Chapter 14: White Christmas.
December 14th.
Tyson stared out at the sky, looking for white heavy clouds, a wistful look on his face. Kai had gone out earlier in the day, saying something about getting something for uni on Monday and he wouldn't be back for a while. In the meantime, Tyson had gone through the decorations box (yet again) but couldn't find anything else he needed to put up. So instead he'd decided to indulge in the one activity that had kept him quiet over the Christmas period when he was little; he watched for snow. He didn't know why, but seeing everything covered in white still seemed magical in his eyes, which had seen a lot in his short life. He always lived in the hope that he'd wake up to find it piled up on the outside of the window, that he'd be in the car with Kai and snow would start to fall until it looked like they'd been put into a snow-globe. He continued on this train of thought until a knock at the door brought him sharply back to reality. Opening it, he saw Kenny stood on the front step, eyes obscured by his hair as usual and most of his face from the hair-line downwards obscured by a thick woollen scarf.
"Hey, Chief. How are you?"
"Cold. I'm not a winter person."
"Oh yeah. I should probably let you in, huh?"
"That would be greatly appreciated."
Stepping back into the hall, Tyson asked, "Is Dizzi with you?"
"Dizzi? You must be joking. She hates the cold more than I do," Kenny replied, tugging his scarf down.
"So what brings you out in the cold?"
"That unfortunate business of exchanging presents. If you have any for Hilary, Max and Rei, then I can pass them on for you on my way back home."
"You don't have to, you know."
"I know. It's just an economical solution to everyone's problem."
"Still haven't changed."
"Neither have you. I'll bet you're still hoping for snow, am I right?"
"Yep, you got it in one. You never know, if it snows, you might have an excuse to not go outside in the cold," Tyson replied grinning.
Kenny's only answer to that was a pained grimace.
"What? What did I say?"
"You remember the snow last year?"
"Yeah, it snowed overnight on Christmas Eve. Something like 8 inches deep when I woke up the next day."
"Yeah, well my parents had arranged to stay over Christmas Eve and we'd spend the majority of Christmas Day together. We ended up getting snowed in for an extra day. It was a nightmare."
"How? Your parents can't be as bad as Grandpa."
"You had use of the dojo. My flat is probably closer to a cupboard in size than an actual apartment. Privacy didn't exist that year."
"Good point. But I suppose it could have been worse."
"How?"
"Imagine what would happen if we got snowed into my apartment with your grandpa."
They shuddered simultaneously.