Page 129 of Christmas off Script
‘Too slow,’ Derek replied. ‘Leo’s question again. Which Christmas song plays at the end of the nineteen eighty-eight film,Die Hard?’
Leo glanced at a flustered Finn.‘“Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!”’
‘Finn. What colour are mistletoe berries?’
‘Red,’ he replied, staring at Summer.
‘No!’ Scott cried.
‘Fuck! I mean white!’
‘Too late! Leo. Which US state was the first to declare Christmas Day an official holiday?’
‘Oklahoma.’
A bell rang. ‘Time’s up! And the winner, by a margin of fifteen points to thirteen, is Leo Foxbrooke, on behalf of the Noel it Alls!’
Ella leapt onto her chair and raised her arms in the air. ‘We! Are! Christmas!’ she roared, before tearing off the gift box around her to reveal a t-shirt with the words ‘This gal just won the Christmas quiz’ and an arrow pointing up at her face. Leo followed suit, his t-shirt reading ‘This guy just won the Christmas quiz’.
They pulled confetti cannons from bags around their waist and let them off as Willow played ‘We are the Champions’ by Queen through her phone.
Shaking his head as he laughed, Derek handed Leo a box of Celebrations chocolates. ‘Congratulations. Can I pay you not to enter next year?’
‘Never!’ Leo replied, passing the box to Ella.
She ripped the top off and started throwing the sweets into the cheering crowd.
Leo glanced over at the Beardy Boys, who were shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. Finn stared daggers at Leo and mouthed the words, ‘Next year’, then drew a finger across his throat.
Dancing over to them, Leo turned his back to the crowd, revealing the word ‘Losers’ printed on the back of his t-shirt and an arrow pointing towards the Beardy Boys.
Summer came over and gave him a hug. ‘You’re such a meany!’
‘When did you get back?’
‘An hour ago. You missed me?’
‘Yep. There’s no-one messier than me to take the flak from Bridget.’
‘Rude! I’m a minimalist now.’
‘Since when?’
‘Since I got paid to say I was.’ She gave him a wink and flounced over to Finn’s table. ‘Hey guys! Ignore Leo. You know he’s a one-trick pony. You’re unbeaten the rest of the year.’ She gave Finn a hug, and he froze, then patted her awkwardly on the back.
Ella appeared at Leo’s side and threw her arms around him. ‘We did it!’
He held her tightly back.Thiswas why he wanted to win the quiz. To put a genuinely happy smile back on her face. ‘How are you doing, champ?’ he murmured in her ear.
‘I’ve been better,’ she replied. ‘To be honest, I just want to go to bed. But…’
‘You don’t want to let down your adoring public in your moment of triumph?’
‘There is that, but I’m more worried about Dad.’
‘Waiting outside?’
She nodded.
