From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot Page A

shock, since he took me by the arm and pulled me over to the brown leather couch. He made me sit down, then sat down beside me.
    The couch was super soft and amazingly comfortable. Snowball clearly thought so too, since she scrambled up to sit on a pillow beside us.
    â€œYou won’t hurt my feelings at all if you say no,” Dad said quickly. “Please don’t worry about that. I can totally understand if you’d rather stay with your aunt Catherine. After all, that’s where you’ve lived all your life.”
    I didn’t say anything in reply to this. That’s because I wasn’t sure I could actually talk, I was still so surprised.
    Also happy.
    â€œOf course I’ve been wanting you to come live with me for a long time,” Dad went on. “But as your aunt has often pointed out, that would have violated your mother’s wishes. A child needs stability, and also a mother, and I’ve never really been in a position in the past to offer you either of those things. But I think your aunt and even your mother would agree that things have changed quite a bit recently. They’ll be changing even more soon — ”
    I looked up at him hopefully. “They will? How?”
    â€œWell, for one, I understand that your aunt and uncle are planning to move you to Qalif. That is unacceptable and something I simply won’t allow. For another, whether we like it or not, the secret of your being the princess of Genovia is out. There’s nothing we can do about that now. And finally, your sister, Mia, is getting married, and — ”
    â€œShe is?” I didn’t mean to interrupt, but this was very startling news.
    â€œYes, she is. And she and her husband will be residing in Genovia, so your aunt’s long-standing objection that there won’t be stable female influence in the home is moot.”
    I just stared at him. I couldn’t believe any of this was happening. It was like a beautiful dream.
    â€œYou want me to come live with you in Genovia?” I asked.
    â€œYes,” he said. “Do you know where that is?”
    I nodded. I’d looked it up on Princess Mia’s friend’s cell phone. “It’s in between France and Italy.”
    â€œWell, more or less,” he said. “It’s very small, but has the loveliest median year-round temperature of any country in Europe, being situated as it is so idyllically on the Riviera — ”
    Before I could ask another question, the door to the library swung open, and Grandma came in, followed by a waiter holding a huge silver tray.
    â€œI can’t imagine when that child last had something to eat,” she said. “So I had room service whip up a little snack. If I know Amelia, I’m sure all she fed you, Olivia, is junk food from the mini-bar of the limousine.”
    I didn’t see what was wrong with that, but I was still very excited when the waiter put the silver tray down on the large antique coffee table in front of our couch. My eyes bulged as I took in the “little snack” room service had whipped up, which included:
    â€¢ Bowls containing freshly cut strawberries, sugar cookies, chocolate truffles, and nuts
    â€¢ A plate of multicolored mini-cakes
    â€¢ Plates with three different kinds of cheeses, including the oozy creamy kind
    â€¢ A plate of different kinds of sandwich meat — ham, salami, roast beef, and turkey, along with some smoked salmon
    â€¢ Tiny silver cups of mustard, mayonnaise, horseradish, and cream cheese with matching tiny silver serving spoons
    â€¢ A basket loaded with slices of white, whole wheat, rye, pumpernickel, and French bread, along with assorted bagels
    Coming from a wheat-free house, the sight of so much gluten almost made me cry for joy.
    â€œYour Royal Highness,” the waiter said, handing me an elegant crystal goblet brimming with frothy brown liquid. “Chocolate milk.”
    There was a straw in