Candace awoke to the usual annoying sounds of her brothers' latest schemes. She growled and hit her head against the bed frame, a noise not unlike wood hitting wood echoing through her room and out the open window. Rubbing her hand over her face in exasperation, she wondered how and why God had given her two such amazing yet so impulsive brothers.
It wasn't that she didn't love her brothers; in fact, she was more attached to them than she was to her Ducky Momo collection. She just felt that every serendipitous contraption and hair brained invention was both dangerous and completely irrational. Even at the age of eleven, her brothers hadn't learned when to quit, and they continued to pull stunts like this nearly every single day. They hit the climax of annoying during summer break, but they didn't stop, ever. Neither during spring break nor winter, and it was even rumoured they had the permission at school...
Candace sat bolt upright in her bed, eyes wide with shock. Christmas break... No. They couldn't possibly be pulling a stunt like when they were ten again! She fell out of bed in a frantic heap and whipped her tiger lily hair out of her face, a look of pure horror in her features. The date was December 24th. She groaned, clenching and unclenching her fists as though she were strangling something. Yep; they were going to pull a stunt like the last time again.
She picked herself off the ground and surveyed the battlefield in her own backyard. A tree fit for New York's town square was being pulled into their backyards, ornaments bigger than her head scattered carelessly on the snowy floor, giving the appearance of candy atop icing sugar. The oak tree itself had been turned into a hot chocolate stand with Milly and Holly manning the front. Ice sculptures had been strewn around in one corner, a smaller yet functional model of the rollercoaster Phineas and Ferb had built a year prior standing tall and proud with a blue ribbon tacked on. Django was grinning at it with confidence, and Irving was off to the side, defeated and staring at his sculpture; an overly muscular version of Phineas and Ferb ruling the world, Candace beneath the soles of their feet.
The house itself was encased in shimmery gift wrapping, a boy atop the small balcony roof that lay above Candace's window. She reached to grab it down and bust her brother, but a sudden thought caused her to drop her outstretched arm and slowly shut the window. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, her mind for once seeing a different angle than the busting one.
When had been the last time her mom had brought them out to Christmas Eve Mass? Or any mass, for that matter? Had Phineas, not to mention Ferb, even heard the infancy narrative as it was supposed to be told? They hadn't gone to mass since her biological dad had died, and it was something she realized she should've fought for. She sat on her white feathered blanket and sprawled out across the bed and, for the first time, Candace felt regretful for something she had done to her brothers.
The radio in the background began a new song, and the red head slowly opened one eye. It was a song she had known for years, and Candace managed to learn the lyrics as easily as her brothers knew which nuts went with which bolts. Much like Phineas and Ferb, Candace's mind began to work on overdrive, and within moments she had rushed downstairs, a plan formulated by the time she had hit the last staircase.
***
"Phineas, Ferb!" The boys in question turned their attention towards the overly decorated house, and the younger of the two received a snowball to the face, his triangular nose coated in melting snow. Ferb threw his own wet projectile, snagging the laughing Buford in his open mouth. Isabella called a quick time out, and told the boys they had better get going to their respective houses to get ready for the annual Flynn-Fletcher Christmas Eve party. Just as the last Fireside Girl had slipped through the gates, Candace threw open the sliding glass door, clad in her winter boots and coat, a woollen hat and knit sweaters covering her hair and hands.
