The 12 Sisters of Christmas
The beautiful white house was covered in white lights, a gold star sat above the Delta symbol that hung above the front door. Within, the girls of Delta Nu ran back and forth gathering their belongings, dreaming of the vacation before them. Bags were strewn around the rooms, littering the floor, clothing and accessories scattered about without the usual care. And all around, various holiday music flowed from i-pods and CDs alike.
Upstairs, the youngest Delta Nu dreamed about her first Christmas back at home. Though she loved UCLA and her new sisters, the idea of spending the holiday in the sun back on the East filled her with such nostalgia. It was because of that, Kristine had been prepared to leave for the airport for the past two hours, even if she had twelve more to go? So again she sat on her bed, her long brown hair pulled back with a headband, making a mental checklist. She'd packed her favorite bathing suit as well as her "family friendly" one-piece and her Christmas Eve dress, the one Grandma Rosie knit for her five years ago.
Returning home to Miami was simple enough to pack for, but since her acceptance into the sorority, Kristine learned that one could never pack too much. That idea was proven by the two suitcases filled to the brink by the door, next to her favorite miniature backpack. The difference in size was insane, but the girl knew it mattered, to her and her sisters at least.
Back at home it would be different. As an only child, she would not be seen as the "younger sister" but more importantly, there would be no one to share clothes with. It was a frightening thought that left Kristine kind of queezy. Fortunately, those two bags were filled with any sort of outfit she could need. And if by chance she needed something else, Daddy's credit card was always there for her. She figured that all she needed for her trip was safely inside her bags, so the girl laid on her pillows and daydreamed of the holiday ahead. Until she heard a sister coming up the stairs a few doors down.
Walking the four steps from the steps, Cece found herself in one of her sister's rooms. With her mint green duffle bag thrown over one shoulder, she tried not to sway along with the Chipmunks' "Christmas Song" as she dug threw the pile of clothes. She'd never seen such a mess in this room, but she knew what the prospect of a vacation did to a person, she, herself, was in a friend's bedroom searching for her pink and green jacket without so much as permission from the Delta Nu president.
Raking through a pile of discarded pajamas, Cece found herself humming along with those eternal rodents. Not able to hear behind her due to the song along with her own rhythm, Cece let out a little yelp when a hand fell atop her shoulder. Turning to see who had snuck up on her, the red head tried to cover the sound with a cough: "Oh, Gabby. You scared me," she said, filling her lungs.
"I bet," her tall sister said looking at the clothes in Cece's hand. "Whatcha got there?"
"Oh, this?" Cece laughed. "I was looking for my green and white sweater, you know how chilly Salt Lake City can be at this time of year." Dropping the idea of vacation, the girl hoped the Christmas spirit would fill Gabby to ease her temper. Luckily, Gabby silently went to her closet and pulled out a dry cleaner's bag with Cece's sweater inside. "Oh... thanks," she said before shyly and awkwardly making her way out of her friend's room, wishing of the upcoming Christmas/ski vacation.
All she had to do was ask, Gabby thought. Then,One more day, she comforted herself. She loved her sisterhood, there was no doubt about it, but sharing a house with eleven other girls came with certain disadvantages. Especially when the majority of them wore the same size.
And still, catching a glance of herself in her vanity's mirror, being a part of this close knit sorority made it hard for Gabby to go home. By this time tomorrow, she'll have to lock herself in the bathroom so that her brothers will not give her grief for the facial mask and shower cap that the sisters, like Cece, didn't glance twice at. No, back in Seattle they thought beauty was unnurtured. The girls of Delta Nu knew better, making Gabby feel completely comfortable.
Sighing, she took a look around her room, it was a war-zone. Never, in her four years as a sister, had her room get this messy. Then again, she'd never waited until the night before to pack. This certainly was a new Gabby, huh? She had spent more time on her hair than last year.
With that, Gabby started to pick up and fold the clothes that were strewn across her bed, dreaming of her parents' faces when she makes her entrance at the airport, long red hair as controlled as her temper. Was it really only last year when she blew up at her little brother for taking the last biscuit? It seemed like so long ago, but with the yoga classes she took with the girls and the Christmas cheer that filled her since the Delta Nu Christmas dinner, she was ready to take on her family. It was the sound of a computer starting somewhere in the house that woke her from her daze to help her finish cleaning.
Down in the house's sitting room, Courtney sat, laptop on her knees, typing away. With all her bags packed and waiting just off the stairs, all she had to do was just wait for her cab to arrive at the house. The plane she was booked to take wasn't set to leave for four more hours but the girl had been packed since that morning, making sure she missed nothing.
So, logging onto her weekly gossip blog, Courtney ran her hand through her loose auburn hair. The girl ran through the list of juicy news she'd heard in the past seven days, she then tried to organize them into a legible article for her site. And although a part of her always nagged to think sensibly about the lies she was spreading, Courtney won out, continuing to write those whispers she'd been hearing and drowned out the nagging with the "White Christmas" that came from a radio upstairs.
As the college junior wrote of the rumor she'd heard of Grandmaster Chad of the Omega Beta Pi fraternity, her thoughts travelled to that of vacation. She'd decided that she'd not post during her stay home with her father and the choice filled her with a combination of relief and dread. It was a weight that she's carried for years and so to be free of it sound slightly comforting, and still what would she do with all she would hear that week?
The sound of footsteps outside the front door startled Courtney up and out of her seat. Shutting the laptop, and hopefully not the net, she made her way to the door ready to hop into the cab. It was only when she opened the door that she realized it wasn't her cab.
The door opening was something Shandi hated to hear. With her arms draped around her date's neck, her bright blue eyes rolled onto Courtney in the door frame. Silently, she apologized and went back inside. Only Shandi knew it was too late. Her date with the handsome Raul would be a paragraph on her gossip blog.
She leaned her head back onto the house and looked back at Raul, his dark coloring a contrast from her own, and smiled apologetically. "Sorry," she said with her arms still around him, "I should be getting inside. I'm leaving early tomorrow." One more kiss and Shandi shifted her way out of his strong arms. As she placed her hand on the door, she looked at her date bathed in a pale white light that came off the house, then she sighed regrettably and turned the knob. "I'll call you when I get back." Then she unhappily entered the house full of very unmasculine, not as sexy females.
Trying not to show her disappointment, the girl twirled one finger in her hair and sat next to Courtney on the sofa. Beside Shandi, her sister was silent, undoubtably writing of what she'd just seen. So she quietly thought about Raul and her trip home without him.
But sadness changed to glee, she was going to see her parents, her brother, Chris. Oh Chris, she thought wondering if her still played volleyball every weekend. Wait until you see me in that bathing suit I just bought. Then she jumped up and off the couch. Her mind raced miles as her feet began to move toward the stairs. How in the world had she forgotten to pack?
The slamming feet on the staircase and the blur of long brown hair past her door could only mean one thing: Shandi hadn't packed before that "hott" hate tonight with Troy...or Chad... or Raul... or whoever it was. Not that Veronica could complain, Shandi had fantastic taste in men, she was, in fact, the one who set her up with her boyfriend Eric.
But there in her room, checking her plane ticket for every detail, the blonde couldn't help but be glad she'd packed the day before, it left that entire day open for shopping. Yes, she had waited until last minute to shop but, for her, it was a ritual. Every year Veronica shopped the very last chance she could so she could catch the spirit. Forget angry shoppers and crying toddlers, Veronica felt the nigh energy of the mall and was just inspired by it.
And, of course, with all those sales, how could one fail? She'd gotten bags upon bags of merchandise-y goodness. So all that was left to do was wait. Tomorrow at noon she would hop onto her plane to Chicago to spend the holidays with her grandparents and Eric. She couldn't be more excited.
Or could she? Her shuffled i-Pod started playing "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and the glorious feeling of actual snowfall came to mind and Veronica lit up. Cold, wet, white, snow, it was the thing she missed most since moving to California. But within the next twenty four hours, she wouldn't need to worry. This was her favorite time of year and there was no way to hide the fact and something told her it wasn't going to be a problem.
Hearing "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" coming from one of the rooms across the hall, Leilani finished combing her strawberry blonde hair with a bit of a sway. She'd slept all day, only waking up ninety minutes ago and her energy was high. Within the next hour she'd be in her car and on the road to her boyfriend's house in LA. It had been almost a month and Leilani was suffering from slight withdrawal feelings.
Nodding at her reflections, the girl carried the packed makeup bag through the hall to her bedroom. The blue and white decor filled her with a calm feeling that she wanted to spread throughout the whole Delta Nu House. Her bags were piled up next to the door, a smaller pile than most of the other girls, and she added the small pouch of "beauty enhancers" to the top.
She was all packed and ready to go. Her clothes folded nicely, her presents carefully put away, and her final papers ready to be congratulated. It was a wonderful part about dating a grown-up child-actor, normal-everyday accomplishments merited celebrations. And, as long as it included Leilani and Max, she was all for celebrating her A-.
Her brain travelled to Max's arms... and his eyes... and his lips... and his bed... and his-- "Wait, save it for Max's place," Leilani scolded herself out loud. Then she shook her head and sang the ending of "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" to herself, thinking of the "snow" that'll keep her and her love inside.
Noticing Kate just outside, Leilani's pale skin flushed red and she quickly turned away.
Kate shook her head as she continued walking, chalking Leilani's sudden outburst and random singing to season-induced hysteria. Downstairs, Kate could see the how the illness had effected the entire sorority. There were bags everywhere, clothes were being carried back and forth, and wrapped presents littered the floor, either they were being brought home for family or they'd been exchanged during this family's Christmas dinner, Kate couldn't tell anymore.
Humming "Baby It's Cold Outside" after hearing it blaring from Gabby's radio and adjusting her glasses, the senior went into the kitchen. Following a week of finals, both hers and her sisters, and heading a week with her folks, she allowed herself to open the box of Christmas Oreos she'd bought as soon as they hit store shelves for this season. Absentmindedly Kate took a piece of gum out of her mouth and picked up a cookie. As she twisted the two sides apart, her heart skipped a beat, she missed cookies but living in a house with pound-a-phobics, the girl respectfully set her cookie love aside.
Cookies or bonds that would last a lifetime? It hadn't seemed like a problem at the time but now, with the gooey creamy and crunchy chocolate in her mouth, Kate began to jokingly double guess herself.
It was only the sound of falling luggage from some room in the distance that awoke her from her chocolate-coma. Silently, Kate puled down her ever-present white hat and sighed at she who knocked the bags over, and somehow she knew who "she" was.
"Oops, sorry." Margot had already said the same apology three times that day, looking down at her bags, now strewn across the floor instead of piled nicely, she couldn't help it. Carefully she bent down, making sure not to knock anything else down, the girl started to pick up the bags full of precious cargo. The green and yellow bags were heavy and Margot had no idea how it could possibly have gotten so. She hadn't packed anything unnecessary, just her clothes, her shoes, her makeup, her computer, her magazines, her cardio DVDs, her flat iron, her heat curler, and her packs of gum. Nothing unimportant.
As soon as the bags were restacked, the blonde stood up and heard the little yaps start, coming closer with each. Her ears perked and she looked around wondering where the noise could be coming from. With no answer from her mind, her mouth curved into a look of confusion. Where is Bruiser?" she asked the room around her.
It was just then that the little Chihuahua ran into her room. Margot turned as the dog jumped at her leg. "Oh, there you are! Are you all packed?" she asked Bruiser, picking him up. "I finished packing already so if you need help..." Bruiser barked his response.
"Are you seriously asking him if he's packed?" She turned to see Serena at the door, Margot cocked her head. Not about talking to the dog, he was practically a sister himself, and with all of his accessories he'd probably need a chauffeur. No, her questions were for Serena, why had she offered to stay at the house over vacation? And why had she gone home last week?
Margot would have those questioning eyes for the next two minutes, so Serena thought it was best to make her exist. Best not to make her sister's head hurt more. So she started down the stairs, her cheer team leader uniform bouncing as she did so. She took off her sunglasses and thanked God that she would not be travelling home four days before Christmas. She had the chance to stay at the house and rehearse the teams new cheers.
As she smoothed down her long dark hair, she thought of the upcoming week. She loved her sisters and felt melancholy about not going through the motions with them (especially with "Joy To The World" playing somewhere), but a week alone sounded heavenly. Particularly after the past week, Delta Nus in the morning, finals in the afternoon, and family, including real sisters, at night. This would be the first time in a long while she'd be by herself, and it looked like fun, even if most of the Delta Nus didn't get that it was because she was Jewish.
It wasn't as if she'd hidden the fact she'd gone home every night last week for Hanukah, it just hadn't come up. She didn't hide her religion at all, in fact she was dating an up-and-coming plastic surgeon to the stars, and she'd put up a minora in her room for the celebration. Just because Margot had announced as Serena's new "candelabra" didn't mean she wasn't proud.
The kitchen was empty when she entered, save for a bag of Oreos left open on the counter. Serena stared at them longingly, the only sweet food she'd had in the last month was applesauce on her latkas. As she put her hand out to take one, an objecting voice interrupted her.
Walking from room to room, Pilar's voice was loud enough for the whole house to hear, a talent Serena had taught her. "Ladies, if I see one more mistreated shoe I am going to keep, and I am so not kidding." All day she'd been tripping over heels, sneakers, sandals, snow boots, and what have you one designer label at a time, driving her a little more mad every time.
Her own heels clicked on the wood paneled floor as she carefully brought herself into the sitting room where Courtney was typing away. Her cab would be here soon and the first sister would be gone and the count down would commence, from twelve to two, setting her to leave Serena here by herself. Her plane down South didn't leave for eighteen hours and then she'd be swept to her home away from home, her house without sisters, just her parents and Helena, the woman who'd practically raised her. And though the three of them lavished her with all that she could ever want, a week without the Delta Nus seemed a steep price to pay.
Pilar sat down next to Courtney and rested her head on her shoulder for some crammed bonding. As she started to close her eyes, she saw Leilani come into the room and sit down next to her. She'd be driving to her boyfriend's place in a little while and that filled her with more bittersweet feelings. Leilani put her head on Pilar, a mirror image of Pilar and Courtney. The feeling of being with people who chose to care for her made her smile, it was sweet and Pilar felt that Christmas might actually be worth it if it meant she'd come back here. Lazily, Pilar let her eyes close a little. Just as she did so, the front door opened.
Sending one more kiss Warner's way, Elle opened the door to the house. In the morning, she'd be in that car again, holding his hand again, on their way to the airport to catch their flight to Vail. It was all she could do not to chase the car down and demand they start vacation early.
The house was full of Christmas cheer, the kind that rushed Elle as she entered the house and cut off all her dreams of marrying Warner Huntington III. All the lights were on, music played from every room, and the Christmas tree in the Fourier was all lit up beautifully. Of course all of that fell to the chatter that made it's way through the house making it a true Delta Nu holiday. Elle just soaked it all in.
As President of the UCLA chapter of the Delta Nu Sorority, Elle Woods took great pride in her girls and the house, so far this season, neither had disappointed. And though the call of Warner was strong, the daughters of Delta Nu was where she wanted to be. Warner was tomorrow, tonight was in the house.
Pushing a stray blonde hair behind her ear, Elle looked around, able to see the sisterhood in their different stages of leaving. There were some bags in the doorways, some by the front door, and the rest (probably just Shandi) was still in the rooms, being packed. Tonight the cocoa would be hot and the goodbyes sweet. It was all Elle could ask for after their dinner together and before their Christmas apart. She would miss her sisters terribly but she was confident that after a wonderful holiday apart they would return for a brand new year of Delta Nu living.
There was something in the air in and around the Delta Nu house. A sensation of holiday cheer and feeling of change. They would return in a week to ring in a new year that would change the very foundation of the sorority, but for now they were together. So off the went to the kitchen for a toast of hot cocoa, each dropping their personal belongings to come together as one, to salute another year well done at the UCLA division of this sisterhood.