It was Christmas Eve in Hillwood. The sun was up, and the air was cool. People were rushing around, desperate to find last minute Christmas presents and setting up decorations. In one particular household, Nadine was helping Rhonda to set up her tree, since her presents were busy wrapping presents.

"This is always my favourite part of Christmas," Nadine says as she wraps some tinsel around the branches, "decorating the tree. It's always so much fun!"

"Don't your family have Christmas decorations up all year round, though?" Nadine nodded. "I'm surprised you ever change the decorations."

Nadine laughed, although a little uncertainly. "Well, we don't have the tree up all year round."

"I suppose that's a good thing. A Christmas tree looks good around this time of year, especially if decorated like mine is, but having it up all year long would be both distasteful and impractical."

Nadine started to frown. "Well… I guess."

"I mean, don't get me wrong. Christmas is a wonderful time, but celebrating it all year round takes away from that! If it looks like Christmas all year long, then it doesn't look as special!"

"Hmm, I guess," Nadine grumbled. Rhonda looked at her.

"Is something wrong, Nadine?"

"No, everything's fine." As Rhonda placed the star on top, they both stepped back. Looking at the tree, Nadine thought it looked wonderful. Rhonda, however disagreed, letting out an irritated sigh. Nadine looked at her. "What?"

"It isn't right. Some of the ornaments are out of place." Nadine sighed, losing her patience. "Well, I'm sorry, but it has to be just perfect! If the tree- the CENTERPIECE of the Christmas decorations- isn't perfect, it throws everything off! Move the rocking horse up a little!" Nadine tried her hardest not to complain as she did as Rhonda asked. "Little more… Little more… too far!" Nadine groaned, gritting her teeth, but she kept her cool, moving the ornament a branch down. "Perfect! Now, do you see the little snowflake by your right hand? That needs to come more to the left." Nadine moved the ornament until Rhonda told her to stop. "There we go! It already looks much better! Can't you see how much of a difference that has made?"

"Not really."

"Well, at least one of us does." That was the last straw for Nadine, who started to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"It's clear I don't see your 'perfect vision', and I'm just in the way, so maybe I'll let you handle this by yourself."

"You're ABANDONING me?! I thought you were my FRIEND, Nadine! Maybe I thought wrong."

Nadine was outraged, mouth open wide and arms crossed. "I cannot believe you just said that! Maybe you shouldn't speak to me until you remember what it means to be a friend."

Nadine stormed towards the door. "Fine! See if I care!" Nadine slammed the door, whilst Rhonda huffed and returned to decorating her tree. 'She'll see. This time tomorrow, she'll be desperate for me to forgive her.'

By the end of the day, Rhonda had forgotten all about the spat between her and Nadine. As she climbed into bed, excited for what would come in the morning, she closed her eyes and started to dream about what she would get from Santa.

"Wake up!" A voice called out, but Rhonda didn't move. "Wake up, Rhonda!" they called, louder. She groaned, turning over. "Come on, I don't have time for this! GET UP!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Rhonda snapped, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. When she opened them, they went wide in surprise. Sat on the foot of her bed was Helga Pataki, the bully of her school. Unlike her usual attire, though, she was wearing a grey, ragged dress, and her hair was down instead of her usual ponytails. "Helga? What are you doing here? And what are you wearing? Your pink dress was okay, at best, but this is just-"

"Can it, Princess!" Helga snapped. "Look, I'm not technically who you think I am. I'm a spirit."

Rhonda laughed. "A spirit?"

"Yep. Perhaps you've heard of me- they call me 'the spirit of Christmas past'." Rhonda laughed harder. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up! Truth is, I wouldn't be here if you hadn't lost your Christmas spirit."

"Oh, this ought to be good!" Rhonda stood up. "So, you expect me to believe that you're a magical spirit who's going to show me the supposed error of my ways?"

"That's the gist of it. The reason I look like your friend is to try and make my point hit home a bit more easily."

Rhonda stood up, rolling eyes. "I'm getting security." She walked to the door, not noticing how Helga wasn't trying to stop her. As she got downstairs, however, she heard something. It sounded like people talking, possibly people she knew, but she wasn't certain. What she was certain of was that it was coming from the living room. Walking towards it, she gasped at the sight she saw before her. Her parents were sat on one couch, Nadine's were on the other, and younger versions of Nadine and Rhonda- about 6 years old- sat in front of the tree, exchanging parents. "W-what's going on?!"

"That's the reaction I usually see," Helga said, causing Rhonda to jump due to not realising she was there. "Like I said, I'm the spirit of Christmas past. This is you and Nadine in first grade."

"I cannot believe I am seeing this," Rhonda spoke, in awe of the sight before her. "Look how happy and innocent we were."

Young Rhonda opened up the present young Nadine had given her, and smiled giddily as she pulled out a hand-knitted scarf. "Oh my God, I love it! Did you make this yourself?" Young Nadine giggled, nodding. Rhonda wrapped it around herself. "It's so cool, thank you!"

"You're welcome," Young Nadine replied, before opening her own present. She gasped as she pulled out an amethyst butterfly necklace. "Oh, wow! It's beautiful!"

"I found it in a shop when mommy and daddy took me to Aspen. I remembered how much you like insects, so…"

"It's perfect. Thank you so much, Rhonda."

The two younger girls giggled, hugging each other. Rhonda- the older one- smiled, her heart warmed by the sight. "Wow… I had al, but forgotten about this. Nadine and I spent every Christmas together since then." Rhonda looked to ask Helga something, but she was gone. "Helga?" She turned around, and saw Helga was nowhere to be seen. "Helga!" Turning back around, she gasped. "What the-"

Rhonda was no longer standing outside her living room. Instead, she was on the street, outside of Nadine's house. She recognised it instantly, having spent many days after school there with Nadine. Many sleepovers and a good few parties had happened there.

"B-but how did I get here? Just a second ago, I was-"

"In your house?" She heard a voice say. Looking to her left, sat on a mailbox was a figure she recognised. The figure was her friend Arnold, except he was wearing a tattered grey jacket over an equally tattered red jumper and worn grey trousers. Instead of the blue hat he was known for wearing on his head, he instead wore a paperboy hat instead. "A lot of people have that reaction after the first transition."

"A-Arnold?" She asked, still flabbergasted. "What are you doing here? Where did Helga go? How did I-"

"Breathe," he suggested, hopping down from the mailbox. "It seems you don't fully grasp the situation yet. Much like how the spirit of Christmas past was represented by who you know as Helga, I, the spirit of Christmas present, have taken the form of your friend Arnold."

"But, you and Helga don't dress like that." He stared at her, deadpan expression written across his face. "Oh. I guess there's more important things to focus on right now."

He nodded. "So, what you are seeing is just a little excerpt from your Christmas tomorrow. As you know, you and your friend Nadine would normally open presents together at your house. This year, however, she didn't show up."

"What? But, Nadine's my best friend! Surely she will!"

"Not after how you hurt her." Rhonda hung her head, but Arnold continued. "So, you decided to go to her place and see if she wanted to open presents there instead." He looked down the street. "Ah, here you are now."

Rhonda looked down the street and saw herself approaching the house, smiling with a present in her arms. She walked up to the steps, then up them to the door, and rang the bell. Nadine's mother answered the door, and frowned upon seeing Rhonda. "Oh. Hello, Rhonda."

"Hello, Mrs Robinson," Rhonda greeted. "Nadine never showed up to exchange gifts, so I figured we could do it here this year. Can I come in?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Nadine isn't really feeling like seeing you today."

She was shocked. "W-what?"

"She feels upset after yesterday, so maybe it's best you head home again. Merry Christmas, Rhonda."

"But, but we always-" The door shut in her face. She stood there for a few moments, trying to comprehend what had happened. When she fully did, she grew angry, gritting her teeth. "Fine! See if I care! If you can hear me, Nadine, our friendship is over!"

She threw the present to the ground, glass shattering within. She stormed down the steps, not noticing the other Rhonda or 'Arnold', and went home. The other Rhonda stared, both shocked and upset at what she saw.

"I cannot believe it," Rhonda spoke after a brief silence. "I didn't realise I was being so cruel to her… I was thinking too much about myself, I didn't even realise how much doing the tree meant to Nadine."

Arnold gave her a brief smile. "It seems you're finally grasping what we're trying to show you."

Rhonda nodded. "Yes. I guess I should thank you, but… there has to be a way I can make things up to Nadine. Arnold, do you know how I could-" She turned to face him, but he was gone. "Arnold?" She turned to the street and realised he was nowhere in sight, causing her to frown. "Arnold, not you too! I really need your help right now! Why does everyone disappear without even a-"

She stopped talking when she turned around and realised she was now outside of Mr Green's butcher shop. Looking around, she was no longer on the same street. When the bell rang from the door, she turned to see it wasn't Mr Green who exited, but Harold Berman from her class. Only, much like everyone else she had seen so far, he didn't look like the version of him she knew. He was at least ten years older, maybe twenty five years old. He was much bulkier in size, and was wearing a butcher's outfit. He was holding a broom in his hand.

"Harold?" Rhonda asked, eliciting no response. "Is that you?"

"He can't hear you, Rhonda," a voice spoke. Rhonda froze, not even needing to realise whose voice it was. Turning, she saw Nadine, dressed in a plain white dress, with nothing on her feet. "You look surprised to see me."

"N-Nadine… I- I am so-" She stopped when she realised the pattern that had emerged. "Wait a minute… you're the other spirit. The spirit of Christmas yet to come, aren't you?"

'Nadine' nodded. "You're finally understanding." She placed a hand on Rhonda's shoulder. "I think you know what you've done, and I can see you want to make amends, but it's important that you see the consequences of what will happen if you don't. Watch Harold."

Rhonda did as she was told. As Harold swept the floor, he walked down the alleyway that was next to the shop, before stopping with a scowl.

"Hey!" He yelled, lifting his broom. "I told you that you can't stay here, now go! Otherwise I'm calling the police!"

"Okay, fine! I'll go!" Rhonda gasped as a figure stood up from behind a dumpster and walked towards the street. It was an older version of herself, but instead of wearing fancy clothes, she looked homeless, wearing worn clothes and a rag wrapped around her. "I just thought you might be able to help, since we used to be friends!"

"That stopped a long time ago, Rhonda! Now get out of here!"

The younger Rhonda was devastated by the sight. "How could this happen?"

"Well, after you stopped being friends with Nadine," 'Nadine' explained, "you became intolerable, conceited, obnoxious, among other things. Your parents retired when you graduated high school, leaving their business to you, and your personality became impossible to work with. You fired too many people, and following a lawsuit, you lost everything. Your parents didn't care, so you were left on the street."

"That's horrible! …but, if that's what happened to me… what happened to-"

"Nadine?" Rhonda nodded. "Look for yourself."

The spirit pointed down the street, where an older version of Nadine was walking down the street, with a little girl- her daughter- walking by her side. Nadine looked like she was doing fairly well for herself- not rich by any means, but enough to happily go by. As she neared the butchers, she noticed the older Rhonda.

"Rhonda?" She asked. The homeless woman looked at her. "Is that you? What happened?"

"Oh, Nadine! It has been much too long!" She tried to hug her old friend, but Nadine and her daughter stepped back. "Oh, of course! I forget, I must look a right state." She crouched down and looked at the little girl. "And who is this sweetheart?"

"This is my daughter, Serene."

"Hello there, Serene! That's a beautiful name you have there."

Serene hid behind her mother, scared by the homeless lady. Nadine cleared her throat. "Well, as much as I'd love to catch up, I have to go and get started on dinner."

"Oh! Is there any chance I could join you?"

"Erm… I'm afraid there isn't enough room, since my family is coming."

Rhonda took a step forward. "Nadine, I am begging you! I have not eaten in days! I need help, please!"

Nadine held her daughter behind her. "Rhonda, I'm sorry. If we kept in touch and were still friends, things could be different, but-"

"PLEASE!"

"Stay back!"

Nadine hurriedly rushed past, keeping Serene away from the crazy homeless lady. Realising how she had been acting, the older Rhonda ran off in the other direction, crying with her head in her hands. The younger Rhonda felt uneasy in her stomach, desperate not to let that happen.

"Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick!" she groaned. "I can't let this happen, I have to make things right."

She looked to 'Nadine', but she already knew what Rhonda would say. "I cannot help you to resolve this. This is something you must figure out for yourself."

Rhonda nodded, but she still wasn't sure how to go back to her time. "But how? I'm in the future right now, aren't I?"

"Criminy, Princess!" She looked to her side and saw 'Helga' had reappeared. "That's the easy part!"

"You know how much what you said hurt Nadine," she turned as she heard 'Arnold' say. "You saw how it made her feel."

The three of them began repeating themselves, one by one, before starting to overlap. Rhonda couldn't keep up with it, spinning around just like her head. She felt like they were getting louder, so she cupped her hands over her ears, feeling the situation grow more and more overwhelming, until she screamed, "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…"

"...OOOOOOOOOOOOP!" She shot up in bed, gasping for air. Her breathing was fast, but as she realised she was back in her room, it lessened as she began to relax. 'It was a dream… thank goodness it was a dream.'

Her door opened, and her parents walked in. "Rhonda, we heard a scream!" Brooke spoke, sitting by her daughter. "Are you alright, dear?"

"Yes, mummy, I'm fine," Rhonda replied, smiling and giving her a hug. "I just had a bad dream, that's all."

"But you're definitely alright?" Buckley, her father, asked. She nodded. "Well, that's good because look!" He pulled open the curtains, revealing snowy streets. "It's Christmas!"

She gasped, smiling happily. "Of course! Merry Christmas, daddy! Merry Christmas, mummy!"

They both laughed at her excitement. "Merry Christmas, Rhonda, sweetie."

"We'll wait downstairs and you can open your presents."

So, Rhonda's parents went downstairs. Rhonda quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs, where she saw lots of presents under the tree, wrapped to precision with beautiful bows around them. Looking at her parents, they gestured for her to go ahead. She rushed to the tree and kneeled down before it. Before she could open one, however, she saw a particular present. 'The one I got for Nadine,' she thought. She thought back to the dream from last night and frowned. 'Even if it was a dream… I have to make things right.'

"Rhonda?" Buckley asked. "Is something the matter?"

Rhonda grabbed the present and stood to her feet. "Before I can open any of these, there's something I need to do first."

She heard a knock at the door. Opening it, Nadine was surprised to see Rhonda there, with a present in her hands. "Rhonda?" She asked. "What are you doing here? I thought we met at your house."

"Hey, Nadine. I know, but I had to see you urgently." Taking a deep breath, Rhonda began to explain. "I owe you a huge apology for yesterday."

Nadine smiled. "Rhonda, you don't have to-"

"Yes I do, Nadine! I was horrible to you yesterday! I should have been more considerate for your feelings. Honestly, I've been thinking about this all night. I needed to make things right, so, here. I thought you should open your present first."

"Oh, wow! I don't know what to say, except thank you!" She graciously accepted the present and opened it. She smiled to see a pink cashmere sweater with a blue dragonfly on it. "Oh, this is gorgeous! Rhonda, this is amazing, I-" As she felt the material, she felt something underneath it. Reaching under, she found another present, this one hastily wrapped, unlike the beautiful outer box. "What's this?"

"A little something more, to show how much you mean to me." Nadine carefully removed the wrapping paper and gasped at what she saw- a gold headband with ruby hearts encrusted into it. She looked at Rhonda, astounded. "It used to be one of my favourites, and I remember how much you loved it too. I think it would look so much better on you than it ever did on me." Rhonda gently took the headband and placed it on Nadine, smiling. "I was right."

"Rhonda, this is too much! Why did you do this?"

"It's like I said. You're my best friend, and I wanted to prove just how much you mean to me- it might be a bit too materialistic to do it like this, but-"

"I think it's perfect."

Nadine and Rhonda both smiled. "Do you forgive me?"

"I would have forgiven you anyway, Rhonda. You're my best friend too." She set the present on the hall table, and then she and Rhonda hugged, smiling happily. "Merry Christmas, Rhonda."

She allowed a small tear of joy to escape her eyes. "Merry Christmas, Nadine."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!