Christmas Minis 2 Electric Boogaloo

***Molly Decorations - 28 November***
>”Molly? *Molly?*”
>The nandroid sighed
>In some concealed corner of the sprawling home she served she’d found a second alone to herself, a magazine spilling gossip in her lap where it lay on folded legs
>Her owner’s shrill voice, however, cut through the home and to her auditory sensors like a knife through butter, the high, just-getting-old hollering pulling a beleaguered sigh from the nandroid
>”Coming Missus Mendenhall,” she grumbled aloud, trying her best to mask her dissatisfaction as she wormed her way towards the living room where the Missus was almost perpetually glued to the television
>”Ah, perfect, there you are! It’s time to get decorating!”
>Decorating
>In the Mendenhall home what this meant was it was time to tell Molly to take down the old decorations (which were thankfully sparse for Thanksgiving) and then put up the rest
>’The rest’ meaning everything for Christmas, hauled up from the basement one plastic crate at a time, two if she could manage it, slowly unpacked and untangled and prepared to the exact specifications of the Mister and Missus
>Mercifully for Molly the Mendenhalls seldom changed their typical decorations; the tree went here, wreaths here, there and on the door, the lights arranged in a preset pattern on the roof and clinging to the mansion walls
>They would save the star for Christmas Eve and decorating the tree (another of Molly’s responsibilities) for during the Army-Navy game and then all of it would be promptly recollected, retangled and reboxed for the next year on the 26th
>Every year, year after year, this went by like clockwork so when the Missus eagerly turned to Molly, one of the crates already in her narrow hands, the nandroid couldn’t help but peep in surprise
>”Is- Is something the matter with the decorations? I could head to the store-”
>”No, no, not at all! I just figured I could help out this year, so I, well,” she hefted the box an inch in her arms, a few of its siblings behind her. “I went ahead and brought up most of it! Not the tree yet though, that’s a two girl job, huh?”
>Molly was dumbfounded, taken aback really- was the Missus okay?
>”Uh, Ma’am, are you feeling alright?”
>”Sure! Why do you ask?”
>”Oh, er,” Molly stammered, “you’ve always left the decorating to me so if you-”
>”I’m happy to help, really! Here, just help me get this lid off…”
>”O-Okay…”
>Bending down to follow the Missus she deftly slipped her narrow, composite fingers underneath the lip of the box, cracking it open to the smell of mothballed rugs and knotted strings of lights
>Molly squinted at Mendenhall’s hand as she dug into the balls of tangled light, her hands delicately aged, narrow and picking apart the ball of lights like a knot in her hair
>”Gosh,” she said, “I haven’t gone through these boxes in ages. Not since… not since even Corbin was born. Goodness..”
>She chuckled, Molly smiling a touch at the thought of a younger missus wobbling her way up and down the stairs with the same boxes, surely sighing in frustration as she ripped into the same knots
>”Well I appreciate the help ma’am,” Molly piped, cheery as she could be, “but please let me know if-”
>”Molly,” Mendenhall interrupted, laying her hand on the nandroid’s, “I want to help.”
>It struck Molly, finally, the woman’s left hand nervously grabbing her own, what was missing
>A thick band of gold, loose even for the woman’s narrow fingers, was missing- likely ferreted away in a nightstand drawer or bathroom jewelry box
>Blinking, Molly knew not to protest anymore
>”Well, then, should we start with the lights?”
>Eagerly jumping to it the duo slipped outside, arms full of lights, clips and, slung over Mendenhall’s shoulder, a step ladder for working her way up and onto the roof
>Step by step they marched onto the cobblestone walk that flowed to the driveway, a dust of hoarfrost still clinging to the grass
>Nestled up on a broad, slow river, Beacon City had the penchant for becoming brutally cold, brutally quick as Orion and his companions rose in the night sky
>Mendenhall clutched her arms underneath her jacket for warmth in the weakening November sunlight
>”If it’s too cold-”
>”I’m *fine*,” the woman snapped, smiling at the nandroid. “Now, what’s say we start with these lights, okay?”
>Nodding quietly Molly held the ladder steady, the Missus insisting on being the one to go up top
>She was surprisingly spry, stepping her way up the ladder in hardly-worn sneakers and onto the roof
>”Just hold the ladder, okay?”
>Molly nodded, holding it steady as Mendenhall slipped the rope of lights, looped around her arm, over and under the little windowlets and outcrops on the front roof
>Strategically she dropped a rope here and there where it would be plugged in, an orange extension cord sitting coiled at Molly’s feet
>Tiptoeing on the asphalt tiles neath her feet the Missus deftly finished her work, sliding over onto her bottom to plant her feet back on the ladder
>”Thank you dear,” she smiled, Molly finally releasing her grip from the ladder. “Now, uh-”
>”I’ll go coil them around the porch columns if-”
>”Of course, I’ll go get the streetlight, and the mailbox and… And-”
>”That would be it ma’am.”
>”Alright, well I’ll let you get to it!”
>Molly smiled, the Missus slipping away to tend to her half of what was left
>Alone at last Molly panted, deeply confused, even disturbed, at the sudden change of attitude on the Missus’ part
>She couldn’t help denying it was *nice* but it felt… alien, so otherworldly for the Mendenhall family she’d known and served these past few years
>Turning back down the lengthy driveway she watched the Missus roll out the extension cord like she was planting explosives, some hidden plunger sitting behind the shrubs or beneath the mailbox
>Molly waved, the Missus smiling and waving back
>Shaking her head the nandroid finished coiling the silent lights around the columns on the porch, neatly roping their ends back to the outdoor power strip nestled neatly by the outlet
>Jogging up a tap on Molly’s shoulder sent her spinning, the Missus already finished with hers and eager to plug in
>”Miss it’s a bit bright out for-”
>”I know, I know- But when everyone gets home, they’ll see them, right?”
>”Yes, they should.”
>”Good! Good…”
>Giddily the woman plugged the lights in, a mute series of little incandescent bulbs sputtering to life after a year of quiet
>”Say, do you wanna go grab the tree and bring it up now?”
>”Uh, yes! Yes ma’am, of course.”
>”Perfect! We can put a movie on and have it up and going by the time it’s dark out and-”
>”And then we can come back out and see the lights?”
>”Perfect, perfect! Read my mind,” the woman sighed, turning to the front door and letting herself in
>Pausing outside Molly froze in quiet bewilderment, trying to process how rapidly the missus had changed her tune and slipped inside
>Turning back to the greying grass and naked trees Molly flashed a wan smile, imagining the lights at night and gently glowing over a bright white blanket of snow
>A cough caught her attention where the Missus stood on the porch
>”Two girl job remember?”
>”Right, coming ma’am!”
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***Wendy and Nora Snowball Fight - 4 December***
>”C’mon Nora, it’s not that bad!”
>Wendy hefted another shovelful of snow over her whirring shoulder, the broad shovel digging through the powdery snow like butter
>”Yeah, whatever,” the young lady grumbled
>Her puffy jacket and double-knotted scarf was a bit poor for shoveling, her arms hardly able to bend underneath the triple layers of nylon, stuffing and hoody
>A surprise blizzard starting the night before had swept into the small town where the Bishops had relocated to, so any meaningful number of plows was a few towns away
>Being on a lake didn’t make it much better, the flat land and moist air battering the town with two feet of snow in a matter of hours and a third not much later
>It was still dusting as Nora fumbled to pull her scarf down to shout a question up down the driveway to where Wendy had shoveled
>”And where’s dad anyways? Shouldn’t he be-”
>”I told you he got snowed in at work,” Wendy returned, turning to yell through the mute air. “He’ll be home when the plows get through.”
>Which, Wendy reminded herself, neither she nor Mark knew when that would be
>A quiet muttering and Nora turned back to her work, shovelfuls hefted up and dumped into a mountain on their lawn
>Were it less flat by even an inch where they were it would be perfect sledding weather
>Instead the dense drifts of snow consuming the town deafened any sound of fun, the feathery fall of snow the only noise around
>Wendy sighed, resting her chin on the handle of her shovel as she swiveled to Nora
>Back to the nandroid the girl was quietly focused on her work, tiny nibbles of the wall of snow on the driveway slowly parsed out
>The magic of being a robot was never getting cold, or at least *too* cold
>The radiothermal generator inside her made sure of that, its calm, slow heat enough to keep her joints from freezing and her goop, lubricants and other fluids nicely thawed
>A sweater did, she smiled to herself, help keep the heat in
>Not to mention the dense winter coat she’d nipped from Skipper’s side of the closet
>Staring at her little girl there brought a twinge to her heart, subconscious protocols on forlorn children being silently filtered through as she watched her
>Several dozen were tossed out- not appropriate (Nora was far too old for half of them) or seasonally inappropriate (painting eggs was four months away)
>Wendy’s fingers wormed around in the fleece-lined pockets at her side, head wrapping around for something to break the drudgery of shoveling
>Slipping her hands out of her pockets she dipped them into the snow
>With how narrow and hard a nandroid’s fingers were it wasn’t the easiest but, unable to get cold, she soon clumped together a perfect dense little sphere of snow
>Packed tight and weighed in her right hand she took aim at the synthetic hood of the girl obliviously chiseling away at the snow on their driveway
>With a pitch that would make any catcher proud Wendy slung the ball at her girl’s head
>Swirling through the air the ball of snow hit hard in Nora’s back, the girl jumping in response before swinging around and slinging her shovel into the snow
>Nora diving headfirst into the snow, Wendy yelped in shock
>”N-Nora, are you oka-”
>A shivering ball snow breaking on Wendy’s cheek answered the question, the immediate response in her cheeks making to melt the scattered flakes stuck on her face
>”O-Oh,” Wendy peeped, total surprise plastered on her face as another duo of snow balls slung past her, one striking her on the old coat, center of mass where another paffed into the snow and crumbled
>Diving backwards, Nora slipped behind the mound of snow she’d built in their hours shoveling, no doubt scooping more snow into her gloved hands to squeeze together
>Nandroids were no good for snowball fights or any fights, but Wendy was determined not to give into the girl, regardless of the whipping torrent of snowballs she was somehow churning out
>Wendy plunged her lithe fingers into the snow, raking it together into a neat ball in her hand, rolling and spinning it like a glob of pizza dough
>”H-Here it comes Nora, you better watch out!”
>Breaking from her kneel in the snow, Wendy whipped the perfect little ball towards her daughter
>Too little, in fact
>Braking in the air the tiny pompom of snow petered out before plunking into a little crater of its making in the still-untouched snow on the lawn
>A little scar was carved into the white blanket, Wendy pouting at the snowball like it would keep rolling and get to Nora eventually
>Exposed above the drifts of snow Wendy took another snowball straight to the knee, an unsightly splotch of snow clinging caked to her pant leg, Wendy reminding herself to run them through the dryer before another caught her in the shoulder
>”Oh come on Nora, play-” Another ball whizzed between her legs, forcing Wendy behind the mailbox post. “-fair!”
>Wendy had a lot to learn about snowball fights it seemed, more than enough to fill the margins of the “Appropriate Seasonal Play” class she’d attended some years ago, still fresh as ever in her mind

>Breaking into a rhythm of her own and careful to shape the snow in her hands to just the right size Wendy fought back, breaking into a dash across the driveway to flank her daughter
>Nora was hunkered into the little hillock of snow she’d made, a place to crouch into carved away with her hands and packed together where she sat
>A volley of snow followed Wendy where she rounded the opposite wall of their home, the brick wall shielding her from the worst of it and giving the perfect vantage point to rain hell on the girl peppering her with snowballs
>”You can’t stay in there forever Nora,” Wendy shouted, whipping a ball as hard as she could into the little icy bunker stacked on the corner of the narrow brick walk and asphalt. “You gotta come out eventually!”
>Wendy shivered with anticipation turning the corner again, breaking cover to fling two shots at Nora’s position, perfectly nailing the conspicuous knit hat sitting on top of the mound of snow
>Falling backwards there was no smashing of snow on Nora’s head where it wasn’t, the hat fluttering to the ground and pressing into the snow idly
>Eyes widening Wendy failed to process the devious little trick laid out in front of her, creeping forward and ignoring the silent crunch of snow boots behind her
>”Gotcha!”
>With a pounce Nora was on Wendy, cramming a fistful of snow down the nandroids neck as Wendy shot up, yelping
>Nandroids couldn’t feel cold, not like people, but they could be scared like them
>Howling Wendy whipped around and reflexively catapulted a snowball directly into Nora’s forehead, the dense little ball exploding into flecks of ice in her brown hair and dripping down her face

>”O-Oh,” Wendy peeped, staring blankly at the snow-faced creature ahead of her. “OH MY GOD, NORA!!!”
>”M-Mom I’m fi-”
>Before Nora could even wipe the snow from her face, naked hands bouncing around above the mittens dangling from her wrists, Wendy grabbed her and yanked her inside
>”Oh heavens, oh heavens, oh my goodness, oh…”
>Wendy kept muttering to herself to Nora’s protestations and constant reminders that she was fine, Wendy chattering anxiously as she ran the hot water as fast as she could and wet a cloth
>”Mom I’m *fine*,” Nora stamped, her face already clear of snow where it had melted and dripped into nandroid-annoying puddles on the hardwood
>”Y-You’re sure,” Wendy mumbled, the girl’s face glowing red in the dim lamplight in the kitchen
>”Yeah, and it was a fair shot too! Good reflexes,” Nora beamed, holding a fist out for a dap
>Wendy was unsure what to do with the fist bump so simply grabbed the seventh grader’s hand to assure her everything was fine
>”You’re *sure* you’re okay?”
>”Chilly? I guess? I’m fine Mom, we should, uh,” she paused, Wendy clearly too worried to want to do any work. “We should get back to shoveling though.”
>Turning out the window Nora nodded to the first of the plows making its rounds around the cul de sac, Wendy blinking as she realized the roads were finally clear
>”O-Oh! Yes, you… you go and do that I need to get started on dinner since-” The phone rang, a synthetic chime singing from the landline. “I’ll get that and you get on shoveling, okay?”
>”Okay Mom, but-”
>”But what?”
>”You gotta let go of my hand first.”
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***Ted Decorating the Tree - 11 December***
>Christmastime in the Delaire household
>Angela and Ted were almost perpetually busy during December, a scant few days afforded to them by their employers
>The young girl, for her part, was more than understanding for a girl her age about the yearly ordeal
>That all went out the window though when a massive snowstorm whipped into Newburgh, burying even an admittedly prepared Beacon City underneath a solid yard of snow
>This included the outlying suburbs that made up the wealthier spokes around the city, Hawthorne Grove snugly cocooned in feet on feet of unending, frigid white
>Ted and Angela found telework faster and easier than anything they’d be forced to drive and take care of so, with Madeline plopped in front of the TV, they slid into the living room to join her
>”So pumpkin,” Ted opened, “what do ya want to do today? Plenty of snow outside if you wanna go-”
>”Actually, sir,” Emmy casually interrupted, trying her best to gently cut her way in, “Madeline has been wanting to decorate the tree! And it would be even better together, no?”
>”O-Oh! Sure, sure, yeah!” Ted briefly blinked at his snowboots sitting on the hardwood in the kitchen just a few feet away. “Decorating, right.”
>Angela quietly thanked Emmy for her coffee, Ted turning to Madeline
>”Well, dear, wanna go grab the boxes and get going?”
>”Emmy and I already brought them up!”
>The girl cheerfully hopped from her spot on the rug, flipping around to behind the sofa where her mom and dad sat
>”Ah, cool! Cool, where do you want to start-”
>”Well Emmy and I were talking it over and-”
>Ted sighed, eyes narrowing briefly as Emmy scooched out from behind the couch with one of the plastic bins hefted in her arms
>The tree was already up, taken care of weeks ago on Black Friday, also by Emmy and Madeline, so the decorating was all that was left

>”Well Emmy doesn’t know everything about decorating, right,” Ted raised his hands to the rest of the room, expecting an agreement
>A meager shrug from Angela failed to break the uncomfortable silence, an oblivious Emmy clipping the lid off
>”Oh! Well, sir, I can certainly say that in nandroid school we were more than educated on all manner of decoration, seasonal or otherwise! Why-”
>”Okay, okay! You, you go ahead and tell me what to do.”
>”Well,” Emmy started, hanging on her words, “it’s never that easy and I do think *Madeline* should say where to start, right-”
>”THE CANDYCANES,” Madeline howled, diving for the open box and pawing through its contents hungrily
>Ripping a cardboard box from inside she nabbed at the plastic candy canes inside
>Weighing one in her hand she flopped back onto the sofa, Angela peeping as she squeezed her mug lest it spill
>”Check *this* Mom.”
>Rolling her arm back Madeline tossed the cane in a perfect arc (well practiced with Emmy over years past) and onto one of the slender limbs of the tree
>A needle or two rained onto the mat rounding its stump as Madeline pumped a fist in the air
>”Here, you try dad!”
>”I, what about the wall-”
>”It’s *fine* dad, *try it*.”
>Taking one of the plastic ornaments being pressed into his hand, he held it like a throwing dart, angling its crook into the air before slinging it through the air
>Clipping the top branches of the tree it whizzed through the conifer’s needles and into the angle of the wall the tree was nestled into
>It clattered against the paint, thankfully not chipping or denting it, as it tumbled to the floor
>”Good one, Ted,” Angela sipped, focusing on the black and white movie on the television
>”Hey, I-”

>”Here sir,” Emmy said, smiling, “it’s not too hard! Just give it a good arc and the crook will do the rest!”
>As if to rub his face in it Emmy neatly alley-ooped the cane right on the top few branches, clapping twice as it swung and settled in place
>”Nice one Emmy! Here, take another!”
>Just like that Emmy and Madeline finished off the box, Madeline tumbling them into the air where they plinkoed down between the branches, sitting flat on their sides or somehow hooking on as Emmy neatly tossed them into place
>There was an art to it, an art Ted fumbled to master as the nandroid’s mechanical arm slung the candy canes evenly across the tree
>With that box out of the way Emmy slipped away to fetch a step stool, planting it besides the tree as she beckoned to Madeline for the ribbon
>With a fluid unrolling she spun it, spiraling, down the tree before hopping down off the ladder again
>”Okay,” she sighed, “onto the ornaments?”
>Madeline nodded enthusiastically, digging (more gently now) in the crate for the tissue-paper wrapped little heirlooms inside and the more generic, thin-glass baubles and balls in their boxes
>”Care to start, sir,” Emmy offered, Madeline already eagerly unfurling the layers of newsprint and paper around her favorite ornaments, heavy and delicate
>”Sure, why not.” Rising from his spot he stepped over to the tree, Emmy handing him a miniscule glass ball. “Where do you want it?”
>”Sir?”
>”You’re the *expert*,” he quietly snipped, “where would it be best?”
>”Oh, wherever sir! Just make sure the tree stays balanced!”
>”Right, right.”

>Ornament by ornament the trio went about their work, the odd, still-sleepy instruction from Angela to Emmy and Madeline of where to put her favorites and where (read- the back) the least favorites
>Their supply dwindling Emmy stepped back to admire the tree, Ted nervously dangling a rock-crystal gift from some relative or another on the near-side
>”Looking good, sir!”
>”Yeah?”
>”Well, I think there could be some balanc-”
>”I think it’s *fine*, don’t you think it’s fine Madeline?”
>The girl shrugged, fiddling with an extra paperclip as she bent it into a spare hook and back again
>”See? No trouble.”
>Before Emmy could politely protest a knock at the door pulled her attention away
>”I’ll get it, sir.”
>Slipping away to the front door Emmy whipped it open, Franny staring back at her behind the deep blue overcoat that she, and Emmy for that matter, were afforded for the winter
>”Oh Franny! How nice to see you!”
>”Heya Emmy,” she smiled, turning to the twins as they tussled in the snow on the Delaire’s front lawn. “The, uh, the twins wanted to know if Emmy was free to come sledding? They’d love to have her!”
>”Ah, sorry Fran,” Emmy shrugged, “Madeline wanted to stick in today.”
>”Oh yea? Is she feeling alright?”
>”Fine, fine! Just there’s a Christmas movie marathon and-” Behind her a rumbling of toppling glass atop the ruffle of shaking pine needles echoed down the hall to the front door, a loud ‘DAMMIT’ following after. “And she’d been wanting to decorate with the Mister and Missus.”
>”Ah, come back later?”
>”Tomorrow?”
>”Sounds like a plan!”
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***Franny and the Twins Play in the Snow - 11 December***
>”Boys? Boys, where are you?!”
>Franny shouted, the crowded, half-empty townhome ricocheting the noise all around
>Of the Flaggs’ kids, Franny ticking the list off in her head, the boys were the only ones home after the rest had left
>Their eldest had gone one place and the Mister and Missus someplace else, the youngest two in tow
>Franny couldn’t conjure the where or when of their departure into the blankets and drifts of snow drowning Beacon City but she did know there were two twins left unaccounted for who would *not* be spending their Winter break sat inside on their behinds
>”Nathan, Ryan! Get your winter clothes on, we’re going-”
>Interrupted by the thump of snow boots and the clatter of a plastic toboggan on drywall the twins tumbled down the curling staircase to their shared room
>Nathan was still hopping one-footed down the steps, to Franny’s incalculable horror, as he yanked his second boot on
>Ryan, thankfully, was already fully clothed and dragging the sled behind him where it dinged on the railing and clapped on the hardwood in the narrow foyer of the Flagg home
>Ramming his foot home in his boot Nathan stood at his brother’s side, raring to go
>”Ready,” the two panted, clearly beyond thrilled to shoot outside into the snow
>”Alright you two, let’s go!”
>Franny sighed happily, the door shut behind her and only having to worry about *two* of the Flagg children instead of five
>Pulling her royal-blue Sterling winter coat tighter around herself she smiled, happy to step down the porch, half-shoveled where her feet tiptoed in the inches of blown-in snow, the boys already galloping ahead and fording across the lawn with their hefty sled in tow
>Finally on the sidewalk the boys hobbled through the snow, their nylon snow pants and heavy coats splitting through the snow like a pair of Arctic icebreakers

>”Oh right!” Nathan fumbled with his scarf, pulling it down below his mouth where his breath fogged excitedly. “Franny, can we go get Madeline! And Corbin too, and Ajay, and-”
>Ryan mumbled in agreement, messing with the tuque covering his head and ears and tucking a red-brown lock of hair back underneath
>”Wh- Well absolutely we can! I don’t see why not and, hey, the more the merrier!”
>Franny shivered quietly to herself
>Between the kids and their million and a half activities, sports, projects, homeworks, laundry hampers, beds and more she’d hardly been able to see her friends in months
>Barely a second went by, dragging her narrow, never-cold legs through the snow, that she didn’t miss her closest classmates
>Pulling her coat tighter she picked up her pace she joined after the boys in their forging on, slinging themselves around between her friends’ houses

>Sighing, the boys stepped down off of another over-salted porch and back onto the sidewalk
>Their entire crusade across the neighborhood was in vain
>The Mendenhalls were gone, long gone- apparently the whole family was choosing to winter in Cancun at another of their smaller (comparatively) properties, eager to miss “the weather”
>The Khatris, too, were out of town- a continent away, they were spending their winter with family well overseas and, Franny grinning through it, somewhere equally away from “the weather”
>The Pryce-Spiegels were home, admittedly, but Michelle was practicing for a crucial Christmas recital and Polly was helping her… somehow
>Not to mention the ‘indefatigably proud’ (as Mister Pryce put it) cold she’d picked up from the *last* time she went out into the cold, as if it were no one’s fault but the Earth for choosing to tilt a certain way during December
>That just left the Delaires, Emmy and Madeline likely stewing inside by the fire and, Franny’s shoulders slacking, just as unlikely to want to come out with the boys
>Even their demeanors, Franny stepping onto the porch, had worn considerably, their knees wet from marching through the snow
>”Franny you don’t have to knock,” Ryan sighed
>”Yeah,” Nathan added, “can we just go home?”
>”Boys, come on! We can still have fun together,” Franny knocked, stepping back to wait. “I mean, even if Emmy doesn’t-”
>”Oh Franny! How nice to see you!” Emmy beamed in front of her former classmate, Franny’s cheeks reflexively flushing for either the cold or the sunny smile her friend spilled out to her
>”Heya Emmy- the, uh, the twins wanted to know if Emmy was free to come sledding? They’d love to have her!”
>”Ah, sorry Fran,” Emmy shrugged, “Madeline wanted to stick in today.”


>”Oh yeah? Is she feeling alright?”
>”Fine, fine! Just there’s a Christmas movie marathon and-” From inside a roar of pine needles snowed down, the pop of ornaments and tumbling of tinsel, followed by a prominent curse. “And she’d been *wanting* to decorate with the Mister and Missus.”
>”Ah, come back later?”
>”Tomorrow?”
>”Sounds like a plan!”
>The door clipped shut, Franny turned around, ready to tell the boys the bad news they’d already heard, only to see them missing
>A vacant set of boot prints vanished behind the house, Franny sprinting after them before the boys caused the Delaires any more trouble
>”Nathan?! Ryan?!” Franny hollered as she high-stepped her way through the icy drifts, sinking up to her waist in the snow as she bemoaned it wetting her coat. “B-Boys!! They said no!”
>Jumping up she hollered again, howling anxiously as she heard the Earth shattering echo of something hitting on glass (but not breaking it, thank God)
>”Boys! Boys,” Franny gasped, seeing the two posted up in a small crater they’d dug into the hill behind the Delaire town home
>From there they catapulted a single snowball into the window, the pane reverberating as the shattered bits of ice dripped down
>With another throw the window shook again, Madeline whipping the deck door open to see what the commotion was
>”Yo Madeline!”
>”What, Ryan,” she shouted back
>”Come out and play with us! The snow’s not getting any colder!”
>Madeline bobbed her head side to side, weighing it in her head as Nathan covertly packed another snowball
>”Well, I dunno… Do you guys wanna come in first? We have cocoa!”
>Bolting out of their snowy little bunker, the twins launched onto their feet and charged back around for the front door, leaving Franny in the backyard
>”Is that a-”
>”Yes Madeline, dear, I think so!”