Chapter One:
Though the clock had not yet struck seven o'clock, the Isenberg household was already bustling with various people. It was, after all, December 31st, and Walter and Julie Isenberg were throwing their ever-famous New Year's Eve party. Downstairs, the adults mingled in the elegantly decorated living room. Brilliant gold and silver streamers hung across the on top of the wall, and tiny fairy lights masterfully strung around the grandfather clock and the doorway added an extra brilliance to the already-shimmering room. The television hanging over the fireplace played jazz music, though no one could hear it over the sound of witty banter, small talk, and chuckles.
At the top of the steps, Anna, the Isenberg's five year-old daughter, looked at the adults standing in her living room. All Anna wanted to do was have some fun, but the adults were busy talking and drinking shiny gold liquid from her parents' special crystal glasses. Suddenly she got an idea and hastily ran up the stairs.
She paused outside of the room at the end of the hall, holding her breath to hide her giggles. She quietly and quickly opened the door and ran into the room, pouncing on the young girl that lay on the bed.
"Anna, what are you doing?" the girl asked.
"Do you wanna play, Elsa?" Anna asked her older sister.
"No, I want to read. Go back downstairs."
"But, Elsa!" Anna whined, "The lights are bright and the parents are awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!"
Elsa let out a small chuckle before saying, "Go play by yourself," and shoving her little sister off the bed. The eight year-old had better things to do than run around the house and play make-believe.
Anna fell to the floor with a thud, and though she was taken aback, it didn't stop a huge, mischievous grin from spreading across her face. As fast as she fell, she hopped back up and whispered in Elsa's ear, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"
How could Elsa resist a request like that? Even with her sister giving her the largest puppy-dog eyes known to man, Elsa couldn't resist building a snowman. There was a fresh coat of snow on the ground from the morning, and Elsa and Anna had spent so much time helping their parents decorate the house that they didn't have time to play in the snow.
Without a single word, the two girls grabbed their coats, scarves, and mittens and threw them over their party dresses. As they ran down the stairs, the girls couldn't help but glance at one another with playful smirks that made them erupt into tiny fits of laughter.
"Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Anna giggled. Elsa attempted to shush Anna, though it was eventually unsuccessful.
Skillfully the two sisters darted past the living room and made it to the back door. Anna couldn't contain her excitement and began bouncing up and down as Elsa began to open the door.
"Anna! Elsa! There you two are," their father said. The girls turned around to see their mother and father standing next to one another, kindly smiling at their daughters. "Where have you two been?"
"Upstairs," Elsa shrugged.
"Well we have two people we really want you to meet," their father said. "Come on, follow us." Without hesitation, Anna took her father's hand and followed him into the living room with Elsa not far behind. The two girls stared up at the maze of adults they had to make their way through. Occasionally an adult would look down and smile at the girls, commenting on how pretty they looked or how lovely their dresses were, but for the most part the adults were too absorbed in their conversations to notice the small girls weaving in between their legs.
There was suddenly a clearing at the edge of the room where two boys stood. The shorter of the two, who the girl's recognized as the boy from a few houses down from theirs, wore the ugliest blue and grey Christmas turtleneck sweater Anna and Elsa had ever seen, and he kept a stuffed reindeer locked tightly in one hand. The taller boy, who neither of the girls recognized, also had a stuffed animal, but his was a horse, and he was wearing a sweater that wasn't as ugly as the other boy's. The two were arguing about something.
"That's just stupid! Reindeers are better."
"No they're not. There aren't any reindeers here, but we have horses, so horses are better."
"You're stupid!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yeah you are! Reindeers are so much better than people, right Sven?"
Mr. Isenberg cleared his throat, immediately pulling the two boys out of their heated debate. "Hello, boys. Anna, Elsa, this is Kristoff," he motioned to the boy with the reindeer, "and this is Hans," he nodded towards the other boy. "Kristoff and Hans, these are my daughters, Anna and Elsa. Why don't the four of you go and play?"
"We should play!" Anna immediately chimed.
"You'll all have a great time," Mr. Isenberg smiled before disappearing into the crowd with his wife.
"Sooooo," Anna giggled, "Elsa and I are gonna build a snowman. Do you want to build a snowman?" Hans and Kristoff looked at each other before glancing at Elsa who simply shrugged and smiled.
"Sure, I'd like to," Hans finally said.
"Yeah, why not."
"Yay!" Anna exclaimed. "Let's build a snowman!"