Chapter 2: Wintertime Fun

In the middle of a small and typical cul-de-sac inside one of the many houses that shared the same space and street,a young girl with very messy blonde hair was slowly beginning to open her eyes and wake up,and despite feeling a heavy urge inside her to just go back to sleep for the rest of the day,she ultimately decided to get on up and embrace the rest of the day like a normal person. The girl quietly looked over to her left to see a bright yellow light behind her curtains and blind shut windows before she slowly turned her head to the right to see that the time was 7:30 AM on her digital alarm clock. Rebecca Hornwell or more specifically Henderson now that she was living with the Henderson couple in Sparkyville for almost half a year now,was still getting used to the fact that she now lived in a real neighborhood and with a real family away from her former adoptive mother Mrs Hampton,who was now rotting away in prison,and for good reason.

It wasn't like Rebecca had never had this feeling before in her life,it was just that she hadn't lived like this in such a long time that it almost felt like she never had it at all as she remarked to herself with a yawn "Oh man,five months and I have to keep reminding myself that I'm living here now. Wow." before she glanced over at a marked calendar on the back of her bedroom door and saw that it was December 10'th,exactly fifteen days until Christmas,the first day of her winter vacation away from school,and 5 days until her birthday December 15'th where she would turn eleven years old.

"Man time flies." Rebecca sighed and stated with a hint of awe that it was already five months since she moved here and that she would already be turning eleven in five days before she suddenly perked up out of shock when she heard something slam on her bedroom window,quickly followed by something else hitting it before Rebecca heard the familiar voice of Peppermint Patty call from the outside "Hey Rebecca! Come on out here girl,it's the first day of winter vacation!" to which the girl rolled her eyes and playfully retorted while she opened up the window to see Patty,Marcie and Franklin looking up at her with their snow gear on "You couldn't have just come to the front door Patty?"

Peppermint Patty,Marcie and Franklin were arguably Rebecca's closest friends aside from Charlie Brown of course due to the fact that she was living on their side of town,and it almost felt like it was meant to be since she had Patty's passion for sports and entertainment,Marcie's more intelligent and sophisticated side,and Franklin's habit of being a mishmash of everything. Not to mention that they had the same classes and teachers at school,so it practically felt like they were made to be friends with each other.

"Hey I thought this would be a better way to get your attention." Patty shrugged her arms and playfully explained herself and her reasoning for throwing most likely snowballs at Rebecca's window as Marcie nonchalantly joked in response "Well you sure got her attention then sir." before Franklin added lastly "Well let's hope not everyone's then,remember what happened with the baseball incident?"

"Oh please do not remind me of that Franklin,that's five hours of my life I'll never get back." Rebecca groaned and pleaded in an over the top manor and tone of voice as Franklin nodded his head and polietly obliged "As you wish princess." However it was then and there that Rebecca suddenly noticed that there were small,personal sized sleds on the ground next to her friends as she pointed at them and asked out of curiosity "Hey guys,what's with the sleds?" to which Patty looked down at them for a brief moment before she cheerfully replied while she held up one of the sleds "Oh yeah these,we're gonna go over to Chuck's side of town and meet the others at his place,the skating pond over there is killer,and just to make it more interesting,we'll use these bad boys to make the trip."

Rebecca then started to grow a huge look of intrigue on her face as she perked up and enthusiastically stated "Oh nice,I-I'll be right out guys." before she quickly shut her bedroom window and started to prepare while Franklin chuckled and playfully shouted from the outside "You better or else we're leaving without you!" It didn't take very long for Rebecca to get herself ready since one of the things she was explicitly well known for in the gang was her ability to do things very quickly,she was generally a fast talker,a fast worker,and overall she just had a very bright and chipper mood the majority of the time. After about 2 minutes Rebecca was already packed up and ready to go since she stood in front of a mirror in the living room to reveal that she now wore a bright pink jacket with a pink and fluffy beanie on her head,but there was just one little thing missing,her sled.

"Oh yeah my sled!" Rebecca suddenly perked up and exclaimed in a panic as she quickly rushed towards the closet in her bedroom and grabbed her wooden sled out of it before she rushed right on outside. Patty,Marcie and Franklin were patiently waiting near the mailbox and Marcie seemed to be holding a small ticking time watch as she pleasantly remarked when she saw Rebecca running towards them "That's a brand new record sir. Only took her 2 minutes and 10 seconds this time." to which Patty laughed and cheerfully asked Rebecca "Gee Rebecca,how do you manage to do things so quickly. I'd like to see you try a food eating contest."

After everyone had a quick laugh as a result of Patty's little joke,Rebecca held up her sled and enthusiastically suggested with a serious game face "Let's go sledding!" to which Franklin suddenly darted right towards a steep snow hull and retorted "All right,last one to Charlie Brown's place is a rotten egg!" before he jumped right on his sled and rode down the hill as Patty,Marcie and Rebecca frantically followed after him. If they were gonna head over to Charlie Brown's side of town,they were gonna do it in fun and style.

Rebecca's Thoughts: Seems like I've spent my whole life hopin',dreaming of things I've never tried,tangled in knots just waitin' for my time to shine.

What if the doors began to open? What if the knots became untied? What if one day nothing stood in my and the world was mine? Would it feel this fine?

'Cause I've got the wind in my hair and a gleam in my eyes and an endless horizon. I've got a smile on my face and I'm walkin' on air. And everything life outta be,it's all gonna happen to me out there,and I'll find it I swear,with the wind in my hair.

So many roads I've yet to travel,so many friends I haven't met,so many new adventures just around the bend.

Plenty of mysteries to unravel,tons of mistakes to not regret,so much to see,and to do,and to be a whole life to spend,and it doesn't end.

And I've got the wind in my hair and a song in my heart and the fun's only starting. I've got a skip in my step and I haven't a care. That beautiful breeze blowin' through,it's going carry me who knows where,but I'll take any dare with the wind in my hair!

I've got a smile on my face and I'm walkin' on air! And everything life outta be,well I know that it's waiting for me out there,and I'll find it I swear with the wind in my hair!

"Wind In My Hair" Copyright Of Walt Disney Records