Free The Perfect Present by Morgan Billingsley Page B

Avery looked at him, then at me, then back at him, before she blurted out everything. “Mickey made me do it!”
    Of course, that didn’t end well. Now, my brother was mad at me and I was mad at my best friend. Sigh. This is all just too much work.
    Later that night, Max came up to me and said, “I wonder does Santa know you’re forging his name on stuff?”
    â€œLeave me alone, Max,” I said. I needed to get my mind right on how I was going to enjoy Christmas all by myself.
    My brother let out a long sigh. “Fine. You know what? How about we see for ourselves.”
    I sat up. “What does that mean?”
    He shrugged. “We’ll stay up all night long on Christmas Eve. If Santa is real, we’ll see for ourselves. If he is, I’ll take your chores for a week. If he isn’t, you’ll take mine.”
    That made me smile. “Deal.” We shook on it and I was ready to prove himwrong.
    I had been really sad because I kept thinking, today it was Santa, tomorrow, my brother wouldn’t want to hang out with me. He’d find different things he liked, different friends and we’d no longer be the M and M twins.
    My mom once said being a twin isn’t just on one person, it’s on both and that’s what makes you unique. But still I knew if my twin and I grew apart, I would miss him so much.
    But now, I’d get him back. He’d see Santa was real, and we’d stay close. It would be a perfect present!
    Christmas Eve came and I could barely keep my excitement down. It was just seven o’clock, but I had my new PJs on, my hair was flopping in a big ponytail on top of my head and we’d just finished making cookies. Max was even in the Christmas spirit, helping me and Mom with the cookies. Every time I brought up Santa, he just gave me a ‘we’ll see’ look.
    Yes, we would soon see!
    We begged Mom to let us sleep in the game room, next to the huge, stinky fireplace. At first, she said no, but then my dad came home and convinced her to let us stay. So we snuggled in our sleeping bags and waited. And waited. We laughed. We told jokes. And then, when the clock on the wall struck midnight, I started thinking, maybe, I could just rest my eyes like Max was doing over there.He’d said he was going to rest them just for a minute. Since I was his twin, I needed to do the same.
    The next thing I knew, I heard Mom call out from the living room, “Guess daddy and I will just have to open these presents ourselves!”
    I jumped up. The clock now said 7:36 am. Aww man!
    â€œMax! Wake up! It’s Christmas!” I yelled, shaking him.
    â€œHuh?” he said, yawning.
    â€œIt’s Christmas. And we missed Santa.”
    That made him sit up. He was just about to say something when we both noticed the piece of paper on the coffee table in front of us. I picked it up first and started reading out loud.
    Dear My Little M and M Twins,
    That’s it! All that crazy fighting doesn’t make me happy. And it’s during the holidays. Miss Mickey, I should’ve put you on the naughty list for lying and causing all that trouble but I’m a nice person (and those cookies were good, mail me some). But since I know you have a good heart, I’m going to let it slide. This time. But just so you know, you’re never going to get what you want for the wrong reasons. Mickey, if Max said he didn’t believe in me, that was on him, but youcan’t force something that doesn’t go. Life is like a puzzle. If it’s the wrong piece you can’t force it in.
    And for you Max, it’s okay if you don’t believe in me anymore, I’m still going to bring you gifts because I know you have a good heart and care about people.
    Both of you need to realize though, that this holiday isn’t about me and the gifts I can bring. It’s about the gifts you bring. Not stuff, but gifts of love, time, things from the heart.