Andy sat at home. In his room.  Completely Alone. Downstairs, in the den and the foyer and the kitchen/dining room, the annual Marsden family Christmas party continued on.  It was always a rager and this year his grandparents from Nevada and his aunts from Santa Clara has driven down for the party.   But Andy sat alone. He knew he'd be getting a sever talking-to for staying in his room, but he didn't care.  He was 14 now and expected to be an adult and mingle.  The few times he'd attempted this mingling thing, he'd said something wrong or told a joke.  The adult he was talking to had just smiled politely, that adult smile-the condescending one-and turned away.  So, he was through with mingling.  He supposed he was a loser. His friends seemed to think so. Tia had said she'd call him Christmas day.  It was 7:30 PM.  The phone was silent.  It was in the corner, next to the only personalization in his room, a tree.  Not really a tree; an evergreen branch in an aluminum can reading Pepsi, containing corn syrup and water.  It only had a small, paper yellow star on the top; made by Conner and Tia and himself in the third grade. Tia had been really busy lately.  With that new guy, Angel.  Her new boyfriend. Andy didn't like him at all. He never saw Tia anymore; when he did, she was with Angel.  He hadn't really talked to her for about three weeks.  And Conner?  Here Andy way, a little over five foot, incorrigible red curls, high-intensity freckles and a toothpick skinny frame.  The only slightly good feature he possessed, he guessed, was his eyes, and he was so much shorter than every girl in his class he doubted they could see them.  And Conner, his best guy friend, was apparently a Greek God-he didn't see it, but inferred it-with a date every other night.  Gone were the days when he and Conner talked about everything.  Andy saw the days where he, Tia, and Conner were all really close getting farther in the distance as Tia and Conner got closer and left him behind.  Andy, with Conner, had been reduced to the coffee buddy at HOJ when Conner didn't have a date.  Well, Conner got coffee.  Andy liked Pepsi. The phone rang and Andy answered it.  He figured everyone below was three sheets to the wind and wouldn't hear the shrill ring.   "Hello?" "Hey, Andy!" Tia.  Andy was washed in a wave of guilt for thinking she was neglecting him.   "Hey, Tia.  What's up?" "My abuela came up from Mexico to surprise us!  I'm so happy.  What's up with you?" "Nothing." "Hey, can I come over?  I've got a present for you, and you better have one for me!" Tia asked. "Sure, cool!" Andy exclaimed. "Okay.  Be there in 10." Andy hung up the phone and descended the stairs.  He didn't want Tia to have to face the horrors of his smashed family.  When the doorbell rang, Andy ushered her upstairs and when in the safe haven of his room, he pulled out a gift from his desk and extended it toward her.  It was flat and rectangular.  "It's not much, but I thought you might like it," he said. She handed him a square package and said, "yours isn't much either."  She opened her gift and inside he paper lay a cherry wood frame surrounding a picture of her, Conner and Andy on the first day of school this year, their freshman year.  Tia was grinning like a fool with an arm around each boy, Conner was lookin' pensive, and Andy was smiling and giving Tia bunny ears.  Tia looked elated.  "Thank you!  I love it!" Andy smiled and unraveled the silver paper on his present to reveal an ivory box.  He opened the top panel and pulled out a plastic ball.  It was the kind that had two halves and could be filed with whatever the owner pleased.  Tia had decorated the inside of the sphere with pictures of herself, Andy and Conner since age 5.  He walked to the tree and placed it on a branch.  Miraculously, it stayed, but he put a soft blanket under it just in case.  "Thanks, Tee.  It makes me tree look a little better.  Actually, a lot." Tia smiled and glanced at his clock radio.  "I better go.  Thanks again." "Thank you.  Merry Christmas," Andy said, and hugged her.   "I'll call you before we go back to school.  You, Conner and I should do something." "Sounds good." Andy showed her out and walked her home. His Christmas had been saved at the last minute. **********************************NOW**************************************  Andy sat in his room.  Alone. Not much had changed d�cor-wise.  There was a new tree branch tree, now bigger and in a container for Pepsi, but a 3-liter, still filled with corn syrup and good old H2O.  Andy himself looked almost the same, only a little taller.   He was still lonely. He stared at the 'tree'-still only adorned with the star and the ball. He listened to the party downstairs-he had learned to better please the adults now, but he wouldn't.  Why not be yourself just so others would listen to you?  It didn't make sense, at least not to Andy.   He was just lonely. The phone rang, and Andy felt a sense of d�j� vu.  He answered it, knowing it wasn't Tia, who was at Stanford with Angel, or Conner, who was at Laser Tag with Megan.   "Hello?" "Hey, Andy!  What's up?" Liz.! "Nothing.  How was your Christmas?" he asked. "Great!  Yours?" "Peachy." "I just figured you'd be lonely and you could use a little company.   Wanna do something?  I've got a present that has your name on it!" "Cool, sure.  I can always use company in the form of a Liz-shaped friend.  Wanna come over?" Liz laughed lightly and said, "I'll be there in about 10 minutes." Grinning, Andy replied, "Cool."  He hung up the phone.   Another Christmas saved at the last minute.  He might be young.  He might be inexperienced. But Andy Marsden definitely knew whom he could count on.  His best friends always seemed to come through when he needed them most.