Free Noelle's Christmas Crush by Angela Darling Page B

until Noelle was satisfied. When they were almost done, Mr. Winters came into the family room with a hand behind his back.
    â€œI picked up something for you, almost-birthday girl,” he said.
    â€œWhat is it?” Noelle asked.
    Mr. Winters held out his hand. “Ta-da!”
    Noelle let out a shriek. “A violet lightbulb!”
    â€œI could only find one,” Mr. Winters said. “But I think it’ll give you the effect you want.”
    â€œLet’s put it in!” Noelle said, her green eyes shining with excitement.
    Her dad screwed the bulb into the lamp next to the couch, and soon the room was bathed in a lovely purple glow.
    â€œOoh,” Noelle breathed. “That really is perfect!”
    She gazed around the room. Everything was just as she had imagined.
    â€œNoelle, I have to admit, it does look pretty perfect,” Mr. Winters said, giving her a squeeze. Then he looked at his watch. “Hey, it’s almost eleven. You should get a good night’s sleep for your big day tomorrow.”
    â€œI don’t think I can sleep,” Noelle said. “This is even better than Christmas Eve.”
    â€œWow. That’s pretty good,” Mr. Winters said. “But do me a favor and try, okay?”
    â€œOkay, Dad,” Noelle said. “And thanks.”
    A short while later, Noelle snuggled into bed and stared at the twinkling lights on her tree. She closed her eyes and drifted off, dreaming of her perfect party.

chapter 13
    NOELLE WOKE UP THE NEXT morning, wide awake and excited. Her party wasn’t until the afternoon, but she still had to help set up the food, and get dressed, and . . .
    She suddenly froze, listening. Everything was so quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet you only hear . . . she ran to the window, her heart beating.
    Snow blanketed everything she could see. It was piled up on the roof, mounded on the front lawn, and huge hills of it covered the street outside. There were no cars moving down the street, no people outside—just snow, snow, snow everywhere she looked. Heavy white flakes were pouring from the sky. That’s why it was so quiet.
    Normally, Noelle loved snow, especially on Christmas. But none of her birthday dreams had included snow.
    Panicked, she ran downstairs. Her mom and dadwere awake, drinking coffee in the kitchen and wearing bathrobes. They stared at the small kitchen TV with worried looks on their faces.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Noelle asked.
    Her mom looked at her with a sympathetic frown. “Oh, honey, it’s a record-breaking blizzard.”
    â€œA blizzard?” Noelle asked. “I didn’t even know it was going to snow!”
    Her parents looked at each other. “Well, yesterday they were predicting three inches, so we weren’t too worried about it,” Mr. Winters said. “We didn’t tell you because we didn’t want you to worry either.”
    Noelle looked out the back door. The snow was piled as high as the porch railing. She hadn’t seen anything like it in years.
    â€œSo people can still come, right?” she asked, her voice shaking a little.
    â€œThere’s a state of emergency,” her mom replied. “They’re asking people to stay inside because the roads aren’t safe. Some people don’t even have power. I’m so sorry, honey, but we have to cancel the party.”
    â€œNooooooo!” Noelle wailed. “The party’s not till five. The roads will be clear by then, won’t they?”
    Mr. Winters shook his head. “This is a big storm, honey. It could take days before the roads are clear.”
    â€œBut it’s not fair!” Noelle cried, and then before she could explode into tears, she ran up to her room, slamming the door behind her.
    â€œStupid snow,” she mumbled, burying her face in her pillow. She felt hot tears sting her eyes, and she struggled to hold them back. She didn’t want to