Best Christmas Ever

by Rowan McAuley

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ching Ching loved Christmas. It was her favourite time of the year, when everything seemed just a little bit magical.

  She loved it at night when the house was dark and the fairy lights on the Christmas tree made the living room flash with different colours. She loved the gingerbread house, all decorated with tiny silver balls and white icing, that stood on the hall table until her mum finally gave in and said they could eat it.

  She loved all the delicious and special food they had at Christmas – prawns, mango ice-cream, fruit salad with pineapple, peppermint candy canes, pieces of chocolate wrapped in gold foil to look like pirate treasure …

  But most of all, she loved the family Christmas shopping trip into the city, the day before Christmas Eve. Dad called it ‘Eve Eve’. And the best thing about the shopping trip was that it was tonight!

  Ching Ching had been buzzing with excitement ever since she got up. She giggled and sang all through breakfast.

  ‘Watch out!’ said her dad, as she knocked the milk over with her elbow.

  She skipped and danced all through lunch.

  ‘Ow! Careful!’ said her mum, as Ching Ching leapt past the table and landed on her foot.

  She chattered like a monkey and jumped up and down on the spot until her brothers William, Henry and Daniel all yelled at her and told her to be quiet. And that was pretty amazing because William, Henry and Daniel were very noisy themselves.

  But Ching Ching couldn’t help it. She couldn’t sit still and she couldn’t be calm. It was the most exciting night of the year (well, second to Christmas Eve) she had butterflies in her tummy.

  Except they were too big to be butterflies. Ching Ching thought they were more like seagulls. Yes! Like seagulls at the park when you throw them a chip and they all go crazy, flapping their wings and fighting for it.

  She went to her room and tried to read a book, but she couldn’t concentrate. Not even The Black Stallion could hold her attention. She wanted to talk to someone about how much fun the shopping trip was going to be, but her mum was busy weeding, her dad was in the study working, and her brothers had already told her to leave them alone.

  Ching Ching phoned her best friend Olivia, but no-one answered. She tried to phone her friend Iris, but her mum said Iris was out with her dad. Ching Ching didn’t know anyone else’s number off by heart.

  She decided to go for a swim. She practised her underwater handstands and somersaults. She was seeing how long she could sit on the bottom of the pool, holding her breath, when she heard her dad yelling over the pool fence.

  ‘Out you get, kiddo!’ he called, as she shook water out of her ears. ‘It’s time to get ready. The boys are all dressed and want to get going.’

  Ching Ching raced inside and quickly put on her best clothes, while her mum jiggled the car keys and her brothers chanted, ‘Come on, Ching Ching! Hurry up!’

  At last everyone was ready. They all piled into the car and drove to the train station. Once they had their tickets, they galloped downstairs to the station platform just as a train to the city arrived.

  Their adventure had properly started! As the train doors closed, Ching Ching breathed a sigh of relief.

  The boys found two empty bench seats. Ching Ching squeezed in between Henry and the window.

  ‘Ooh! There doesn’t seem to be as much room on these seats as last year,’ said her dad, sitting down.

  ‘Well, don’t look at us,’ said William. ‘It’s Ching Ching who’s grown so much.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Henry, pinching her arm playfully. ‘Look at how big and muscly she is.’

  ‘Stop it,’ said Ching Ching, trying to sound cross but giggling as William tickled her. ‘It’s you boys who are taking up all the space!’

  That was true. William, Henry and Daniel were all tall, with big, square shoulders and huge arms. Ching Ching looked like a little string of spaghetti squashed in there.

  ‘Ah, you’re growing up so quickly,’ said her mum fondly, a little tear in her eye. ‘You’re all changing so much.’

  Ching Ching frowned. She wished her mum wouldn’t say things like that. She didn’t want things to change. She wanted them to always be together, just as they were right now.

  ‘Don’t cry, Mum,’ said William. ‘I’m going to live at home until I’m thirty, and you can still do my washing.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Daniel, ‘and I want you to tuck me into bed and read me stories even when I’m forty.’

  ‘And you can still do that thing where you spit on a tissue and wipe my face until I’m at least fifty,’ added Henry.

  Mum made a face at Ching Ching’s brothers. ‘All right, very funny,’ she said. ‘Go and grow up! Don’t worry about me.’

  Dad patted her knee. ‘Don’t tease your poor old mum too much, boys,’ he said. ‘She still has to buy us all dinner.’

  ‘Hey, look!’ said Ching Ching. ‘It’s our station. It’s time to get off!’

  When the doors opened Ching Ching stepped out onto the platform and breathed in the stuffy, smelly air of the station.

  They were in the city!

  Ching Ching’s eyes were shining with excitement. Normally she didn’t like the city much. It was too dull and grey, with ugly concrete buildings and cross-looking people in a hurry. But at Christmas, even the city seemed special.

  Everything was just as Ching Ching remembered from last year, except maybe better. The shop windows were decorated with lights and Christmas trees, and the trees in the street were lit up with tiny silver lights. Even the people walking past seemed happier and less rushed than usual.

  Ahead on the street corner, a woman dressed all in white and wearing angel wings was handing out flowers and smiling at everyone.

  In the other direction, there were grown-up people wearing business suits and reindeer antlers on their heads!

  ‘Come on,’ said Ching Ching’s dad. ‘Let’s get the shopping over and done with – I can’t wait for dinner!’

  They started walking towards the big department stores, winding their way through the crowds. It was difficult for six people to walk together so they were in twos. William and Daniel were up ahead – Ching Ching could see their blond heads sticking up above the rest of the crowd. Then came her mum and Henry, trying to catch William and Daniel. Last of all came Ching Ching and her dad, holding hands.

  Even though her dad had said he wanted to get the shopping over and done with, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry. They wandered happily, looking in the different shops and pointing things out to each other.

  ‘Look over there, Ching Ching. Have you ever seen a girl with such long curly hair?’ asked her dad.

  ‘Look at that dog with a Santa hat on!’ laughed Ching Ching.

  Ching Ching realised the city really was an interesting place. Some people were smartly dressed, like they were on their way to a party. Others were just in ordinary clothes, like they came to the city all the time.

  Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Ching Ching saw a curious thing. In the narrow space between two shops a man sat on a milk crate. He had a blanket over his knees. On the ground beside him was a cardboard box with the words ‘Make a Christmas wish’ written on the side. Inside the box were some coins and a $5 note.

  The man was just sitting there, wat
ching the people go by. When he saw Ching Ching looking at him he winked at her and waved in a friendly way. Ching Ching clutched hold of her dad’s hand.

  Before she could say something to her dad, they had already walked past, and the man on the milk crate was left behind.

  ‘Almost there,’ said her dad. ‘Just one more block to the store.’

  Ching Ching looked around. The streets were still bright and cheerful, but somehow everything looked less magical, somehow less perfect, than it did a moment ago.

  Everyone was walking along, thinking about Christmas and shopping and having a good time, but Ching Ching couldn’t stop thinking about that man, alone on the footpath with his box of Christmas wishes.

  ‘Dad,’ said Ching Ching, as they waited for the lights to change. ‘Did you see that man back there?’

  ‘No. What man?’ asked her dad.

  ‘There was a man back there, sitting on a milk crate,’ said Ching Ching.

  ‘Was he sick? Did he need help?’ Her dad turned, as if to go back and see.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Ching Ching. ‘He didn’t exactly look sick. He just looked a bit sad. He was sitting under a blanket.’

  ‘Oh,’ said her dad. ‘He was probably homeless.’

  ‘Homeless?’ said Ching Ching.

  ‘Yes, there are some people who live on the streets because they have nowhere else to go.’

  Ching Ching thought about this.

  ‘Why doesn’t he just go and stay with his mum and dad?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, not everyone has a mum and dad.’

  ‘What about his brothers and sisters, then?’ asked Ching Ching.

  Her dad didn’t say anything.

  ‘You mean, he might be on his own at Christmas?’ she asked, biting her lip.

  ‘He might be,’ said her dad.

  ‘That’s terrible!’ said Ching Ching.

  ‘I know, darling,’ said her dad in a gentle voice. ‘Look, the lights have changed. Let’s go meet the others.’

  On the other side of the street her mum and brothers were waiting outside the department store. The windows were a blaze of light and colour, just like last year. People were queuing to see the displays.

  ‘Come and see!’ said her mum.‘They’ve got a terrific set-up of Santa’s workshop, with moving elves!’

  She took Ching Ching’s hand and together they went up close to the glass. Her mum was right – the windows looked great.

  There was a tiny train pulling carriages of brightly wrapped presents. There were little elves in green and red, set up to look like they were hammering and painting the toys in front of them. And at the back, watching the whole thing, was a fat, jolly Santa, smiling and laughing.

  ‘Isn’t it fabulous?’ asked her mum. ‘Even better than last year.’

  Ching Ching smiled. She could see that it was all very pretty. It was exactly the sort of thing that she would have loved any other day.

  But she couldn’t stop thinking about the homeless man. When she saw all the happy faces, she thought about how sad she would be if she were alone on Christmas Day.

  After they had looked at the windows, they all went inside. They split up as usual – Ching Ching went with her mum and her brothers went with her dad.

  ‘Meet you back here in an hour,’ said her dad, as Henry and Daniel dragged him away.

  ‘Let’s look at the dolls first,’ her mum suggested.

  Ching Ching nodded.

  Upstairs in the toy department, the special Christmas dolls were on display. Delicate china dolls, with long hair and silk dresses, sat in rows on the shelves.

  Each one had a beautifully painted face. A blonde Russian doll with a black fur hat sat next to a red-headed doll in a tartan dress, and next to her was a fairy doll with wings and a wand.

  ‘Look at this one,’ said her mum. ‘She reminds me of you!’

  Ching Ching’s mum was holding up a cheeky-looking doll with long black hair.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Ching Ching.‘Very nice.’

  ‘All right,’ said her mum. ‘What’s going on? You’ve hardly said a word since we got here, and the dolls are usually your favourite thing of all!’

  ‘Well,’ said Ching Ching. ‘I saw a homeless man on the way here, and Dad said that some people have no family, and that even on Christmas Day they might be alone.’

  ‘Oh, honey,’ said her mum with a sigh. ‘Yes, it can be a very lonely city. Come on, the Christmas shopping can wait. Let’s go and talk for a moment.’

  They walked over to a seat beside a Christmas tree. They could see the whole floor of the toy department. Dolls and teddy bears and hundreds of games and gadgets filled the shelves, and there were people queuing up to buy things.

  ‘So,’ said her mum. ‘Tell me all about it.’

  Ching Ching shrugged. ‘I just feel sad. I wish I could do something, but I don’t know what.’

  ‘Well, maybe there is something we can do,’ said her mum.

  ‘Really?’ said Ching Ching, brightening for a moment. ‘Can we go and find the man, and help him? He could live with us.’

  ‘No, I don’t think we can quite manage that,’ said her mum.

  ‘So what can we do?’ asked Ching Ching.

  ‘I’ll make you a deal,’ said her mum. ‘We’ll do our Christmas shopping, and then we’ll have dinner with the others. Then tomorrow, you and I will spend the morning thinking of a plan. OK?’

  Ching Ching thought about it. Her mum was a teacher and was very smart. If anyone could find a way to help others, it was her mum.

  The Christmas decorations in the store suddenly looked a bit brighter, and the dolls looked a bit more beautiful than before.

  ‘OK!’ she said.

  Once her mum said they would think about the problem in the morning, Ching Ching could enjoy the rest of the night.

  She found a cool pink-and-purple tie for her dad, a new football for William, cricket gloves for Henry and some wax for Daniel’s surfboard.

  They all met back at the main doors.

  Ching Ching and her dad raced back into the shop to buy her mum’s present. She bought a small bottle of perfume in a box with pretty white flowers on it. Then they hurried back to the others.

  Everyone was hungry!

  At the restaurant, Ching Ching had her favourite meal – honey chicken and rice. But even though she was eating and talking and laughing with everyone else, part of her was thinking about how lucky she was, and how not everybody had a family as nice as hers. Some people had no family at all.

  It was a horrible thought. She leant over and quickly kissed Henry on the cheek.

  ‘Hey! What was that for?’ asked Henry.

  ‘Nothing,’ said Ching Ching.

  ‘What was what?’ asked Daniel, who was sitting on the other side of Ching Ching. His mouth was full of noodles.

  ‘Not with your mouth full, thanks,’ said her dad, just like he always did at home.

  ‘Ching Ching just kissed me!’ said Henry.

  ‘Well, so what?’ said Ching Ching. ‘I don’t care. I’ll kiss you again if I want to, and I’ll kiss you too, Daniel, so watch out.’

  ‘No, thanks,’ said Daniel, going back to his noodles.

  ‘You can kiss me anytime,’ said William.

  ‘And me,’ said her mum.

  ‘Me too!’ said her dad.

  ‘Yeah, it wasn’t a bad kiss,’ admitted Henry.

  ‘Oh, go on then,’ said Daniel. ‘Come here!’

  He pounced on Ching Ching and gave her a big, sticky, noodle-y kiss on her cheek.

  ‘Yuk!’ said Ching Ching, laughing.

  The train trip home seemed much longer than the trip into town.

  Ching Ching’s feet ached, and she was ready for bed ages before they finally got to the station.

  Then they still had to drive home.

  Ching Ching watched the moon through the back window of the car and was almost asleep by the time they pulled into the driveway.

&
nbsp; ‘Don’t get up,’ said her dad, as he reached in and undid her seatbelt. ‘I’ll carry you to bed.’

  Ching Ching loved being carried to bed. She snuggled against her dad’s chest, and soon she was on her bed and her dad was slipping off her shoes.

  ‘Did you have a good time?’ her dad whispered, as he tucked her into bed.

  ‘Mmm,’ smiled Ching Ching, as she fell asleep.

  Ching Ching woke early the next morning with an uncomfortable feeling. Soon she realised what it was.

  Ugh! She had slept in her clothes.

  She felt all creased and her hair was full of knots. She sat up in bed, trying to untangle her hair with her fingers. Her backpack was by her desk, bulging with the presents she had bought last night.

  She thought about what she had chosen for everyone, and how great Christmas was going to be. Then she remembered something else – today she and her mum were going to work on a plan to help lonely people at Christmas.

  She jumped out of bed, suddenly excited. As she ran along the corridor, her mum came out of the bathroom. Her mum was in her dressing gown, and her hair was wrapped in a towel.

  ‘Morning, sweetheart,’ said her mum. ‘Did you sleep well?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Ching Ching, ‘but we have to get to work on our project!’

  ‘Well, have breakfast first, honey,’ said her mum. ‘And I’ll get dressed. We’ve got loads of time.’

  Ching Ching never knew why people always said there was plenty of time. As far as she was concerned, the only time worth bothering about was now!

  Still, she might as well have something to eat if her mum was going to be mucking around getting dressed. She finished in the bathroom and then went out to the kitchen.

  ‘Morning, chook,’ said her dad, sitting at the table drinking his coffee. ‘Still in last night’s gear, I see.’

  Ching Ching looked down at her crumpled dress.

  ‘Mum tells me that the two of you are working on a special project this morning,’ her dad went on.