Chapter 5 – Truth and Confessions

            "OK.  Let's go over the evidence, girlfriend," Trish asked.

            Laid out on Reggie's bed were the CDs, non-perishable gifts (the ones that hadn't died or been eaten), and the notes that Reggie had received.  The girls had also created a list of all the "possible suspects," that is the boys that could be responsible, as well as any evidence they could find that would prove (or disprove) their involvement.  They worked for what seemed like hours, comparing writing samples, personalities, and relationships to Reggie.  The list of suspects became smaller and smaller until there were only three boys left, and those three boys did not surprise the girls at all.  Remaining were Twister, Sam, and Trent.

            "Come on, Reg.  You know Trent is wild about you," Sherry added as she tried to convince Reggie that Trent had to be one of the Secret Santas.

            "You know, I'd love to believe you, but I don't think Trent knows me well enough to send me a CD of my favorite music and buy me some of that stuff," Reggie explained.

            "Well, that would leave Twister and Sam.  But are we sure that it could be them?  I mean, Reg, they've been your friends for years and haven't said a word.  It just doesn't seem logical," Trish countered.

            "Let's look then," Reggie suggested.

            So the girls proceeded to examine everything one more time.  While it seemed possible that Reggie's two neighbors could also be her Secret Santas, they weren't 100 percent sure.  That is, until Sherry was curious enough to examine some of the notes from one of the two boys using a magnifying glass.

            "Reggie, look!" she exclaimed as the other two girls rushed over to her side.

            "What is it?" Reggie asked.

            "The handwriting.  If you look closely, it appears as if this was printed off an ink-jet printer.  See the dots?"

            The two girls looked in the magnifying glass, and sure enough, the magnified handwriting showed that it was made of pixels (dots).

            "I guess that means that the letters were made by a computer.  But why do they look so realistic?" questioned Trish.

            Reggie thought for a minute, then it hit her.  Sam had shown her a new program at the computer store that could create fonts that simulated real handwriting.  It looked so good that even Raymundo couldn't tell that a computer wrote a sample that she and Sam had brought back to the Shore Shack.

            "Well, I guess who we know who's behind door number 1," Trish joked after Reggie told them her revelation.

            "Wait a second, Reg.  Now that I think of it, the name Zorro sounds quite familiar," Sherry added.

            "You're right," Reggie replied.  "Let's check it out on the Internet."

            After a brief search on Google, they found what they were looking for.  Zorro was a masked hero who fought against evil in Spanish California.  The part about "Spanish" was what the girls were looking for. The connection to Spanish gave it away: Twister had to be the other at-large, love-struck boy.

"Oh my," Reggie exclaimed with a sense of surprise. All this time, she had been thinking that some random guy at school was trying to woo her with gifts and impressive words. She had never expected the answer to be right under her nose: her best friends. As reality settled in, the words of a song by Celine Dion popped in to her head:

Right in front of you, right in front of me,

We were looking for it; somehow, somewhere we couldn't see

But the love was always there, it's been around us everywhere.

I had to fall to finally see, that you were right in front of me.

            "So what are you going to do, Reggie?" Trish asked.

            "I have a plan," Reggie said as her two friends gathered around her to listen.

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Later that night, Sam crept out of his room toward the front door of his house.  In his hand was another note addressed to Reggie.  Little did he know that Twister was about to do the same thing.  Coincidentally, they opened their front doors and closed them at the same time, scaring each other.  Thinking that someone was watching, they looked around, but failed to see each other.  They both crept down their front steps, hearing each other and quickening their pace towards the same target: the Rockets' mailbox.  Soon, their walks turned in to sprints as they both bolted in fear toward their target.  As their paths were in two different directions, they looked to be heading for a collision in the middle of the cul-de-sac, and that's what happened.

            "Hey!" they both yelled as they bumped in to each other and fell to the ground.

            "Shhh!" Sam exclaimed.  "Someone will hear us.  What are you doing out here anyway?"  Sam had noticed the envelope in Twister's hand as he attempted to hide it behind his back.

            "Uh…nothing," Twister hesitantly explained as he watched Sam hide an envelope behind his back.  "What are you doing?"

            "Checking the plants," Sam said.  However, both were suspicious of each other.  As if the idea hit them at the same time, they both shouted:

            "So you're the Secret Admirer, huh!?"

"OK. You got me," Sam acknowledged.

"Yeah, well, I guess you caught me too," Twister responded. "So you're trying to steal my girl, Squid?" he yelled spontaneously

"Me!? I was the first to send her a note," Sam rebutted.

"No you weren't!" replied Twister.

"Yes I was!" Sam snapped back.

"I'll make you wish you weren't, Squid!" Twister yelled as he started moving toward Sam. For a moment, it appeared if the two were going to duke it out right in the middle of the street at 10PM that night. However, before Twister could make his move, Sam yelled "Stop!!" and Twister instinctively froze (not knowing why he did).

"This is silly!" Sam explained. "We can't do this. We're friends, remember? Besides, Reggie would deny us both if she found out how we were acting over her! For her sake, we can't fight."

Twister nodded his head in agreement and put his fists down. After a few seconds, he added, "So what do we do now? We both can't have her!"

"I don't know," Sam answered. Then he had an idea: whenever any of the guys had needed advice in the past, they always turned to Ray and Tito. Although Tito's Hawaiian proverbs weren't always clear, they did serve as a means of inspiration. The guys both agreed to suspend their gift giving until the traditional exchanges on Christmas Eve night and decided to see Tito and Ray the next day at the Shack.

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The next day, as Ray and Tito were discussing the plans for Christmas Eve, Sam and Twister, as they had agreed, entered the Shack.

"What can we do for you, little cuzzes?" Tito asked in his usually friendly manner.

"We need some advice, Tito," Twister responded.

"What seems to be the problem?"

Sam proceeded to explain: "It's like this, Tito. We've known Reggie for a long time and, well, she's done so many things for us. She has been a source of comfort, of inspiration, and of friendship. And, as a result, well, Twister and I have grown to think of Reggie as more than just a friend, if you get what I mean. So, not knowing what the other was doing, and being afraid of admitting to her that we had a, you know, a crush on her, we decided to express our feelings anonymously, through cards and gifts. Now we know that both of us have been doing this and we are afraid she will be mad at us or will have to choose one of us, if you get what I mean. We don't want to ruin our friendship but we don't know what she will want when she finds out."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble," Ray interjected, "but I think she is on to you guys."

"Oh great," Twister blurted out with a sense of dejection in his tone.

"Well, I don't really have an Ancient Hawaiian saying for this one," said Tito. "However, I do remember something from the ancient Greeks. A famous playwright, Sophocles, once said, 'One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.'"

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" Sam queried.

"Let me explain," Ray answered. "If you both love Reggie, than that will help find your way out of this dilemma. You guys have been friends, and that affords a special kind of love. Let your friendship help you work through this. Why don't you talk to her in a few days, like when we're together on Christmas Eve?"

"Excellent idea," said Twister. "Thanks Raymundo!"

"Don't mention it," Ray fired back. "Oh, and by the way, due to unforeseen circumstances, we're going to have to move our festivities to our house instead of the Shack. You know one of the reasons why," as he winked at the guys.

"You bet," the two boys echoed back.

"OK, you guys run off now and have fun," Ray suggested.

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Later that night, Sam sat in his room, wondering if and how he was going to enact his little "mistletoe" plan, especially in light of the recent events. He figured that Ray was right. Besides, maybe she had similar feelings for the two of them. To help out, Sam modified his plan a bit. He went online in search of the perfect Christmas song for them and Reggie. After some searching, he found one. He burned it on to a CD and then called Mr. Rocket.

"Hey, Raymundo," he asked, "can you do me a favor?"

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A/N: One or two more chapters to go: I might divide the final chapter in to two parts.

I hate to disappoint the Reggie/Trent fans out there, but although I think they could go good together, Sam and Twister are around her more often. Besides, it would be hard to have 3 boys fighting over one girl. As a result, I am going to have to do something with Trent, but don't worry, he won't die. You'll see.