a postcard from Pedro in the mail yesterday, and he's coming to stay with us for Holy Week."

The girls were shocked to hear that.

"Your pen pal is coming to stay with you for the entire spring break?" Zooey screeched.

"You're finally going to meet your pen pal in person?" Riley gaped.

"You're actually going to meet Pedro?" Becky gasped. Then she remembered something. "What's Holy Week?"

"The week before Easter Sunday," Violeta replied. "He's having his spring break during the same time as ours, and he decided to come and see me."

"That's awesome," Riley smiled. "You're so lucky—I wish I could go to Paris for spring break. Then I could meet Paulette in person."

"And I'd like to meet Deshane in person," Zooey said.

"So, you're finally meeting your pen pal, Violeta—congratulations," Becky sniffed jealously. "I look forward to hearing about it when we get back." Then she and Marcy went off.

"Wow, Violeta, this is huge," Riley said. "You're finally going to meet your pen pal."

Suddenly, the bell rang, meaning it was time for class.

"We'll talk more about this at lunch," Zooey said.

"Okay," Violeta said.

Each girl went to her respective class, and the rest of the morning went by. Now it was time for lunch. Violeta and her friends met up for lunch, and they were going to talk about Pedro's stay.

"So, what are you and Pedro going to do for break?" Zooey asked.

"We're planning to welcome him to our house with a pizza dinner," Violeta replied. "After that, I'm going to show him around town."

"What are you going to wear?" Riley asked.

"Just something decent I have in my closet," Violeta replied.

"Are you nuts?" Zooey asked. "An ordinary pizza dinner? Something from your closet? Violeta, you're about to meet your pen pal whom you never got to see in person. You're going to have to do better than that."

"Well, Papi is taking me shopping for a welcome gift after school," Violeta said.

"That's a start, but you still need to do better," Zooey said.

"Oh, Zooey, it's not like they're going on a date or anything," Riley said.

"Either way, Violeta needs some serious advice on what to do during Pedro's visit," Zooey insisted. "Don't worry, Violeta—I'm going to help you during the entire time Pedro is here."

Violeta was thrown off, especially because there was one problem. "How are you going to help me during the entire spring break when you're going to be in Orchid City?" she asked. "You can't be in two places at once."

"That's true," Zooey agreed. "I'll just call you on the phone all day every day to tell you what you have to do while Pedro is here."

"You're going to be talking to me on the phone during the entire spring break?" Violeta blanched.

"How else would I help you while we're in different towns?" Zooey asked.

"Zooey, if you talk to me on the phone the entire time Pedro is here, you'll waste your entire break," Violeta pointed out. "You'll miss out on everything Orchid City has to offer."

"Violeta is right, Zooey," Riley agreed. "It's best if you minded your own business and let Violeta get on with her time with Pedro."

"Trust me," Zooey said. "I know exactly what I'm doing."

Violeta rolled her eyes—she had a feeling that everything would turn out badly if Zooey interfered.

After school, Guillermo took Violeta to the mall to find a gift for Pedro.

"What do you have in mind, Violeta?" Guillermo asked.

"I don't know—nothing too fancy," Violeta said. "Pedro did say that he's hoping to be a cancer doctor. Maybe I'll find him something that raises cancer awareness." She was right near the jewelry department, and an employee heard what she just said.

"Ah, if you're looking for something that raises cancer awareness, I've got different pieces of men jewelry for you," the employee smiled. "Take a look in the cases and tell me what you think."

Violeta looked in the cases, and she thought the cancer awareness jewelry was great. However, she saw a watch with a lavender ribbon, which was to raise the awareness of all cancers. "A ribbon that raises awareness of every cancer there is—okay, I'll take this one," she said.

Violeta paid for the watch, and it was put in a little gift bag. Now that Violeta had her gift for Pedro, she just had to get the house ready for his arrival.