Merry Christmas everyone! My present to you, a Planeteer Christmas.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not making money, just trying to spread some Christmas cheer!
All I Want for Christmas
Chapter 1: Just Like the Ones I Used To Know
The Geo Cruiser lands and the five tired Planeteers climb out.
"I can't believe that in all of our years as Planeteers, this is the first time those Eco-monsters have ever done anything so close to Christmas. I don't know what makes me more angry…them clear cutting that entire forest and claiming they were running a legitimate Christmas tree selling business, or the fact that they cut into our Christmas break and now none of us can go home," Wheeler gripes.
"You had your chance to go home. Kwame asked if you wanted us to drop you off since we were already in America. You chose not to and now we do not want to hear you complain about it Yankee!" Linka says crabbily.
"I'm not complaining about not being at home…I'm disappointed for the rest of you. I know it's not often we get a chance to go home…which is why I decided to stay with you guys. It wouldn't have been fair if I got to go home and no one else did...especially since out of all of us, I'm probably the the one that was least excited about going home."
"Oh," she says, now feeling guilty for snapping at him.
"Besides, I'd rather spend Christmas with you guys. This is my home and my family just as much as my real home and family…if not more so."
Trying to defuse the always present tension between Wheeler and Linka and to ease some of the awkwardness, Gi says,
"I just want to take a nap and catch up on some sleep."
"Sounds good to me," Ma-Ti agrees.
"Me too," Kwame says.
The three of them head towards their cabins, leaving Wheeler and Linka behind.
"What about you Yankee? Not going to go relax?" Linka asks.
"Nah…I've got too much work to do."
"Work? What work?" She asks.
"Just because we're not going home for Christmas doesn't mean I'm not going to celebrate it! I've got some serious shopping to do! We need decorations, a tree, lights, cookies, a ham, potatoes, rolls…all the fixings."
"Where do you plan on getting those things?"
"The store…where else?" He asks as he climbs back into the Geo Cruiser.
"Do you want help?" She offers as she climbs onto the wing, ready to get in. "It is Christmas Eve; it is going to be a mad house at the stores!"
"Nah, I got it covered."
"Oh…are you sure?"
"Positive…but I'd love the company if you wanna join me."
Not wanting to seem too eager, Linka tries to cover.
"Well, I slept on the ride home, so I am not as tired as the others…and it would be boring if I were the only one awake on the island…so I might as well go with you…and besides, I need to make sure you get all the right food."
"Ok Babe, you can come along and babysit me! And I think it would be great if you picked up some things to make some Russian dishes."
"You do?"
"Yeah…it might not look appetizing, but it always smells good and tastes great!"
"Thanks…I think."
"Kinda the opposite of you…you always look good. Smell good…guess I'll have to buy a lot of mistletoe to find out how you taste," he says with a wink.
"Wheeler! Behave or you will be shopping alone."
"Just joking," he says as he powers up the Geo Cruiser and takes off. "Sort of…"
When Wheeler and Linka arrive back on Hope Island, they put their groceries away and then put up the decorations they bought.
"Looks good Yankee!"
"Yeah, I guess. Not much left to choose from as far as decorations go…but that's to be expected when you do your decoration shopping on Christmas Eve!"
"Da…still…you did well with what you got."
"Thanks."
"Well, it is late…I am going to go to bed unless you need more help," she says.
"No…I'm just about done. Go to sleep. Rest up. Big party tomorrow."
"Da…ok. You too. Get your rest…you know you are going to have to wake up before noon to start cooking Christmas dinner!"
"Yeeeeeeees, dear," Wheeler says jokingly as he dramatically rolls his eyes. "And Babe…?"
She stops in the doorway to see what he wants.
"Thanks for all your help tonight."
"You are welcome. It was really thoughtful of you to want to do this for everyone. Good idea."
Wheeler smiles and nods.
"See ya in the morning. G'night Babe."
"Goodnight Yankee."
Once she's gone, he sets out on putting up the finishing touches. He'd bought a stocking for each of the Planeteers, and even Suchi. He uses a silver paint pen to write each of their names on a stocking, and then he fills each of them with something relevant to each Planeteer. Bananas for Suchi, packets of seeds for Kwame's garden, a box of animal crackers for Ma-Ti, and gummy fish for Gi. Linka was more difficult to buy for…the others' stocking stuffers were cheap and meant to be funny. He couldn't think of anything funny to get her. He wanted hers to be special. He was looking through the music section at the store…a CD? Nah, those are kinda obsolete now. Did she have an MP3 player? That was a little out of his price range for a stocking stuffer. Then it hit him when he saw a certain CD…what he wanted to get her couldn't be bought at a store.
Back to the present time, Wheeler pulls the piece of paper that he'd printed from the internet out of his pocket and slides it into Linka's stocking. He really hopes she likes it. He has a good feeling about it, but isn't sure how she'll react to it. It might seem like too much, but that's what he wanted. He wanted her to know that while he put thought into everyone's stocking stuffers, he put A LOT of thought into hers.
His last task for the night was to hang all the mistletoe he bought…it was worth a shot. He hung it in every door way, above the couch, above the tree where they'd all be opening their gifts, and above the snack table where he'd be setting out the cookies and drinks. One way or another, he'd catch her under the mistletoe. After all, with five sprigs of it throughout the room, the odds were in his favor.
"Maybe this is the year I finally get what I want for Christmas," Wheeler says as he takes one last look around the room before turning off the light and heading to his cabin to sleep.
To Be Continued...