The first day everything went smoothly. they arrived, Arthur and Francis were overjoyed to see them and the girls unpacked their belongings before both families got together to celebrate Amelia and Madeline's safe arrival as well as their survival of another semester. That evening though, the first of a series of events happened. There was a knock on the door.
The four of them were sitting in Madeline's home, chatting and drinking cider when they heard the knock. Amelia glanced at the door, a little surprised that someone was knocking. Charollers maybe? Her surprise changed to confusion, however, when Madeline stood up and announced: "That must be her."
Must be who?
Amelia looked around at the two men. Arthur and Francis just smiled and nodded knowingly. Were they expecting someone and she didn't know about it? The blonde pursed her lips and tried to peer out into the hallway to see who was at the door. She could hear Madeline and greeting someone else and then footsteps coming into the house.
"Dad, Arthur, this is Julchen." Madeline smiled and introduced the young albino girl that Amelia recognized as one of their classmates. She remembered having two classes with Julchen. But why was there here? Her eyes wandered down and spotted the suitcase in the pale girl's hands.
"Oui, oui. Bonjour, Julchen." Francis stood to shake the girl's hand and introduce himself. "Welcome. Please, make yourself at home. Madeline, why don't you take her bags up to your room and bring your friend a glass."
Amelia continued to sit there confused and now a bit irritated. What the hell was going on here?
"Uh… what the hell is going on here?" The shocked looks on Francis's, Madeline's, and Julchen's faces, as well as the disapproving scowl on Arthur's face let Amelia know that she'd accidentally said that out loud.
"Amelia!" Arthur snapped at her. "Where are your manners?"
The girl shrunk back, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and a bit ashamed with her comment.
"No, no. I'm sorry, I completely forgot to tell you." Madeline let out a small nervous laugh and smiled politely. "Julchen's parents aren't going to be home for the holidays. And normally she'd spend them with her brother Ludwig, but he decided to spend Christmas with his girlfriend Feliciana. So I offered to let her stay with us over the break. I already told papa about it, and he told Arthur. I thought I'd mentioned it to you. I'm sorry."
Amelia was slightly taken aback. They always spent Christmas together. Ever since they were little girls it was just them, their dads, and no one else. She felt a bit uncomfortable with having there. The tension in the room was almost tangible and Julchen suddenly looked as embarrassed and uncomfortable as Amelia. The blonde let out a laugh, suddenly and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh! Okay, no biggie. I just wish you'd told me. Jesus, you know how I hate surprises." She laughed again, trying to lighten the mood again. Whatever. It was just this one year, right? They'd still stick to their traditions, they'd just have one extra person. Besides, she didn't want to make things more awkward than they already were, Arthur would just yell at her when they got home later if she made a big deal about it.
The rest of the evening wasn't completely terrible. Everyone chatted and picked up the conversation right where it left off. They told stories, jokes, attempted to sing some carols poorly, overall just had a good time. Yet, Amelia couldn't shake this nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Eventually Amelia and Arthur walked back home, right next door. Maybe Ame was just tired from the long car ride. She'd feel better in the morning.
Come next morning, Amelia woke up and grinned. today was going to be great. She wasn't going to let last night bring her down or ruin her holiday spirit. She got up and hastily got dressed, running out to the kitchen and grabbing the two gingerbread house kits that were on the counter. She froze suddenly, having almost forgotten about their third companion this year. She looked back at the counter and realized she'd almost completely missed the third kit that was there. Arthur must have bought an extra one for Julchen this year. Amelia shrugged and picked up the third kit, talking all three out to the dining room so that they would have plenty of space on the table. She sat and waited for them.
After some time passed, Amelia began glancing at the clock every minute or so. Madeline was usually here by now. What was taking her so long? She frowned, wanting her friend to get there already, but not exactly wanting to go over and get her either. Laying her head on the table, she worried that maybe Maddie had forgotten. But how could she forget? They do this every year. Ame felt a mass begin to form in her throat. What if she didn't show up? Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the door open and Madeline's voice. Amelia let out a long sigh of relief. She suddenly felt so silly for even doubting the other girl.
"Sorry we're late. Julchen made me and Papa breakfast and we lost track of time." Madeline explained as she and Julchen removed their coats and entered the dining room.
"Ahaha!" Amelia laughed it off, trying to make it seem like she definitely had not just been on the verge of a panic attack. "Don't even sweat it! I totally slept in. I hadn't even realized what time it was and I just came down myself!"
Madeline giggled, "that's so typical of you, too." Julchen laughed a bit in agreement and looked at the gingerbread house making kits.
"So, I've never really made one of these."
Amelia quirked an eyebrow. Was this girl for real? What, had she been living under a rock or something? Madeline simply smiled and pulled a box closer to herself and pushed one towards Julchen. "They're fun. Ame, do you have all the candy?"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah." Amelia sprang up from her seat and ran back into the kitchen to retrieve several bags of icing and even more bags of assorted candies and chocolates that they would use to decorate their little edible homes. She plopped them down onto the table and grinned. "So let's get started!"
Not even fifteen minutes in, Amelia could feel her agitation rising once again. She watched Maddie giggle as Julchen ate another piece of candy. The tan blonde tried not to sound as annoyed as she actually was when she spoke to the albino girl. "Julchen, you're supposed to put the candy on the house. Not eat it."
Julchen shrugged and put another gumdrop on her tongue. "So what? We're gonna eat the houses later anyways right?"
"That's not the point," Amelia snapped back. "Decorating is part of a tradition. You can't…" she huffed and began to get frustrated. "You can't just eat the candy okay!"
Julchen merely scrunched up her face and put a piece of candy on the roof of the house, sticking it with icing. "There. It's a ball that got stuck on the roof because the kids threw it too high." Madeline laughed at this, which only made Amelia's blood boil. "I'm bored with this. I want to go play in the snow. Can we go make snowmen instead?"
"No!" Amelia hissed. "We always do this. You can't just-"
"Actually, Ame, that sounds like a fun idea." Madeline piped up. It felt as though Amelia's heart had dropped into the pit of her stomach. Maddie actually agreed? But what about tradition?
"Oh. Well… You guys go out, I have to clean up in here or else dad will flip."
"Do you want any help cleaning up?"
"Nah, it's not a lot. I got it. Besides, Julchen sounds like she really wants to go out and make snowmen, or whatever. Go out with her. I'll be right out."
"Well, if you say so." Madeline looked uncertain, but had no time to argue as Julchen sprung up and grabbed hold of the other girl's thin arm and pulled her out the door and into the piles of soft frozen fluff.
Amelia stood in the dining room alone now. She stared at the half-made houses and felt the pit in her stomach only get bigger. It was only for a little longer. She could endure this just a little longer. Maddie was just being nice and giving Julchen a place to stay. Maddie was too nice for her own good. Christmas was just around the corner and then she wasn't going to let it get ruined. Not when she had the perfect gift for Maddie.