Secret Santa gift for Maggie (sparkling skies)! Enjoy(:
Prompts: a paintbrush, mention of a road trip and a chocolate éclair.
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*-{have yourself a merry little christmas}-*
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"It's the most wonderful tiiiiiime of the yeeeeeeeear..."
Yeah, right. I groaned at the overplayed Christmas carols that were blasting out of Westchester Mall's invisible speakers. I hitched my red Coach handbag higher up my shoulder and walked my Louboutin clad feet purposefully to my next destination.
But alas, I, for the fourth time today, got stopped by one of the piranha-like salesclerk, armed with a perfume bottle of crap in her scaly hands. She excessively sprayed the sickly sweet perfume into my personal space before shoving the red and green bottle into my face.
"Would you like to buy a bottle of 'Christmas Cheers'? They are on special at the moment! The perfect Christmas gift for any female!"
I shook my head no, feeling exclamation marks oozing out of her pores, and quickly walked around her. She called out something else but I wasn't listening. I truly hate salesclerks at Christmas time; they're even pushier, if that was even possible.
I usually stay clear of the mall during the festive season and always get my gifts two months before hand just so I wouldn't have to face the mall in the Christmas rush. So why am I here at the worst time of the year? Two words.
Secret Santa.
I have never done a Secret Santa before. Sure, I've heard of them and our homeroom has done it for a couple of years but I always chose to sit out of them. But this year, our homeroom teacher is what you'd call... bubbly. She likes the concept of everyone giving a go and nobody being left out. So obviously, everyone had to take part in this year's Secret Santa.
I tried everything I could to get out of it. I even asked our family doctor, to write me a Doctor's note. But Miss Myner just laughed at it and asked me to pull out a name out of the awfully festive Santa hat. Eventually, I did, but only after running out of creative excuses.
So here I am, trying to buy a gift for Olivia Ryan, a girl who I have barely talked to this year, let alone know her likes and dislikes. I asked Dylan Marvil, my partner in crime, what I should get her.
"Um, you're not supposed to tell me who you get," Dylan scolded me, teasingly.
"I need advice! What else can I do?" I exclaim, throwing my hands up in frustration.
"Ok, well, if you really need advice, I'd say get her some cheap jewellery and a box of chocolates. You can't lose with that."
I slowly nod my head. Yeah, that could work.
I wanted Dylan to come with me since she's the queen of bargain hunting (our presents had to be under $20. I was seriously shocked at this. What can you buy for less than $20?) but she had to babysit her younger cousin. So I was left alone. At the mall. In the worst time of the year. To buy a gift for a girl I barely know with my dwindling insanity and twenty-dollar budget.
It was not good for the soul.
I had purchased a box of chocolate éclairs for her because I personally loved them; that was the chocolate part of the gift sorted out. Tiffany's was definitely out of the question for the jewellery part so I made my way to a place called Claire's Accessories, who sold jewellery for, I quote, 'exceptionally cheap prices'.
As I made my way around the mall, I realised that I had no idea where it was. The shop was way too tacky for my taste; why buy fake gold when you can get the real thing? I looked around and spotted a huge map. I made my way to it, praying that I wouldn't run into anyone I know.
I stood in front of the huge LED map and ran a finger down the list of shops. But for some reason, Claire's Accessories was not on the list.
"Where in Claire's name could this stupid shop be?" I muttered under my breath.
"Do you happen to be talking about Claire's Accessories?"
I turned around and saw Cam Fisher, my next door neighbour, standing next to me and looking at the same map.
"Uh, yeah. How did you know?" I asked.
He turned around and gave me a sheepish grin running his long, thin fingers through his dark, perfectly mussed hair. "I heard you talking to yourself about it."
That's great. I wasn't turning crazy, I already am crazy.
"Well, um, it's on the second floor, opposite the food court."
I nodded. "Thanks."
He gave me a nod back and we started walking away from the map. A few moments later, I realised that he was still next to me.
"Um, ok, why are you following me?" I asked, walking a little quicker.
"Well, I need to go to that stationery store next to Claire's Accessories."
I blushed at my stupidity. "Oh right, of course."
We walked in an awkward silence. The silence was totally killing me so I had to say something or else I'd pop.
"So, um, are you doing the Secret Santa?"
I mentally hit myself for the stupidity. He was in my homeroom; of course he was doing it.
"Sure," he answered, with an odd look on his face. "Don't we all have to do it?"
I grinned and awkwardly poked his chest to try and ease the tension. "Juuuuust testing you!"
After the awkward exchange, I decided to shut up. We walked the rest of the way in an even more uncomfortable silence.
It was not always this awkward around him. He, Dylan and I used to be the 'Three Musketeers' when we were younger and were inseparable. We even had a "secret-not-so-secret" treehouse and had talks about going on road trips with just the three of us. I still have the club badge that we made with the badge maker Cam got for Christmas. But when we got into high school, he made the elite football team and eventually started hanging out with a different crowd, drifting away from Dylan and me.
We got to the food court and I saw my means of escape. I had never been happier in my life to see Claire's Accessories before. I gave him a quick smile and wave before I scuttled into the packed, tacky jewellery store.
I breathe a sigh of relief, but it didn't last long. I was now stuck with the impossible task of buying jewellery for someone I hardly knew. Does she prefer necklaces or bracelets? What did she think about rings? Does she have her ears pierced? I mean, I can't buy her earrings if she doesn't!
I looked around the store aimlessly, hoping something will pop out at me as the "perfect gift". I then saw a necklace and bracelet set that looked passable for a Secret Santa gift and was in my budget. So I bought it and got it wrapped, along with the chocolates.
As I made my way through the store, I called Isaac, with relief. I had had enough of the mall and to be frank, I didn't give a crap if Olivia liked the gift or not. She'd just have to deal with it.
;;-;;
"Secret Santa gifts in the red sack in the front of the classroom now!" The voice of a permanently overly chipper Miss Myner rang through the buzzing air of the also excited class of students. I sighed as I trailed behind the throng of bodies, making their way up the front of the classroom.
"I'm excited! I really want to know what I got from my Secret Santa!" Dylan squealed next to me, looking like she was about to burst.
"Sure. Same I guess," I nodded back, deadpanned.
I dumped the plastic bag with my present in it into the big, red Santa sack. After Claire placed gift in, we made our way back to our seats. Just as we sat down, Miss Myner hushed us.
"Ok class, quieten down." She clapped her hands together, her colourful bangles jangling about in a musical commotion. "I'm going to pick a present out of the sack and you can come out and take your present. You can tell the person you were their Secret Santa if you want, but what's the fun in that?" She laughed and the class laughed along, wishing she would just get to the present giving.
Miss Myner dipped her hand into the sack, making her Christmas coloured bangles run up to the bottom of her arm. I was actually kind of getting excited for this. She pulled out a familiar red and gold wrapped box and squinted at the name tag on it.
"Olivia Ryan!"
A blonde, bubbly girl went up, her smile radiating, and grabbed the box eagerly with both hands. Even before she reached her seat, the present was already attacked at.
"OMIGOD I LOVE IT!" Olivia squealed. I smiled at Dylan and gave her a big thumbs up. I guess my present was a success.
One by one, everyone got their presents. Dylan got an assortment of lipglosses and a tree ornament in the shape of a paintbrush which she loved (or at least pretended to for her Secret Santa, who decided to remain secret). All around the room were shouts of happiness as they unveiled their gifts. As everyone got their gifts, I started to get a little worried. What if I'm about to get disappointed again?
"Massie Block!"
I was the last name called out. Miss Myner held up a purple envelope with my name inscribed on it in silver calligraphy. I took it with a puzzled look on my face.
"I'm sorry Massie," Miss Myner apologized, with a look of pity on her face. I shrugged.
"No sweat. I like purple envelopes," I said, lightly. I smiled before making my way to my seat.
"Is that your present?" Dylan asked. She took it out of my hands and inspected it. "The writing doesn't look familiar. Wonder who it's from."
"Someone who's probably laughing at me right now?" I rolled my eyes.
"Oh! Maybe your Secret Santa secretly loves you and inside that envelope is that confession of love!" Dylan reminisced dreamily, her bright green eyes hazing over.
"Yeah, right." I scoffed. I tucked the envelope into my bag before making my way to my first class.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Dylan called out at me, slowly getting out of her seat. I shook my head.
"Nah. I'm not going to give my Secret Santa the satisfaction of seeing me embarrassed with whatever is inside of that envelope."
I made my way to my first class with a heavy heart. I made a vow to myself to not ever get caught up in Christmas again.
;;-;;
As the end of the day grew near, my curiosity got the better of me. The contents couldn't be that bad if my Secret Santa knew to make the envelope purple. So in the privacy and comfort of my own car, I opened the envelope, with Isaac driving in the driver's seat.
Inside was a piece of heavy lilac paper, folded into thirds. I unfolded it and saw it only bored three lines, in the same silver calligraphic font.
Icy, cold treats on a summer's day,
Where is the only place in Westchester that sells this?
Make your way here and order a Chef's Special to get your next purple envelope.
A scavenger hunt. Great.
"Isaac, take me to Icieez. Please." I called out from the back seat. He just nodded in response.
We get there five minutes later. It was packed with students from schools surrounding the only ice cream store in Westchester. I slammed the car door shut and made my into the packed ice cream parlour, wondering why there were so many people wanting ice cream in winter.
I looked around the crowded place and smiled at the memories that were flooding through me. The Three Musketeers used to come here every afternoon in the summer holidays with our meagre (well, with their meagre and my not-so-meagre) pocket money. I got teased as I had always ordered a cone of Cookies n' Cream, the 'unadventurously boring' choice.
I made my way to the counter and saw that Landon Crane, the captain of the football team, most sought after guy and all around 'Alpha male' of Westchester Private High was sweating his way behind the ice cream counter. My mouth dropped open.
"Landon? Landon Crane? You work at Icieez?"
"Uh, yeah," he drawled casually as he scooped some Bubby Bubblegum flavoured ice cream into a sugar cone. "My uncle owns this place."
In all my years I've been here, never have I seen him behind the counter before. Was he, the boy in every girl's (including my own) fantasies, my Secret Santa?
"So do you want to order anything?" He asked, after finishing the order before me "Or are you just going to stand there?"
Smooth Massie, smooth. "Uh yeah, can I have the, uh, Chef's Special?"
He raised his eyebrows and gave me a knowing look before bending down under the counter. I nearly died as I got a peak of his tanned, exposed back that his jeans just missed to cover. He popped up from underneath the counter and handed me a purple envelope, identical to the one I just opened. Was Landon my Secret Santa?
"Uh, thanks. I'll just be gone now." I gave him an awkward wave before backing out of the parlour.
"See you around, Block." Landon winked at me. "Have fun on the scavenger hunt."
Ohmigod. He really was my Secret Santa.
"Sure. Thanks. Bye!"
I walked back to the car and shut the door before I let out an excited squeal. Landon had to be my Santa. Why else would he have winked at me? After all these envelopes, was he going to profess his undying love to me?
I calmed myself down before I reached another solution. This could all be a prank, to seduce a random girl and humiliating her in public. My heart rate slowed down tremendously at this thought.
Nevertheless, I ripped the second envelope open and carefully unfolded the piece of paper.
The slides were always your favourite,
And yes, of course I know.
The next stop is where you thought had the 'best slide in the world'.
Chuck E. Cheese two blocks away from Westchester Mall. When I was a kid, I had an unhealthy obsession with the huge tube slides in their playground. But how had Landon known about this?
I didn't care. Maybe he asked Dylan or something. I told Isaac to go the next destination and in exchange got a weird look from him.
I arrived at Chuck E. Cheese and entered the fast food joint, the smell of fries and grease hitting my nose. I made a beeline for the playground and squirted my hands with some sanitizer before entering. Ignoring the blatant 'no shoes' sign, I made my way into the loud playground.
I pushed a few running kids out of the way and made my way to the bottom slide. It wasn't as big or majestic as I had always thought it was. Checking that no kids were at the top of the slide, I peered into the multicoloured hole and saw no envelope. Realisation came to me.
No way. I was not going down the slide. Landon must have a kick out of me doing this.
But I couldn't give him the satisfaction of chickening out. I made my way up the course in my inappropriate clothes and shoes and positioned myself at the top of the slide. With a deep breath, I pushed myself down the slide.
The exhilarating whoosh came back to me. I laughed all the way down the slide and came out of the tube with a big smile on my face, acquiring a few dirty looks from surrounding parents. Only then did I realise that I forgot to look for the purple envelope. But I didn't care as I made my way up the course again. I rode the slide another four times before I grabbed the purple envelope stuck on the ceiling of the tube halfway down.
I came out of Chuck E. Cheese with a big smile on my face and piled into the car. I smoothed out my hair and clothes before opening the purple envelope. This time, the paper had 5 lines.
Had fun? I thought so.
Your next clue leads to your real present.
Come to the place where only three people in the world know about.
High up in a tree, is an exclusive club. All you need to do is flash your badge and say the password.
See you there.
The Three Musketeers' treehouse. I wonder how much sucking up Landon must have done to get this info out of Dylan.
"Isaac, drive to Dylan's house. And please make it quick!" I ordered. Isaac nodded and drove off.
The whole car ride, I couldn't keep still. Was Landon going to kiss me when I find him? I immediately topped my lips off with a few swipes of Kandy Kane Glossip Girl lip gloss.
We finally arrived at Dylan's house and I immediately made my way through her perfectly manicured lawn. I stood under the tree where the treehouse was situated and took a deep breath before taking my shoes off and climbing my way up the planks of wood that were drilled into the tree. I reached the platform and knocked the treehouse door three times before saying the password.
"The Three Musketeer candy bars are the best."
I fluffed my hair and braced myself to face the gorgeousness of Landon Crane. The door creaked open and there stood (well, kneeled really)...
Cam Fisher.
I reeled back in surprised, nearly falling off the tree. Cam lurched forwards and grabbed onto my waist, holding it tight. When I was safely back into the treehouse, he let go of me. None of us spoke for a while.
"Cam? Are you really my Secret Santa?" I asked. He nodded at me, nervously running his hands through his hair.
It then all made sense to me. Of course it wasn't Landon. And thinking about it, maybe I have seen him work at Icieez a few times before. Cam was in the football team so it was easy for him to instruct Landon to give me the envelope in Icieez. And other than Dylan, Cam was the only person who knew me well enough to know my favourite colour was purple.
I looked at him, in new light. He a small box out of his pocket and placed it in my cupped hands.
"Merry Christmas, Massie."
I opened the small robin's egg blue box and nestled in the little pillow was a little golden sword charm. I looked at him, with understanding in my eyes. When I was 10 and we were still considered as the inseparable Three Musketeers, I had always wanted 'one of them real big swords like the real Three Musketeers'. After all this time...
"You remembered." I said, softly.
"Of course. How could I forget?" He chuckled and pulled the charm out of the box. He took my wrist and clasped the charm next to the little golden pug.
"Not to be rude or anything, but was this within the $20 budget?" I asked him, with a teasing smile on my face.
"Let's just say, that the price for the gift adds up for all the Christmases and birthdays of yours I've missed."
I was touched. It was a quite a number of Christmases and birthdays of mine he had missed.
"Also, one more thing..." Cam said, leaning in closer into me. My eyes widened. Was he...?
"Merry Christmas, Massie." He breathed as he kissed me softly.
Well, I sure am glad for retouching my lipgloss in the car, then.
*It really is the most magical time of the year*
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so this story was supposed to be a tassie at first and Dylan was supposed to be Claire but I changed it to suit the palate of the receiver (:
maggie/sparkling skies, i really hoped you enjoyed this. when i saw i got you as my secret santa, i nearly died because you're such an amazing writer and i really don't know how my meagre writing skills can compare to your bawss ones and i could keep rambling but I'll stop embarrassing you now(: but anyway, hope you're having an awesome Christmas! (:
AND ALSO A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE ELSE! ILYGUISE! :D
-picturebookgirl