As long as I managed to not ruin it all, and get us a venue.
And I had almost no time to sort it out.
CHAPTER
13
TO DO:
•Find a venue! **URGENT PRIORITY****
•Get shortbread for Mum and Bil
•Stop Dad buying more novelty ties/kilt/ mini bagpipes
•Make 195 snowflakes
•
Mmm, pillows, soo soft.
Mmmmm, air smells of cookies.
Mmm. In not much more than a week we’ll be counting up how much we’ve raised from Grampy G’s Grotto.
My eyes pinged open. I shot up in bed.
It was pitch black but I was instantly wide awake, like snow had been dunked on my head.
Grampy G’s Grotto was almost here! I HAD to sort the venue TODAY. Sundays were notorious for lots of things happening, right?
I just needed to wake up!
Embrace the day!
Get in a positive mindset!
I checked my phone.
One message on my netball team group and one from the girl I sat next to in music.
Both saying the same thing.
They’d seen Sleigh Another Day last night. And then done a deep dive, and seen a photo on the fan account, SleighAllTheDaysFans. And was Little Elf Girl me?!
I replied with the only thing I could.
ME: lol
This was a disaster – “lol” couldn’t protect me for ever.
People in my real life were starting to suspect my big secret.
I crashed back on to my bed and rolled face first into the big pillow.
Whyyyyy did there have to be three more days left of term? If one person at school suspected, that meant soon everyone could.
Which would be RIP life as I knew it.
Au revoir to being in The POWR.
Hello to having “ring your jingle bell!” or “believe in your-elf!” shouted at me across the street, and being the butt of every joke about gnomes, elves, and anything small and green. People weren’t fussy when it came to laughing at me.
Surely it shouldn’t be OK to get this much bad news before … 7 a.m.
Grace was fast asleep, her “Sleep Mode” eye mask pulled down. Well, fast asleep except for murmuring something that sounded like … Carry? Larry?…
OMG. Harry!!
Was Grace dreaming about Harry?
She was definitely dream-smiling. And now she was dream-laughing. So loud she woke herself up.
And now she was not-dream blinking at me.
“Tell me it’s not time to get up?” She rubbed her eyes, her mask pushed up.
“It isn’t.” I climbed out of bed. “But I am. Going to get us brekkie.” I wanted to make full use of Oh Crumbs! doing free breakfast for hotel guests. “Requests?”
But Grace was already back asleep. I peeked out the window – it was dark and everywhere was covered in fresh snow. I pulled on some faded jeans, my warmest socks and felt around for the biggest jumper on the chair where I’d thrown everything – which turned out to be the one Dad bought me yesterday. It was black with fluffy snowballs on together with a big fluffy snowwoman. Not exactly catwalk style, but the snow was getting heavier and maybe a smiley snow person might help me shift this mood. I pulled it on, scraped my hair up into a messy bun and messaged Dad to let him know where I was off to.
I headed out on to the empty street and after walking round the square, spotted Oh Crumbs! immediately. It was the only place with lights on, and looked super cute, its big windows steamed up, a smell of cinnamon buns wafting out.
The only customer in the bakery was an old lady concentrating on a crossword. She gave me a big warm smile when I walked in. At the counter there were so many pastries to choose from – gingerbread and Biscoff croissants, Christmas-spiced babka, bauble-shaped pain aux raisins. A nice man in a snowman-shaped apron talked me through each and every one, my mouth watering more every second.
He packed the eight I chose into a red-and-white stripy box tied with a red ribbon. But when I went to take it, he pulled it back with a grin.
“You can’t just leave with those,” he pretended to be offended. “Our hot chocolate is legendary. Especially with a wee one of these.” He picked up a gingerbread highland cow and popped it on to a plate. “So how about I keep these warm” – he slid the box under the counter – “and you can warm up over there” – he nodded to a sofa at the back of the cafe by a big radiator – “with a hot chocolate and one of these?”
I didn’t need to say yes. He could tell by my goofy smile, I was fully IN. And by the time I’d taken off my hat and scarf, he’d already put a tray down.
Just what I needed. Snacks and time to properly work out how I could find a venue.
And to think about how to stop this whole Elf Girl picture getting out of control.
Christmas was two weeks away. If I could just get to Boxing Day, I should be able to survive for another year.
But it wasn’t good news. My inbox confirmed I still had no venue, and after a load of “no”s my only hope rested on a yurt hire company who said they might be able to stay up an extra day after a wedding. They warned it could be below freezing inside and there was no electricity, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. Maybe the party could be Frozen themed?
