Of Christmas

Chapter Two

Eleven fifty-four

"Come on, mind, I haven't slept in two nights! S-l-e-e-p!" Sam mumbled; staring at her ceiling, connecting invisible air-dots.

As the digital read out on her alarm clock flipped to twelve, Sam suddenly felt a chill run up her spine.

"Danny? Are you in here?" She whispered, sitting up.

"No…" Something whispered back. In a green flash, it appeared. It was wearing a long black cloak, its face hidden.

Sam's eyes widened, "Da-"

"Don't yell for him. He won't be able to see me anyway." Okay, so it was defiantly a female.

"Who are you?"

"I can not reveal that to you now, Sam. But I am here to help you."

"With what?"

"You want to feel affection; to be loved; yet you don't know how. I have set two other ghosts to help you; and over the course of tonight, tomorrow, and the eve after that, you will learn."

The ghost disappeared in a flash of green light, leaving Sam wide-eyed.

"That was just weird."

"Boo."

Sam opened one eye, and then shot out of bed, "Ember! What are you doing here? Dan-"

Ember sighed, "Remember…three ghosts? I'm one of them…"

Sam slipped into her slippers, "Yeah…how much did they have to pay you for this?"

"I-Well, that's none of your business." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of crumpled up parchment, "I am the ghost, wow, of Christmas past. Tonight I am going to talk…excuse me, take you on a journey through your ever-so special Christmas's past to show you how miserable you were. I'm sure you know the drill, as we are ghosts of the future, we will be undetected and you can't talk to yourself. Deal with it." Ember sent a glare at Sam, then continued to read, "Tonight you will be haunted by the horrific-"

"Can we make this quick? I've got to get some sleep. I have finals tomorrow."

"-memories of your past that you had wanted so badly to burry. Insert evil laugh, oh please who wrote this stuff…" She rolled her eyes then glanced back down at her instructions, "…create a portal…okay, Sam, let's go."

Sam gazed into the frost-bitten window of her old bedroom, "How long ago is this?"

Ember blew on the window, then gabbed Sam's wrist and pulled her into the purple-and-teddy bear room, "Thirteen years ago. You were-"

"Four; thanks, I'm in Calculus."

A little Sam with dark brown hair in pigtails and a silky yellow nightgown that had a kitten on the front sat on her bed, talking to a very well loved Raggedy Anne doll.

"Daddy said that Mommy only married him for his money. I don't know what that means, Anne, but it doesn't sound so good. I got in trouble today just for standing in the hallway, listening. I think that they're going to move away…And…" Sliver tears trickled down her rosy-red cheeks, "I don't want them to!"

"You're not helping, Anne…no, I'm not playing tea-party with you! How can you say that at a time like this?"

Mrs. Manson entered the room, "Sammie, what's wrong?"

"Go away." She sniffled into her fluffy purple pillow.

Her mother sat down on the edge of bed, "Do you know what day it is tomorrow?"

"Yes. Tomorrow is December twenty-fifth."

"Christmas, Samantha!"

"It's not Christmas to me. You and Daddy are moving away from each other."

Sam turned towards Ember, "I don't want to watch what comes after this…please?"

Ember sighed and created another portal, "This is from ten years ago, you at age seven."

Sam smiled, that was a good Christmas.

"Why is there tree branches in you're doorway Sammie?" Young Danny asked as the two of them got ready to head up to her room.

Sam's cheeks glowed a light pink, "Well, Nana says that when two people are under it…like we are now…they have too…had too…"

"Have too what?"

"…have to kiss each other."

Danny grimaced, "Really? I have to kiss you? Right now?"

"Yes, Daniel, you do. Those are the rules."

"Promise you won't give me cooties?"

Sam giggled, "I promise, Danny."

Danny leaned in and briefly touched her lips, but just who would walk by in three seconds…

"Samantha!"

Sam pulled away first, "Hi, Mom!"

"What on earth…" Her sentence hung in midair.

Danny shuffled his feet, "You see Mrs. Manson…It's just mistletoe and we…we…just were following the rules…and we were just-"

Sam put a hand over his mouth, "We were just following tradition, Mother. We'll be off now…"

She dragged Danny by his wrist up the stairs and to the third room on the right, "So…"

"…So?"

She slapped a hand to her forehead, "What did you think?"

"I thought we were going to get in a whole lot of trouble. Your mom-"

"No! About the kiss?"

"Oh…it was weird. I mean…well…you're my best friend and all…"

She giggled and hugged him gently, "Merry Christmas Danny."

Ember sighed, "Ah…young love…how adorable."

"We weren't in love, Ember! We were seven!"

"Sure, moving on…"

Yet another portal appeared, "Eight years ago, age nine."

"Dancing bears, painted wings…things I almost remember…and the song, someone sings…once upon a December…"

Sam smiled as she sang along to the tune of her music box, it was three days before Christmas, and school had just gotten out mere hours before.

A soft tap came from the door, "Come in!"

Her mother and father both entered and sat on the edge of her bed, "Honey, you're father and I…well…something sort of…came up at one of the offices, in England."

Mr. Manson continued, "We need to go immediately; and we don't know when we'll be back…."

"But it will be before Wednesday, right?" Sam asked with impatience lurking in her voice.

"Well…I don't know." Her father responded.

"It may not be, honey, but we can try…But it's a total day of travel and we don't have a full report, but something serious has happened. We probably won't be back for Christmas Eve."

"What? How? Why? That's not fair! We always go ice skating on Christmas Eve, then go to Papa's and have pie. We can't go?"

"No, sweetie, I'm so sorry."

"And that was when I stopped believing in Christmas…can we go back now?"

"No, I still have two more stories for you."

"Oh come on. I really need to go to bed, I have finals-"

Ember grabbed Sam's wrist and began to pull her towards the green portal, "You know you wouldn't be asleep anyways."

"I told you we should have had a boy!" Mr. Manson's voice sounded quietly through the wall to the living room, just enough that Sam could hear it.

"It's not like I had any control over it, dear, but yes, I know what you mean…"

"For the past four years she's been like this. Dark, moody, depressed. She'll never run the country; the rebellious little brat needs to learn some respect."

Sam sighed, she knew for sometime now what they really thought of her, not that she didn't feel the same back.

Both parental units entered the room just as she was about to exit. Mrs. Manson spoke first, "Samantha, please sit down."

"No thank you."

"I didn't ask you, I told you to sit down."

Sam rolled her eyes and threw herself into the chair next to the sofa where her parents had taken a seat.

"We need to have a talk, Samantha."

"So talk, I have places to be, people to meet, a life to live…"

"Alright. Well we have come to the conclusion that this attitude of yours isn't going to change."

"What took you so long?" Sam asked crossing her right ankle over left.

Her father took a slow, shallow breath, "I'm so sick of this, Sam, I really want this to change."

"And if I don't?"

"You have two weeks that is the end of Christmas break. During this period, you will stay inside. You are to visit no friends, or use any audio or digital device to speak with them. If in this two week period your attitude becomes happier and more respectful, you may stay in Amity Park. However, if it does not; we will be sending you to a Catholic boarding school in England."

"What? You have got to be kidding me. A boarding school, please! Really, that's quite funny, Dad!"

Mr. Manson narrowed his eyes, "Two weeks Samantha. If you have not made your adjustment by then, at the end of your second semester, which is January fifteenth, I will personally pack your bags and put you on a plane headed straight for England. Two weeks, do I make myself clear?"

"Dad; I'm sixteen! I don't need boarding school!"

The parents left the room, leaving Sam dumbfounded.

"That was just last year…" Sam whispered touching her forehead gently, "That was my last Christmas with them. Not that it matters. If our house didn't burn down, I'd still be in England."

Ember put her right hand on Sam's shoulder, "There's still one more memory I've got to show you. This isn't Christmas…It's this Halloween, actually."

Sam shook her head, "I remember it well enough, I don't want to-"

"If you close your eyes, it'll be like you're not even seeing it. Come on, I need the money."

Sam watched in anger as Lauren kissed Danny on the lips. She turned away and stormed up the stairs to her room, 'Why can't that just be me?'

She stared out her window, watching little kids run from door to door collecting Halloween candy. Some dressed as witches, some dressed as pop stars. Same old thing every year.

Well, not every year. Her freshman year with the Fright Knight incident was just a little bit different. "And then…he discovered girls."

She clutched her pillow in her arms, buried her face into it, and screamed. The noise was blocked, but Sam was still miserable.

Ten minutes later, Danny entered the room to find her asleep, curled up in a ball.

"I didn't know he came in…" Present Sam muttered, and continued to watch the memory.

"Hey Sam…I saw you, down there…" He whispered, "I'm sorry."

He kissed her forehead and left.

"He…huh?"

Sam and Ember were tossed back into the present time, "How'd you manipulate that memory!" Sam raged.

"I didn't, it really happened. Now it's three AM. You've got a final tomorrow, but remember that tomorrow night you will also be haunted by another ghost. Be prepared. See you."

And with that Ember was gone.

Sam shot out of bed in a cold sweat and looked around, her eyes finally spotting the clock.

3:02

"Was that a dream?" She whispered, stood up and looked in the mirror that was attached to her dresser. "EW…I hope that was a dream."

She climbed back into her bed and pulled the covers over herself. "Okay, don't give yourself a complex…just sleep. And stop talking to yourself."

Sam pulled the sheet over head and had one final thought before dozing off again.

What happens next?