Trista sat quietly on her bed. Staring at the pictures on the wall she began too cry. " What happened to just us..." The fourteen year old girl lay on her bed wiping away her tears. Today was her birthday, and no one, not even her parents had wished her happy birthday. Instead they took her baby brother to the park for the day and left Trista at home to clean. She looked at the clock, it was 6:00 pm. Maybe she could walk down to the store before her parents got back, after all the snow and ice might keep them in traffic.
Trista bundled up and walked out the door. People were putting up their Christmas decorations, and people were singing carols. Trista crossed the street, as a homeless man bumped into her. He dropped something. She bent down to pick it up, and looked back for the man. " Excuse me.." She began but by the time she had looked back he was gone... Trista put the thing in her big pocket not knowing what was bundled up in the towel. She opened the door of the gas station.
" Well hello Trista, here for an early snack before we close?" Trista smiled and nodded. She paid for her snack and began home.
As she looked into the driveway she noticed a car, her parents had already made it there. She walked in the door and looked around, after all she was not anxious to meet the parents who had forgotten her own birthday.
" TRISTA!" Came a loud yell from her father.
She slowly walked into the kitchen where her parents were standing. " Yes.." She trembled with fear. She just knew her dad would say something, and he step mother too.
" Where were you at?! You didn't get the house clean, and for gods sake, where is the outfit your mom just bought for.." Suddenly Trista got fed up and started yelling.
" FOR ONE, SHE IS NOT MY MOTHER WEATHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, FOR TWO, I AM A BIG GIRL AND CAN WALK DOWN THE STREET, AND FOR THREE TODAY IS THE ONLY DAY THAT SHOULD BE MINE!" Tristas stepmother's face turned.
" I have treated you like a daughter! I do everything you want, you know your brother is younger than you and naturally needs more attention,when did you start thinking you were the baby and that today was suddenly a day when you don't have to do anything to help out?"
Trista laughed. " I did help out, BUT TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY, I WONT CATER TO YOUR NEEDS YOU WITCH."
Trista ran out of the room and up to her bedroom crying. She lay on the bed and took of her jacket.Then she remembered her pocket. She pulled out the bundle still weeping and unwrapped it. A doll? A nutcracker? What homeless person would want it? She brushed the dust off of it, and looked at it. Then she hugged it. " Why do I feel that you are my only friend?" She laid back and fell asleep.
She woke up in the middle of that night. Trista looked around, she noticed that her nutcracker was missing from her side. She got frightened and swiftly got up and turned on the light. Trista tossed her blankets in the air looking for him.
" He's gone.." she said to herself. I bet you they let "him" sleep with it!. Trista flew from her room and down the hall to her little brothers room. She slung the door open only to see him holding her nutcracker.
" DAD!!" She yelled knowing he was watching TV down stairs.
" DAD!!" She heard thumping up the stairs.
" Honey! Are you ok?" He looked around. " Trista what are you doing in your brothers room ?" Trista turned red. " He has MY nutcracker!" Her dad smiled.
" he wouldn't go to sleep, we figured that you wouldn't care if he used that old thing." Trista rn into her brothers room and yanked it out of his hands, and he jerked awake and began crying.
" I don't care what you think! He is mine!" She ran down the hallway to her room and slammed the door. She could still hear her brother crying.
The next morning Trista woke up to hear pure silence. She sat up, then fell back in her bed. My nutcracker, she thought, I wonder how old he is?
She picked him up and pulled his arm up and down watching his mouth move. Trista sat him on her dresser then went to the shower. She turned on the water and undressed. Today was going to be a long day.
Trista was in a towel with her hair wrapped up when suddenly she heard a tap at the door downstairs. She put on a t shirt and some shorts and rushed downstairs. Quickly she pulled her hair behind her shoulder and opened the door.
" May I help you?" She smiled.
" Yeah, um, I'm looking for Trista Lawrence, is this her house? Um my name is Nate.." Trista felt so embarrassed, here was a guy who knew her name and she looked terrible. She thought about saying she was her sister.
" Umm, yeah, I'm her.." She rushed from her mouth. The guy smiled.
" Your cousin Ryan sent me here, he said you could use a date to your upcoming dance at school since you didn't know anyone. I'm here to solve your problem." He said. Trista slammed the door shut and thought for a moment. This could be my ticket to popularity. Oh god, I bet he thinks I slammed the door on him because I thought he was stupid. She opened the door back up.
" Sorry about that, sure why not, but um, I don't even know who you are. Would you like to come in?" He nodded and she led him into the living room.
" Man.. your house is well very big." he said laughing a bit. It was true, she did come from a rich family, but no one had ever commented on the size of her house. Probably because the only people she had been around had, had large houses as well.
" Take a seat," she said smiling," so Ryan sent you..."
Their conversation lasted for about an hour. Instantly they clicked, or so she felt.
" Well, my mom is going to be worried if I don't get home. I told her I would only be out for about 20 minutes." they both laughed a little bit then stood up.
"Well call me sometime." She stood at the door and he stood facing her. Then they hugged.
" Ok I will." Then he walked off.
Trista shut the door and went and jumped on the couch. " OooH I'm soo lucky! I have got to call Sara!" She grabbed the cordless phone and dialed the number.
" Sara it's Trista!" They girls googled over everything new, and then Trista said. " Ok listen to this. I just got out of the shower and there is a knock on the door, so I answer it. There is this totally gorgeous guy standing there asking me to the dance!" Sara laughed. " No way! What did he look like?"
Trista giggled. " he had dark brown hair, baby blue eyes, he he, very athletic you could tell, he was like 5'10, oh he was so hott!" She laughed. " Oh great I need to get dressed, I'll talk to you later, bye!" Sara said bye and then they got off.
Trista sat there googly eyed for a moment. Then she jumped up and ran up stairs and got dressed. She looked out the balcony and saw a tree house that she hadn't noticed before. I'm going to check that out she thought. Then she grabbed her nutcracker and ran down the stairs out to the back door.
"Sheesh! It's cold!" She stepped back in and put on her jacket that was hanging on the wall.
Finally she made it up to the top of the tree house one handedly. She looked around the vine filled tree house, and pictured it as a palace. Though of course she knew it wasn't. She placed her nutcracker on the side of the tree house. and looked out the small window it had.
" WOW, and to think I never noticed it."
CHAPTER TWO
One month went by, and Christmas was almost there, just a couple of days before the Christmas Eve dance. Naturally she was excited, she and Nate had become, well, closer. Still the best thing that had happened so far was her fixing up the Tree house for her and her Nutcracker. It was very cute now. Still she felt stupid for doing something so childish, a tree house. Anyhow, she felt as thought her nutcracker understood what she was saying. It didn't reply, but it just felt, like somewhere inside her it understood too.
" You know Trista, I like this pretty white dress. After all your brown hair will fit wonderfully with it, don't you think?" Her stepmother suggested. Trista walked over to it. Its long thin straps was exactly what she didn't want, and the silky material was too soft.
" No," She replied," not that one." She walked back over to the others.
" Try it on." Her step mom demanded. Trista just looked at her and smirked, then grabbed the dress and changed.
She came out and glanced into the mirror. To her surprise she looked beautiful. With her Long brown hair just curled a bit, she would look almost Princess material.
" Well, I like it, lets get it." Her stepmother smiled as they went to the check out stand.
Later that night as she was trying on the dress, she glanced back at her nutcracker. She picked him up and pretended to dance with him.
" How do you do my lord." She said as she curtsied.
"Oh I can't wait till tomorrow, it will be Christmas eve, and the dance will be so great!" Trista sat down still holding her nutcracker. That night she lay un-rested as she thought about tomorrows coming.
The next evening Trista sat in front of her mirror looking at her self. She had on a pale pink lipstick and it fitted her most well. Trista indeed looked like a princess.
Suddenly there was a rap at the door and then a
" Trista your date!" She hurriedly got up and rushed out the door, careful to stop and walk down slowly. when she reached the bottom, Nate looked stunned.
" Wow.. You're beautiful." She smiled and they got in his car and went to the dance.
When they arrived everyone almost stopped and looked at her. The popular girls smirked at her and walked away, while the nicer ones complimented her on her dress and make-up. Nate on the other hand was complimented on having such a hott date.
They danced a few dances and then she sat down. Nate walked over to a crowd of girls and began talking. Suddenly she found herself jealous and zoomed in on their conversation.
" You actually like her? I thought you were going steady with Stacy, and then you show up saying all these sweet things like, I love you and your an angel. Oh my god." Nate turned toward Trista and she acted like she wasnt paying any atention then he looked back.
" Oh all those lies, I was paid and GOOD. Someone found out she had a cousin named Ryan, and then they planned to dump blood on her like Carrie Ya know?" At this she became very upset. She could feel the tears rising in her eyes, but she decided to calm down and walk over there. Trista picked up her red punch and walked over there. All the girls smiled innocently. Then Trista lifted up her punch and poured over top of Nate's head.
" What did you say? Blood?" She smiled. And walked out of the dance room nearly crying. She ran all the way home.
When she arrived at the house everyone was asleep. She flung the door wide open and looked around. Quietly she shut it, then she ran up the stairs and slammed her door shut and began crying. Trista hit the bed over and over, and yelled into the pillow wildly. " I have never been so humiliated. .so in love.." She said to herself and began crying again. To think she had let herself fall in love with a complete stranger, and then get hurt as bad as she did.
Eventually she looked up only to see her nutcracker sitting in her windowsill. She got up and held it with one hand gazing out the window.
" God, I have never asked for anything in my entire life ..please ..make it all go away.." She kissed her nutcracker on the forehead then lay on her bed and turned the lamp off. She snuggled with her nutcracker then fall asleep unchanged from her evening gown.
Trista bundled up and walked out the door. People were putting up their Christmas decorations, and people were singing carols. Trista crossed the street, as a homeless man bumped into her. He dropped something. She bent down to pick it up, and looked back for the man. " Excuse me.." She began but by the time she had looked back he was gone... Trista put the thing in her big pocket not knowing what was bundled up in the towel. She opened the door of the gas station.
" Well hello Trista, here for an early snack before we close?" Trista smiled and nodded. She paid for her snack and began home.
As she looked into the driveway she noticed a car, her parents had already made it there. She walked in the door and looked around, after all she was not anxious to meet the parents who had forgotten her own birthday.
" TRISTA!" Came a loud yell from her father.
She slowly walked into the kitchen where her parents were standing. " Yes.." She trembled with fear. She just knew her dad would say something, and he step mother too.
" Where were you at?! You didn't get the house clean, and for gods sake, where is the outfit your mom just bought for.." Suddenly Trista got fed up and started yelling.
" FOR ONE, SHE IS NOT MY MOTHER WEATHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, FOR TWO, I AM A BIG GIRL AND CAN WALK DOWN THE STREET, AND FOR THREE TODAY IS THE ONLY DAY THAT SHOULD BE MINE!" Tristas stepmother's face turned.
" I have treated you like a daughter! I do everything you want, you know your brother is younger than you and naturally needs more attention,when did you start thinking you were the baby and that today was suddenly a day when you don't have to do anything to help out?"
Trista laughed. " I did help out, BUT TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY, I WONT CATER TO YOUR NEEDS YOU WITCH."
Trista ran out of the room and up to her bedroom crying. She lay on the bed and took of her jacket.Then she remembered her pocket. She pulled out the bundle still weeping and unwrapped it. A doll? A nutcracker? What homeless person would want it? She brushed the dust off of it, and looked at it. Then she hugged it. " Why do I feel that you are my only friend?" She laid back and fell asleep.
She woke up in the middle of that night. Trista looked around, she noticed that her nutcracker was missing from her side. She got frightened and swiftly got up and turned on the light. Trista tossed her blankets in the air looking for him.
" He's gone.." she said to herself. I bet you they let "him" sleep with it!. Trista flew from her room and down the hall to her little brothers room. She slung the door open only to see him holding her nutcracker.
" DAD!!" She yelled knowing he was watching TV down stairs.
" DAD!!" She heard thumping up the stairs.
" Honey! Are you ok?" He looked around. " Trista what are you doing in your brothers room ?" Trista turned red. " He has MY nutcracker!" Her dad smiled.
" he wouldn't go to sleep, we figured that you wouldn't care if he used that old thing." Trista rn into her brothers room and yanked it out of his hands, and he jerked awake and began crying.
" I don't care what you think! He is mine!" She ran down the hallway to her room and slammed the door. She could still hear her brother crying.
The next morning Trista woke up to hear pure silence. She sat up, then fell back in her bed. My nutcracker, she thought, I wonder how old he is?
She picked him up and pulled his arm up and down watching his mouth move. Trista sat him on her dresser then went to the shower. She turned on the water and undressed. Today was going to be a long day.
Trista was in a towel with her hair wrapped up when suddenly she heard a tap at the door downstairs. She put on a t shirt and some shorts and rushed downstairs. Quickly she pulled her hair behind her shoulder and opened the door.
" May I help you?" She smiled.
" Yeah, um, I'm looking for Trista Lawrence, is this her house? Um my name is Nate.." Trista felt so embarrassed, here was a guy who knew her name and she looked terrible. She thought about saying she was her sister.
" Umm, yeah, I'm her.." She rushed from her mouth. The guy smiled.
" Your cousin Ryan sent me here, he said you could use a date to your upcoming dance at school since you didn't know anyone. I'm here to solve your problem." He said. Trista slammed the door shut and thought for a moment. This could be my ticket to popularity. Oh god, I bet he thinks I slammed the door on him because I thought he was stupid. She opened the door back up.
" Sorry about that, sure why not, but um, I don't even know who you are. Would you like to come in?" He nodded and she led him into the living room.
" Man.. your house is well very big." he said laughing a bit. It was true, she did come from a rich family, but no one had ever commented on the size of her house. Probably because the only people she had been around had, had large houses as well.
" Take a seat," she said smiling," so Ryan sent you..."
Their conversation lasted for about an hour. Instantly they clicked, or so she felt.
" Well, my mom is going to be worried if I don't get home. I told her I would only be out for about 20 minutes." they both laughed a little bit then stood up.
"Well call me sometime." She stood at the door and he stood facing her. Then they hugged.
" Ok I will." Then he walked off.
Trista shut the door and went and jumped on the couch. " OooH I'm soo lucky! I have got to call Sara!" She grabbed the cordless phone and dialed the number.
" Sara it's Trista!" They girls googled over everything new, and then Trista said. " Ok listen to this. I just got out of the shower and there is a knock on the door, so I answer it. There is this totally gorgeous guy standing there asking me to the dance!" Sara laughed. " No way! What did he look like?"
Trista giggled. " he had dark brown hair, baby blue eyes, he he, very athletic you could tell, he was like 5'10, oh he was so hott!" She laughed. " Oh great I need to get dressed, I'll talk to you later, bye!" Sara said bye and then they got off.
Trista sat there googly eyed for a moment. Then she jumped up and ran up stairs and got dressed. She looked out the balcony and saw a tree house that she hadn't noticed before. I'm going to check that out she thought. Then she grabbed her nutcracker and ran down the stairs out to the back door.
"Sheesh! It's cold!" She stepped back in and put on her jacket that was hanging on the wall.
Finally she made it up to the top of the tree house one handedly. She looked around the vine filled tree house, and pictured it as a palace. Though of course she knew it wasn't. She placed her nutcracker on the side of the tree house. and looked out the small window it had.
" WOW, and to think I never noticed it."
CHAPTER TWO
One month went by, and Christmas was almost there, just a couple of days before the Christmas Eve dance. Naturally she was excited, she and Nate had become, well, closer. Still the best thing that had happened so far was her fixing up the Tree house for her and her Nutcracker. It was very cute now. Still she felt stupid for doing something so childish, a tree house. Anyhow, she felt as thought her nutcracker understood what she was saying. It didn't reply, but it just felt, like somewhere inside her it understood too.
" You know Trista, I like this pretty white dress. After all your brown hair will fit wonderfully with it, don't you think?" Her stepmother suggested. Trista walked over to it. Its long thin straps was exactly what she didn't want, and the silky material was too soft.
" No," She replied," not that one." She walked back over to the others.
" Try it on." Her step mom demanded. Trista just looked at her and smirked, then grabbed the dress and changed.
She came out and glanced into the mirror. To her surprise she looked beautiful. With her Long brown hair just curled a bit, she would look almost Princess material.
" Well, I like it, lets get it." Her stepmother smiled as they went to the check out stand.
Later that night as she was trying on the dress, she glanced back at her nutcracker. She picked him up and pretended to dance with him.
" How do you do my lord." She said as she curtsied.
"Oh I can't wait till tomorrow, it will be Christmas eve, and the dance will be so great!" Trista sat down still holding her nutcracker. That night she lay un-rested as she thought about tomorrows coming.
The next evening Trista sat in front of her mirror looking at her self. She had on a pale pink lipstick and it fitted her most well. Trista indeed looked like a princess.
Suddenly there was a rap at the door and then a
" Trista your date!" She hurriedly got up and rushed out the door, careful to stop and walk down slowly. when she reached the bottom, Nate looked stunned.
" Wow.. You're beautiful." She smiled and they got in his car and went to the dance.
When they arrived everyone almost stopped and looked at her. The popular girls smirked at her and walked away, while the nicer ones complimented her on her dress and make-up. Nate on the other hand was complimented on having such a hott date.
They danced a few dances and then she sat down. Nate walked over to a crowd of girls and began talking. Suddenly she found herself jealous and zoomed in on their conversation.
" You actually like her? I thought you were going steady with Stacy, and then you show up saying all these sweet things like, I love you and your an angel. Oh my god." Nate turned toward Trista and she acted like she wasnt paying any atention then he looked back.
" Oh all those lies, I was paid and GOOD. Someone found out she had a cousin named Ryan, and then they planned to dump blood on her like Carrie Ya know?" At this she became very upset. She could feel the tears rising in her eyes, but she decided to calm down and walk over there. Trista picked up her red punch and walked over there. All the girls smiled innocently. Then Trista lifted up her punch and poured over top of Nate's head.
" What did you say? Blood?" She smiled. And walked out of the dance room nearly crying. She ran all the way home.
When she arrived at the house everyone was asleep. She flung the door wide open and looked around. Quietly she shut it, then she ran up the stairs and slammed her door shut and began crying. Trista hit the bed over and over, and yelled into the pillow wildly. " I have never been so humiliated. .so in love.." She said to herself and began crying again. To think she had let herself fall in love with a complete stranger, and then get hurt as bad as she did.
Eventually she looked up only to see her nutcracker sitting in her windowsill. She got up and held it with one hand gazing out the window.
" God, I have never asked for anything in my entire life ..please ..make it all go away.." She kissed her nutcracker on the forehead then lay on her bed and turned the lamp off. She snuggled with her nutcracker then fall asleep unchanged from her evening gown.