The Grin — Saul Tanpepper

When seventeen-year-old Cassie Ingersoll gets a last-minute call to babysit on Christmas Eve, she's tempted to just blow it off. Who in their right mind thinks they're going to find someone on this night of all nights? But the extra money could really come in handy, and maybe Christmas won't be such a meager affair this year because of it.

Her problems begin almost immediately: a dead car battery, a house in the middle of nowhere, a storm brewing. Then, just before he leaves, the father gives her a mysterious warning: don't feed the boy.

She should've heeded it.

Approximately 11,000 words (roughly 40 pages)

Appropriate for ages 14 and up