Sunday, December 20th. 5 days 'till Christmas...
For the first time since her mom died, Jasmine ditched one of her dad's Christmas events.
Sunday morning Aladdin called and invited her to a snowball fight at his friend, Anya's, house. At first, Jasmine was going to decline, reminding him she had her dad's dinner to get ready for; but, spending the day with Aladdin and other people her age sounded way more fun, so she accepted. He told her if she would feel uncomfortable being around people she didn't know, she could bring a friend. She wouldn't, but she invited Odette anyway. Odette agreed without any hesitation.
Jasmine told her dad she was going out and she wouldn't be at the dinner. He was so preoccupied with the cook that he didn't argue with her. She'd be getting an earful from him tomorrow, but that was tomorrow's problem. Jasmine knew it wouldn't be a good idea to go back home tonight, so she grabbed her outfit for the Christmas concert and packed an overnight bag with a plan to stay the night at Odette's. Jasmine dropped her bag off at Odette's apartment when she picked her up.
When they arrived at Anya's house, Aladdin greeted them at the door. He was wearing a white jumpsuit.
"I'm so glad you guys came," Aladdin said. "Come on in."
Jasmine and Odette went inside. Not wanting to track snow into the house, they both took their boots off by the front door.
"Everyone else is out back," Aladdin told them. He picked up two white jumpsuits off of the table next to the door. "Put these on over your clothes."
Jasmine and Odette took off their coats and pulled the jumpsuits on.
"What are these for?" Jasmine asked.
"You'll see."
They picked up their boots and followed Aladdin through the house. When they reached the back door, they put their boots back on and went outside. There was a young man and two young women who all looked about the same age as them gathered outside, all wearing matching white jumpsuits. They were talking with an older woman who wore an expensive winter coat instead of a jumpsuit.
"They're here!" Aladdin announced. Everyone turned to look at them. "Guys, this is Jasmine and Odette. And that's Anya, Flynn, Meg, and Anya's grandma, Marie."
"It's nice to meet you all," Jasmine said.
"You, as well," Marie said.
"All right, let's do this!" Flynn said.
Everyone walked over to a large plastic container that had goggles and bulging satchels in it. They each grabbed a pair of goggles and a satchel and Jasmine and Odette followed suit. They looked inside the satchels and found a bunch of small white water balloons.
"I thought we were here for a snowball fight," Odette said.
"Sort of," Aladdin replied. "This is a game Anya invented last year. It's basically The Hunger Games meets paintball meets a snowball fight."
"Everyone put your goggles on and I'll go over the rules," Marie said.
"Grandma is our referee," Anya told them.
"The balloons are filled with paint," Marie began. "You throw the balloons at each other instead of snowballs. You're eliminated from the game if you are hit in the head, neck, or chest; or if you receive three hits to your abdomen or back. There are no teams; it's every person for themselves. Last one standing wins."
"What do we win?" Odette asked.
"Bragging rights, mostly," Flynn said.
"Flynn won last year," Aladdin told them.
"Actually, we have a trophy," Anya said. She went inside and returned a moment later holding a white Styrofoam to-go cup attached to a gold candle holder. "Whoever wins signs their name on the cup and gets to keep it until next year."
"Oh, come on! You couldn't have made this last year?" Flynn pretended to huff and get upset.
"Last year we didn't know this would end up being an annual tradition," Anya said. "But, as our first official winner, you can still sign your name on here." She pulled a pen out of the cup and held it out to Flynn.
"Fine. But, it's not the same as being able to hold on to this for a year and rub in your faces." Flynn signed his name on the cup. "I guess I'll just have to win again this year."
"No way, kid; that trophy's mine," Odette taunted, tying her scarf around her head like Rambo.
"In your dreams, rookie. I'm the undefeated champ."
"Ha! Of this game, maybe. But, I've spent my whole life getting targeted in snowball fights and having to fight alone. And it's all led me to this moment and that trophy."
When they were kids and even all through high school, Derek and Odette never got along. Every winter Derek and his best friend, Bromley, never wasted an opportunity to attack her with snowballs. The two of them always ganged up on her, leaving her to fight them on her own. She hasn't lost a snowball fight against them since grade school; she's still the reigning Snowball Queen.
"You have thirty seconds to get in position," Marie said. She looked down at her watch. "Starting... now!"
Everyone took off running. There were a couple of trees in the yard and several stacks of hay bales in varying sizes. Everyone took shelter behind one of the hay stacks. Jasmine hid behind one that was in front of a tree. She leaned against the tree, using it to protect her back, and kept her eyes on the hay stack in front of her and on her sides, where she was exposed.
"And begin!" Marie called out.
At first, nothing happened. Jasmine pulled one of the balloons from her satchel and readied herself. She heard a rustling in the tree above her and a second later a balloon fell from the tree. It hit her knee and red paint exploded on her jumpsuit. Jasmine got to her feet and moved away from the tree, backing up against the hay.
Anya lowered herself from the tree. Without thinking, Jasmine threw the balloon she was holding at her and it hit her on the shoulder. Jasmine didn't wait for her to retaliate; she took off running for another haystack.
Balloons started flying at her from all directions, but she dodged them all. She dove behind a hay stack, just as a balloon flew past her. It hit the snow just a few inches from her, but didn't break. She quickly reached over and grabbed it. Marie never said anything about not being able to steal other people's balloons to stock up on extra ammo.
Someone let out a battle cry. Jasmine peered around the hay to see Anya leaping from one hay stack to another, chasing after Aladdin; who was zigzagging between the hay, running towards Jasmine. Jasmine waited until the got a little bit closer, then threw the balloon she had just retrieved at Anya. It hit her square in the chest, knocking her to the ground.
"Anya's out!" Marie called.
Aladdin ran over to Jasmine and sat down in the snow next to her. "You saved my life."
"Yeah, that was a close one," Jasmine responded.
Aladdin moved closer to her. "You know, only one of us can survive this."
"Shhh. Don't talk like that. We'll figure this out," Jasmine whispered.
Aladdin shook his head. "I may never get another moment to properly thank you for saving me."
Before Jasmine could react, Aladdin pulled her into a kiss. Jasmine sighed involuntarily against his warm mouth.
The kiss abruptly ended when Aladdin cried out and jerked away. He had been struck in the temple by a balloon. A moment later, a balloon hit Jasmine's cheek, erupting paint all over the side of her face. She and Aladdin turned to see Flynn standing triumphantly in front of them.
"Aladdin and Jasmine are out!" Marie announced.
"You guys brought that on yourselves," Flynn said. "Who makes out in the middle of a battle?"
Just then a balloon came flying right at Flynn's face. He ducked and it narrowly missed him. He took off running. Odette suddenly appeared next to Jasmine and sank to her knees next to her.
"Jasmine, no!" Odette gripped Jasmine's hand.
Jasmine pretended to cough. "I'm not gonna make it." She reached out towards Odette. "Avenge me." Jasmine then dramatically slumped over, pretending to die.
Odette got to her feet and ran after Flynn.
Aladdin laughed as he stood up. He held his hand out to Jasmine and helped her up. They walked back over to the patio table where Marie and Anya were sitting with mugs of hot chocolate. Aladdin and Jasmine took off their goggles and satchels and discarded them back in the plastic container. They then sat down at the table and watched the snowball fight.
Jasmine didn't see Odette or Flynn anywhere. Meg was walking across the yard, knocking over the hay stacks.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Meg called out.
"Meg, look out!" Flynn cried.
Odette popped out from behind one of the trees and threw a balloon at Meg. Flynn dove in front of Meg and the balloon hit him in the shoulder. He fell to the ground and Meg looked down at him. While she was distracted, Odette threw another balloon at her; this one nailed her in the chest.
"Meg's out!" Marie announced.
Meg joined them at the table.
Flynn got to his feet and he and Odette faced off. They stood a few feet from each other, both with a balloon in hand.
"So, it comes down to us," Flynn said to Odette.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "So, it does."
Flynn threw his balloon at her. Odette dodged it at the last second and threw her balloon. Flynn tried to duck, but the balloon hit his nose and exploded. Paint dipped into his mouth and he spit it out.
Odette walked over to him and gave him a smug smile. "In your face, champ."
Marie stood and picked up the Styrofoam cup trophy. "Flynn's out! Odette is the winner." She handed the trophy to Odette and Odette hoisted it above her head.
"Come with me," Aladdin whispered in Jasmine's ear.
While everyone else was gathered together, congratulating Odette, Aladdin and Jasmine snuck away and went inside. They took off their boots and jumpsuits and left them on the floor by the front door. Aladdin led Jasmine to a bathroom near the kitchen and closed the door behind them.
"I thought maybe you'd want to clean the paint off your face," Aladdin told her.
Aladdin picked up a washcloth off of the shelf next to the shower. He ran it under the faucet, then turned to face Jasmine. He leaned against the sink and pulled her close to him. She stood between his legs and let him clean the paint off her cheek.
"I shouldn't have just kissed you like that," Aladdin said. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize."
Aladdin smiled at her. "Next time, it'll be more romantic."
"Next time?"
"Yes. I'd very much like to kiss you again."
"I'd like that, too."
OOOOO
Odette and Jasmine hung out with Aladdin and his friends at Anya's for a couple of hours before going back to Odette's apartment to get ready for the Christmas concert.
They took Jasmine's car to the concert. They then separated so Jasmine could sit with Aladdin while Odette sat with her family. Everyone was given an unlit candle with a cardboard wax catcher attached to it as they entered the church. There were white Christmas lights hung in the church. The only other light were the lit candles the choir held. The pastor told the story of the birth of Jesus, then the choir began singing their carols.
Odette found herself getting teary-eyed during a couple of the songs, while her mom didn't even try to hide that she was crying.
The last song was 'O Holy Night'. Everyone stood as Odette's sister, Aurora, stepped down from her spot in the choir. Aurora walked over to a man standing at the end of the front pew. She lit his candle with hers, then began to sing. The man then lit the candle of the person sitting next to them and they lit the next person's candle. And so each candle was lit one by one as Aurora sang 'O Holy Night'.
Odette's stepdad, Stefan was at the end of their pew. The lady standing in front of him turned and lit his candle. He then lit Leah's and Leah lit Odette's. Odette reached over and lit John's.
John's face remained completely expressionless as he lit Phillip's candle and turned his attention back towards Aurora. Normally this was his favorite part of the concert. It seemed to Odette like John had slowly been losing his Christmas spirit since Eric told him he wasn't coming for Christmas. Odette didn't get it, though. Eric had only spent a couple of Christmases with them; it wasn't like this was their first Christmas without him. Of course Odette and the rest of their family loved having Eric there, but they all understood that he has his girlfriend and her family to spend Christmas with now. Odette didn't know why this was bothering John so much.
Aurora was convinced it was because John liked Eric, so Eric ditching them on Christmas felt more personal and disappointing to John. Odette wasn't sure that was the case. Since John came out to the family in high school, he's always told Odette and Aurora who he likes. If John really liked Eric as more than a friend, wouldn't he have told them?
Aurora finished the song and the pastor returned to the podium. He reminded everyone to be kind and help their fellow man and led them in a final prayer. He then ended the concert by wishing everyone a merry Christmas.
There was quiet chatter and rustling as everyone talked about the concert and gathered their coats. Odette and her family went outside to wait for Aurora. The night air was biting cold compared to the warmth inside. Odette went to wrap her scarf around her neck, then remembered she left it back at the apartment because she had gotten paint on it earlier.
When Aurora finally came outside, Leah immediately wrapped her in a hug and started gushing about how beautiful her solo was.
There was a tap on Odette's shoulder and she turned to see Proteus and, whom Odette assumed, was his sister; she had a striking resemblance to both Proteus and Meg.
"Hello, Proteus," Odette greeted. "It's good to see you again."
"You, too," he replied. "This is my sister, Vanessa."
"It's really nice to meet you. This is my family." Odette turned to introduce her family, only to find they had all walked away and were talking to other people. She let out a little laugh. "Never mind. They've all dispersed."
Vanessa gave her a polite smile, then turned to Proteus. "All right, we said hi. Can we go now? It's freezing out here."
"Yeah, sure," he told her. "Odette, would you like a ride back to the apartment?"
"Thank you, but no. I'm just going to walk."
"It's freezing out here," Vanessa repeated.
"It's not far."
"Actually, I think I'll walk back with her," Proteus said.
Vanessa shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Proteus and Odette walked Vanessa to her car to make sure she got there safely, then they started home.
"I just love the Christmas concert," Odette said, as they walked down main street. "My family and I have been going every year since we were little kids."
"I only just started going a couple of years ago," Proteus said. "Normally I go with Meg because Vanessa thinks watching choirs sing is boring. But, she took pity on me tonight since Meg bailed."
"Why didn't Meg go?"
"She's skipping celebrating Christmas with me this year."
"Why?"
"She and Vanessa had a falling out back in high school and haven't spoken to each other since Meg graduated high school and moved out. Every year I spend part of Christmas day with Vanessa and part of the day with Meg. This year I told them they need to work this out because I'm either spending the day with both of them together or with neither of them. Meg decided she'd rather skip Christmas than make up with Vanessa."
"I'm sorry."
"It's all right; I'll just have to try again next year."
Silence fell over them and Odette let it linger for a little bit before breaking it. "You said you only recently made going to the Christmas concert a tradition and you've never been to a party... so, what were your Christmas traditions growing up?"
"We didn't celebrate Christmas," Proteus told her. "Our parents thought Christmas was too commercial and refused to partake in any part of it. We didn't start celebrating Christmas until after we lost them and our grandparents moved in to take care of us. We didn't have any traditions with them, though, since we only spent two Christmases with them before they moved back to Florida after Vanessa graduated."
Odette looked up at Proteus and studied him for a moment. "Do you even want to celebrate Christmas?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just that... you spent this whole chunk of your life not celebrating it. And it sounds like every year that you have celebrated it hasn't been that great."
"I want to," he replied. "I just want to do a real family Christmas with both of my sisters together."
"Is that what you asked for in your letter to Santa?" Odette winked playfully at him.
Proteus laughed. "I've never written a letter to Santa Claus. But, yes: the three of us spending Christmas together would be my Christmas wish."