Chapter 1: Christmas Time At The Mall
Christmas Eve. The ground was covered with snow, houses were decorated with lights, and the stores were filled with last-minute shoppers.
Within what was known as the Eisenhower Mall, the great detective, Charlie Chan, was spending the evening with his ten children, the Chan Clan. Sitting on a mall bench with his four youngest children, Flip, Nancy, Mimi, and Scooter, Charlie was enjoying the performance of his six elder children, Henry, Stanley, Suzie, Alan, Anne, and Tom, as they formed the Chan Clan Band and played Christmas songs for the holiday shoppers. Within a bag little Mimi was carrying, the family dog, Chu-Chu, was also enjoying the holiday entertainment.
The six teens, whom were wearing Mr. and Mrs. Claus outfits, finished their gig with the old classic song "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." The audience applauded and the six children met up with their father and siblings.
"Well done, children," Charlie praised his offspring. "If you wish, you can spend more time around the mall before going home."
"I'd rather go home right now," his tomboyish daughter, Anne, grumbled.
"Oh, Anne," her elder sister, Suzie, said, "what's the hurry? Let's do some shopping."
The eldest Chan daughter wondered off for some last-minute purchasing.
"The hurry is that I wanna get out of this stupid Mrs. Claus dress," Anne silently growled. She turned towards her elder brother and sarcastically said, "Great idea suggesting these Christmas getups, Alan."
"Lighten up, Annie," Alan amusingly replied, after he and their younger brother, Tom, removed their fake Santa beards. "It's all for the sake of getting into the holiday spirit and most importantly…I couldn't resist seeing the look on your face being forced to wear a Christmas dress! Ha!"
Anne angrily glared at her brother before she scowled, "Lucky for you it's Christmas time or POW!"
Along with Alan and Tom, Anne followed Suzie.
"Hey, Pop," the youngest Chan child asked, "can I go see Santa?"
"I don't see why not, Scooter," the kind-hearted father answered.
"Can I go too, Pop?" the second youngest Chan daughter pleaded. "On my way to Santa, I wanna buy one of those two-foot gingerbread men they're selling before they're all gone."
"Go right ahead, Nancy," her dad approved.
As Scooter and Nancy walked off, their sister, Mimi, expressed her displeasure. "Poor Scooter. His poor childish mind still believes in Santa Claus."
"Let it go, Mimi," her elder brother, Flip, sighed as he walked off in the same direction as his younger siblings.
"Don't tell me you're going to see Santa too," Mimi sputtered.
"Of course not," Flip waved back to his youngest sister. "I'm gonna check out that movie store to see if I got enough to get that new Sherlock Holmes movie collection set I've been dying to see."
As Flip continued to walk on, Mimi remembered, "Oh, wait. We should go with Nancy, Chu-Chu. She can't watch Scooter all by herself. He can be a handful."
Chu-Chu barked to agree and ducked back inside the backpack as Mimi followed her siblings.
As their younger siblings went off to enjoy themselves, Henry and Stanley removed their fake Santa beards.
"Say, Henry," Stanley suggested, "why don't we head down the other side of the mall so we can see them unveil that new giant tree with the diamond star?"
"Stanley," the eldest Chan child replied, "they won't show that for another twenty minutes."
"Can't hurt to get a head start," Stanley smiled. "Coming, Pop?"
"Certainly, Stanley," his father answered. The three headed off in the direction of the new mall Christmas tree.
On another side of the mall, Suzie exited a mall bakery after purchasing a few items while Anne, Alan, and Tom waited for her on a bench.
"Well," Suzie revealed, "I got a deal on two nice fruitcakes."
"Yuck!" Anne and her brothers all cringed in disgust.
"Alright, alright," Suzie assured her younger siblings. "I know no one's a big fan of fruitcake, except maybe Nancy, but it's a Christmas tradition. Besides, I bought several other baked goods so I can make some extra Christmas cookies tonight."
"Shall we now head for the retail establishment that contains the decorative items worn for personal adornment?" the intelligent Tom asked.
Unfortunately, his eldest sister didn't understand a word he said. "Huh?"
"He asked do you wanna go to the jewelry store now," Alan translated.
"Oh," Suzie said. "Nah, I can't. I used up most of my money helping to buy new decorations for the house. What a shame. I really did want that diamond necklace too."
"I can relate," Anne sighed. "I really wanted that new sparkling gold soccer ball I saw last week, but I used up my allowance shopping for my gifts."
"You could always put it on your Christmas list for old Saint Nick to get," Alan jokingly suggested.
Anne was less than amused. "Funny, that was not," she mumbled.
"You know, Anne," Alan disappointedly said as he crossed his arms, "it's really kinda sad you gave up believing in Santa just 'cause you never got that Christmas wish to meet your favorite reindeer, Rudolph."
"I was five-years-old, Alan," Anne countered. "Drop it, will ya?"
"Even so," Tom sighed, "I doubt even the spirit of Christmas could present me with that fascinating chemistry kit I saw online last month."
"Oh, well," Anne shrugged. "We can't have everything."
Just then, a woman spoke over a loudspeaker. "Attention, shoppers. The new Eisenhower Mall Christmas tree will be unveiled in less than five minutes. Thank you."
"Hey, we better get going!" Anne quickly perked up. "I gotta see this!"
"Same here," Alan agreed.
The four middle children immediately set off to the location of the mall's new large Christmas tree.
