25
" Mae?” Mom’s voice rises over the noise.
“Mm?” I look up, realizing again that everyone is watching me. Apparently, I’ve missed a direct question.
Her brows furrow. “Are you okay, honey?”
With horror, I realize my entire face and neck are flushed. “Yeah, sorry, was just chowing on my dinner.”
Theo leans on his elbows. “I called Professor Plum, and you didn’t even blink.”
“Oh.” I wave my fork. “I’ll be whoever’s left.”
I can feel the ripples of shock make their way around the table. I am laid-back about few things, it’s true, and none of those things are Professor Plum. Like any self-respecting woman of twenty-six, I take my Clue very seriously.
And yet.
“What’s the big deal, guys?” I ask. “Sometimes a little change is good.”
• • •
I’ll have you know that Colonel Mustard won Clue tonight, and Professor Plum is already off to bed, pouting that not only did I take the good luck juju with me to a new character, but Professor Plum himself was the murderer, in the conservatory, with the rope. I don’t think Theo enjoys my victory dance, but Andrew sure seems to. "
― Christina Lauren , In a Holidaze
35
" Come on, Noodle. Let’s head back.”
Pulling my coffee closer, I hug it like it’s my last true friend. “I needed to make some changes anyway. This table is my home now. Forward my mail.”
Laughing, Benny reaches into his back pocket, fishing out his wallet. “You’ll feel better after you talk to Andrew.”
“Are they all waiting at the van?”
He shakes his head and pulls a clean hundred-dollar bill out, dropping it on the table. “They all headed back a while ago.” He stands. “We can take a cab.”
I stare at the bill on the table. “Holy Benjamin Franklin. My coffee was, like, four dollars.”
“I don’t have anything smaller on me.”
“Let me just pay with my debit card.” I start to stand, but he puts a hand on my arm.
“Mae. I got it. It’s almost Christmas, and this nice little restaurant has kept you safe from cars and awnings and all other dangerous flying objects.” He shrugs. “You ever hear of Spotify?”
“Uh, yeah?”
He grins. “I got in early.”
“How early?”
“Early.” He lifts his chin to the door. “Let’s go. "
― Christina Lauren , In a Holidaze
37
" Everyone looks at us expectantly when we emerge from the downstairs, and I’m sure it’s just my imagination but I can’t help but feel that a suspicious hush has fallen over the room.
I wave, like an idiot. “Hey. Sorry I fell asleep.” I point behind me, down the stairs. “After we were talking. And playing cards. You know.”
Miles screws his face up. “Thanks for the update.”
He tugs at the strap of a floral apron around his neck and picks up a can opener. Granted, it’s a sort of fancy version of a regular can opener, but my brother turns it around in his hands like it’s a complicated rocket engine part salvaged from NASA. Are we really entrusting this fetus with dinner preparation for thirteen people?
Andrew starts to explain to him how to use it, but I stop him with a hand on his arm. “No. He will learn through the suffering.” I turn to give the same warning look to my mom, but she seems perfectly content at the kitchen table with a glass of wine in one hand and a paperback in the other.
Miles looks like he would very much like to give me the finger, but then his expression clears and a smirk pulls at his mouth. “Dude.” He points upward. “You two are under the mistletoe.”
In unison, Andrew and I turn our faces up to the doorway overhead. Miles is right. The festive sprig is now hanging from a red ribbon pinned into the doorway.
“I didn’t know that was there,” I burst out defensively "
― Christina Lauren , In a Holidaze
38
" Benny sits next to me on the porch swing, and we rock back and forth in aware silence. I can barely make out the shape of the house next door through the trees but can see the smoke curling from the chimney, the glow of their outdoor Christmas lights through the branches.
The branches.
I look up warily. Across the yard, I think I spot the snow-covered branch that cracked me on the head, and I point at it, growling, “You will not get me tomorrow, you fucker.”
Benny goes still. “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on?”
“It won’t matter.”
He studies me. “Why not?”
“Because this is the fourth time I’ve been in this day, and no matter what I try to do differently, I keep coming back.”
“Like Groundhog Day?”
“Is that a movie?”
He scrubs a hand down his face. “God, you’re young. I still think it’s one of the weirdest traditions, believing spring is determined by a groundhog’s shadow. Spring starts on the same day every year where I’m from.”
I must be staring at him in bewilderment, because he nods. “Yes, Maelyn, Groundhog Day is a movie.”
“Then yes. No matter what I do, I keep getting clobbered and waking up on the plane. "
― Christina Lauren , In a Holidaze