Page 22 of How My Neighbour Stole Christmas
I lean against a wooden beam. “I had just found out about the accident but didn’t know any details. I was sitting on my porch, waiting for more news, when she was walking down the street. This was after Mrs. Fiskers was dumped in the river. Anyway, Storee spotted me and joined me on the porch. It was a common place for us to gather and just talk. At that point, we knew each other well enough for me to realize she was upset, so I asked her what was wrong, trying to get my mind off what had happened to my parents. Well, that was a huge goddamn mistake because she went on a tirade about the town. How the Christmas year-round thing was stupid, the stores were annoyingly cheesy, and that she hated coming here to visit. Just basically shit on everything about Kringle. No holding back—she just went for it.”
“Jesus. What did you say?”
“Nothing.” I cross my arms over my chest and toe the ground. “I said nothing, because how could I? I was just so…lost. Thinking, how could my parents have been in an accident together? How was I going to live without them if they died? She didn’t know about the accident, so a part of me can forgive what she said because of that. But in that moment, when I was simply gutted…well, you know. She left, on fucking Christmas of all days, and she didn’t see how the town rallied behind me when it was confirmed that my parents hadn’t survived.” And then, all I could do was drown in grief. “This town has its annoyances and can be tough to live in at times, but the things she said about it weren’t true. They angered me, and my grief is wrapped up in that too. I’m stillherebecause of how this town picked me up when I was at my lowest. How it looks after its own.”
“Yeah, I get that. I know your loyalty.” He scratches the back of his head. “Man, I wonder what changed her mind. Do you think she likes this town now?”
“No,” I answer. I’m honestly not sure, but given that I can’t seem to let go of a grudge, I refuse to paint her in a good light.
“Well, everyone thinks she has a good chance at winning.”
“She doesn’t deserve to win.”
She doesn’t deserve the glory of the title. Pointless though it may be.
She doesn’t even deserve to be part of the competition at all.
It’s not fair.
I glance out at the reindeer, my mind whirling…
His brain spun with thoughts, some big and some small.
And then an idea came to him, the greatest idea of them all…
“Oh shit, I have a thought,” I say, a grin tugging on my lips. “A wonderfully horrible thought.”
“I’m listening,” Max says, leaning in.
“What if I enter the contest?”
“You?” Max scoffs on a laugh. “Dude, come on, be serious.”
“I am serious,” I say. “What if I enter? It would easily become the talk of the town, eclipsing any conversation about Storee. No one would expect it, and given the standing I have here as the person who takes care of Santa’s reindeer, I could take the win. Steal Christmas, some might say.”
Max stares at me, blinking a few times.
When he doesn’t answer, I press, “What do you think?”
“I think you’ve lost your mind.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m starting to see it all clearly. This is the perfect way to fix the problem.”
“Um, okay, first of all, there really isn’t a true problem here. Sure, Storee said some shit things, but maybe she’s really trying here. Secondly, dude, you know what the competition is like; you know they accept applications and choose the contestants they want, and you are not that kind of person.” Whispering, he continues, “They judge you on jolliness. I don’t think you have a jolly bone in your body.”
Oh really?
Not a jolly bone in my body…wait until he gets a load of this.
Shoulders back, chest puffed, I smile widely, flashing all of my teeth, my eyes crinkling in the corners.
Max takes a step back, shielding his eyes. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Showing you my jolliness.”
“Well, fuck, stop. It’s terrifying.”
My smile droops and my eyes narrow. “It was a nice smile.”
