A Christmas To Remember

Chapter 2

“It’s not that I am not grateful. Truly, I am. I love that you thought of me and it is a very nice offer and something I’m sure any normal teenage girl would kill to have. However, I am not normal and I am actually quite scared and I think I need some air.” With my delicate sentiment over, I abruptly stand and race out the back door. On my way out I hear my father’s voice.

“Well, that went better than I expected.”

I run through the back slider door and dash across the yard. I make it to my secret hiding spot in a grove of trees that are clustered at the back of our property. I climb the thick trunk and make it to a little nook where a few branches meet the trunk. I snuggle myself down into the spot and make myself comfortable for some thinking time. As thoughts fly around my head trying to calm me down and tell me all the ways I can die physically, mentally, and emotionally on this trip at the same time, I hear a rustle of branches below me.

When I look down I can see the same forest green eyes as mine staring up at me. A few branches down I see Sicily sitting and looking at me with her emotions written all over her face. She never has been good at concealing her feelings. I can see a look of pity and exasperation covering her face and sadness in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Her soft voice breaks our silent staring contest.

“That is a loaded question.”

“That all depends on how you look at it.”

“I don’t want to go. I know you and any other normal teenage girl would jump on this opportunity. I just don’t want to be away from you all for so long. I don’t want to be gone for Christmas. I definitely do not want to go to a foreign place where there are a lot of people that I don’t know and that possibly could kill me and no one would know.”

“I understand, D, Mom and Dad just want you to be able to be on your own for longer than two weeks. They had your best interest in mind. While it may not seem like it in the short run, it will give you a better idea of what it is going to be like as an adult because you will be an adult when you go. Besides, we will celebrate your birthday before hand because you are traveling the day after your birthday and we are getting your adult paperwork on your birthday. Plus, you are going to freaking London! D, it’s freaking Shakespeare land! You know the ancient dude that you’ve been obsessed with since you were 5!” She lets out a laugh, lightening the mood.

“First of all, when did you get so much older and wiser than me? Second, where did you get all that information?”

“First, I have always been much wiser than you. The older part just kicked in recently. Second, I helped the moms and pops plan it.”

“You did what?”

“Would you look at the time. I have to go.” With that she starts to make her way down the branches with me close on her heels… or head because we are climbing down a tree.

Once my feet hit the ground I chase her across the property until I finally get her into arms reach. I grab her by the waist and tackle her to the ground both of us landing with a thud. A second of silence goes by before Sicily’s little voice pipes up, “Ow.” We both bust out laughing and roll away from each other.

I look over to her as my laughing calms down, “Thank you for trying to talk some sense into my crazy head. However, you still are going to pay for making me run.”

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I put my toothbrush down and look at myself in the mirror. I sigh as I take in the heinous sight. My honey blonde hair is a few shades darker from the wetness of the shower. It looks crazy as it sticks out at odd angles. I was not lucky in the looks department if I say so myself. My blonde hair and green eyes don’t compliment each other as much as Sicily’s Dark auburn hair and green eyes. When the gene pool was mixed, it spit me out with my dad’s face and my mom’s hair. When it was stirred a year later, it produced Sicily with my mom’s face and my dad’s hair. I am not complaining but I am the older sister for heaven’s sake! I should have gotten the better of the combinations. If you to look at us in a line up, the only tell that we are sisters would be our eyes. Other than that, we don’t have anything in common in the way of looks and beauty.