When the dancers took the stage, they didn’t notice Brianna right away either.
Some of them were dressed as cookies, and others as candy. Then came the dancing chefs holding trays of pies, cupcakes, and assorted pastries.
“That’s what I’m talking ’bout!” Brianna screamed, and jumped out of the boat.
She bolted for the dancers like a crazy bull.
Mom, Dad, and I ran toward the stage as fast as we could.
The moment felt surreal and like we were moving in slow motion.
“BRIANNA!” Mom cried. “NOOOOO!”
But there was no way we could get there before she started her feeding frenzy.
First, she grabbed a male dancer by the ankle and bit into his chocolate boot.
She made a face. “Yuck! That’s NOT chocolate!”
The dancer shook her off his leg.
Next, Brianna ran to a candy ballerina and grabbed her tutu.
The ballerina stopped dancing and tugged back.
But a piece of her tutu ripped off in Brianna’s hand, and Brianna shoved it into her mouth. “Eww!” She spat it out and frowned. “That’s NOT cotton candy!”
Almost all the characters stopped dancing and scrambled off the stage to avoid being eaten alive. Soon the only dancer left was a clueless chef carrying a huge chocolate cake. He was totally focused on executing a series of grand pliés.
“Run! Run!” the frenzied audience chanted excitedly.
I couldn’t believe it!
I expected people would be walking out, booing, or at least throwing rotten veggies.
But their butts were glued to their seats, and their eyes to the stage like they were watching the last ten minutes of a Super Bowl game and the score was tied.
Brianna spotted the huge cake and just stared at it in awe.
When the chef finally caught a glimpse of Brianna, he suddenly stopped dancing and looked like he was about to wet his pants!
Brianna ran across the stage and lunged for the chef like a football player making a tackle.
The chef screamed, threw the chocolate cake up in the air, and dove into the orchestra pit.
There was a crash and a loud, off-key note from the tuba.
It was quite obvious what musician the dancing chef had landed on.
Brianna triumphantly grabbed the cake and took a huge bite out of it just as we made it to the stage.
“Brianna, you come down here this instant!” Mom ordered.
Brianna lifted her head from the cake.
Her face was smeared with chocolate frosting, and her mouth was so full she looked like a blowfish.
After chewing for a few seconds, she frowned.
Perplexed and disappointed, Brianna pointed at the fake pastry. “Thith isn’th thocolate cake!” she said.
I barely made out what she was saying, but I saw white Styrofoam where she’d bitten a huge chunk out of the cake.
“There’s no real food up here. It’s all just props,” I scolded. “I can’t believe you did this!”
“Iz this a joke? Noth funny!” She pouted.
“Brianna Lynn Maxwell!” Mom shouted, and gave her the Death Stare. “Don’t make me come up there . . . !”
Uh-oh! Mom meant business.
“Yeth, ma’am,” Brianna finally mumbled in defeat.
She spat out the faux cake and jumped from the stage into Mom’s arms.
Then the most shocking thing happened.
The dancers, the orchestra, AND the audience gave Mom a standing ovation for single-handedly bringing the Nutcracker catastrophe to an end.
And get this!
After Brianna had pretty much obliterated the Nutcracker ballet, she actually had the nerve to wave and blow kisses to everyone, like she was on that Toddlers & Tiaras show or something.
I felt a lot better when a ten-minute intermission was announced so the dancers could prepare to start the second act over again.
And then the house lights came on.
As we left the theater the audience was still laughing and cheering for Brianna, including Mr. Baldy.
It was hard to believe those stuffy folks actually loved the Nutcracker ballet as a slapstick comedy.
We piled into the car and rode home in silence.
Mostly because no one had the energy to lecture Brianna.
If she had been MY child, I would have dropped her off at the nearest mental hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Or, better yet, the city zoo.
Even though I wanted to be angry at Brianna, deep down I was happy and relieved that she was okay.
It felt good to be home again. But my poor mom and dad were so exhausted they went straight to bed.
Being the responsible older daughter that I am, I assured my parents I would see to it that Brianna got into her pj’s and safely tucked in.
I was surprised that she didn’t whine and complain like she usually does at bedtime. She just hung her head, trudged upstairs, and changed into her SpongeBob pajamas.
I felt kind of sorry for her. In a way, all of this was mostly our fault. We had overemphasized the whole sugary-dessert theme of The Nutcracker.
Brianna was just a little kid. How was she supposed to know all the scenery and the chocolate cake was fake?
That’s when I suddenly remembered MY cupcake, and my mouth started to water all over again.
I rushed downstairs to pour myself a tall, cold glass of milk.
I couldn’t wait to get back to my room and sink my teeth into that luscious chocolaty cupcake while I wrote in my diary.
When I passed Brianna’s room, I could tell she was still pretty upset. Even with her door closed, I could hear her sniffling and muttering to herself.
However, I froze in my tracks when I heard her sing what had to be the saddest song EVER:
“No sugar plums, cookies, or candy
The cupcake castle was flat
The chocolate cake was really fake
Sometimes I’m . . . such a . . . BRAT!”
I carefully placed my cupcake and glass of milk on the floor in front of her door. . . .
Then I knocked on her door.
By the time Brianna opened it, I’d already dashed to my room and flopped across my bed.
I heard her squeal in delight!
“CHOCOLATE CAKE?! Thank you, Princess Sugar Plum! You made my WISH come true!”
“You’re welcome!” I said aloud to myself, and smiled.
Who would have thunk this night would turn out so well?
Brianna DIDN’T end up on the side of a milk carton as a missing child.
The audience seemed to enjoy her antics in that wacky comedy-ballet-reality show.
And Mom and Dad were too exhausted to ground me for the rest of my life for losing Brianna.
But most important, I discovered that giving away something you cherish to someone you love can actually make you happier than keeping it.
I guess that’s what the holidays are all about.
Oh, crud! I think I’m starting to sound like one of Mom’s sappy greeting cards.
Hmmm, maybe my family isn’t so BAD after all.
NOT!! !!
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22
When we got home from church this morning, it was snowing like crazy. And by noon we had gotten a total of four inches.
As far as I was concerned, it was the perfect weather to curl up in front of the fireplace and sip hot cocoa with marshmallows.
But NOOO! My parents FORCED me to go outside in near-blizzard conditions for the STUPIDEST reason.
They wanted to build a snowman for Brianna!
Mom got all excited and said it would be a wonderful project for Family Sharing Time. But I already knew it was going to be a major DISASTER.
It was Dad’s bright idea to make a life-size snowman. He was off to a really good start as his snowball grew bigger and bigger and bigger.
Then, unfortunately, he lost control of it on a hill. . . .
Well
, there was good news and bad news.
The GOOD news was that Brianna ended up with a life-size snowman just like Dad had promised her.
But the BAD news was that DAD was the life-size snowman.
After he ran down that big hill, he dived headfirst into this huge snowbank. Then his snowball landed right on top of him. CRUNCH!!
OMG!! It took us ten minutes just to dig him out.
And by the time we got to him, he had NEW frostbite on top of the OLD frostbite he’d gotten from the snowblower fiasco.
I felt SO sorry for him. Especially since he was run over by that snowball while trying to do something nice for Brianna.
I just hope Dad isn’t traumatized and suffering from some weird illness like snowman-a-phobia.
At this point, I don’t think we’re going to be building any more snowmen anytime soon.
Thank goodness!
Which allows me even MORE free time to curl up in front of the fireplace, drink hot cocoa with marshmallows, and write in my DIARY.
I almost forgot! I STILL need to go shopping and buy a few more presents.
I’ve decided to give Brandon a Christmas present too. He’s SUCH a sweetheart!
I just have to figure out something he’d really like.
Hmmm. Maybe a gift certificate for a romantic spaghetti dinner for TWO at Giovanni’s!
SQUEEEE!!
!!
MONDAY, DECEMBER 23
Every year, I wait until the very last minute to do my Christmas shopping. I sneak out of the house with Brianna, and we ride my bike in the snow to the nearest drugstore. . . .
Since I don’t have my driver’s license yet, we’re basically forced to shop at the closest place we can get to before we catch PNEUMONIA.
That’s why Mom and Dad always get tacky presents, like a family-size pack of toothbrushes from me and gummy vitamins from Brianna.
“GIRLS!! YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE!!”
But this year I wanted to get them something special that they’d REALLY like.
You know, in addition to the toothbrushes and vitamins.
I was SO happy when I saw this huge bin of scrapbooks on sale!
It was BUY ONE, GET FOUR FREE! I was really lucky to stumble upon such a great holiday sale.
Or maybe the store was just trying to pawn them off on unsuspecting customers so there’d be less junk to throw away at the end of the shopping season.
Anyway, seeing those scrapbooks really got my creative juices flowing.
I decided to buy one as a gift for Mom and Dad. I planned to use my advanced skills in arts and crafts to create a beautiful new cover. It would be PERFECT for our family photos.
And since I was getting four extra scrapbooks for FREE, I decided to give one to Chloe, Zoey, Brianna, and Brandon, too.
Was I not BRILLIANT ?!
I’d make Chloe and Zoey each a special scrapbook about our friendship.
And I knew Brianna would love anything with Princess Sugar Plum on the cover.
But then I started thinking about Brandon. What if he actually ended up moving away?
I wanted to give him something to remind him of our friendship and all the fun times we’d had.
Like the art competition, the Halloween party, and the talent show. And even that time I actually thought I’d lost my diary at school!
Suddenly I started feeling really sad, right there in the Cold, Flu & Allergy medicine aisle.
I really wanted to help Brandon by skating in the Holiday on Ice show.
But I was also scared to death that I couldn’t pull it off.
If only I could find someone to skate in my place!
I sighed and tried to swallow the huge lump in my throat.
Sometimes it felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.
Just as I was about to go through the checkout, I saw a familiar face in the lip gloss section of the cosmetics aisle.
It was MACKENZIE!!
My heart skipped a beat! Maybe there was hope for Brandon after all. If I put aside my ego and simply asked BEGGED her for help, maybe she would consider skating in my place.
“OMG! Hi, MacKenzie! I didn’t know you shopped here,” I said all friendlylike.
She looked at me and scowled. “Nikki, what are YOU doing here? Why aren’t you hanging out with your dorky little friends at McTacoHut or somewhere?” she said.
I was dreading our conversation would go like this. But it was my fault. I should have appealed to her huge ego and opened with flattery.
“I absolutely love your lip gloss. The color brings out the highlights in your eyes,” I gushed.
“Well, you should try that new peachy color. It’ll complement your mustache hairs.”
I could NOT believe she said that right to my face.
“Hey, I’ve seen PIGS wear lip gloss and look better than you!” I muttered under my breath.
“WHAT did you just say?!” she snapped.
We stared at each other. It was SO AWKWARD!
I needed her help so I lied through my teeth. “I said, ‘Hey! I see PINK lip gloss looks good on YOU.’”
“Um, why are you even talking to me, Nikki?”
“Well, it’s about Holiday on Ice. I know you wanted to skate for Fuzzy Friends. And now I’m having second thoughts.”
“You’re actually having thoughts? I’m impressed.”
I just ignored her comment.
“MacKenzie, I want to ask you a big favor?”
“What? A donation to your plastic-surgery fund for the removal of mustache hair?”
I ignored THAT comment too.
“Would you take my place and skate with Zoey and Chloe for Holiday on Ice? We really need that money to keep Fuzzy Friends open.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t just ask me.”
“I’ve wanted to ask you since last week. You’re one of the best skaters in the show. If I mess this up, Brandon will be crushed. And it’ll all be my fault.”
MacKenzie looked amused and smiled. “YES! You’re absolutely correct!” she said.
“OMG! Is that a YES, you’ll skate for me?” I exclaimed happily.
I could NOT believe MacKenzie had actually said yes! It was a MIRACLE!
“NO! That’s a YES, that Brandon will be CRUSHED and it will be YOUR fault! Sorry, Nikki! But if you were on FIRE, I wouldn’t SPIT on you!”
“What about Brandon? Then at least do it for him. If anything happens to Fuzzy Friends, he’s going to be heartbroken!”
“I know!” she said smugly. “Actually, I’m counting on it! WHO is going to be there for Brandon when he needs a shoulder to cry on after his STUPID little shelter closes? ME! That’s who! And the best part is that he’s going to HATE YOU for letting him down. And that’s just the way I want it!”
Then MacKenzie cackled like a witch.
I just stood there in SHOCK!!
I could not believe anything breathing could be that EVIL.
It’s quite obvious that MacKenzie has set me up! AGAIN!! I’m SO sick of her little mind games!
But I’m NOT going to get MAD!
I’m going to get EVEN!
By believing in myself and skating my BUTT off!
And I’m going to be STRONG! And FIERCE! And, of course, wear a SUPERCUTE outfit!
I’ll be more deadly than that Terminator guy.
I’m going to be . . .
THE SKATER-NATOR
Anyway, all the scrapbooks I made turned out really cute.
And the pages Brianna decorated for Mom and Dad were, um . . . quite . . . interesting.
I plan to wrap all the scrapbooks and then deliver Chloe’s and Zoey’s on Christmas Eve.
I decided to just leave Brandon’s in the mailbox at Fuzzy Friends since he spends so much time there anyway.
I think he’s going to be supersurprised I actually made a special gift for him.
Now he’ll have a special place to keep all his photos.
I just hope he likes
it.
!
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24
Today is Christmas Eve!
One of Mom’s favorite winter craft projects is knitting matching sweaters for our family.
This year it’s a fairly hideous snowman sweater with a string of plastic ornaments trimming the collar.
The sweater is blue and has one red sleeve, one green sleeve, and a huge 3-D snowman on the front.
Our names were knitted in six-inch yellow letters across the back.
I thought about sending mine off to Guinness World Records as an entry for Ugliest Sweater in the History of Mankind.
I didn’t care about setting a record. I just wanted to get rid of the darn thing before someone actually made me wear it. But it was too late. . . .
Dad set up his camera, and we gathered in front of our Christmas tree.
Then he set the timer and quickly took his place next to Mom.
“Okay! Everyone say ‘Cheese!’” he said.
However, right before the flash went off, Brianna must have decided she wanted a little snack or something.
Because suddenly she turned and yanked at a candy cane hooked on a tree branch.
OMG! I couldn’t believe the whole tree fell over.
It was totally a Maxwell family moment.
I laughed so hard my ribs hurt.
I have to admit, this family portrait is now my favorite.
Unfortunately, Mom decided we looked SO ADORABLE in our snowman sweaters, she wants us all to wear them to dinner at my aunt Mabel’s house tomorrow.
I was like, JUST GREAT !! My aunt Mabel is NOT exactly my favorite relative.
It was going to be like having dinner with AUNTY SCROOGE!
THIS is the woman who STILL insists that I sit at the dreaded KIDDIE TABLE!
Any holiday spirit I had, leaked right out of me.
Just thinking about the kiddie table made me so anxious I thought I was going to have a complete meltdown.
To survive this ordeal, I was going to need nothing short of a Christmas miracle!
!!
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25
Today is Christmas Day!