KRISTY'S WONDERFUL LIFE
A/N: Based loosely on the holiday classic. There may be references to it, as well as other holiday movies.
CHAPTER 1
"Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling too-o-o. Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with yo-o-ou...Outside, the snow is fall-ing, and friends are call-ing 'yoo-hoo'. Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with yo-o-ou..."
That was the song blaring from my clock-radio on a Wednesday morning. It also happened to be the last day of school before Christmas vacation.
Hi, my name's Kristy Thomas. I'm sixteen years old and a junior at Stoneybrook High School. I used to have a pretty big family, but now most of them have moved out. My older brothers, Charlie and Sam—who are twenty and eighteen, respectively—attend NYU, where Charlie's a sports medicine major, and Sam's majoring in something called sports journalism. My younger brother, David Michael, is almost eleven and in fifth grade at Stoneybrook Elementary School. I have two younger stepsiblings and an adopted sister who attend Stoneybrook Academy, a private school in our neighborhood: Karen, my stepsister, is ten and in fifth grade; Andrew, my stepbrother, is seven and in second grade; and Emily, my adopted sister, is five and in kindergarten. The way that works is, Watson, my stepfather, works at home in the mornings, then drops Emily off at school on his way to the office, then Mom gets home in time to get Emily off the bus. If she knows she's got something else to do, she will ask either me or Nannie, my grandmother, to do that, unless she arranges for Emily to go to a friend's house. Nannie used to live with us, too, but now that Emily's in school, Nannie felt that she wasn't needed as much, so she moved into an apartment complex at the end of our block.
How did I get this crazy family, you ask? Well, it started soon after David Michael was born, which was when my dad walked out on us. He came back for a brief visit when I was thirteen, but for reasons I'll never understand, he asked me to keep it a secret. That was the last time I saw him before he was killed in a plane crash about two and a half months ago. When I was twelve, Mom met—and eventually married—Watson. I'll admit, I wasn't exactly crazy about him at first, because part of me was hoping that Dad would come back. Watson was able to win me over after I not only baby-sat his kids when his ex-wife broke her ankle, but when he also had our family over for a fondue dinner. During dinner, when my bread fell off my fork, according to fondue etiquette, he was the person I kissed.
Anyway, when Mom and Watson got married, he moved our family from a tiny four-bedroom house (David Michael's room was more like a closet) on Bradford Court to a ten-bedroom mansion. (In case you're wondering, yes, Watson's a millionaire.) Soon after that, Emily was adopted into the family, and like I said, Nannie moved in to help take care of things.
In addition to my big family, I have a wonderful group of friends. Together, we are the Baby-sitters Club—or BSC—but I'll tell you more about that later. Right now, it was time to get up and ready for school.
I opened my closet and pulled out a bluish-white turtleneck sweater and dark blue jeans. This particular sweater is my favorite Christmas one, because printed on it are skiers, snowflakes, stars, candy canes, bells, snowmen, and Christmas trees. After brushing out my hair, I pulled it back into a ponytail and tied in a red-and-green checkered scrunchie, then went downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning, Kristy," Watson said as I sat down at the table.
"Good morning," I answered as I reached for a piece of toast.
"Last day?" Watson asked.
I nodded, and ate as quickly as I could, then put my dishes in the sink. By the time I'd put my shoes on and brushed my teeth, Emily and David Michael had already sat down at the table. That's how it is in the mornings now that I'm in high school, and when Charlie and Sam were still living at home, we usually finished breakfast before the younger ones got downstairs.
"You know, I kind of miss the craziness of school mornings, don't you?" I asked as I finished putting my shoes on.
"Not really, honey," Mom answered. I could tell that she wasn't exactly looking for-ward to having a house full of people again. In fact, it reminded me of the time that Abby Stevenson and her family—her mom and twin sister, Anna—had to spend their first night in Stoneybrook at our house because their utilities hadn't been turned on yet. And let me tell you, it was a ZOO. It still took Mom some time to get over that one.
"Well, just wait until Karen and Andrew come," David Michael pointed out as he started on his Crunch Berries.
"Not to mention Sam and Charlie coming in from New York," I added.
"All right!" Emily exclaimed, somehow managing not to spit her blueberry oatmeal across the room. Mom groaned, but I could still tell she'd be glad to see everyone again.
"Now, Elizabeth, don't worry," Watson reassured her. "Charlie and Sam are in college now. I'm sure they've matured some."
Charlie, maybe; Sam, I doubt it, I thought.
"Well, I'll see you guys later," I said as I grabbed my keys from the cedar key rack by the fridge and put on my Patriots parka.
"Have a nice day," Watson said.
"Thanks," I called as I gathered up my books and bounded out the door.
I couldn't wait to see what the day would bring.
