Author's Note: Another chapter, getting posted earlier than ordinarily expected on a school day. The reason this time? Today's professor injured herself, having to cancel class. Fine by me, since now, I've got a soar throat with this cold, and while my apartment is typically cold at this time of year, it feels worse with being sick, as I huddle beneath the blankets once again with wireless devices to type out another chapter. Yet though, I think after you read this chapter, my cold will seem like nothing compared to what happens to our main characters, their second Christmas together. Without further a due, let's get started.
Chapter 2, Chicken Pops, Again
Two-year-old Zack lay in bed, trying to keep from scratching the little red dots that covered his body.
"They're itching like crazy! But aunty said not to scratch. I'm not gonna scratch, I'm not gonna scratch. I'm! Not! Gonna! Scratch!" Zack cried in frustration, as he tried to find something to distract himself from the itchy bumps.
Then, he pulled open one of his dresser drawers and pulled out a picture. It was the picture of him and Kimi kissing under the mitheltoe, that was taken at the previous year's Christmas party. As he stared longingly at the photograph, realizing that it was once again, Christmas Eve, he wished at that moment to be with Kimi again. He and his aunt were invited to that year's Christmas party, which was being hosted by the Finsters at the Java Lava, but they had to miss it, on account of Zack coming down with the Chicken Pox. In fact, he fell ill the pprevious day, having to miss the performance of the Christmas pagent at preschool. Luckily, his teacher Miss Weamer, had given Tommy the part of Wise Man understudy, in the event Zack couldn't fulfill the part, and it's a good thing she did. Yet though, the pagent was the last thing on his mind at that moment. He was more upset about having to miss out on another Christmas party with Kimi, and would do anything to be with her at that very moment. Little did he know his prayers would soon be answered.
A few minutes later, aunty Celeste came into the room to apply some more calamine lotion to his chicken pox.
"Hi Zachary, how are you feeling sweetheart?" Celeste asked, as she walked over to the side of his bed.
"I'm all itchy." Zack replied with a disappointed sigh.
"Well, I have something here that should help." Said Celeste, as she started applying the calamine lotion to the itchy bumps that covered his face and arms.
She was about to have Zack take off his pajama top, when her cell phone wrang.
"Let me get that." Said Celeste, as she set the bottle of calamine lotion down on the dresser and answered the call.
"Hello." Said Celeste into the phone.
A few minutes of silence passed as the voice on the opposite end of the phone spoke.
"Awe, I'm sorry to hear this." Said Celeste into the phone, before a few more minutes of silence passed.
"Sure Kira, if you think they can stay out of everyone's way, I guess we can come." Said Celeste into the phone.
Upon hearing Kira's name, Zack knew instantly who his aunt was talking to. Kimi's mommy. Would he get to see Kimi this Christmas after all?
"We'll be right over." Said Celeste into the phone, as she hung it up.
Celeste turned to Zack with a smile.
"Let's get dressed sweetie, we're going to the party." Said Celeste.
Zack just stared at his aunt in shock.
"But, I'm sick with the chicken pops. I thought I couldn't go nowhere." Zack replied.
"Ordinarily, you can't, but one of your playmates needs some company. After all, that's what this holiday is all about. Now come on sweetie, let's go." Said Celeste, as Zack got out of bed, put on a red Christmas sweat shirt with Santa Clause on the front, a pair of dark blue sweat pants, and the brown sneakers he received as an early Christmas present from his maternal grandparents.
It was shipped all the way from Wheeling, West Virginia, and he opened it the day it arrived, being very excited to receive this gift. Soon, he and his aunty were off in her driverless van to the Finsters' house.
"The party isn't taking place at the Java Lava? Hmmm, I wonder what's wrong?" Zack thought to himself, as his aunty turned into the driveway.
They got out of the van and walked up to the door, where a Christmas wreath was hanging. Celeste wrang the doorbell and Kira answered, wearing a pretty dark green and sparkly Christmas sweater.
"Hello Celeste and Zachary, Merry Christmas." Said Kira, as she led them into the house.
"Merry Christmas." Said Celeste.
"Kimi is in the living room." Said Kira.
Zack didn't waste another moment to hear what else Kira had to say. He rushed past happy partying guests until he ran into the living room, where he found Kimi on the couch, huddled beneath a pink Dummi Bears blanket. The only thing sticking out from the covers was her hands and face, and he only had to look for two seconds to see what was going on. It appeared that Zack wasn't the only one to have Chicken Pox this Christmas. Kimi too, was also covered in little red bumps.
"Hi Kimi." Said Zack, as he took a seat on the end of the couch.
Kimi sat up, looked over at Zack, and gave him a small smile.
"Hi Zack." Kimi replied.
"You gots the Chicken Pops too?" Zack asked.
"Uh huh. I'm all itchy." Kimi cried.
"Me too. That's why I wasn't at the pagent yesterday." Zack replied.
"I was at the pagent yesterday, and Tommy did a great job as the wise man. Well, the bestest job he could, seeing he thought an understudy didn't have to learn the part. We all felt bad you were sick. I didn't get sick till this morning. That's when mommy and daddy moved the party to our house." Kimi explained, as she started scratching one of her arms.
"But what about our friends? Aren't you worried we might give them the chicken pops?" Zack asked worriedly.
"My brother already had them. So have Tommy, Phil, Lil, Angelica and Susie. And my brother tells me that at first when he had them, he was covered in feathers, and thought he was turning into a chicken too, until Susie told him and and our other friends the truth." Explained Kimi.
Zack rolled his eyes, as a thought came to him.
"Why do I have this feeling that Angelica is the reason to blame for Chuckie's thinking he was turning into a chicken when he had Chicken Pops? She probably covered him in feathers too, to make her lie sound more believable." Said Zack.
"I don't know. Chuckie never said, but it's possible. Angelica's always playing games." Said Kimi.
"Well, not to worry. Once we're over it, my aunty tells me we can never get it again. So where are our friends?" Zack asked.
"They can't play with us Zack." Kimi replied with a sad sigh.
"How come?" Zack asked.
"Because Dil hasn't gotted the Chicken Pops yet, so Tommy and the others are doing everything possible, to keep him away." Kimi replied.
"Oh." Said Zack disappointingly, as he stared down at the floor.
"Don't be sad Zachary, at least we've gots each other." Said Kimi with a smile.
Zack turned his gaze towards Kimi, and smiled. It was true, he did get to be with the one person he wanted to be with most of all that holiday season, his three-year-old Japanese friend and preschool playmate, even if they were sick and itchy, they could keep one another company on this Christmas eve night.
Just then, Peter, Charlotte, Kira and Celeste returned to the living room to check on the chicken pox twins.
"Hey Kimi and Zack, I hear you two are sick with the Chicken Pox." Said Peter.
"Yeah, we are." Kimi replied.
"Kimi tells me that Chuckie already had the Chicken Pops, and thought he was turning into a chicken. I'm curious, did Angelica have something to do with it? And did she cover him in feathers?" Zack asked.
"Well, Angelica did tell Tommy, Phil and Lil that Chuckie was turning into a chicken. However, you'd be surprised. She never covered him in feathers herself. A pillow came apart and thanks to Calamine lotion, the feathers got stuck all over Chuckie, making him look like a chicken. Soon, Tommy, Phil and Lil started breaking out, and when Susie and Lucy arrived, as we were all heading to a picnic for Charlotte's work, she explained the truth to the babies, that they weren't turning into chickens after all. Of course, naturally, I tried to tell the babies that Angelica was lying as usual, but they dismissed me like I know nothing. It took Susie's explanation to convince them otherwise." Explained Peter.
"And Dil never caught it?" Kimi asked.
"Nope, this happened before Dil was born, but after I met the rest of our friends." Peter replied.
"Oh yes, I kept coming up with every possible excuse to skip my company picnic, until Angelica and I arrived. I found her in the back seat of the car, covered in little red bumps. So we went home, where you, Peter, convinced me otherwise. So despite my little girl being sick, I ended up going to that picnic." Said Charlotte.
"Yeah, sorry, but I didn't think it was right for you to not be present at your own company picnic, so I offered to watch Angelica while you attended it." Said Peter.
"And I thank you." Said Charlotte with a smile, as she and Peter left the room, and Celeste and Kira approached the couch.
Kira was carrying a bottle of Calamine lotion, while Celeste handed Zack a package wrapped in green and blue paper with a shiny red bow on top.
"Wow! A Christmas present?" Zack asked in excitement.
"Go ahead sweetie, open it." Celeste replied with a smile, as Zack ripped the paper off his Christmas present.
It was the traditional DVD that his aunt gave him every year. Last year, she gave him his first Sherry Berry DVD, Sing a Song of Spring, and this year, judging from the cover of the box showing a picture of Reptar dressed in a Santa suit, it was the all new Reptar movie, Reptar Saves Christmas, where Reptar must go under cover as Santa Clause, when the real Santa Clause is captured by Robosnails and is sent back to his home planet, over taken by aliens, that are about to make him their dinner, if Reptar doesn't come rescue him before it's too late.
"Oh my gosh! It's the new Reptar Christmas movie! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Aunty Celeste! You're the greatest!" Zack squealed in excitement.
"You're welcome sweetie." Said Celeste, as she went over to the DVD player, and put on the movie, while Kira was about to start applying some Calamine lotion to the two toddlers, when Chaz called her and Celeste's names from the other room.
"Could Kira and Celeste come in here please? I seem to be having a bit of trouble with the blender to make up the Finster Finster eggnog." Called Chaz from the kitchen.
"We'll be right there." Kira called back, just as she set down the Calamine lotion on the coffee table, and she and Celeste headed to the kitchen to help Chaz.
By this time, the previews on the DVD were playing, as Zack was doing all he could to keep from scratching his itchy spots.
"Are you ok Zachary?" Kimi asked.
"No, I'm all itchy." Zack replied.
Without saying a word, Kimi hopped down from the couch and ran over to the coffee table, where she picked up the bottle of Calamine lotion. She brought it back over to the couch, and sat back down next to Zack.
"Where does it itch the most?" Kimi asked.
"My tummy." Zack replied, as he lifted up his Christmas sweat shirt, and Kimi started applying the Calamine lotion to his stomach.
"I hear ya, my tummy itches too, but it really itches on my back, and, I can't reach it to scratch it!" Kimi cried in frustration.
Soon, the two of them were applying lotion to one another, making a huge mess in the process, as they managed to get Calamine lotion all over the couch, and Zack left a few Calamine lotion footprints on the carpet, when he ran up to the TV to grab the remote for the DVD player, to start the movie playing, as the previews had finished, and the main menu was on the screen.
He returned to the couch, started the movie, and the Chicken Pox couple snuggled up together, as they watched the movie, falling asleep on one another's shoulders by the end. Later, as the party was starting to wind down, Kira came back into the room to check on Kimi and Zack, when she found them curled up on the couch, the room covered in Calamine lotion, and the two toddlers, curled up asleep in one another's arms. The sight was too cute to be angry at. If anything, it deserved to be treasured. So Kira ran off and returned with her camera, where she took a picture of the sleeping couple.
"Merry Christmas." Kira whispered, after snapping the picture, as she placed the pink Dummi Bears blanket over the two sleeping toddlers, blew them a kiss, and left the living room to go help Peter and the other adults, clean up from the Christmas party.
And this, ends chapter 2.
Author's Note: So, as you can see, Chicken Pox aren't any fun, and they're far worse than this cold that has plagued me as of late. I do remember having the Chicken Pox at age five, and believe me, they weren't any fun! I luckily, didn't have them at Christmas, though that same year, I did get sick with a tummy bug at Christmas. Yeah, let's just say when I was five, the world of health wasn't all that good to me. Also, the events that Peter and Kimi were talking about with Chuckie and the other Rugrats did take place in a Rugrats episode from season 4 entitled Chicken Pops, where those events they explained, did happen. Well, all except for the part about Peter watching Angelica, while Charlotte went to the picnic. Obviously, that part happened post the conclusion of the episode, but if you watch the very end of the episode, you know how that event came to be, had Peter been in that particular Rugrats episode. Also, while we saw here Zack and Kimi's experience with Chicken Pox, it was stated that Dil was the only one at this point to still have yet to catch them. However, as stated in the All Grown Up episode from season 5, All Broke Up, Dil still hadn't had Chicken Pox come kindergarten. Thus, if Dil ever had the Chicken Pox, he had it later in elementary school, or, possibly got Shingles as an adult, which is the equivalent to Chicken Pox, only much worse, and very painful. Hmmm, could make for an interesting fan fic, but will save it for another day, provided another author reading this story, doesn't beat me to releasing that one. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and, more shall come tomorrow.