No Happily Ever After (The Fairytale Diaries #1) Read Free Page A

so obviously contrived.  "Your dad's gonna be there tonight!"  She said this in a tone that suggested being graced by Mr. Bar's presence was a momentous occasion.
    "Great," said Benjamin lackadaisically.
    Mrs. Bar gave a gleaming smile.  Among the Faraway student body, Mrs. Bar was generally considered a cool lady and a great confidant.  It shocked Zoe to discover she was clueless.  She clearly had zero ability to pick up her own son's veiled hostility.  And Zoe was completely confident that the dear woman had no idea a nearby student was essentially casing her home that very minute.
    Zoe liked Mrs. Bar even more.
    ***
    Zoe set out just before dark.  It was still an hour to game time, but she knew she had about a six mile hike ahead of her, most of which would be through rough terrain of the forest. Plus, snow fell steadily.  There was barely a dusting on the ground, but it accumulated quickly.  She knew she'd need to move fast to avoid hiking back through a full blown snow storm.
    She didn't even know if she would steal anything from the Bar family.  Their home had fascinated her so much, for so long, she often dreamt of it.  She mainly just wanted to satisfy her curiosity and explore the place.  She doubted there'd be the "leave cash about" sort, and for some reason, she didn't have the strange desire to extract trophy steals like she had with other classmates.
    She walked briskly through town and then plunged into the mouth of the massive forest.
    Zoe was nearly frozen when she arrived.  Her timing was impeccable.  Shielded by the trees, she watched from the shadows as the Bar family's tail lights disappeared down the lane.  Then she slipped through the hole in the gate and trampled through the snow in the back yard to get up to the house, hoping the tracks back there wouldn't be as obvious.  She decided on the way out she'd take some time to obscure her foot prints as she left.
    She found that their sliding glass door off a rear patio was unlocked.  A delighted squeal escaped her as she slipped inside.  She kicked off her snow boots and left them by the door to wait for her return.  Then, at long last, her exploration began.
    The Bar home was a whole new world altogether.  It was like a cottage, a ski resort, and a castle, all blended into one dwelling.  She found herself standing in a spacious family room. Zoe marveled at a magnificent fireplace, big enough that she could've stood at her full height inside.  The mantle was lit by twinkling lights and was so huge, it accommodate three six foot Christmas trees.  Across from the fireplace and in front of a bay window, there stood another tree that towered every bit of sixteen feet high.  And yet, the vaulted ceiling was still far over it.  She drifted to the tree and delicately touched the sparkling ornaments with one gloved finger.
    Zoe passed out of the family room and into a dining room.  The focal point was a gigantic oak dining table adorned with candles and fragrant Christmas wreaths.  She saw at one end of the long table, the family's dinner plates still sat with bits of uneaten food on them.  Had they been running behind and had to leave their mess?  Or was there a housekeeper who would arrive in the morning to clear away their dinner dishes?  Whatever the reason, Zoe couldn't believe the neat and tidy people would so carelessly leave their mess behind.  She wandered down to where the dishes sat, strangely fascinated by their food.
    A spoon protruded from an inviting bowl of beef stew.  Amazingly, steam still rose from it.  Zoe raised the spoon to her lips to taste the delectable looking stuff.
    She hissed and the spoon clattered to the table.  "Darn it!" she exclaimed.  The soup had burned her mouth.  She couldn't believe it was still so hot.
    At the next seat, she saw no steam rising from the stew and decided to try it.  But she found that bowl to be ice cold and unpleasant tasting.  So she drifted to the next seat and tasted