It was the last day of school at Degrassi Junior High before the Christmas Holidays began and everyone was extremely excited for it!
Well, almost everyone.
Christine Nelson, otherwise known as 'Spike' to many of her fellow classmates, wasn't exactly too keen on this year's festivities.
She was extremely stressed out, not only about her latest marks in many of her classes, but also about how she would be able to give her six month old daughter Emma a fantastic first Christmas which was only five days away.
Getting a job was simply out of the question due to the fact that she had NO experience in anything that was available out there, and what little jobs that were offered to kids her age barely paid well to begin with.
She couldn't even ask her Mom for any money either because they too were barely just getting by as is.
Not only did they have the Hair Salon business to keep up with and running, they also had to maintain the rent and utilities of their small apartment as well.
As for Shane, what little he gave her in terms of 'Child Support' from his own allowance went straight to a package of diapers and six jars of baby food that barely kept them secured for less than two and a half weeks.
Once they were all bought, there was barely any money left over to get anything else...let alone save up for certain special occasions such as the one that was quickly approaching.
Christine was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear the bell ring to signify lunch hour as the rest of Mr. Garcia's Grade Nine class quickly filed out of the room towards the cafeteria.
"Spike!?...Spike, come on! It's lunch hour." Erica Farrell replied as she and her twin sister Heather gently shook Christine's shoulders.
"Huh? Oh...thanks." Spike quietly mumbled as she slowly got up from her desk and followed the twins out the door.
"Are you OK, Spike? You've been lost in thought for most of this morning!" inquired Heather. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just got a lot on my mind lately."
"Is it about your grades?" asked Erica.
"Yeah, partially. But I truly wish that was it...I really want to do something special for Emma's first Christmas, but I've got no money to do so. Shane only offers me twenty bucks and that goes straight into diapers and food. I can't ask my Mom for any money cause she has her own expenses to deal with, such as keeping us within house and home as well as her hair salon business up and running. She barely has enough left over for groceries once both are paid off."
"What a drag! I wish we could do something to help you out, Spike!"
"Thanks Heather, but it's too late. We only have five more days left til Christmas and I feel so horrible not being able to do anything about it. A baby's first Christmas should be a magical, special time. It's considered the first of many moments and memories to treasure for years to come and yet here I am at a complete and utter loss."
"Don't be Spike. It's not your fault, times are tough for a lot of people these days!" Erica concluded as they finally reached the cafeteria. "Whoa, talk about a holiday overload!"
The entire cafeteria was fully decorated to the hilt with tons of garland of every colour hanging over door frames and support pillars along with strands of Christmas lights, paper chains, wreaths, Christmas cards, stockings and a very huge 'PEACE ON EARTH' sign hung on many of the walls, foiled shapes of snowflakes, stars and colourful circles dangled off the ceiling and to top it all off, a very large and tall Christmas tree stood front and centre, packed with even more garlands, ornaments, lights and popcorn strands.
A large snowflake crowned the top!
"Yeah, I'm starting to feel for the poor custodians who have the unfortunate task of taking all this stuff down when the holidays are over and done with! Hey, there's Liz...I'll save you guys a seat!" said Spike as she then rushed over to Liz's table and sat down. "Hey Liz!"
"Hi Spike. I couldn't help but notice how spaced out you've been for most of this morning...is everything alright?" Liz asked with concern.
"Yeah, everything is fine. I just got a lot on my mind right now, that's all. I was just telling the twins
how horrible I feel for not being able to get something special to commemorate Emma's first Christmas."
"Why not just make something instead? There's more to Christmas than just spending money, you know!"
"Yeah, I know that Liz...but still, it would be nice if she had at least something to look forward to and treasure for the rest of her life."
"Merry Christmas, Ladies!" greeted Doris Bell, the school's secretary as she sauntered past their table back towards the front of the cafeteria.
"Merry Christmas, Doris!" Spike replied back with a smile, though Liz could tell it really wasn't a true, genuine smile. "The school certainly has gone a bit overboard on the decorations this year, haven't they? I think we've got enough garland and lights here to decorate at least twenty or so dozen Christmas trees! Erica called it a holiday overload when we all walked in here!"
"I'd say. Maybe they should focus more on getting the furnace fixed instead!"
"Yeah, it sure is hot in here."
"You've got that right, Spike! Hey, Liz. The twins should be along shortly...they're just paying for their stuff now." said Lucy as she sat down next to Spike. "So, are you guys all set for the holidays?"
"No. Personally, I can't wait for this whole thing to be over...Christmas is so overrated. We don't even bother with it. My Mom says it's all just a hassle having to put everything up only to take it all down again a week later...what's the point?" exclaimed Liz as she took a bite of her sandwich.
"Not really..." Spike replied with a sigh. "What about you, Lucy? Are your parents home for the holidays this year or are they still busy with work again?"
"Thankfully they're home this year which is nice for a change. I'm actually looking forward to this year's festivities!"
"Hey guys, Erica just came up with an excellent idea...go on, tell them!" Heather exclaimed as she and Erica finally joined Lucy, Liz and Spike for lunch.
"Alright, I was thinking maybe we could all be together for the holidays, right here at Degrassi!"
"Uh, that sounds great Erica, but how?" asked Lucy. "Wouldn't we be needing some kind of special permission to hold such an event?"
"OK Lucy, we're getting to that...here's how we'll do it. After lunch, Heather and I will go up to Mr. Lawrence's office and have a talk with him about our idea. If this works out and he says yes, we'll all be able to celebrate the holidays together as one and really make this a very special Christmas to remember!"
"But...what about our families, Erica? I'm not sure many would actually go for this idea. Remember, those same parents wanted me kicked out of Degrassi when I was pregnant with Emma simply for 'setting a bad example'!" Spike asserted.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that...well, I guess it'll just take a lot of convincing! Come on, it wouldn't hurt to at least try, right?" Heather encouraged.
"It sounds crazy, but I'd say go for it! I wouldn't mind spending the holidays with all of you guys! Besides, I got nothing else better to do with my time for the next two weeks!" replied Liz.
"Alright then, wish us luck!" said Erica as she crossed her fingers.
"Good luck! Anyway, on another note...thank goodness those exams are finally over!" declared Spike, starting a new conversation.
"Don't worry, you'll do fine! You always do well in math!" Heather assured. "You got the highest mark last year!"
"Well, last year I had time to study!"
"Come on Spike, a baby can't take up that much of your time..."
"Are you kidding, Heather? You have to pay attention every minute!"
"You make her sound like a monster!" Erica said with a laugh.
"She seems like one, sometimes! I don't even know if I'm going to pass any of my exams. My marks are way down this year. I might flunk!"
"No way! Ms. 'Straight A' Nelson?" Lucy asked, giving Spike a gentle nudge with her elbow.
'Would Christine Nelson please report to Mr. Lawrence's Office? Christine Nelson to the Principal's Office!' Doris Bell announced over the P.A. system.
"That's me..." Spike grimaced as she got up from the table and began leaving the cafeteria, but as she made her way towards the doors, she bumped into her ex-boyfriend, Shane McKay.
"Hey Spike, how's Emma?" he asked with concern.
"Fine!" she spat in return...storming off.
"She won't even let me see her!" Shane groaned to his friend, Bryant Lester Thomas shortly after Spike had left.
"Forget about the baby, man! Just because you support her, doesn't mean you also have to worry about her all the time! I'm sure Spike's a good Mother towards her." Bryant said flatly.
"But she's my responsibility too...I'm her Father! I don't know why she's being so cold to me all of a sudden. She's been like this ever since the day we found out she was pregnant. We used to be going steady but now, she totally hates my guts for it. It was just a big mistake that technically shouldn't have happened in the first place!"
"Doris, Mr. Lawrence wanted to see me?" asked Spike as she walked into the main office.
"Oh, yes. Christine, come on in. Your babysitter had just stopped by to drop Emma off, she said she had an emergency and needed to attend to it immediately. Something about her Father being in an accident...Um, Bruce? Christine is here to pick up the baby." replied Doris as she rolled her chair over to Mr. Lawrence's door.
"Ah, yes..." Mr. Lawrence began as he carefully made his way out of his office carrying the bassinet with the baby laying inside, semi-wrapped in a yellow blanket. "She's very adorable, Christine."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Are you going to be alright carrying her back down to the cafeteria again by yourself?"
"Yeah, I should be Mr. Lawrence. Thanks again!"
"No problem!"
"Oh, and Christine...if there's anything else we can do for you, then please don't hesitate to ask." Doris added in before Christine had fully left the room.
"Thank you Doris. I will!" Spike said with a smile as she then left the office and slowly began making her way back towards the cafeteria.
It's been nearly ten minutes since Spike had been called up to the office which had now gotten the girls really worried for she still hadn't returned back yet.
"She's been up at Lawrence's Office now for quite a while. You don't think she's flunked, do you?" Heather asked.
"No way, it's too soon!" replied Lucy.
"She's worked so hard..." added in Erica. "It wouldn't be fair!"
Suddenly Liz stood up from her seat, looking over at the cafeteria doors just as Christine finally walked in. "Hey, there she is! And look who she's got!"
"It's Emma! Quick, let's clear some room so she can set her down!" said Heather as Lucy and Erica pushed their lunch trays aside.
"What's Emma doing here?" asked Lucy as Spike carefully set the bassinet down.
"Well, the girl that minds Emma during the day, her Dad got into an accident..." replied Spike as she sat down. "Oh, he's OK thank goodness, but she had to go tend to him so she dropped Emma off here! Looks like she's about to become Degrassi's latest attraction!"
Instantly, the entire student body had surrounded Spike's table just to see and admire the little bundle of joy, gasping in amazement and laughing at every cute thing she did.
"Just think, this is her first Christmas ever!" cooed Alexa. "You must be so very excited, Spike! I know I would be...she's so sweet!"
"Yeah, I guess." Spike replied back as she tried to mask the uncertainty and sadness in her voice.
Even though she had told the Farrell Twins and Liz about her true feelings towards the holidays this year, she really didn't want anyone else to know about her ordeal.
The last thing she needed to become on top of already being a typical teenage mother was also a charity case among her peers as well.
Keeping on a brave face, she looked up from Emma to see Shane McKay sitting a few tables down from hers, slowly nursing a can of pop and staring right back at them.
"Where can I get one of these?" she could hear Joey asking.
"I don't think so...!" Heather laughed, obviously answering Joey's question.
'Typical...' Spike thought to herself. 'He's so concerned for Emma's well being, yet doesn't even bother to come over here to see her like everyone else has...'
"We apologize for the problems with our heating system. We are doing everything we can and I am confident that the temperatures will return to normal very soon. That is all!" Mr. Lawrence announced over the P.A. System.
After a few good minutes had pasted, the crowd of students eventually returned to their own seats to finish what was left of their lunches, finally giving Shane the opportunity to approach Spike's table and hopefully see his daughter for the very first time!
"Hi Emma." He murmured, brushing her cheek gently which grabbed the attention of Spike, the Twins, Lucy, Liz and Alexa, who took a step back with respect for some reason. "Can I hold her?"
"No!" was Spike's immediate, cold reply.
"Please, Spike? I've been helping with support for the past four months now with half of my allowance. I think it's only fair that I get to spend some quality time with her."
Spike turned to the Twins, Lucy and Liz for some kind of reassurance.
"Come on, Spike. It wouldn't hurt to let him hold her for at least a little while. He is her Father after all and he really has stepped up with some form of responsibility. Most boys wouldn't even do just that!" Erica replied.
"OK, but only for a bit!" Spike said as she got up from her seat, gently taking Emma out of her bassinet and carefully placing her into Shane's arms. "Make sure you have her head protected..."
Emma let out a small cry as Shane took hold of her.
"Hey Emma, it's Daddy!" he cooed as he then went back to his seat, cradling and rocking her gently.
"That was nice!" replied Heather as Spike sat down again.
"That's so beautiful!" said Alexa, nearly close to tears.
"They look so good together." added Liz.
"Yeah, they do!" said Spike.
Shane was thrilled to finally see and hold his daughter as he looked up at the girls and smiled.
"He sure is happy!" said Lucy. "Is this really Shane's first time seeing and holding Emma?"
"Yeah...don't ask why that is though...I really don't care to explain it at the moment."
Everyone nodded just as the cafeteria doors opened, grabbing the attention of Alexa and Joey Jeremiah.
"Hey, there's Louella...she's looking very exhausted and dirty to boot. I wonder what she had been doing all this time to get that way?" Alexa asked as she watched the janitor grab a drink from the fountain.
"I don't know...but I'm sure we'll find out shortly. Leave it up to Joey to know all the gritty details!" Lucy replied as the girls chuckled.
"Hey guys, Louella fixed the furnace!" Joey announced to everyone. "Not bad for a woman!"
"Oh, come on!" yelled Spike, throwing a chip at Joey as he quickly ran past their table.
"Women can do anything guys can do just as well!" added in Erica.
"Don't be so sexist, Joey!" Liz called out!
"Yeah!" added in Lucy and the Twins. "You Chauvinist!"
"Goofball!" Louella growled just as the bell rang to end lunch.
Shane carefully got up and walked back over to the girls' table, gently placing Emma back into her bassinet.
"There you go, Emma. Thanks for letting me hold her, Spike!"
"You're welcome." Spike replied as Shane began to walk away.
"Well, Heather and I are going up to Mr. Lawrence's Office now...we don't really know how long we'll be so if Mr. Garcia asks, let him know we're at the Principal's Office." said Erica as she and Heather began making their way towards the cafeteria doors.
"I will...and good luck, you two!"
"Yeah, totally! I hope all works out and he goes with it!" replied Lucy. "I think it would be super awesome to celebrate the holidays right here at Degrassi with all of our closest friends!"
"Same here!" added in Liz.
"Hi Doris, is Mr. Lawrence in? We'd like to speak to him about something." replied Erica as she and Heather entered the main office.
"I'm sure that won't be a problem...hold on a second." Doris began as she picked up the phone. "Mr. Lawrence, the Farrell Twins Erica and Heather are here to see you if that's alright with you?"
"Send them in." replied Mr. Lawrence as Doris hung up and motioned for the twins to go ahead into his office.
"Thanks Doris!" the girls beamed as they walked over to Mr. Lawrence's door and walked in.
"Heather, Erica...come on in and have a seat. What can I do for you on this wonderful last day of school?" Mr. Lawrence addressed as he motioned towards the seats in front of his desk.
"Sir, we have an idea. Sorry if this is rather last minute, we just came up with this during lunch hour. We would like to spend Christmas vacation right here at Degrassi!" Erica announced.
Mr. Lawrence couldn't believe his ears. "You want to...um, but I thought you guys were so desperate to get away from this place?! Now you...want to...spend the holidays right...here? Is there a reason to all of this?"
"It won't be just us, Sir. What Erica is trying to say here is that we want ALL of Degrassi to spend the holidays right here. The staff, faculty, students and all of their families." exclaimed Heather.
"Oh...um. Wow, that's uh...that's a mighty big order to fill there at such a last minutes' notice. I'm not exactly sure we'll be able to pull it all off. In order to have such a request such as yours fulfilled, we'll have to get in contact with the School's Superintendent, plus have permission by our Head Custodian, Louella Hawkins. I'll give our Superintendent a call first and see what she has to say, then we'll go from there...alright? Just give me a few minutes here..." Mr. Lawrence declared as he picked up the phone and then went through his Rolodex to find the number for the Superintendent, carefully dialing the numbers one by one.
"Hello, Toronto District School Board of Education. This is L. Manne speaking. How may I help you?"
"Yes, hello. This is Bruce Lawrence speaking from Degrassi Junior High School. I was wondering if W. Watson is available by any chance?"
"Well, uh...she's just about ready to call it a day and head on out for her holidays, but I'm sure we can still catch her before she leaves. Give us a moment and we'll get her on the line as soon a possible. Please hold..."
"You girls are very lucky to have come to me with such an idea now...our Superintendent was just about ready to call it a day. They're paging her now, reasons why I am on hold."
The girls simply nodded as they waited patiently.
"Hello Bruce, what can I do for you today?"
"Hello Mrs. Watson, we have a bit of a proposition here. This may sound a little bit crazy, but just hear me out. I have two students here who would like to have the entire staff, faculty, students and their families spend Christmas holidays right here at Degrassi Junior High School. I know this is all last minute and I deeply apologize for that, it had just come to my attention now."
"We just came up with the idea during lunch." Erica added in, causing Heather to shush her.
"Erica, he's on the phone!" she scolded.
"Not sure if you heard that or not, Mrs. Watson...these two came up with the idea during lunch hour and are now in my office pitching the idea. Yes...absolutely...Really? OK. Alright then. I will let them know. Thank you so much Mrs. Watson and have a wonderful Christmas. Same to you. Bye-bye." Mr. Lawrence hung up the phone.
"WELL?" the girls asked in unison.
"Well...Mrs. Watson has no issues with us spending Christmas here..."
The twins got up out of their seat in celebration as they hugged one another.
"As long as we have full support from our Head Custodian first!"
"Oh no..." Heather moaned as she and Erica sat back down again in defeat. "How will we be able to get that?"
"Now, now girls...don't you get discouraged. All I have to do is page Louella Hawkins through the P.A. System." Mr. Lawrence addressed as he then picked up the mic and pressed the button. 'Would Louella Hawkins, please report to the Principal's Office immediately. Louella Hawkins, report to the Principal's Office.' "Now we wait...she could be in the boiler room or out doing some random maintenance throughout the building."
Within seconds of the announcement, the office door suddenly opened and there stood Louella, her arms, hands and face were no longer dirty except for her work shirt and was carrying with her a little bundle of joy in her right arm.
"You're lucky I was already in here fixing up something for Doris. I apologize for my rather unprofessional appearance right now for I had spent most of my lunch hour working on fixing the furnace. Notice how it no longer feels hot in here? Also...don't mind the baby. I sort of 'offered' my services in babysitting for Christine the rest of the day so she can finally put her feet up and enjoy some much needed time relaxing with her fellow classmates. Besides, I don't think this little angel here is much into class parties. She was causing quite the fuss...weren't you? Ohhh, such chubby whittle cheeks! Anyway, what do you guys need?"
"That's quite alright, Louella. Have a seat! We have a bit of a proposition for you!"
"Hello Emma!" Erica greeted, waving to her and tickling her chin as soon as Louella sat down beside the twins.
"OK now, this is going to sound a little bit crazy here, Louella...but just hear us out. These girls would like to have all of the staff, faculty, fellow classmates and their families celebrate the holiday season right here at Degrassi Junior High."
Louella was instantly taken aback by the request.
"Really? Is there any reason why you would rather spend Christmas here instead of being at home with your own families?" Louella asked, looking puzzled.
"Yeah, there is. You see, we came up with this idea for Christine's sake. Truthfully she can't give Emma a proper Christmas and she feels really bad for it. We figured if we could all be as one and celebrate the holidays here at Degrassi..." Heather began.
"Then she wouldn't feel so bad if she were to spend it at home with just her mother and nothing..." Louella finished.
The baby cooed and squealed, flailing her tiny little arms and legs about with happiness, making everyone in the room smile.
"You know something girls, when Christine was going through her pregnancy last year, I truly did not want to have her removed from this school. It was mostly the Parents who felt she was setting a very bad example for her fellow peers and I had no other choice than to go along with their and the School Board's decision to have her removed. To this day, I am still feeling really bad about it for all of you students have the right to an education, regardless of your situation good or bad. I think this would be a great idea to make it up to not only you guys, but for Christine as well. I have already spoken to Wendy Watson, our superintendent and she has given us her blessing to have this event happen...she has no problem with us being here for the holidays as long as nothing gets damaged, but in order to make this official, we need your permission. By the way girls, I like your idea and think it would be an amazing experience for all us to spend Christmas vacation here under one roof, so what do you say, Ms. Louella Hawkins?"
"I say...why not? Let's do this! Sure beats spending Christmas alone with a few bottles of wine and a cat upon your lap!"
Erica and Heather immediately hugged each other before splitting up to give Louella and Mr. Lawrence a hug as well, thanking them both for their time and went back to class to let everyone know the good news!
"OK, so how exactly are we going to spread the word of this to the students' parents? It's a bit on the late side now to write up 'permission slips' or whatever the heck you call them..." Louella asked shortly after the twins had left the office.
"Louella, you truly do not know Degrassi, do you? No worries! The word will get around the school and before long, we'll see who arrives and who doesn't the following day. Looks like you and your crew have your work cut out for you! We need to assign sleeping quarters for all of our guests, figure out where we're going to set up the Christmas Tree and so on...think you guys can handle that?"
Louella looked Mr. Lawrence straight in the eyes with a smile and said, "You bet your butt we are! No job is too big or too small for my crew to handle! We'll have everything figured out, done and sorted out before tomorrow morning! Now, if you'll excuse me Sir, I've got to tell everyone down in the boiler room the good news, right Emma? Yeah...we're all going to be spending Christmas together, oh yes we are...oh yes we are! Your first Christmas at that..."
Mr. Lawrence chuckled as Louella left the office!
"Christmas Time at Degrassi...I love it! Why haven't I thought of that?"
"You guys are not going to believe this, but we're all going to be celebrating Christmas together for the first time, right here at Degrassi!" Louella announced to her crew as she entered the boiler room with baby Emma.
"What? Louella Hawkins...you cannot be serious?!" said Lou Robbins, perplexed.
"Uh guys, I think she is being serious!" concluded Sue Jenkins. "So...Louella, exactly how are we going to have such an event? Who's all going to be involved and how will we be able to spread the word out in such short notice?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...one question at a time, Jenkins! That's what we're going to figure out first off. Second of all, it's going to be all of us, the staff, students and their families. Thirdly, this event is going to be spread VIA word of mouth considering how all of this just came up at the last minute so there's really not enough time to write down notices to be taken home. Now, because of all of this, we're not exactly sure just how many students and their families are actually going to partake in this, but as a precaution though, I suggest we figure out the sleeping arrangements regardless. As soon as we figure out the plans on paper, we can then get a move on to setting it all up. Oh shoot, I left Emma's bassinet up in the main office...I've got no safe place to set Emma down!"
"Louella, how did you get Christine's baby in the first place?" asked Tammy, motioning to take the baby off Louella's hands.
"Oh, she was causing a fuss in Christine's class, so I offered my services as a pro-Bono babysitter for the remainder of the day until school's out. Now, we really don't have much time left so let's get started on figuring out those plans...by the end of the day, we've got a lot of work ahead of us to do getting everything set up and ready for a holiday gathering Degrassi won't soon forget!"
"Louella, if you'd like, I can run up and get Emma's bassinet..." Mary Fraser offered.
"Alright Mary...but hurry back will you? We've got lots to do! Now, I think most of the sleeping arrangements should be set up on the second floor of the school..."