Last chapter! Yay! That's one last fanfic off of my back!!!! Lol.
Hope it doesn't suck, I know, I say that every chapter. (and I hope the ending isn't too generic, lol. I just couldn't resist though…)
Thanks everyone for reading!
And now the conclusion to How the Grinch Brought Christmas…..
Chapter: 4 The Grinch Who Brought Christmas
As the day went by Heather became increasingly annoying. She forced the other teens to watch every Christmas special or movie ever made. She made them all sit and listen to every Christmas story ever written. She kept skipping around Owen singing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". She wouldn't allow anyone to make out unless they were underneath mistletoe. She forced everyone to participate in a weird play she made up about a candy cane that saves Christmas. She made them go caroling in the freezing weather. She wouldn't let anyone eat anything unless it was Holiday-related.
Then finally, something happened to break the camel's back.
"Hey!" shouted Justin.
Heh…sorry.
"Gasp!" Heather gasped. "Guess what?"
"What Heather?" everyone asked in tired unison.
"Guess what we forgot to do!"
"Okay, I ain't guessing nothing! Just tell us already!" shouted LeShawna.
"We forgot to put the star on the tree!" Heather exclaimed in horror.
"Oh no…the end of the world is upon us…" Duncan said unenthusiastically.
"We gotta put the star on the tree!" said Heather. "What's a Christmas tree without a star? Who wants to do the honors?"
A few people raised their hands.
"Ooh! I know! I do I do!" Heather said, raising her hand and jumping up and down.
Everyone who had their hands raised glared at her and grumbled.
"Okay, I need people to help me. The tree is way too tall. Let's make a human ladder." said Heather. "Owen, you'll be on the bottom, then Geoff, then Courtney, then Harold…"
"Uh…he's too skinny." said LeShawna.
"Then Beth, then Gwen…" Heather said, ignoring LeShawna and assigning more people to the ladder.
Eventually, ten people were sitting on each other's shoulders, towering almost to the top of the tree. Heather latched onto the bottom person and pulled herself up, climbing towards the top of the ladder.
"Ow! You kicked my eye!"
"Heather, be careful! You're going to knock us over."
"I can't take all this weight!"
"Seriously, we're going to fall over!"
"OOOWWW! Please refrain from yanking my hair!"
"Okay, we REALLY need to get down. This isn't going to work."
"I think all my bones are crushed."
"Heather? Are you even listening?"
"Ewww, dude, did you just fart on me?"
Heather reached the top of the "ladder".
"Oopsie! Forgot the star!" she said with a giggle. Everyone groaned while she started climbing down.
"Seriously, dude, no more beans for you."
"You're not really climbing down, are you? I don't think this was such a good idea…"
"I think my guts are crushed too."
"Hurry, Heather! We're going to fall over!"
"YOWCH! Don't yank my ear either!"
"Never mind! Slow down! You're going too fast and will knock us down for sure!"
"Being. Suffocated. By. Too. Much. Weight."
"Really Heather, be careful!!!"
"OW! You kicked my esophagus!"
"HEATHER! STOP! WE'RE STARTING TO FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Heather safely hopped off of the last person as a screaming tower of people crashed into the tree, knocking it over.
The lucky few who didn't get stuck being a human stepladder gasped and rushed over to their friends. Moaning, people rose slowly out of the tree pulling pine needles from their hair. Other than some bumps and bruises there were no serious injuries other than…
"I think I broke my coccyx," said Harold.
Heather laughed obnoxiously.
"That was soooooo funny!" Heather said. "I can't believe you guys knocked the tree over!"
"What??!!! You knocked the tree over, not us!" Duncan exclaimed. "If you hadn't made us into a step ladder and climb up so carelessly we wouldn't have fallen over!"
"Hmmmm, maybe we should've used that ladder over there," said Heather. "That would have been much sturdier…and more convenient."
Everyone stopped and glared at her.
"But that looked like so much fun!" Heather continued on. "Ooh! Let's do it again so I can fall into the tree too!"
"Excuse me! That was NOT fun!" Courtney exclaimed. "I have pine needles in my hair, my knee is bruised, and I smell like tree! Never mind the fact that THE TREE I SPENT AN ENTIRE HOUR DECORATING IS RUINED!"
"I have to agree with cranky, here," said Izzy. "Normally, I would have found that fun, but you've spent the entire day annoying all enjoyment right out of me."
Heather frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is…STOP BUGGING US ABOUT CHRISTMAS!" Izzy screamed
"But, I'm only trying to bring you guys the Christmas Spirit…" Heather said with a frown.
"Yeah, well, it didn't work," said Tyler.
"Seriously, we all hate Christmas now because of you," said Duncan.
"Yeah! Christmas sucks!" agreed Lindsay. She kicked Santa Owen in the shin. "Stupid Santa."
"Ow!"
"Wait, you all hate Christmas?" Heather asked in a small voice.
"YES!" several voices shouted in unison.
"Because of me?"
"YES!"
"It was much better when you hated Christmas!" said Courtney. "Before you went on this stupid Christmas love fest!"
"Yeah, I almost liked you better when you were a mean, selfish little…" LeShawna started to say.
"We used to like Christmas but you just made it the most annoying day of the year," said Justin.
"With its stupid songs!" said Cody
"And all those tacky, ugly decorations!" said Geoff.
"Like those blinking lights that are giving me a headache!" said Gwen
"And all those stupid baked goods are making me sick!" said DJ.
"AND I HATE THIS STUPID IMAGINARY FAT GUY!" Eva yelled, kicking Owen in his other shin.
"Oh come on!" yelled Owen.
"B-but, Christmas is a happy time to show love to our friends, " said Heather.
"Well happiness makes me wanna puke!" said Katie.
"And love sucks!" exclaimed Bridgette.
"And friendship can die for all I care!" said Sadie.
"WE HATE CHRISTMAS!" several voices shouted in unison.
Heather's eyes grew big and watery as her lip trembled.
But then, gradually, the effects of the Egg Nog began to wear off and her face was set to a scowl.
"Well you know what!" Heather exclaimed, throwing down her Santa Hat. "All I tried to do what bring you ungrateful little BRATS some Christmas Spirit! And this is the thanks I get! WHY DON'T YOU ALL GO SUFFOCATE YOURSELVES IN A HOLE!"
Everyone gasped and stared at Heather.
"You wanna know something, I no longer like Christmas. In fact, I HATE IT! Sure, a long time ago I used to like it. Every year I asked Santa for a stupid puppy, but did I ever get one? Nooooo! All I wanted was one STUPID puppy! That's all I ever asked for. Then one year, my sister got a car! My brother got a dirt bike. And what did I get? A personal trainer to help me lose weight! I have ALWAYS been a good girl. Trying so hard to earn my stupid little puppy, day in and day out. My little brother told me it was cuz Santa hated me! My sister told me it was cuz Santa wasn't real and that my parents hated me!"
"Wow, that was harsh…how old we're you?" said Geoff.
"I was only fourteen!"
"Fourteen?" several people questioned, raising their eyebrows.
"Finally, my parents pulled me aside and told me Santa wasn't real and they didn't want to waste money on a puppy, even though they're filthy, stinkin' rich! They preferred that I lost weight so I would fit in better. Sure, they sounded like they meant with other kids but they meant with themselves. They were embarrassed by me, they're only fat child! Well, serves them right! That was the day I turned EVIL. And now I hate Christmas, I hate Santa Claus, I hate my family…but most of all…I HATE PUPPIES! AND I'M TO RID THE WORLD OF CHRISTMAS, SANTA CLAUS, FAMILIES, AND PUPPIES! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Everyone blinked.
Heather stopped mid-laughter and collapsed.
"Uh…did she just die?" said Harold.
"YAY!" said everyone.
"No…she's breathing. She only passed out." said Bridgette.
"Awwww…" said everyone.
"Ya know…I actually feel kinda sorry for her." said Gwen.
"Yeah, I have to admit…that story was kinda sad," said Courtney.
"No wonder she's so mean," said Beth.
Everyone stared at Heather and frowned in pity upon her.
"Oh well, not much we can do about that!" said Tyler.
"Yep! Time for bed!" said Izzy.
"Gotta get outta this lame costume…"
"Night everyone."
"Later!"
"See ya!"
The voices died down as the teens walked up the stairs to their separate rooms.
But one figure remained with Heather's unconscious form.
"Hmmm, maybe there is something I can do about it..."
The next morning, Heather woke up with a groan.
"Ohhh…my head. What happened?" she said.
She heard a snicker above her.
"Morning sleeping beauty," said Duncan as he walked past.
Bleary-eyed, Heather looked around. She was in the lobby surrounded by the other teens, all occupied in various activities.
"Uh, why am I sleeping out here? And why is the tree knocked down? And why do I care about a stupid tree?"
"Um…don't you remember anything?" said Gwen.
"Yeah, I remember you all acting like Christmas obsessed jerks!"
"Yeah, cuz we were really the Christmas obsessed ones," Noah said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Heather snapped. She looked down at her outfit. "AND WHAT AM I WEARING?"
Ezekiel, donning a Christmas hat, whistled.
"Ugh! As if, LOSER!"
"So…you don't remember how, out of nowhere, you started liking Christmas and ran around like an annoying psychopath trying to get us to participate in every single Christmas activity you could think of?" said LeShawna.
Heather glared at LeShawna as if she had sprouted seven heads.
"Uh…what the crap are you talking about?" She sneered
Everyone explained to Heather what happened, minus her emotional breakdown at the end. That was a little too awkward. When they were finished Heather stared at them, wide-eyed and embarrassed. She dropped her head into her hands.
"Who let me have egg nog?" she said tiredly.
"Uh…egg nog?" said Bridgette.
"Yeah…it has a weird effect on me."
"Weird is the understatement of the Century," said Noah.
"SHUT UP!"
"Whatever." said Noah. "We should probably try to fix that tree…"
Everyone groaned.
"Or we could just leave it in the middle of the floor in everyone's way," Noah said. "That would be more convenient."
"Whatever. Don't expect me to do anything," said Heather.
"Oh no, you're helping. You're the one who knocked it down!" said Gwen
"Hey, maybe I wouldn't have knocked it down if you people didn't tick me off, causing me to drink egg nog and go crazy!"
"Well maybe we wouldn't have ticked you off if you weren't such a jerk!"
"Well maybe.."
"Oh, just shut up and get your scrawny little butt over here!" LeShawna called from beside the tree.
And so, with a great heave ho, the 22 teens somehow managed to set the tree aright.
And then Courtney tripped over something.
"What the? What idiot put this here?" she complained, picking up a wrapped box.
"What is that? A present?" asked Bridgette.
"Yeah, it was under the tree."
"I don't remember that being here before the tree fell."
"Yeah, and you would think people would remember it. It's in an inconvenient location where PEOPLE CAN TRIP OVER IT!" Courtney yelled.
Noah snorted with a smug look on his face.
"Well, who's present is it?" said Cody.
Courtney read the tag.
"To…Heather?"
Everyone raised an eyebrow and looked over at Heather.
"For me?" she asked with wide eyes. A small, rare smile appeared on her face.
"Who would give Heather a present?" inquired Geoff.
Heather sneered at him.
"Yeah, shocking, I know," said Courtney. She looked at the tag and frowned. "From…Santa?"
Heather raised a brow.
"Santa? How lame! Like that's really from Santa."
"Just accept the present you ungrateful, little…" LeShawna muttered.
"It also says: Sorry I'm a few years late. Open ASAP!" Courtney said, still reading the tag.
"Uh, what?" said Heather snootily.
"It means open it NOW, genius!" said Noah.
"Shut up you stupid little egghead," Heather muttered. She snatched the box from Courtney. "Whoa, this is kind of heavy."
Heather glared at the box.
"Yeesh, you'd think Santa could afford a box that didn't have holes in it," she muttered, pulling the lid off. She stopped complaining and stared into the box in shock. A furry head poked itself out.
"ARF! ARF!" The fur ball yelped.
"A…a puppy?" Heather said. "B-but…who knew I wanted a puppy? This can't seriously be from Santa."
"But that's what the tag says," Lindsay said innocently.
Heather stared at Lindsay and then rolled her eyes. She looked down at the puppy and smiled. Suddenly, the puppy jumped on her and started licking her face.
"Ew! Quit it! Stop it!" Heather said pulling the puppy away from her. She looked at it.
Her eye twitched. Then her body had a slight spasm. Then she hyperventilated.
Well, not really, but she did do something shocking, horrifying, terrifying, and overall disturbing.
She laughed.
Not an evil, triumphant laugh. Not a cynical, critical laugh. But a pure, joyful, genuine laugh. For, you see, a Christmas miracle occurred. Heather actually grew a heart that day.
"Ya know…maybe there really is a Santa Claus," Heather said, happy tears filling her eyes.
Noah snorted.
"Oh please! Don't tell me you really believe in Santa. Obviously someone here gave that to you. Don't you remember how you said-Ow!"
An elbow collided with Noah's rib cage, though it was quite unnecessary. Heather was too busy playing with her puppy to pay heed.
"What was that for?" Noah sneered at Gwen.
"Just let her have her fun, Noah," she said.
"So you want to just lie to her?"
"Why not? If it keeps her from being mean. As long as she stays sane, of course."
"Why? Was it you who gave her that disease-ridden fur ball?"
"Oh, drop the act…Santa," said Gwen.
Noah's eyes grew wide and he blushed.
"W-what do mean?"
"I peeked out my window early this morning and saw you climbing up the stairs carrying a puppy. That and you have dog fur all over your sweater."
Noah blushed and brushed off his sweater.
"Yeah, well…let's just say the little Grinch taught me a lesson about Christmas spirit," he muttered.
"So…do you like her?"
"What? No! It's just…she said something earlier that made sense. If it came from anybody else, I probably wouldn't have taken it seriously. But coming from her it had merit. Let's just say, I understand where she's coming from sometimes."
"Yeah, well, I know where you can find mistletoe if you ever need it."
"Whatever…Can't a guy just be nice for once?"
"Not you, Noah. You're not 'just nice'."
"Well then mark it down as my good deed for the year."
"Yeah, okay, sure. Interesting how you picked evil, nasty Heather as the person to do your yearly good deed for, instead of, I dunno, someone you actually get along with.
"Oh, shut up."
And therefore another Christmas miracle occurred. Noah had been unable to think of an intelligent comeback.
There was silence for a moment as Noah watched Heather playing with her puppy.
In her Santa girl outfit.
"So…where exactly is this mistletoe?" he asked.
The End.
Merry Christmas everybody! 2 months later! Yay!!!
If anyone is reading The Horrors of Kindergarten I should hopefully be updating that soon. Then you have to wait while I update my other fic (those poor readers have been waiting a long time) and then I'll post the last two chapters of "Kindergarten".
Thanks again, everyone, for reading.