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Sarah Sues Santa – P.J. Leonard

Chapter Two: Christmas Day

The second she awoke Sarah nearly burst out of her bed with excitement, but then curled back
under the covers with the duvet wrapped tight around her. It was a cold morning, but more
importantly, Christmas morning! She could barely contain herself. All year, even in the summer
when she was sweating away in the garden and cutting herself on those thorn bushes trying to clear
out the weeds, she would grit her teeth and remind herself…December 25th… and now, here it was.
Santa had been to the house in the middle of the night. He must have stood on the roof of this very
house and checked the name Sarah Pebbleton off of his ‘nice kids’ list…
She couldn’t wait any longer. She leapt out of bed and, gasping as the cold wooden floorboards
chilled her feet, she scrambled out of her pyjamas and into warmer clothes. She opened her
bedroom door a little and peeked out to see if her parents were awake yet. The smell of Christmas
dinner wafted over her, and her stomach grumbled. It was the only sound she heard. They’re not
awake yet. Why don’t Mum and Dad ever get up early on Christmas Day? Aren’t they excited too?
She paced around her room, thinking. It was tradition in her family that they all went downstairs
into the living room together on Christmas morning to open the presents. It was a little annoying but
Sarah liked that tradition, and besides, it would be horrible if she stopped being good right now,
wouldn’t it? For all she knew, the presents could be magic and they might change if she did
something wrong. Maybe…maybe she was doing something wrong right now, by waking up too
early! Oh no!
Sarah sat herself on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. Don’t be silly, she told herself,
Santa’s not that strict. Relax. She stood up and went to the window, the ledge just wide enough for
her to sit on. She rubbed the condensation away from a window pane and looked out on the street
below. A thick blanket of snow lay over everything, making the normally grey tarmac look clean
and bright. Even now the snow was falling, a flurry of flakes spinning and whirling past the window
and piling up below. It was silent out there right now, with only a few footprints here and there.
Maybe she’d go out there sometime today, to build a snowman or get into a snowball fight with the
other kids on the street? It all depended how much fun she’d be having with her Deluxe
Uberwoman!
Her bedroom door creaked open, and Mum stood there in her dressing gown.
“I knew you’d be up,” she said with a smile, “Ready to open your presents?”
Sarah leapt from the window ledge. “YES!”

Dad opened the living room door. Inside it was dark, the Christmas Tree standing in the corner like
a shadow. When he flicked on the switch, though, the tree sparkled with green, red and gold.
Sarah’s heart pounded at the sight of the stack of presents under the tree. He’s been! He’s really
been!
Mum and Dad said something, but Sarah could barely hear them: she nearly dived at the presents
and began unwrapping them as slowly and politely as her shaking fingers would let her.
She started small. I want to build up to the main event. She unwrapped fun little presents first, some
selection packs of sweets and some new books. Then they got bigger: soft toys, board games and
even an full size Uberwoman cape that she could wear herself. Then she turned back to the tree to
open her main present…but it wasn’t there. Only their cat Tinder lay curled under the glow of the
fairy lights.
Sarah felt as though something cold was tightening around her chest. She turned to her Mum and
Dad…and in marched Dad, holding in front of him a present that was just the right size and shape.
The ice in her chest dissolved as a wild fire spread through her right to her toes. Dad laid the present

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