Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Alex. She lived with her mom, Kate; her stepdad, Louis; and her two stepsisters, Melissa and Mallory. The family lived in a huge mansion in Los Angeles, CA.
Alex's mother was a hot-shot movie star and wasn't home much. While Kate was out making money for the family, Louis stayed home with the three girls. Louis didn't lime Alex very much and he made her do all the work around the house when Kate wasn't there. Kate ws not aware of how Louis treated Alex when she was not home.
On the last Monday in January, Alex was washing the dishes and listening to the radio. She wasn't very interested in doing the dishes, but she was interested in what the disc jockey on the radio was saying. He was telling all the listeners about a contest. He was ready to give the 14th caller two tickets to the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The radio was going to pay for the airline tickets, a place to stay, and all the food. Alex was so excited about the contest that she was ready to race to the phone.
When Alex got near the phone, she saw Melissa and Mallory running for it also. ALex figured they, too, were listening to the radio and wanted to win the trip. When Melissa and Mallory saw Alex reaching for the phone, they called out for their father. When Louis arrived, the two girls told him about the ontest and then started complaining to him about how Alex got the phone first.
Louis listened to the girls before saying, "Alex can have a chance, but you girls an go first."
"That's not fair!" cried Alex. "I was here first."
"Life isn't fair, is it?" Louis said.
So while Alex waited, Melissa and Mallory got to use the phone. As Alex sat there, she thought about how cool it would be to win the package from the radio station. Before she knew it, the phone was all hers.
When the D.J. answered, he said, "Hello, you are caller 14. What's your name?"
Alex just froze, she couldn't believe her luck.
"Hello, is anyone there?" the D.J. asked. "Talk to me."
"Hi," Alex finally said. "My name is Alex Parkington."
"Well, Alex, this is your lucky day!" the disc jockey said. "You have won yourself a trip to Nagano for the Winter Olympics. When you have the chance, come to the station and get your tickets."
As the two stepsisters listened to what was happening, they were upset.
"That's not fair," said Melissa. "Alex shouldn't get to go."
Louis looked as if he agreed.
"Well, Alex, since you won two tickets, you're taking one of your sisters along," he said.
"No way!" Alex screamed. "No way I am taking one of them."
"If that's the way you feel, then you can't go," Louis said.
"You bet I am going. I don't care what you say this time," said Alex. "You can't tell me what to do because you're not my father."
She walked away, figuring that was that.
About a wekk later, Alex's mom came home. Alex was so glad to see her. Kate was glad to see Alex, too. When Kate and Alex had some private time, ALex told her about the tickets and what Louis had said. Kate was upset by the comments he had made to Alex.
"I'm going down to the radio station and I'm going to get those tickets," Kate said.
"Really? I love you," said Alex. "Will you come with me on the trip?"
"Honey, you know that I need to go rehearse my role in 'The Titanic,'" Kate said. "You know I'm only going to be home for a week."
"I understand," said Alex sadly. "I will have to find someone else."
The next morning at the crack of dawn, Alex and her mother went to the radio station. They walked in and found the disc jockey.
"Wow!" he said. "You're here early."
"We like to get an early start," said Kate.
The dis jockey left them for a minute and returned with the prize.
"Here you go," he said. "You are all set. A limo will pick you up at 3 A.M. on Wednesday, the sixth."
As they left the station, ALex was very excited. She couldn't wait.
The next day, Kate had to leave again to work on her new movie. Right after she left, something terrible happened to Alex.
Louis grabbed her, took her upstairs, and locked her in her room.
As he shut the door, he said, "No games for you." Alex then couldn't hear Louis, Melissa, and Mallory laughing in the hallway outside her door.
Alex then started to cry. She couldn't understand how Louis could be so mean. She cried for about an hour when she remembered something. SHe had a key for the door in her room. So, she unlocked the door, left her room, and tiptoed down the stairs. When she got downstairs, she realized nobody was home.
She looked at the clock and realized the limo would be coming. She then looked at her clothes.
"Oh no," she said. She was not wearing her best clothes. She ran outside to her garden. Once she was in the garden, she saw a figure appear. Alex was amazed.
"Who are you?" Alex asked.
"I am your fairy godfather," the figure said. "My name is Jack."
"Wow!" Alex said in amazement.
"Well, my child, what can I do for you?" Jack asked.
"Godfather, I need some good clothes for my trip to the Olympic Games," Alex said. "I can't go to Nagano in the old rags I am wearing."
"I can help you there," said Jack.
With the tap of his cane, he changed Alex's old rags into a big green parka, some warm clothes, a pair of boots, gloves, and a scarf.
Now Alex was relly amazed. "Thank you," she said. "Hey, do you want to join me on my trip to the games? Please, please, please."
"Okay," said Jack.
So at exactly 3 A.M., the limo arrived. When ALex and Jack arrived at the airport, they went to look for their gate. They finally got on the airplane and settled in for the long trip. The trip took six hours, and Alex was very excited when they arrived.
People in Nagano were very nice to Alex and Jack. They went to their hotel and went straight to bed. They needed to get lots of rest for the big day ahead.
The next morning, Alex and Jack first went to the ski slopes. They arrived just in time to see the best American skier race. The skir was Tommy Moe. Alex looked up at Tommy and knew she was in love. After Tommy won the gold medal, he was signing autographs for his fans. Alex was the first one in line.
When Tommy looked up and saw her, he fell in love, too. Tommy got up and placed his gold medal around Alex's neck. Tommy thenasked ALex for a date. Of course, you know what her answer was. She went away with Tommy and left Jack behind.
Jack then disappeared into the sky, saying, "Good bye, Alex, and good luck!"