Page 110 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

and therefore, there was no reason whereby he should not welcome the lad.
And welcome they did. Pretty soon, a wiser man would have wished for a shovel to clean up all the free-flowing flatulence and firmer forms of flattery that soon had Reggie buried hip-deep. But did I ever say Reggie was wise? I think you know the answer to that!
Reggie was loving it, glorying in the praise – worthy or not – and basking in the sweet, sweet sounds of a mother’s love. Who cared if it was not his mother, and none of it was true? For the first time in his life, Reggie was being complimented, courted and catered to. It was heaven. It was so lovely, that he forgot all about Clara.
Which was fine by her.
Clara edged as far away as she humanly could, in the press of partygoers who were eager to be noticed, or even touched, by a real prince. Clara was blissfully forgotten. Even her suitors were scrambling for a chance to brush shoulders with nobility. All the eager young girls were swooning in corners and fanning themselves in ways that they firmly believed would drive the prince crazy, so that he would rush into their waiting arms. Everyone’s attention was on the prince.
For this was the prince of her dreams – the nightmare of the worst possible scenario, coming out of her mother’s years of schemes! Schemes and dreams that created a cold, heavy lump in her stomach. Even when Clara shut her eyes, she could still see beady black points, backed with a dull red. And when she opened her eyes, all she could see were long, yellow, impossibly SHARP looking teeth. No way she was letting that get close to her.
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