A/N: Wahoo! Another chapter all typed out! I'm seriously considering doing some fanart for this fic. I'm rebuilding my main site and I currently don't have any FOP art to show. Is there any particular scene someone would like drawn out? Just leave it as part of your review and I'll take the best/most popular ideas and draw them!
'Twas The Wish Before Christmas
Chapter Four: The Numbskull of Christmas Present
...Narrator's POV...
Mmm...I tell ya, nothing beats fresh cookies and a cold glass of milk. Now where was I? Oh yes, Cosmo was just about to appear before Vicky as the 'Ghost of Christmas Present'.
Did I mention he was banned from acting in the Fairy Academy's Drama Club after burning down the entire theater--twice--when he poofed up a giant fire-breathing dragon instead of a skull during 'Hamlet'? Well, let's just hope that history doesn't decide to repeat itself.
...Normal POV...
The Turners' living room was dark and cozy. The thermostat kept it a toasty 73 degrees inside, while the chilly December wind had the outside world shivering in the below freezing temperatures.
Zzz...
Of course the loud snoring of a conked out evil babysitter kept marring this otherwise beautifully silent night.
POOF!
Instantly a door appeared to the right of the television set, beneath it a bright golden light filtered through. Vicky awoke to the smell of various yuletide pastries, roast turkey, and honey glazed ham.
"I'm starving," she yawned before noticing the unfamiliar door. "Hey, when'd the Turners' put in a new room?!"
Deciding to find out where it led--mainly because of the smell of delicious foods from within--she walked over and casually turned the doorknob.
The incredibly bright light spilled forth from the room and temporarily blinded the reddish-orange haired teen. Shielding her eyes she took a shaky step inside only to hear the door slam shut behind her.
"Come in and--um--call me Letterman!" a goofy voice boomed.
"Huh?!" a dumbfounded Vicky asked.
"Uh no, wait, that's not right." the voice fumbled, "Maybe it's...'come in and meet my Doberman'?"
Blinking in confusion Vicky was just barely able to make out the shape of an oversized guy with light green hair in a huge evergreen colored robe lined with white fur. She didn't know why but the tiny wreath floating above his head reminded her of those dumb crowns Timmy's goldfish would always wear.
The immense glow was dimming down a bit now, still bright, but at a tolerable (non-blinding) level. Looking around Vicky spotted a large brick fireplace with a glass of milk and cookies on a stool off to the side. A Christmas tree that couldn't have been shorter than ten feet stood in the far corner of the room elaborately decorated with popcorn chains, gingerbread ornaments, candy canes, and cinnamon stick reindeer. But what really caught Vicky's attention was the wide assortment of yummy Christmas goodies piled up around the strange giant sitting across from her.
"Aw nutcrackers!" Cosmo exclaimed, "We'll just skip that part. Don't tell Wanda."
"Um...okay?" Vicky shrugged, "What's with all the food? You throwing a party?"
"Nah," Cosmo laughed breaking off a chunk of the gingerbread house at his feet, "this is just a late night snack! These are the foods of the season. And they're really good!"
Vicky watched with a drooling mouth as Cosmo proceeded to chomp down on a turkey leg covered in gravy then gulp down an entire basket of freshly buttered rolls.
"Mmm-mmm!" he said with a mouth full of cranberries. "I love Christmas!"
"Uh, aren't you supposed to be teaching me some lame lesson about holiday cheer?" Vicky inquired, getting tired of standing idly by while the giant ghost pigged out in front of her.
"Oh yeah," Cosmo chuckled absently causing a few crumbs to fly out of his mouth, "I am the Ghost of Christmas Present!"
"More like the Numbskull of Christmas Present." Vicky muttered.
Shrinking down until he was his normal size again Cosmo finished off the bowl of plum pudding in his hands before looking around for something he could use to conduct himself and Vicky through the present Christmas.
Vicky's pink eyes widened when she saw him float over to a roast turkey and tear off a leg, "You're going to eat some more?!"
"No," Cosmo huffed holding the leg up in the air, "this is my wand--er--wonderful mode of transportation!"
"Uh-huh, yeah right." Vicky rolled her eyes, "And why'd you shrink? Aren't you supposed to be like some huge intimidating giant?"
"I'm travel size!" Cosmo cheerfully explained.
Vicky just glared at him lamely, "Whatever, can we get this over with? The twerp's parents will be back soon."
"All right lady, sheesh, keep your sweater on!" Cosmo griped waving the turkey leg around the room causing the Christmas goodies and decorations to vanish in that same otherworldly light.
Feeling a bit woozy after watching her surroundings disappear in the overly powerful light Vicky grabbed hold of Cosmo's shrunken robe to keep from falling over.
"Watch the threads!" Cosmo snapped, "This thing's a rental!"
He had just finished his sentence when a burst of cold wintry air hit the pair and they found themselves out in the middle of the street...in broad daylight?!
"Hey!" Vicky shouted, "How the heck did we get out here? And why's the sun up already?"
"It's CHRISTMAS MORNING!" Cosmo sang out, "YAY!"
"Huh?" Vicky questioned, "Christmas morning? B-but that means I spent nearly a week at the Turners'. And that means...YES! QUADRUPLE PAY!!"
"Um, I don't think so." Cosmo answered, "This is Christmas Day and Timmy's parents got back about a week ago. In fact, why don't we have a look?"
With a wave of the turkey leg Cosmo and Vicky found themselves warm once again and standing in the Turners' living room.
"All right!" Timmy exclaimed as he bounded happily down the stairs, "Christmas!"
It was sheer madness as the eleven-year-old cyclone tore through the beautifully wrapped gifts beneath the tree leaving only shreds of wrapping paper, tattered bows, and bent gift tags behind.
"YES!" he shouted joyously, "The newest edition of The Crimson Chin comic book! You must have stood in line for weeks to get this baby!"
Mr. and Mrs. Turner smiled tiredly at each other. They'd arrived downstairs somewhere in the middle of the unwrapping frenzy. Their yawns turned into happy smiles when their son rushed over and wrapped his arms around their legs, hugging them tightly.
"Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad!" he beamed, "These presents are great!"
"You're welcome Timmy," Mrs. Turner grinned.
"We're glad you like them son." Mr. Turner added, then muttered, "Let's see Dinkleburg top that!"
"But honey," Mrs. Turner observed, "The Dinkleburgs don't have any children."
"HA!" Mr. Turner cried triumphantly, "I WIN!"
"Why show me this garbage?" Vicky demanded. "It's not like I care how the twerp spends his Christmas!"
"Wait for it..." Cosmo replied as if some sort of Earth shattering climax was on its way.
Rushing back over to the tree Timmy fished out two messily wrapped packages from underneath. "Here Mom, here Dad, I made these presents just for you."
"Oh Timmy!" Mrs. Turner beamed, "How thoughtful of you!"
"Yeah son," Mr. Turner grinned accepting the package as eagerly as any kid would, "but since you already went through the trouble...GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!"
Timmy watched proudly as his parents unwrapped their gifts. Mr. Turner's was a book made of stapled together pictures Timmy had drawn.
"It's a memory book!" Timmy explained, "Like a photo album of all the fun times I've had hanging out with my dad!"
Mr. Turner wiped away a tear, "Aw son, this is--sniff--the best present a father could receive."
Timmy grinned, mentally reminding himself to thank Wanda for the suggestion later.
Mrs. Turner pulled out a ribbon strung with colorful buttons and shells they'd gathered from the family's trip to the beach last summer.
"I couldn't afford to buy you any fancy jewelry Mom," Timmy confessed, "so I made you some instead. I would've made you some earrings too but we're out of tacks."
Smiling--and thankful of the lack of tacks in the house--Mrs. Turner bent down and embraced her son in a warm hug. "Oh Timmy, this necklace is beautiful! I can't wait to wear it the next time your father and I go out for dinner!"
"Speaking of the two of you going out," Timmy groaned heading back to the tree and pulling out a gift bag, "I guess I should go over and give this to Vicky."
"Huh?" Vicky's eyes widened, "The twerp made something for me?"
"Yeah," Cosmo sighed, "not like you'll appreciate it. I mean, it didn't really cost an arm and a leg...of course I did accidentally staple my finger." Cosmo held up a bandaged finger recalling the 'stapler incident' while helping Timmy bag and label Vicky's gift. Wanda had henceforth forbid him from handling office supplies.
Timmy headed out the door in his new navy winter coat and trudged through the snow over to Vicky's house.
Vicky grabbed the sniffling ghost by the hem of his robe and started dragging him after the kid while he babbled on about how he only fainted once when his finger started bleeding.
On the stoop outside Vicky's house a little girl in black pigtails sat crying with her face buried in her hands. It was cold out and her pajamas were hardly appropriate attire.
"Hey Tootie," Timmy called when he spotted her there, "what's the matter? Why aren't you inside playing with your toys?"
Looking up at him with a tear stained face Tootie held out a wadded piece of fabric. Timmy took the wrinkled material from the sniffling girl and unfolded it. Staring at it quizzically for a moment it all seemed to come together when he spotted the name 'Vicky' spelled out in little silver beads on the front flap.
"I-I tried to think of something Vicky would want for Christmas. Something I could afford," Tootie explained between sobs, "But everything she wanted was so expensive! I'm not old enough to get a job or anything yet so I decided to try and make her a purse like she asked for. I looked at the picture she pointed out in the magazine, and tried to make one like that."
"But it wasn't good enough for her," Timmy finished in an angry tone of voice.
Tootie nodded sadly, "I'll never be able to do anything right. Vicky said it was cheap and ugly. She says that every year."
"Guess she won't want this then." Timmy murmured carelessly tossing the gift in his hand over his shoulder. "Look Tootie, sorry that your sister's being such a jerk. You wanna come over to my house and build a snowman or something?"
"No thanks," Tootie surprisingly declined, "my grandparents will be here soon. I'd better get back inside. Merry Christmas Timmy."
Blue eyes wide in shock Timmy could hardly believe that Tootie would pass up the chance to hang out with him. He was even more surprised when she didn't try to tackle him and smother him with kisses. "Weird," he wondered aloud as he made his way back home, "Vicky must've really bummed her out."
Said babysitter stood motionless as the eleven-year-old boy's image walked right through her. Silently she watched her little sister retreat back into their house.
Blowing her a raspberry Cosmo began his scolding, "Man what a grouch! Why if Wanda--ur--the Ghost of Christmas Past were to make me something for Christmas I'd be a lot nicer and about it than you were! That little girl didn't even get a 'thank you'!"
"I know," Vicky moaned her eyes traveling to her feet which were buried under two feet of snow, "I never knew it got to her so badly. I mean, she's an annoying little twerp...but she's still my baby sister."
"Not for long." Cosmo blurted out.
"Huh?"
"Oh, uh...nothing! Not my territory!" he replied slapping his hands over his mouth.
"And that loser Turner even tried to cheer her up." Vicky noted, "I guess that was kind of nice of him."
The word 'nice' was said with such reluctance that one would think it burned her tongue on the way out. Still, this was Vicky, and hesitant progress was still progress. And with one 'spirit' to go it was certainly better than nothing at all.
Her gloomy gaze roamed over the snow covered yard until it fell upon the two gifts lying atop the snow. Reaching down she scooped up the presents. Her thumb lightly traced the metallic beads of her name on the purse Tootie had made. Raising her other hand she stared down at the gift bag with an ice skating polar bear on the front. Curiously she tucked the purse under her arm and fished through the tissue paper until she felt her hand come in contact with something solid. Pulling it out she choked back something that might've been 'mistaken' for a sob.
"A candy dish, with Christmas candy." she muttered to herself before reading the hand-painted inscription. "Vicky: Number One Babysitter."
"Well technically you're his only babysitter." Cosmo commented absently.
The gift was simple, something he'd probably made out of clay during art class. It was shaped like a rounded off mug, painted pink, and the inscription was done in shiny white paint. Half the letters were either tilted or backwards and it was obvious where the excess paint had run. Still, it was a hand-painted gift, something Turner had taken the time to make for her. As was the purse, no doubt Tootie had been listening when she was rambling on about needing a new expensive one to stash her cash in. These gifts were precious, not because of their cost. What made them priceless, was that they came from the heart.
Sniffling in spite of herself Vicky clutched the presents tightly. She felt awful for the way she'd been acting towards the two kids who actually seemed to like or appreciate her to some degree.
"And what happened next? Well in Dimmsdale they say, that Vicky's small heart grew THREE sizes that day!" Cosmo sang out in mindless joy.
"What?" Vicky spun around to face the strange ghost.
"Uh...sorry, just got caught up in the moment!" Cosmo apologized with a sheepish grin.
Holding up the turkey leg (which mysteriously had a bite taken out of it) the Ghost of Christmas Present did that swirly thing again causing everything to fade away in a super bright glow.
Vicky gasped as the presents she was holding poofed out of her grasp. For a moment it was as though she was standing on air while staring straight into the sun. When the light faded once more she was shocked to not to find herself back in the safety of the Turners' living room, but instead within the terrible confines of-
"SUNNY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA?!" Vicky exclaimed.
...Narrator's POV...
What?! That's not in my script! How the heck did they get there?!
"Oops...hehe...SORRY!"
This is the last time I work with fairies.
Ahem, as I was saying...
...Normal POV...
When the light faded once more she was shocked to not to find herself back in the safety of the Turners' living room, but instead within the terrible confines of-
"Dimmsdale Heights: The Best Dimma-Apartments for Your Dimma-Dollars." Vicky read aloud from a large blinking sign out front of a twenty-eight story apartment building.
"And this...is where I leave you." Cosmo spoke in a tired tone.
"How can you be tired?" Vicky demanded, "All you did was float around waving that dumb turkey leg!"
"HEY!" Cosmo objected, "This thing's heavy! And you kept yanking on my robe!"
"So what am I supposed to do?! Stand here and hail a cab?!"
"No, just wait for the final spirit to show up okay?!" Cosmo was starting to get testy, all that food he'd pigged out on was making him cranky, he needed a nap.
"You can't be serious." Vicky replied glaring daggers at the fattened phantom, "It's cold, dark, and my house is miles from here!"
"Blah blah blah," Cosmo retorted using his hand puppet to imitate Vicky, "Cry me a river sister, I'm gone!"
POOF!
...Narrator's POV...
And so Cosmo left Vicky to await the third and final spirit, the 'Ghost of Christmas Future'!
With just one apparition left to face will Vicky's outlook on Christmas change for the better? Or is this evil babysitter too far gone for any little kid's wish to save?
Amanda/Artiste: It's slow but evident that Vicky's starting to gain some holiday cheer. But with Timmy, Tootie, Cosmo, and Wanda all playing prior parts who's left to be cast in the infamous role of the 'Ghost of Christmas Future'? Next Chapter: A guest appearance by a well known fairy from Fairy World (give ya three guesses). And has Vicky finally turned over a new leaf--at least for the holidays--or is she doomed to a life of selfishness and mean spirited pranks? Please review, constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames!
Cosmo: Ooo! I wanna guess! Is it the April Fool?
Timmy: I don't think she meant you should guess Cosmo.
Cosmo: The Tooth Fairy?
Wanda: ::stares at her chubby hubby:: What'd you do, eat a bakery?
Cosmo: ::lower lip quivers:: That's so mean! Everyone puts on a little extra weight around the holidays! Now there's just more of me to love!
Wanda: I don't want to hear another word about how I've gained weight. You look like a beach ball wrapped in a tree skirt.
Timmy: ::snickers::
Me: You do know that the turkey leg you kept munching on was your wand right?
Cosmo: Oops...
Wanda: Cosmo you spit that out right now!
Cosmo: BURP!
POOF!
::A fire-breathing dragon appears out of nowhere and starts shooting flames around the room.::
Me: MY PARENT'S PRINTER!
Cosmo: SNOWBALL!
Wanda: Quick! We've gotta get Cosmo to stop burping up magic before something even worse happens!
Timmy: What could be worse than a giant, multi-headed, fire-breathing dragon?!
Cosmo: BURP!
POOF!
Mama Cosma: It's me! Mama Cosma! ::eyes Wanda evilly:: Your favorite mother-in-law.
Wanda: AAAHH!!!!
Timmy: That's worse.