{"id":9345,"date":"2023-07-09T11:14:40","date_gmt":"2023-07-09T10:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/?p=9345"},"modified":"2024-03-01T20:57:23","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T20:57:23","slug":"livia-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/livia-christmas","title":{"rendered":"Livia’s Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Livia\u2019s Christmas, by Jasmine Sheherazade Ebrahim, <\/strong>Story in the Livia Series<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n

Livia Bell, Maya (Mum), Sam (Dad), Brittany Bell, Roxanne Bell, Alexa Bell, Catherine Bell, Rosalind Bell, Lavender Bell, Luka Bell, Yasmina Amira (Luka\u2019s wife), Zain Bell, Fiona Challis (Zain\u2019s girlfriend), Kitty Mall (Family friend), Grandpa Joe (Sam\u2019s dad), Granny (Sam\u2019s mum), Grandad (Maya\u2019s dad), Grandma (Mum\u2019s mum), Aunty Karen Parkour, Uncle Victor, Zed, Franny, Georgie, Martin, Amira, Aria, Alia, Heather, Rennie, Sweety.<\/p>\n

Aunty Karen Parkour and Uncle Victor Parkour\u2019s children:<\/p>\n

Carlie, Holly, Lily and Charlotta.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter one<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sam skips in, humming a Christmas tune. His wife and her parents stare at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

His wife sighs, gesturing for her parents to leave. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously, what?\u201d Sam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam, my mum, she wants one of our children,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?! Maya, listen, you tell her,\u201d Sam started.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Sam, you listen to me!\u201d Maya shouted. \u201cI had no choice! They will <\/em>be taken\u2014my mother is very particular.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019re just going to watch them get stolen!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! My mum isn\u2019t stealing <\/em>them, she\u2019s\u2014she\u2019s, educating them.\u201d Maya trails off, looking down. \u201cSam, if our kids slip up even once, they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam put his arm around his wife, calming her. \u201cMaya, dear, they\u2019re not going to slip up. They\u2019ll be perfectly fine, well behaved even.\u201d He chuckled. \u201cYou\u2019ll see, they\u2019ll all have little golden halos above their heads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya nodded. \u201cOkay.\u201d She smiled. \u201cWe\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell of course! It\u2019s Christmas darling!\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya laughed as Sam lifted her up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMum, mum, mum, mum!\u201d Livia squealed, running into the living room.<\/p>\n

Maya broke apart from her husband, pretending nothing had happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sweetheart?\u201d Maya asked wearily.<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Parkour brought her dogs!\u201d Livia grinned.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, she did<\/em>, did she?\u201d Maya raised her eyebrows at Sam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are so<\/em> cute! Patty and Hattie, two girls. They haven\u2019t caused any trouble\u2014well, except for the poo they did on the rug, chasing little Rennie, chewing on Brittany\u2019s best dress and sprinkling flour all around the kitchen\u2014did I mention how cute they are?\u201d Livia smiled sweetly before sprinting away before she could be told off by her fuming parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid that just happen?\u201d Sam asked, bewildered by what Livia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes<\/em>!\u201d Maya yelled, grabbing her perplexed husband.<\/p>\n

They marched into the kitchen before Sam slipped on a wet puddle. He cursed loudly, shooting up the stairs to have a shower.<\/p>\n

Little Rennie skidded past, dodging the generous amount of flour tossed on the floor, before screaming loudly.<\/p>\n

\u201cRennie!\u201d Maya gasped. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong deary?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPatty and Hattie!\u201d She howled.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight. That\u2019s it.\u201d Maya brushed the flour off of her top. \u201cKAREN!\u201d<\/p>\n

Aunty Parkour suddenly emerged. \u201cYes? Maya? What?\u201d<\/p>\n

A dog skuttled around the corner. A loud whooshing noise surrounded them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYours, I suspect?\u201d Maya pointed at the golden puppy, weeing on her kitchen tiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Maya. Patty is <\/em>mine.\u201d Karen raised an eyebrow. \u201cWas that all?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKaren Parkour, you know fully well that this dog is not<\/em> allowed in my house!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Pattie darling, but this lady isn\u2019t allowing you in her<\/em> house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya turned red. \u201cLivia told me everything, Karen. The dress, the poo, the chasing, the weeing, the flour,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh! That! Yes, that was little Hattie. The flour I mean. A naughty rascal.\u201d Karen smiled fondly.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, sister, these dogs of yours, have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karen rolled her eyes. \u201cHattie, Patty, out. Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The puppies scuttled away, whining profusely.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaren, now that\u2019s sorted, I need to tell you something.\u201d Maya quieted down. She led her sister into the spare bedroom wringing her hands. \u201cMother is taking one of my children away, and is refusing to negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know<\/em>, Maya. She\u2019s already told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd? What did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlotta is going. It was between her and Holly. Lily put up a good case. Carlie threw a fit until she got her way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Maya blinked. \u201cYou sent your child<\/em> away?\u201d<\/p>\n

Karen shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Charlotta agreed to this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Carlie made sure of it. Charlotta was dressed in her best today, blue silk, especially bought for her. Made her sisters go all jealous. Lily and Holly were full of spite this morning. I could tell Charlotta was smug.\u201d Karen smirked.<\/p>\n

Maya shook her head. \u201cI couldn\u2019t make them choose, go to live with mother for the holidays\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut wouldn\u2019t you like to see the back of Livia?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya froze.<\/p>\n

\u201cLivia would be put in her rightful place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMother was as strict as anything when we were growing up, Livia would never survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood!\u201d Karen threw her arms up. \u201cLivia\u2019s been on the edge ever since last summer. I can\u2019t believe you let her get away with everything. She deserves to be disciplined. Maybe one of your other daughters would accompany her, Brittany maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya turned away watching Livia fighting with her sisters. Maybe her sister was right, maybe Livia should<\/em> go.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

The kitchen was filled with a sweet aroma, noisy children and shouting adults. Livia was watching her family devour slice after slice of pizza.<\/p>\n

\u201cLivia! What are you doing all by yourself?\u201d Catherine asked, hauling her younger sister up. \u201cThe pizza\u2019s going fast!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate pizza.\u201d Livia muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe too.\u201d Catherine confessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMum ordered pasta but she said I have to wait until everyone\u2019s finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Liv, join us, at least for a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Livia shook her head, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. Catherine shrugged, turning back to the chatter and noise of the family.<\/p>\n

Livia frowned; sure, she could see her box of pasta amongst the pizza. She stood up, marching towards her mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cMum! Why is my <\/em>pasta being eaten!\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya gritted her teeth. \u201cLivia, the pasta isn\u2019t yours!”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Livia\u2019s Christmas, by Jasmine Sheherazade Ebrahim, Story in the Livia Series<\/p>\n

Livia Bell, Maya (Mum), Sam (Dad), Brittany Bell, Roxanne Bell, Alexa Bell, Catherine Bell, Rosalind Bell, Lavender Bell, Luka Bell, Yasmina Amira (Luka\u2019s wife), Zain Bell, Fiona Challis (Zain\u2019s girlfriend), Kitty Mall (Family friend), Grandpa Joe (Sam\u2019s dad), Granny (Sam\u2019s mum), Grandad (Maya\u2019s dad), [Read More…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[],"coauthors":[135],"class_list":["post-9345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jasmine-sheherazade","odd"],"views":933,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9345"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9346,"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9345\/revisions\/9346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9345"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mathscitech.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}