On the first day of Christmas, Zara Fischer's 'true love' gave to her... a breakup.
The day before seventeen-year-old Zara takes off for the Christmas holidays to the other side of the world--cold, dreary London--her boyfriend of two months dumps he...
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Congrats to @amiva0402 for guessing this one. It was pretty difficult!
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Sunday: December 19th, 2015
As I got ready to leave the house on the nineteenth day of Christmas, a light knock on my bedroom door brought me to a halt. Door creaking open, I paused with my eyeliner midway to my eye to look at the intruder.
Her vivaciously curly hair was yet to be tamed into a ponytail this early Sunday morning, and she was still donning her robe over her pyjamas.
"I'm sorry to disturb you getting ready," she said in a hushed voice because, for once, Amelia was still asleep down the hall.
"It's okay," I mumbled back, waiting for her to say what she wants already.
"You're going out to see your friend Jasper today, right?"
Warily, I nodded and she took another step into the room closing the door behind her. "I'm glad you've almost made it to the final round."
"Yeah, us too..." I trailed off.
"I was thinking," she started, sitting down on my bed, "Do you think Jasper might want to have dinner with us tonight if he doesn't have his own plans? We'd love to have the chance to talk with him."
"Um... what about? We aren't dating or anything." Though my voice went a little weird as I said that, and, based on the Clare's cocked eyebrow, she noticed this.
"I just want to get to know your friend. From what I've heard, you two were really close when you were younger. It's wonderful that this competition has brought you two back together."
Biting my lip, a flurry of questions flew through my head. Does she want to meet him because my dad insisted because they think we're dating? Does she want to meet him because she thinks she somehow had a role in getting us back together because of the competition she suggested? Did she want the opportunity to gloat? Was she trying to replace my mother by sussing him out?
"It's just," she started again, interrupting my thoughts, all the while avoiding looking at me, "I know we don't have long left until you go back home. And I really want to get to know you better before you leave, Zara. And I think meeting your friend might give me that window." She pursed her lips as her eyes flickered up to meet mine. "As weird as it sounds, we're family and I want to get to know my step-daughter better."
"I... um..." The two sides in me—the one that liked Clare and the one that felt guilty about mum—battled inside my head. But eventually I said, "I'll ask him."
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"Morning Fish," he greeted, smile wide and eyes affectionately staring at me as I approached him.
