Christmas is near, christmas is near. christmas is almost here..." i hummed as i grabbed the mini pumpkins from the windows and stuffed them in the box for the halloween decorations we were taking off to make way for the christmas decorations.

"Mom, what do we do with the clown?" Charlie, my little brother asked.

Last year, i got halloween trauma with a scary movie

 chapter 1

Untangling webs.

(Witch was scary for ME, it was not even that scary)

And we had just bought the decorations for halloween, mom had to ditch a couple of things and give them to the neibghors, because anything could scare me off at that point.

And we had bought a clown statue that made noises and had lights, but it was much too scary for me, so dad painted it. i regret making such a fuss over the movie (now i think it would have looked better without the paint, but anyways, we have a little kid in the house, so we really didn't have a choice)

Charlie pressed the on button on its back and the 

Statue uttered one long screech, the lights it had came on, and quickly flicked off with a spark.

Charlie backed off.

I walked to where the clown statue was and turned it off then on, and on and off. But it just kept staying silent, with no lights.

"Mia ruined it!" Charlie accused, he started crying.

I rolled my eyes and went back to removing the fake spider webs on the front windows, secretly relieved.

"I think it just ran out of battery" my mom said, trying to calm Charlie down "i will go to the garage to see if i can find some new ones for next year"

My shoulders drooped at the idea of having that painted clown in the house next year.

That only left me and that tattletale Charlie.

I bet he could understand himself with Elio, my friend Emma's little sister, and i think he could also get along with Sophie's twins, Addy and Alya. But he dosn't like to hang out in girl land that much.

i dropped the second web in the box and i started taking down a big web hooked to the edge of the window and the main doorway.

I removed the toy spiders and tossed them in the box, witch was almost overflowing.

Just then, i shrieked.

Because a big, black, real spider was in front of me!

i tried to back off but i was in a mini ladder, only i didn't think of that until i slipped to the ground, in midair, i tried to roll over a little to land on my hands, but i found myself in the floor way too soon, and i landed on one side of my back and on my ankle.

I started crying a teeny bit.

Mom came back from the garage, she looked at Charlie.

"No batteries, we're going to have to buy them--" she turned to see me in the ground "oh my god, Mia!"

She cried and hurried to my side to help me up.

I balanced myself on one foot and i hopped to the doorway.

Mom took me inside and sat me in the couch.

With an ice pack on my back and ankle, she gave me a glass of water to drink.

I wiped my wet eyes on the sleeve of my shirt.

My phone buzzed a call from my friends from the Sisters Club, Emma, Sophie and Elizabeth.

"Hi!" Said Emma when i picked up.

"Hi" i said, sniffing.

"Are you okay?" Asked Elizabeth, alarmed.

"No, you know that mini ladder my dad owns? Well, i fell down it when i was taking a fake web down" i said dramatically.

Emma gasped.

"Can we meet tomorrow to brainstorm the cake for Mrs. Weller's christmas eve party?" Sophie brought up, she had been silent for the entire call.

"Uh, yeah, sure" i said, not really thinking that tomorrow we were going shopping for the christmas tree.

But i hung up.

 The next day, i woke up good, as if i hadn't fallen off the ladder the day before.

Mom and dad finished removing the halloween decorations while i rested.

i walked downstairs in my pijamas and ponytail.

Mom made my favorite hot cereal, and she let me have all the brown sugar i wanted.

except i put a little too much, and the cereal ended up covered in sugar.

chapter 2

  Fruit 

"Mia, that is waay to much sugar" mom laughed "it is almost the same amount as i taste in your cakes!" She joked.

"No" i mumbled, my mouth full "it is not"

Mom busied herself feeding Charlie his fruit.

But Charlie just sat there, his mouth pressed tight shut in a thin line, and his arms crossed.

"Charlie, you have to eat your fruit!" Mom said, exasperated.

"No!!" Charlie wailed, all ready to pinch a fit.

Mom didn't say a word as Charlie left the table, and heading for the TV room.

He fiddled with the remote control and pressed play on Spongebob.

mom turned off the TV saying:

"Kids who don’t eat their fruit can't watch Spongebob" and she took the remote control away from Charlie's hands "i will confiscate that, thank you very much" and she went upstairs to her room, she keeps the "confiscated" things in there, inside her safe.

i only ever got one thing confiscated: my phone, my parents tought i was sending too many messages and i was spamming my friends and they confiscated

It. It was seriously depressing.

A while later, i had finished my breakfast, Mom and dad had gone in the main bedroom to watch a movie, and i settled in my bedroom listening to music with my Ipod.

Just then, i heard a noise in the kitchen and i ran downstairs to see what had happened.

I found Charlie, standing on his tippytoes, trying to reach a glass jar on a high shelf.

I hurried over and passed the jar to him, it looked like sugar.

"Woah, woah, wait up. Exactly what are you doing with that?" I asked, but i was much too late, he had flooded his fruit in sugar and was about to take a bite.

i stared at the empty sugar jar with disgust.

Charlie dug into his melon and instantly spit it up, making a mess on the countertop.

"Charlie! Mom just cleaned that!" I yelled, grabbing a paper towel and cleaning the counter.

"Ewww! Salty!!" Charlie wailed, near tears.

i took a bite.

And i instantly spit what i was eating.

"You are right!" I said, looking at the jar.

Mom stamped into the kitchen.

Just as i tought Charlie was ready to accuse me, mom said: "i tought we had talked about the sugar already" 

She looked at the fruit, flooded with salt.

Her eyes got bulging.

She sat down and ate a piece of mango, with salt.

It looked hard to swallow.

"What did you do to the fruit, Charlie?" Mom said angrily.

"Mia did it" Charlie answered calmly,

I spun around.

"NO, I DIDN'T! I DID NOT DO THAT! YOU POURED ALL THE SALT IN!!" I said, steam came out of my head.

"Well, i don’t care who did it, but we are going to buy the christmas tree anyways so get dressed now" mom said sharply, dragging the fruit bowl, with a salt tsunami on top, to the garbage can.

 We pulled in a parking lot in the supermarket. They had sales on pine trees.

I hopped off our KIA, in my puffy jacket, my ponytail swirling in my face, and the wind tickling me in the cheeks, except for i got tired of it eventually.

Charlie stood beside a bright blue plastic tree.

"this one, mom! Lets get this one!" He said excitedly.

Mom shook her head no.

Chapter 3

picking a tree

"No, Charlie, remember we are doing gold, red and white this year?" Mom said, looking at a big, snowy pine tree. "Maybe this one, i prefer real trees rather than plastic ones" she added.

Charlie stood silent.

"i want a blue tree!" He wailed after a minute or two.

"Charlie, mom said no!" I protested.

"Why not this one? It is pretty, don’t you think?" Mom said cheerfuly.

"No! It is not!!!!" Charlie stamped his foot, burst into tears and yelled with all his lungs: "WHY DOSN'T ANYONE LISTEN TO ME?! WHY DOSN'T ANYONE LIKE

MY IDEAS?! AND WHY CANT I CHOOSE FOR ONCE?! IT IS LIKE YOU DON'T LOVE ME!! IM A GHOST BESIDE YOU AND YOU DON’T WANT TO--" he coughed "LISTEN TO ME!!!!!!" he finished, running to no where exactly because Dad grabbed him by the arm even tough he yelled and kicked his feet.

"Lets get this one, im afraid he is having a tantrum, so we might as well choose" mom said.

She spoke to a worker to help her with the tree.

The man placed it on top of the car, tied it, and left.

"I don't think thats very safe" i said, looking nervously at the roof above me inside the car.

"DON’T TALK TO ME! DON’T SAY ANYTHING!! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR A WORD FROM ANYBODY!!" Charlie wailed in the window.

I wasn't exactly talking to him at all, i wanted to tell him that, but i didn't think he would want to listen.

My phone buzzed all of a sudden.

Elibrown: mia, we are outside your house. Waiting

I gasped: i had promised them i would be there!

Rossimia (me!): oops, sorry! I had an unexpected

Errand last minute, but i will be there, i promise!

Emma replied.

Emalbright: we will wait here, it is cold tough.

I felt terrifiyed leaving my friends in the cold of my house, there wasn't anyone home to recieve them! and my house really gets cold around winter time.

 We didn't go home straight after.

Because mom had errands to do, and shopping and that kind of stuff.

when we got home, it was almost nighttime.

I rushed to the front door, and it was empty.

Oh no!

My friends had probably gone.

It was all my fault!!

Chapter 4

 All wrong

I rushed upstairs but mom said "wait up" at me.

I stopped in my tracks.

"Weren't we going to decorate the christmas tree?" She asked me.

I filled my cheeks with air and let it out slowly.

I tought of telling mom that i left my friends out there in the cold, freezing like an ice mound.

But i hesitated, after all, it was my time to shine! All the years since Charlie was born, mom made us take turns putting the star on the tree, this year, it was my turn to put it on.

The tree turned out beautifully, it had a decorative polar bear and fox on a wood ladder we placed beside the tree, it also had gold snow globes hanging every where and soft, bigger gold sparkly decorations everywhere, a gold ribbon was wrapped around the tree with a red lights string around too.

And i had put the star on top!

It looked even sparklier.

Just then, i got a text from sophie.

SophZeltzer: ... mia, we waited for you, you never came

I felt guilty, but i also saw Sophie's text as a demand, as if she expected an apology right away, i didn't feel it was right to demand an apology after something like that happened, only it wasn't even my fault!

I pressed delete on the text and i turned my phone off and walked to my room to make my list for Santa.

It said:

Dear Santa, here are the things i want for christmas:

-Blue KitchenAid mixer.

-Kandi gold skirt.

-Bookinn recepie book.          thank you! -Mia R.

 Getting ready for christmas is like a snowstorm in our family.

Everybody has something to do, even Charlie has something to do, i have to recieve Aunt Kate and Uncle Sam and my cousin, Mayce. Who are arriving this friday.

Mom is in charge of the food, Dad is in charge of the drinks, and Charlie is in charge of setting the table.

  Chapter 5

a family snowstorm

It is thursday, right now.

I just got an E-mail from Elizabeth, witch i tought was spamming, literally.

It said:

¿Are you okay, Mia? Can we help you in something?

I deleted it without responding.

On Friday, i was slumpy in the breakfast table.

"Why so gloomy today, Mia?" Mom asked as she helped herself of some butter on her toast.

"Because i don’t know what to do" i said.

"About what?" Dad asked.

I shrugged.

"About my friends" i said "i felt like i was rude to them yesterday" 

"Why do you think that? What happened yesterday?" Mom sounded worried.

I squirmed in my seat.

"Because i--i told them i needed to come to their house to bake for Mrs. Weller's party on Saturday, and we went shopping for the tree and i couldn't make it" i lied, hoping mom would believe me.

The doorbell rang.

It rang and rang some more.

I ran to answer it, i opened the door, and there was Aunt Kate, Uncle Sam and Mayce.

Mayce looked at me from head to toe in a judging way.

"Not the warmest welcome" she said critically "we come all the way here from Florida and you greet us in your pijamas?" She moved me aside and entered the house, Mayce is older than me, and honesty i wish she wasn't my cousin, her as my classmate could work out, she could be the Olivia and Kasey of the class, she is only a bit less annoying that them.

But i feel sorry for myself when Mayce is around.

"Hi, aunt and uncle!" Cried Mayce, running to my parents in the complete opposite way she did with me.

"Im sorry for Mayce's behavior" uncle Sam apologized, he patted my head "how's my favorite Mia?" He said playfully.

I love my aunt and uncle, except sometimes, their constant cheefulness stresses me out.

"Im your only Mia" i answered back like i always did.

Aunt Kate walked to Dad "Leonard! I missed you, brother" she hugged him.

Uncle Sam walked over to Mom, who stood up from her chair to hug him.

I noticed something strange: Mom's belly seemed bigger than usual.

Uncle Sam looked happily at her.

He smiled.

I couldn't understand.

"Mia, Charlie, i have news for you" Mom said.

Charlie and i looked at her in the eye, i hoped it was a baby, but at the same time, i hoped it wasn't a baby: we would have to take three turns putting the star on the tree, and i would have two kids to babysit.

"In June, you are going to have a new  sister" mom said.

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, my own stomach did a flippy-flop.

Charlie looked happier than i had ever seen him!

The only one who was not excited was Mayce.

"new cousin, whatever" she said as if it was no big deal, she ran upstairs in a show-off way.

I glared at her as she went and hugged mom.

I was so excited!!!!

NEW SISTER!!!!!