After entering the school building, Riley is in the hallway to her first class when she noticed a flyer on the wall. She walked towards it to get a closer look.
The flyer is advertising a Christmas program that will be held in the gym on Friday, the last day of school before winter break, and auditions will be held in the gym the day before the program. It also has blank lines for students who want to perform in the program to sign their names onto and what songs that want to sing.
A few students signed their names and songs that they will perform. Riley thought about if she wants to perform or not.
"Well, that flyer is advertising a Christmas program for students to perform in." Anger commented.
"This could be perfect because Riley has never sung in front of a crowd before." Joy said. "This could be her very first time."
"But what if she gets stage fright?" Fear asked.
"And what if she messes up during her performance?" Sadness also asked solemnly.
"Don't be silly, you two!" the star declared. "I'm positive she'll do perfect, and I know just the song for her to sing!" She runs over to the light bulbs, takes one out and inserts it into the console. It lights up as it sinks in while Riley's eyes light up as well. Then she takes a pen out of her backpack and signs her name and a song that she wants to sing onto the blank line on the flyer. Then she heads to her first class.
Later that day, when it was lunchtime, as Riley headed for the cafeteria, her friends, Susan and Amy approached her.
"Hey, Riley!" they greeted her.
"Hi, Susan and Amy." Riley answered as they went to lunch.
As they ate their lunch at a table, Amy said to her friends, "Hey, girls, you gotta see this. It's really funny!"
She shows them a YouTube video on her phone of a sabertooth cat singing "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".
Upon hearing it sing, the girls started laughing hardly like a pack of hyenas.
"Oh my god! That really cracks me up!" Riley said in-between her laughter.
"Me too!" Susan laughed.
After school ended for the day, as Riley, Susan and Amy exited the building, Riley pulls out several envelopes from her backpack.
"What's with the envelopes?" Amy asked.
Riley responds by handing them both an envelope. They open to reveal a card decked out in Christmas stickers and drawings with the words 'You're invited' in bold red and green letters.
"What's this?" Susan asked.
"They're invitations to my gift exchange on Christmas Eve and my Christmas party on Christmas Day." Riley answered.
"Oh, cool!" Amy exclaimed with delight. "What are you gonna have for your Christmas Day party?"
"We'll have food, hot chocolate, karaoke, movies, programs and we open gifts we have in the morning."
"That's cool. I'll be there."
"Count me in too." Susan spoke up.
"Great!" Riley said happily. "See you girls there."
As Riley turned around, she noticed her future boyfriend and soon-to-be crush, Jordan, about to leave the school grounds. Jordan sees her coming and smiles.
"Hey, Riley." he greeted. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to give you this." Riley replied. She then hands him an envelope with the same thing inside.
"I'm invited to what?"
"To my gift exchange on Christmas Eve and my Christmas party on Christmas Day."
"Ooh! Sounds fun! I'll be there."
Inside headquarters, Riley's emotions monitored the screen.
"Should we make her kiss him?" Joy asked.
"Uh, not yet." Fear said. "Now is not the time for her to admit her love to him yet."
"He's right, you know." Disgust agreed.
"Well, I'll see you there." Riley said to Jordan, then started walking away.
"Hey, Riley?" Jordan asked, getting Riley's attention.
"Yeah?" she answered.
"Did you sign up to perform in the Christmas program?"
"Yes."
"That's great. What are you going to sing?"
"You'll see. It's a surprise. Did you sign up?"
"No, because I get stage fright. But I'll be in the audience waving at you and watching you perform."
"Hmm. That's a bummer. Well, I guess I'll see you soon. Bye." She heads for home.
As soon as she opens the door to her house, her parents greet her.
"So, did you give out your invitations?" Bill asked.
"Yes, dad." Riley answered.
"Excellent."
"I should tell you. This party could be a very successful one if we do it right." Jill spoke up.
"I'm sure we'll do fine."
Later that evening, during dinner, Riley announced to her parents, "On the final day of school before Christmas break, we're having a Christmas program in the gym and we get to perform Christmas carols!"
"That's great, dear!" Jill said. "What are you going to sing?"
"You'll see. It's a surprise. You two will be there, right?"
"Of course we will, Riley. I've never seen my daughter sing in front of a crowd before, so I want to see you do that."
So far so good. Riley is inviting her friends and Jordan to her gift exchange on Christmas Eve and her party on Christmas Day, and she signed up to perform in her school's Christmas program! What Christmas song is she going to sing? We'll have to wait and see! I'm not letting the cat out of the bag and spoiling the big surprise!
Anyway, stay tuned next time for the next chapter.