the choice • charlie conway

chapter thirty one

sadie

To me, the best Christmases are the ones where it snows.

I'm one of the only people I know who actually likes the snow, and that's fine with me. I genuinely don't understand how people don't like it. It's bright, beautiful, and always puts me in a good mood.

I guess people don't like it because they associate snow with the cold, which I get. I'm not a stranger to the cold, and I'm definitely not the biggest fan of it, but being able to see snow for a good portion of the year allows me to look past it.

When I wake up Christmas morning, the first thing I do is run to my window. Seeing the snow that's blanketed itself over my backyard instantly brings a smile to my face. I quickly make my bed, throw on my favorite slippers, and run downstairs as fast as I can, anxious to see what's waiting for me under the tree.

The lights coming from the tree illumine my dark living room, allowing for a golden color to envelop everything. I quickly realize that I'm the first one up, so I lay on the couch, make myself comfortable under a bunch of blankets, and turn on my favorite Christmas movie, Elf.

I guess I fell asleep during the movie, because I'm suddenly being shaken awake by my sister. "Sadie, wake up! It's time to open presents!"

"Why are you shaking me Mag? It's too early for this."

"Have you forgotten that it's Christmas?" she asks, looking at me like I'm from a different planet. "I've been waiting the whole entire year for this and I won't let you take it away from me by sleeping!"

"Alright Maggie, relax." I mumble with a sigh, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "I'm up, don't worry."

"Good." she says with a nod. "Now let's get started!"

I watch as she grabs a gift and starts tearing off the wrapping paper, not even bothering to check the tag to see if it's hers or not. Luckily, the gift is a new toy set that Maggie's been wanting, so she didn't end up opening one of my presents.

I lean forward and grab a present from the pile, inspecting it and trying to see if I can guess what's inside. After no ideas pop into my head, I start ripping the wrapping paper off of the present. It reveals a teal box, and I open the box to see a beautiful gold bracelet.

Maggie stops opening her presents when she sees my bracelet and immediately turns to our parents with a sulk. "Hey, why didn't I get a bracelet too?"

"Look at all of the presents you just got." my dad says, waving his hand at all of Maggie's new clothes, toys, and shoes that are scattered all over the floor. "You should be thankful for what you have. Besides, you don't know that you didn't get a bracelet. You have to open the rest of your presents and see."

Of course, this makes Maggie grab another box from her pile and start to rip the wrapping paper off. I don't think I've ever seen a nine year old who's more spoiled than my sister.

I turn back to my own presents, excited to see what the rest of them are. I get a lot of new clothes, a new pair of white Converse sneakers, some new makeup, and the curling iron that I've been wanting for over a year. In my stocking, I get some more little makeup products, a lot of candy, and a cute little keychain for my keys.

Once all of the presents have been opened, I thank my parents and help them clean up all of the wrapping paper. I'm on better terms with them, but things are still a bit tense, especially between me and my mom. I think that when I called her out for not paying attention to me, she didn't know how to handle it.

Because it's Christmas, Dad makes his famous french toast for breakfast. He doesn't make it often, so it's always extra special when it does. I add syrup, whipped cream, and blueberries to mine, which to me is the perfect meal.

The first thing I do after breakfast is bring all of my new clothes to my room to put them away. I hate having things out of place, which helps to explain why my room is always clean. One of my favorite things about my room is my huge closet, because I usually always have room to put away new clothes I get.

I spend the next few hours texting my friends, wishing them a Merry Christmas and asking how their holidays have been. I Facetime Morgan and Ella, who both insist on doing a haul for me. I don't mind, because I love when my friends do hauls. For some reason, I find them so entertaining.

I stay on Facetime with Morgan and Ella longer than I probably should've, because it's already dark by the time we hang up. My grandparents should be arriving any minute, which means I have to start getting ready anyway.

I put on a bit of makeup, but stay in my pajamas. I don't really feel like getting dressed up for Christmas dinner, and I hope that my parents won't make me change. To my surprise, they let me stay in what I'm wearing and don't even complain about it. It must be a Christmas miracle.

When my grandparents arrive, they greet me and Maggie how they always do. My grandpa gives us a big hug each, and my grandma kisses us on both our cheeks.

I feel surprisingly calm as I sit down at the table for dinner, even more so when I see the rolls. I don't care what anyone says, the rolls are the best part of any fancy dinner. Even at fancy restaurants, my favorite part of the meal is usually the rolls or the bread that they serve.

The only thing I would've changed about dinner was all of the questions my grandma insisted on asking me about college. She's well aware that I'm only a sophomore, but as she always likes to say, "It's never too early to start looking."

Once dinner has been finished and the table has been cleared, my grandparents gesture for me and Maggie to sit on the couch. My grandpa hands us each a box, which reveal beautiful necklaces with a golden chain and our birthstone in the middle. I have a garnet stone for January, and Maggie has an emerald for May.

This is my favorite gift that I've gotten today. It's not only beautiful, but personalized as well. I immediately put it around my neck, and then help Maggie put hers on too. When both our necklaces are on, I go over to thank my grandparents by giving them both a huge hug.

The rest of the night is spent singing carols, watching classic Christmas movies, and having the ultimate gingerbread house competition. I'd like to think I won, but that depends who you ask.

If you haven't been able to tell, Christmas is my favorite holiday of the entire year. And I honestly don't think that'll be changing any time soon.