The Christmas Playbook (Shadow Valley U)

Chapter 2 We could give the McCallister family a run for their money. I'm not sure if it's the scent of Christmas in the air, or the twinkling lights on the airport tree, but I'm pretty sure we're in the running to create another Home Alone movie-only our family is worse. I may even petition for my name to be changed to Kevin because he and I are more alike than ever. The forgotten child lost in the middle of pure fucking chaos.

"What's the name for your order?" I glance at the barista and hardly contain a laugh when I say, "Kevin." His brows cave for a second before he decides he doesn't care to ask and writes the name on the cup. I squeeze past the bystanders, who are also waiting for their coffees while anxiously checking their watches for the time. What is it with airports and everyone always being late? My case is an exception, of course. I shouldn't have expected anything different when my sister walked up with two togo cups full of coffee and neither of them were for me. "Oh, shoot. Sorry, Mira.

I forgot to order you one." I mean, really? She gets free coffee from me on a weekly basis from the café I work at, and she can't order me one at the airport? She even managed to order coffee for Marcus. He probably got fifteen hours of precious teenager sleep. He doesn't need it to survive like the rest of us. My phone has three texts from Rachel telling me to hurry up. I send her a middle finger emoji and shove my phone back into my bag. "Kevin?" I turn and stare behind me but quickly realize I'm Kevin, which would explain why the barista is staring at me. "Oh, right!

Thank you." I suck half my latte down before making it back to the gate. My family sticks out like a sore thumb. Everyone, including myself, is gawking at the wildness occurring. There are so many of us that we nearly fill all the seats on the plane. Okay, that's dramatic. But still. Rachel, the eldest of my siblings, stands beside her husband while he wrangles my nephew back into the stroller. Cammie, the second eldest, is making out with her fiancé behind the trash cans as if no one can see them. Then there are my two stepbrothers from my father's second marriage.

Yeah, we're one of those types-where my father and mother divorced, remarried different people, and now we're just one big, happy, dysfunctional family. My stepbrothers' wives are both pregnant at the same time, unplanned-or so they say. My mom is fussing over the baby of the family, Marcus, who is taller than all of us. Then there's my stepdad, chatting away with my father who has long lost Eliza, my stepmom, because she's made her way over to Rachel to help her with Liam, the screaming toddler I mentioned from before.

The only benefit of going to Big Bear Ski Resort for our annual Christmas trip is that I get my own cabin for the first time ever. Never mind the fact that it's because they forgot to make sure I had a bed for myself. In an attempt to make things right, my stepdad booked me my own. Marcus continues to dish out bribes to get me to give it up, but I refuse. What teenage boy needs an entire cabin for himself? The baby of the family will do just fine rooming with Mom and Jeff.

"There you are." This text is hosted at find(ɴ)ovel.net Rachel slides up beside me, and we both watch Tom, her husband, and Eliza, try to soothe Liam. "Why does your coffee say Kevin?" Her jaw drops. "Did you steal someone's coffee, Mira?" "No." I roll my eyes. "The barista misheard me." God forbid I step a toe out of line. Despite the mayhem that occurs when we're all together, everyone in my family is pretty dang successful. Except me. Whether they've found their soulmate, attended some prestigious college, have a 401k, or a stable, well-paying job, they're all doing great.

Even Marcus has been offered a full ride to the same university that my father attended. Then there's me-the one who's still trying to figure it out. Whatever it is. Which is exactly what everyone says if I come up in conversation. So what if I make scant money at the café, serving coffee? "What do you mean he misheard you?" Rachel squints. I shrug. "Kev-in, Mir-a. Two syllables." Rachel scoffs, and I think I'm going to have to just tell her I stole the coffee so she'll move past it, but then I follow her line of sight.

Cammie and Andrew are practically dry humping, and it takes everything in me not to laugh. "Dad is going to lose it," Rachel mutters. "No, he isn't." I sigh. "He'll probably turn to me me and say, 'When are you going to find a boyfriend? Can't you be more like Cammie and get pregnant at an airport?'" Rachel snorts, and half our family looks at us. "Cammie's pregnant?" Thomas asks. Great. "What? No." I shake my head at my stepbrother. Rachel silently laughs under her breath. "A little help?" I beg quietly. "You're on your own." What a bitch. "I'll babysit for free," I hiss.

"Done." Rachel steps forward and points at me with her thumb. "Mira stole some guy's coffee." My jaw slacks. "What? No, I didn't!" "Is there a Kevin around?" my father shouts. "Is there a Kevin missing his coffee?" If someone takes this coffee from my hand... "Mira, just because you work at a café doesn't mean you can just help yourself to other people's drinks." My mom sighs. My face is blank. She gives me a disappointed look and turns away. Our boarding group is called over the speaker, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

One three-hour flight and a quick shuttle to the resort stands between me and peace and quiet. Maybe I can figure out what to do with my life all alone in my warm, cozy cabin with nothing but my family's disappointment lingering around to fill the empty space.