Noelle's Christmas Crush by Angela Darling Page B

you lose,” Andrew teased.
    Noelle laughed. Every year, the Winters went ice skating on Christmas Day. She had outgrown her skates from last year, and had been looking at new ones for the last few months. And of course the fact that they were pink was just . . . perfect.
    She pushed the box aside and jumped up to hug Andrew. “Thank you! This is awesome. But why didn’t you wait until my birthday?”
    â€œI guess I just was thinking that it must kind of stink to open birthday presents and Christmas presents on the same day,” her brother replied. “You probably never even remember which are the birthday ones and which are the Christmas ones. But maybe you’ll remember this time.And it stinks that your party was canceled.”
    â€œYeah, it does stink,” Noelle agreed. “So I guess I will definitely race you on Christmas then. And these skates look pretty fast.”
    â€œYeah, well, good luck,” Andrew said with a grin.
    He left the room, leaving the door open. Noelle could hear music playing downstairs. She felt pretty bad about running out on her birthday cake, so she wiped the last stray tear from her eye and made her way downstairs.
    She found everyone in the family room, which was still decorated for the party. A cozy fire crackled in the fireplace.
    â€œHey,” Noelle said. Her parents looked relieved to see her.
    â€œYou okay, honey?” her mom asked, putting an arm around her.
    Noelle nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to freak out like that, it’s just . . . ”
    â€œIt’s okay, we know,” her mom assured her.
    â€œDoes this mean we can hit the rewind button?” Mr. Winters asked.
    Noelle nodded. “Sure.”
    Her dad left the room, Andrew hit the lights, andMr. Winters came back in with the birthday cake.
    â€œHappy birthday, birthday girl!” her parents shouted, and they were so dorky that Noelle couldn’t help laughing. Then Andrew joined in as they sang the birthday song.
    â€œOkay, make a wish!” Mr. Winters cried.
    Noelle closed her eyes. Since there was no party, please let me see Noel again, somewhere else, soon, she thought.
    It was kind of an odd wish, she knew, but she opened her eyes and blew out the candles all at once.
    â€œHooray!” her mom cried. “That means your wish will come true.”
    â€œI hope so,” Noelle said.
    â€œHey, anybody want to play Monopoly?” her dad asked.
    â€œSure,” Andrew said.
    â€œI thought you were going sledding?” Noelle asked.
    Andrew shrugged. “Josh’s mom won’t let him oil the sled. She says it’s too dangerous.”
    â€œWell, it is,” Mrs. Winters agreed.
    â€œAre we going to play Monopoly or what?” Andrew asked.
    â€œYes!” Noelle said, heading to the table. She pickedup her carefully placed table decorations and moved them out of the way.
    They played the game, laughing, and Andrew kept getting up to go outside and take pictures of the snow with his phone.
    â€œIt’s really cool with the moon shining on it and stuff,” he reported. “And it’s, like, more snow than I’ve ever seen in my life.”
    Mrs. Winters won the game ( as usual, Noelle thought), and then Noelle put on the Holiday Channel just as A Christmas Story was coming on.
    â€œAre you sure you want to watch a Christmas movie tonight?” her mom asked. “It’s still your birthday-only celebration, if you want it to be.”
    â€œIt’s okay. It seems like the right thing to do, with all the snow outside,” Noelle said.
    â€œPlus it’s an awesome movie,” Andrew added.
    â€œYou know what else is awesome?” Mr. Winters asked. “S’mores!”
    â€œS’mores in winter?” Noelle wondered.
    â€œWhy not?” her dad replied. “We’ve got marshmallows and chocolate and graham crackers. And fire.” He waved his arm at the