Year 10: Candy Cane
The big news around the school that christmas was that the student council was arranging a Candy Cane O'Gram service for all students to send candy canes to any other student they liked. As they passed the poster in the hallway, Taylor rolled her eyes.
"What a lame attempt at selling gross candy."
"The moneys going to a children's charity apparently." Said Kelsi, motioning to the poster.
"Yeah, cheer up Taylor, the moneys for a good cause, and plus, wouldn't it be nice to get one? Just to know that someone was thinking about you?" said Martha, dreamily.
"All the guys we know in this school aren't mature enough to think of doing anything like this!" Argued Taylor. Kelsi and Martha rolled their eyes at Taylor. "Okay, so it would be kind of sweet, but the guys in our class...no thank you."
"Oh I dunno, I think you have a soft spot for one of them." Teased Kelsi. Taylor blushed.
"I don't, so there. Shush." She teased, and the three of them hurried into the classroom to help their teacher start setting up.
Sharpay and Ryan got in a few minutes later, Ryan begrudgingly carrying Sharpay's bag. She stopped and looked at the notice, grinning.
"Ryan, this is great! I can send one to Troy and he'll like me!"
"Sharpay, if you're nice to him and stop trying to follow him around he'll like you." Ryan tried to explain.
"No that won't work. But if I send him a candy cane he's sure to like me!" Sharpay pulled the notice down from the wall. "There. Just to make sure no-one else in our class gives one to Troy."
"But Sharpay--"
"They're selling them at lunch time. You'll go and fill in one for me to Troy, right?"
"No, Sharpay--"
"Or I'll tell mom who really broke her favourite vase." Ryan sighed at Sharpay's constant threat. He had been dancing in the lounge, and swung his arm round, accidentally knocking a vase on the floor. Sharpay had seen, but promised she wouldn't tell their mom if Ryan did as she asked.
"....Fine. Just tell me what you want on the card." Sharpay nodded, and pulled Ryan along the corridor as the bell rung for the start of class.
At lunchtime, Ryan begrudgingly got in the line for the candy cane o'grams. The idea was you would fill in a form, and the candy canes would be delivered to the person you ask them to be sent to a week later, along with a message you wrote for them. After a few seconds in the line, Ryan felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around.
"Hey." Smiled Kelsi. "So you're doing this candy cane thing too, huh?"
"Well...not really. Sharpay wants to send one to Troy so she's sent me along to do it." Sighed Ryan. "But it's cool that you are. Who are you sending one too?"
"Oh well...I'm here for someone else too. Technically." Kelsi motioned behind her where Martha was standing. "We're trying to play cupid. I'm sending one from Taylor to Chad, and Marthas sending one from Chad to Taylor. Just a bit of fun really, I hope she isn't too mad at us about it."
"Oh, that's...cool." Said Ryan, awkwardly. He heard someone clear their throat in front of him, and he turned round to find that he was now at the front of the queue. "Oops. I'll talk to you later Kelsi, okay?" She nodded, and turned round to talk to Martha. Ryan quickly grabbed the card, and filled in the message. Just before he was about to leave the table, he paused. "...Can I pay for two?" The kid behind the table nodded, and Ryan quickly filled out another one, before rushing away from the table.
A week later, while their teacher was talking about a boring subject that none of the students were listening to, there was a knock on the classroom door.
"Candy canes!" Announced the student, who walked around the classroom with a basket full of candy canes, with notes attached to them. By the time the bag was nearly empty, almost all the class had one, except for Kelsi, Ryan, and a few others. Sharpay had three, but was disappointed to find that none of them had been from Troy.
"Oh well, maybe next year, huh Ryan?" Said Kelsi, sympathetically. Ryan turned and smiled at her when the student handing out the candy canes dropped one on Ryan's desk, and one on Kelsi's.
"Happy holidays!" She said, before rushing out of the classroom to deliver another batch to another classroom. The teacher tried to quieten the classroom down, but everyone was in a buzz about who had given them a candy cane. Ryan watched as Chad and Taylor stormed over to Kelsi's desk.
"Kelsi tell this....this....BOY that I didn't send him one!"
"Yeah and I'd never send a girl one, especially Taylor!" Argued Chad back. Kelsi smiled at them innocently.
"I don't know what you mean, you must've sent them, no-one else would of." Taylor glared at her and rushed over to Martha instead. Sharpay went over to Ryan, annoyed.
"Are you sure you sent Troy one??"
"Troy got four, one would've been yours."
"But he hasn't come over to see me!"
"I'll talk to him later." Said Ryan, dismissively, watching Kelsi open the note on hers. He watched as she smiled, and came over to him.
"...Thank you." She said. "I really didn't think I'd get one. Have you opened yours yet?"
"Huh?" Said Ryan, who suddenly remembered the one in front of him. "Oh wow, I completely forgot about that!"
"Open it, go on." Said Kelsi, encouragingly. Ryan shrugged, and slowly opened the card.
Ryan--
I know it's not much, but I wanted to show you what you mean to me. You're still my best friend, and always will be, no matter how much we drift apart.
--Best friends forever, from your 'Kesi'
Ryan looked up at Kelsi, and smiled.
"Thanks. I really was worried that Taylor had made you completely anti-boys or something."
"Yeah well I'm not interested in dating, I'm too young. But you're more than a boy....you're just Ryan."