𝟬𝟲. ❛ SOME HOLIDAY SPIRIT ❜

𝓐 few days passed since Clara left the group. The boys still invited her everywhere and it was like she never left. The only difference was, she wouldn't be able to perform on stage with them anymore.

          Christmas came along in a heartbeat. Clara's favorite time of the year. The Boston streets were full of snow, the atmosphere cozy and welcoming.

           It left the girl smiling as she and her sisters decorated the tree sitting in the living room. This year was a lot different than the others.

           While Clara's mother was a stay at home mom, her father was quite the opposite. A hard working man who paid all the bills and kept food on the tables.

           He spoiled the girls rotten as best as he could despite their living situation. They stayed well dressed, properly provided for and that's what mattered.

          Arthur had recently gotten a promotion which meant that they would actually be able to celebrate Christmas the right way. He didn't have to sell things he owned to be able to make ends meet this year.

"How's that?" Clara beamed brightly as she added her finishing touches to the tree.

"I kinda hate it. It's too much." Tiffany grumbled, not liking all the sparkles and confusion.

          "Well, I think it's adorable." Sasha said, leaning towards Clara and kissing her cheek.

          "Would it kill you to show some holiday spirit, big sis?" Lisa teased. The girls turned to their oldest sister to which she eventually gave in and smiled.

           "You happy now?" Tiffany pointed at her lips that were curled upwards, twitching.

          The other girls just rolled their eyes at the girl. Her sarcasm and dry humor was annoying.

          "I got everyone a present this year and I'm regretting buying you one." Clara grumbled, biting the inside of her cheek in exasperation.

          "Really, sis? You didn't have to get us anything."  Lisa blurted, shaking her head. The other two sisters shook their heads in agreement.

          "Take them back. Get your money back." Tiffany asserted with both her hands on her hips.

          "It's fine. I'll be rich one day so it doesn't matter." Clara crossed her arms across her chest, earning smiles of appreciation from her siblings.

           "I love you, girls!" Sasha cried, running to Clara and squishing her in a bear hug. The young girl couldn't breathe when the other two joined.

           They stayed like that for a few minutes until they felt Clara's hands clawing for her life.

          "Damn, y'all tryna kill me?" The girl raised her brows at them, catching her breath.

          "Shut up, little miss dramatic." Lisa put her hand on top of Clara's head, patting it.

           "Girls, are y'all done with the tree yet?" Monica, their mother, yelled from the kitchen.

            "Yes, ma'am," The four daughters chimed in sync, answering the curious woman.

            They heard shuffling as the older woman ran into the living room to see it. She beamed at the sight of it, not having had a tree so full in years.

            "It's beautiful." The woman felt tears began to prick at her eyes, sick of hiding how much their struggle truly had affected her mental state.

           Clara and her sisters hugged their mother. It was the most they could do to comfort her, knowing that no words in the world were enough.

A loud knock sounded at the front door. Sasha was the first to rush to it, opening it.

"It's one of your little boyfriends, Clara." Sasha snorted, leaving the door cracked open.

That caused Tiffany and Lisa to make jokes about how all the boys she hung with liked her.

"It's not like that at all." Clara scolded her sisters, rushing to the apartment door.

          There stood Ralph, blushing at their words while snow drops fell on his softened face.

"What's up, Rizz," The girl shoved Sasha out of the way, causing her to leave the two be.

The rest of her family went about their business, leaving the room so that they could converse.

"Can we talk?" Ralph bit his lip, hoping she wouldn't shut him down this time.

"Look, Ralph, if this is about what we talked about last time then my answer is still the same." Clara closed her eyes in guilt, feeling horrible.

"Not at all. I mean, I still feel the same way about you, but it's not about that." Ralph quickly interjected, reaching for her hand to pull her closer.

"What is it, then?" The girl stared at him, glancing back and forth at their locked hands.

"Walk with me and I'll tell you all about it." The boy explained. She thought about it.

"Alright, fine." Clara yelled that she'd be back and closed the door, letting Ralph lead the way, not even thinking about releasing his hand.

Ralph told her all about Maurice's plan. He offered the boy a solo deal as well. But he was planning to only sign Ralph and scrap New Edition.

"That bastard. What did you say?" Clara felt her blood boil at the given information.

"I'm obviously gonna say no. I wouldn't even be in this position if it weren't for y'all." Ralph set his gaze on the girl, making her a bit nervous.

She kept his eye contact for a few seconds, not wanting to be the one to break it.

He eventually gave in, turning to the telephone booth and putting his coins inside.

"Uh, merry Christmas, Maurice. It's Ralph. You told me to call you when I made a decision." Ralph was more nervous than ever before.

The Monet girl could faintly hear Maurice's voice, but it was too low for her to interpret.

"Yeah, but it's gotta be all of us. I can't take it alone. The solo deal would be cool and all, but if I cut my boys out everybody in the OP would hate me. Hell, I'd hate me. I don't know where you from, but we don't get down like that here. You too, man." Ralph finished the call, letting out a breath of relief.

"Well, what'd he say?" Clara urged him to give her some insight on their conversation.

"He said he'd sign us all." Ralph smiled.

"Yes! Perfect!" Clara hugged him.

           𝓣HAT same week, Maurice showed up to get the six kids to sign his contract. All six of their mothers were present, having many questions to ask.

"Mark my words, all the record companies that passed on you kids are gonna be sorry because this thing is going to be big." Maurice stated.

"What's the name of the company that we're signing with again?" A mom asked.

"Streetwise. A friend of mine, Arthur Baker." The man assured, looking around the room.

"Hey, that's my dad's first name." Clara said to herself, earning a grin from Bobby, whom she caught admiring her from his seat next to her.

"Exactly what part do you play in this, Maurice?" A mom voiced, giving him a confused look.

"Maurice Starr," He corrected the woman, stating his name in a very narcissistic manner.

"Are you their manager now?" The same woman from before questioned him again.

"No, I'm not their manager. Brooke's still their manager. I produce the music." He stated.

"So, what are we talking in terms of money?" Clara's mom was the one who asked this question.

"Mhm!" The other moms all hummed at her question, wanting to know as well.

"Each member gets a signing bonus of five hundred dollars." Maurice said.

Everyone in the room suddenly got loud, cheering and squirming from the excitement.

"Are you serious right now, five hundred dollars?" Bobby repeated his words, shocked.

"And a Betamax machine." He nodded. The room was filled with excited chatter after that.

Clara jumped onto Ricky's back. He walked around the room dancing while holding onto her.

The girl then noticed Mike getting up and leaving the apartment. She frowned, knowing he was taking in their upcoming lifestyle the hardest.

After hopping off of Ricky's back, she turned to his mom and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go talk to him." The girl decided. "Oh, thank you, sweetheart." His mom smiled.

With that, Clara left the apartment. She saw Mike sitting on the stairs with his head down.

"Hey, big head! I know you not bout to turn down all that money." Clara taunted.

"As much as I don't wanna give up basketball, I'm not stupid enough to do that." Mike looked up, knowing she was about to give him a pep talk.

Clara was good at those. Everyone vented to her for her advice and her truthfulness.

"Who said you had to give up basketball? Why can't you do both?" The girl sat down on the stairs next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It don't work that way." Mike denied, turning to the girl with a sigh of disappointment.

"Well, in my opinion, you deserve this just as much as the rest of us. There's no telling where this music business might take us. We can be stars, Mike." Clara encouraged, lifting her head off of him.

"You right, C. Let's go sign it." The boy gave in, making a grin spread on her face.

The two teens returned to the apartment, signing their contracts with no time wasted.

𝒐𝒐𝒐. AUTHORS NOTE * 𖤐 ༘ミ
alright y'all i think this gone be it for the lil kid actors, we skipping right on to the older actors so that means this is the end of vol one and onto vol two

i was gone add the is this the end performance to make their age up more dramatic but i feel like that would be one confusing ass chapter to make

are y'all excited for vol two? lmk your thoughts. i hope you guys are enjoying this book so far, & thank you all for voting, commenting, & tuning in !!