2. The First Rule of Being a Kid

2 The First Rule of Being a Kid I was eating breakfast when the greatest Christmas vacation of my life got even greater. My mom was sitting at the table reading her newspaper when I saw this on the back page.... SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!

I leaned forward so I could read the small letters. They said that Santa was going to be at our local shopping mall on Saturday, just before Christmas. All my dreams had come true! If you ask me, Santa Claus is the greatest man in the history of the world. Anybody who gives toys to kids should get the No Bell

Prize. But I figure Santa will never get the No Bell Prize, because that's a prize they give out to people who don't have bells. And if there's one thing Santa has plenty of, it's bells. "Can you take me to the mall on Saturday?" I asked my mom. "Please, please, please?" "Dad and I need to clean out the garage on Saturday," my mom replied. "You can clean out the garage anytime, Mom," I told her. "Santa is only going to be at the mall on Saturday. If I don't go, I'll never get to see him for the rest of my life." "Sorry, A.J. Not this Saturday." "But I need to buy a present for Amy," I begged. My sister, Amy, is three years older than me. She's annoying, but I have to get her a present anyway.

"No," Mom said. "No means no." Hmmm. Begging usually works for me. I would have to try something else. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That's what my parents always say. You can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. It was time to put Plan B into effect. I started crying. If you want something really badly and the situation is hopeless, there's only one thing to do—cry. That's the first rule of being a kid. I peeked to see if my mom was watching me cry. "A.J.," she said. "Those are crocodile tears." What do crocodiles have to do with anything? "Come on, Mom!" I pleaded. "I've been

waiting to meet Santa Claus my whole life." Mom put down her newspaper and looked at me. She had a serious look on her face. "Your father and I have been meaning to tell you something for a while now, A.J.," she said. "It's about Santa Claus. We think it's time you knew that Santa—"

But she didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because the phone rang. I picked it up. It was my friend Ryan, who will eat anything, even stuff that isn't food. "Santa is coming to the mall!" Ryan shouted into the phone. "I know!" I shouted back. "Do you think it's the real Santa? I mean, how could he visit every mall in the world?" "He's not visiting every mall in the world," Ryan told me. "He's just visiting our mall! That's why we have to be there. Are you in? My mom said she would drive us. Spread the word." I hung up and called my friends Michael, Neil, and Alexia to tell them the big news about Santa. "I want to go!" said Michael, who never ties his shoes.