Hello, all you wonderful readers! New chapter time! Sorry for the late update.
I've had this idea for a Christmas chapter for a long time. Like, the first month I started this fanfic. I was planning on posting it in December, and then I got guest reviews asking me to write one. If I had followed my list of suggestions, and had written a chapter a week, I would have posted this chapter the month I wanted to. But I overestimated my writing-time, and add that with the fact that I went on vacation, and that's the reason why I didn't end up posting this when I had planned to in December. But hey, better late than never, right?
Onwards with the chapter! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!
That's The Christmas Spirit!
Grade One
May (6), Drew (6), Ash (6), Leaf (6), Gary (6), Paul (6)
May was excited. It was the day before Christmas, and she was having a small party inviting her best friends! Normally, her family had a bigger party inviting many family friends, but it seemed most of the people they knew had decided to go on vacation for the holidays. There was also the fact that her father had had to leave town for a meeting, but he was supposed to come back later today. In the meantime, she had invited her friends Drew, Paul, Ash, Gary, and Gary's best friend Leaf (whom she considered to be one of her best friends as well) over to her house.
"Is it time yet?" May asked.
"No, not yet. Be patient, dear, they'll be here in an hour or two," her mother, Caroline, answered.
"That's soooo long!" The little bandana-wearing girl stuck her hand into a large bowl filled to the top with her favourite Christmas-time treats.
"No more candy canes, May," her mother said disapprovingly.
"Okay! Last, then!" May answered, sucking on a peppermint one. She liked making the end pointy, but not too pointy, or else she might poke herself. She frowned slightly as her mother put the bowl of candy canes in the cabinet above the fridge. That meant she wouldn't be able to have any more when her mother wasn't looking.
"Max wants!" Her three-year-old brother, having seen the candy being hidden away, pointed at the cabinet where the peppermint treats now resided.
"Not now, sweetie. You've already had one." Caroline was firm in her decision. A slightly disappointed Max walked off.
"Can I have some more candy canes for decorating the tree?" May asked hopefully. She had hung some on the branches of the large Christmas tree in the living room, which she, her mother, and Max had worked together to adorn with ornaments, tinsel, and numerous other sparkly things. She may or may not have 'accidentally' eaten a few of the candy canes when no one was watching (at least, she didn't think anyone was).
"Sorry, honey, but no can do!" Her mother wasn't about to fall for that!
"Snow!" May went to where Max was standing, looking out of the window. He was right! Beautiful snowflakes were dancing down from the sky like crystals. There was already plenty of snow surrounding the area, but the fact that it was snowing made the whole day feel much more magical.
"Mommy, come look!" May exclaimed excitedly. "It's snowing a lot! This is the best day ever!"
"Yes, dear." But Caroline was worried. Earlier, she had been watching the weather report, and according to it, the fact that it was snowing wasn't a very good sign...
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, I am, young Master Andrew. The invitation card clearly said '3:30', not '2:00'."
Drew sighed. The green-haired boy had been invited to one of his best friend's house for a Christmas party, but he was finding it difficult to wait for so long. He was certain that if he asked enough, maybe his butler would tell him that the party was going to start soon, and they should leave. But so far, his theory hadn't been proven.
"Are you completely sure?"
"Yes, Master Andrew."
"Absolutely sure?"
"Young Master, if you wish for something to do, perhaps you could set the presents we picked for your friends by the front door. That way, when the time comes to leave, we will be able to leave much more quickly."
Drew's face lit up. "Okay!" He hurried to his bedroom, where he had insisted on keeping the Christmas presents for his friends, and picked up one of the boxes. It was quite large, but he knew he would be able to carry it all the way down the never-ending staircase to the front door. Sort of. Partway down, he stopped to sit on the stairs and catch his breath.
"Perhaps you would like me to carry it for you?" His butler had conveniently appeared at his side.
"Yes, please."
His butler proved to be a much stronger man with a lot more stamina than him, as he was able to carry all five of the presents downstairs without breaking a sweat. Drew was very impressed. He was a very efficient butler.
Drew admired the neatly wrapped presents proudly. He had gone shopping with his butler specifically for his five friends. He had wanted to get them the best gifts ever, so he had taken a long time searching and selecting. But he was satisfied with what he had ended up with. No, he was more than satisfied. He felt pleased to the maximum.
While he daydreamed of what his friends' reactions would be when they saw what he got them, his butler was quietly conversing with one of the maids.
"Are you sure?" he said, concern in his voice.
"Yes, I am! The weather reporter was saying that there might be a blizzard coming either later today, or tomorrow."
"But… the young Master…"
"Yes, he might have to skip going to that party. If the blizzard hits today, I doubt you'll be able to drive in that weather."
The butler looked over at the small, excited boy, his face grave at the thought of how he would react if he had to tell him he couldn't go.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Ash exclaimed excitedly. "All of us are going to May's house!"
"Of course it is!" Leaf agreed. "Right, Gary?"
"Yeah! Hey… I wonder if I'll get any presents."
"Gary! You don't say that!"
"But you're wondering it too!"
"But you're not supposed to say it!"
The three friends were all gathered at Gary's house. Since they all lived in the same neighbourhood, the plan was that they all go together. Professor Oak, Gary's grandpa, was going to drive, and Ash's mother, Delia, was planning on coming along too, just to see her son off at his friend's house. Gary's older sister Daisy, on the other hand, had decided to stay home since she had a bit of a cold, and didn't want it to get any worse before tomorrow.
"Okay, kids!" Professor Oak called for their attention. "Are you all ready? We'll be leaving soon!"
"Yeah!" the three cheered.
"Ash dear!" Delia called out to her son.
"Yeah, Mom?"
"Are you sure you're ready? Do you need to go to the washroom?"
"Mom!" Ash pouted, crossing his arms, looking embarrassed in front of his friends. "I don't need to go!"
"I've seen Leaf and Gary go, but you still haven't."
"I don't need to go, Mom!"
"Ah, leave the boy be, Delia. Come on, kids, I've gotten all the presents into the car, so now it's time for you guys to get in there too!"
Ash, Leaf and Gary excitedly rushed outside, followed by the two grown-ups. As they got into the car, Professor Oak stopped. It was snowing a bit harder than it had been a little while earlier. Delia seemed to notice it too, and she pulled her jacket more tightly around herself as a chilly wind passed by. Was it just them, or did it feel like it was getting colder?
"Gee, the bus is sure taking a long time!" Reggie, Paul's older brother, blabbered as they waited by the bus stop. "Do you think maybe it's because of the icy roads? I hope it comes soon, because, man, it's freezing! I mean, we've been waiting out here for so long!"
Paul rolled his eyes at his brother's impatience. It was at times like these when he questioned which one of them was the older one. Not that he disagreed with what Reggie was saying; he had just learned that complaining never made the bus come any quicker.
Finally, headlights could be seen, and the large vehicle arrived, allowing them both to board it, and bask in its warmth. Paul's friend, May, was having a Christmas party at her house, and since Reggie didn't have a car (or a driver's license, for that matter), he had to take his little brother there by bus.
The two got seated, and Reggie placed a large bag, containing presents for Paul's friends, at their feet. They were mostly picked by Reggie, as Paul didn't enjoy shopping. But Paul had been forced to go along to give his opinion (which he did with blunt, honest remarks), and that made him feel like he had done most of the work.
"Okay, time to hit the road!" Reggie said out loud, getting a few stares from nearby passengers. Paul decided to distract himself from his embarrassment at his older brother's antics by looking out the window.
The snow was starting to really pick up. It was making it hard to see outside.
May stared out the window, a worried look on her face.
"Mommy," she said, "should we make hot chocolate? There is a lot of snow outside, and when everyone comes, they'll be very cold."
Caroline looked out the window. The snow had really picked up, not to mention the strengthening winds. It looked like a snow storm!
"Yes, why don't we?" her mother said, smiling. But she felt very anxious. She doubted her daughter's friends would want to come over in this kind of weather. She couldn't bear to tell her herself, so all she could do was await their phone calls telling them they couldn't come. So far, they hadn't received any yet, but May would be crushed once they did.
The phone rang at that moment, and Caroline quickly went to pick it up. "Hello?"
May curiously directed her attention to her mother.
"Oh, Norman! How are you? … What is it? … Oh dear. … No, no, I understand. I'm sure May will too. … Okay then, dear, take care! … Yes, love you too. Bye!"
"Was that Daddy?" May questioned when her mother hung up.
"Yes, sweetie. May, Daddy says the weather is very bad, so they had to cancel his flight for today. He'll have to come another time."
"At night?"
"Well, no. The weather is really bad for the plane, so he's not going to be able to come today at all. Maybe tomorrow, okay?"
"B-but Daddy said he'll come for Christmas! He promised! That's why I told him he could go!"
"I'm so sorry, but he won't be able to come today. There are just some things we can't control."
"But—!"
"May, how about we make use of this extra time? He might be able to come tomorrow, so maybe we can make a cake for him before he does. Does that sound nice?"
"Okay…" May reluctantly agreed. A cake did sound nice (especially since she would probably get to lick the bowl), but she had thought her daddy was going to arrive today.
A horrifying thought occurred to her. If her father couldn't come, then what if… what if her friends couldn't come either? Her plans for the party would be ruined!
No, that wouldn't happen. Her mother had said the weather was bad for planes, not cars. All she needed to do was wait a while longer. They would come. She knew they would.
"What!" Drew stared at his butler, horrified.
"I'm sorry, young Master, but you simply can not go out in this weather. They were saying on the news that it will be getting worse, and it's turning into a full blizzard out there."
"But I'll be inside the house!"
"It is difficult to drive in this sort of weather."
"She doesn't live that far away!"
"I'm sorry, but it is very difficult and dangerous to drive in icy conditions. All the snow hasn't even been removed from the roads yet."
"You're being mean!"
"No, young Master, I am worrying about your safety."
"But you can drive really good!"
"I can't always. And not when it is like this outside."
"I promised May I would come! I pinky-promised!"
"There is nothing I can do."
"You can drive."
His butler just sighed, shaking his head. He knew there was no point in arguing. As he began walking away, he was held back by the little green-haired boy who had grabbed his sleeve.
"Please?" he pleaded, his green eyes filled with desperation.
"I will go call your friend and inform her you won't be able to make it," the butler said stiffly.
"No! You can't do that!" Drew yelled, panicking. "I can come! You can drive me!"
The butler really didn't like upsetting Drew. He was slowly beginning to falter under his gaze.
"Can you try?" Drew asked one last time.
"…Fine," he finally conceded. "But if it doesn't look like I can keep driving, we will head back, okay? No matter how much you argue."
"Okay," Drew said in the politest voice he could as he beamed. His butler had finally given in! He made up his mind that he would be on his best behaviour the whole time so he wouldn't suddenly change his mind.
When they stepped outside, Drew could immediately see what his butler had been talking about. It was as if someone dropped a bucket of snow on them, and the young boy was convinced that if he let go of his butler's sleeve, he would be blown away by the wind.
However, he wasn't about to back off. He could handle this! He was going to that party no matter what! That's what he kept telling himself as they got into the car and started the engine.
"Whew! Looks like the storm is really getting worse!" Professor Oak commented as he drove on.
"It is. Let's hope we get there before it gets too bad," Delia agreed.
In the back seats, Gary, Leaf and Ash were chattering away. Or rather, arguing. It had begun something like this:
"I spy with my little eye, something that is white!" Leaf said, grinning.
"The snow?"
"Nope!"
"That snowflake on the window?"
"Nope!"
After a few more guesses, both boys gave up.
"It's that snowflake on the window!"
"I said that!" Gary argued.
"No. You said that snowflake. The snowflake I saw is this one."
"That's not fair!"
"Yes it is!"
"Isn't!"
"Is!"
"Isn't!"
"Is!"
"Um, Mom?" Ash spoke up, addressing his mother nervously.
"What is it, dear?" All eyes were on him, making him feel even more uncomfortable.
"I… um…"
"What's wrong, Ash?"
"I… I need to go."
"Go where?" Leaf questioned, cocking her head.
"I need to go," Ash tried to specify.
"Oh, I get it!" Gary smirked. "Ashy-boy needs to go pee!" The black-haired boy scowled at his friend.
"Ash," Delia scolded, "I told you to go before we left!"
"I didn't have to go then, but I need to now!" Ash justified. He was already embarrassed as it was. He did not need his mother lecturing him at the moment. And if he didn't go soon…
His mother sighed. "Can you hold it?"
"Maybe… no. I really have to go!"
"It doesn't look like there are many places around here," Professor Oak said, looking around. "There are some houses, though. We could knock at one of them, and see if they'll let us use the washroom."
"Do we have to?" Ash said, sulkily. He didn't want to go up to a random stranger and ask them if he could use their bathroom.
"There isn't anything else we can do, Ash," his mother said. "Either you hold it, or we go to someone's house."
"I can't hold it…"
"Then there is no choice."
While they were parking the car, Gary leaned over Leaf (who was sitting between them to separate them, as they didn't get along all the time) to Ash, and began whispering.
"Hey Ash."
"Yeah?"
"Waterfall! Water fountains!"
"Stop it, Gary!" Ash hissed, his face scrunching up as he began looking even more pained.
"Yeah, stop it!" Leaf said angrily. "I'm sitting right beside him!"
"Fine." Gary huffed, straightening out. "Ruining all my fun…"
"You know, maybe it's a good idea if you all use the washroom," Delia suggested as they started getting off. "Just in case." Leaf and Gary groaned, feeling that Ash had dragged them into this.
They rang the doorbell of the house they had gone up to, and a woman answered. But to Gary, she was a familiar woman.
"Ms. Kelly!" Gary exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
The young woman blinked. "Gary?"
"Oh, what a coincidence, Ms. Kelly!" Professor Oak said joyfully. "The house we go to is the house that belongs to you!"
"Oh… Hello, then," Ms. Kelly said, still a bit bewildered by the sudden appearance.
"Ah, Delia! This is Ms. Kelly, Gary's last year kindergarten teacher," Professor Oak introduced. "Ms. Kelly, this is Delia, an old friend of mine."
"Pleasure to meet you, Delia."
"Same to you!"
"Hi, I'm Leaf!" Leaf introduced herself as well. She had heard about Ms. Kelly from Gary.
"Um, Mom?" Ash was fidgeting incessantly.
"Oh, right! Ms. Kelly, the reason we came was because Ash here needed to use the washroom," Professor Oak explained. "I know this is awkward, but—"
"Yes, of course! Come right on in!" Ms. Kelly stepped aside understandingly, allowing them to enter. She quickly led Ash to the washroom. She was pretty good at handling little kids, with all that experience she gained from being a kindergarten teacher.
Later, after Ash, Leaf and Gary had all gone, they said their thanks and were about to be on their way. But when Professor Oak opened the front door, his eyes widened.
"Oh no…" The walkway had been completely replaced by snow that went over knee-length. But even worse was the fact that his car was almost completely submerged in snow. It was surrounded at all sides by over three feet, and it looked as if someone had placed a thick, white blanket over it. The others walked over to see what he seen, and had the same reaction. It didn't look like the snow storm was going to let them dig the car out either…
"Well," Ms. Kelly said finally. "Looks like we're all snowed in."
"So, after searching for her for about an hour, I finally found her! And I said, 'Hey, Maylene, you dropped this.' And she was all like, 'Oh, thanks Reggie! Good thing you noticed, because this is important!' So I asked, 'What is it?' And then, she suddenly just handed it to me! Turned out it was a birthday present for me! Hahahaha! Funny how that sort of stuff happens, am I right?"
Paul groaned. The bus was moving very slowly as the result of the icy roads. And Reggie was starting to get bored, which, to Paul, was a bad sign, because his teenage brother would resort to doing multiple annoying things when he was bored. Sometimes, he would annoy Paul, or call his friend Maylene and loudly talk to her on the phone in the same room Paul would be trying to watch a Pokemon battle on TV.
This time, Reggie had decided to prattle on and on about who knows what to the man sitting in the seat in front of him. Paul was wondering why he wouldn't just stop, but, apparently, he was ignorant to the man's growing vexation.
Suddenly, the bus jerked as the driver hit the break. Instead of stopping, though, the bus kept moving. In an attempt to gain control, the driver tried to turn the wheel, but the bus ended up going off the road into a mound of snow, stopping abruptly, causing the whole vehicle to lurch.
Reggie had finally ceased his jabber to see what was going on. "Whoa," he whispered in shock. "You okay, Paul?"
Paul nodded slowly, trying to get over the sudden jolt. He heard the noise of the wheels turning, like maybe the driver was trying to reverse, but the bus didn't budge. As he tried over and over again, the bus driver said something very loudly in anger, though Paul didn't know what it meant. Finally, he threw his hands up in defeat.
"That's it," he said in frustration. "I can't get us out. We're stuck here."
"Shouldn't we call someone?" someone suggested.
"That's what I'm doing!" the driver snapped as he lifted his phone to his ear. After talking to someone on the other side, he turned it off. "They said it'll take a few hours before they get here."
Everyone groaned.
"I'm supposed to be at a Christmas dinner!" someone complained.
"My family's probably going to be worrying where I am!" said another.
"I don't want to waste my time stuck here!"
"I have some important things I need to do! I can't stay here for so long!"
"Everybody, be quiet!" the driver snapped. "Do you think I like this any more than you guys do? All I wanted was to spend the holidays with my family, but I can't even do that! You guys think it's bad being stuck in a bus for a few hours? I'm stuck here all day! So be quiet and wait! There's nothing else I can do!"
That got everyone to fall silent. Even Reggie's face had turned into his serious one, reminding Paul that the teen was the older brother after all, even though he acted immature sometimes. The bus, now filled with people who felt sour at the whole situation, waited for help to arrive.
"They still aren't here," May said, clearly upset. It was 4:15 now, and no one had arrived yet. They were very late, and May's disappointment was growing. She had waited for the party for so long!
"I know, sweetie. Maybe they couldn't come because of the weather." Caroline tried to soothe her daughter, but she herself was wondering why no one had called to tell them they couldn't come yet. Was it possible they were coming, even in these conditions?
Max had fallen asleep. The little three-year-old boy had become tired of staring out the window, and had dozed off on the couch. May wondered how he could be at so much peace. The party might have been cancelled, and yet it didn't bother him in the slightest. This was a crisis here! How could he not be unhappy?
Suddenly the lights flickered, and everything fell dark. May let out a small shout of surprise. "Mommy? Mommy, where are you?"
"Here, May." May felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. "Oh dear, looks like we've blown a fuse. Or maybe the storm has something to do with it. Wait here, May. I'll bring some candles and matches."
May waited quietly while her mother came back, holding a flashlight and a few lit candles, which she placed on the coffee table.
"Well," Caroline said, sighing. "I didn't expect that. Guess we'll have to wait until the lights come back."
May didn't answer. There was a sniff, and Caroline understood why. She turned to her daughter, whose face could be seen by candlelight. Her eyes were watery, and tears were streaming down her face.
"Oh, sweetie!" Caroline wrapped her arms around her daughter in a comforting hug. "What's wrong?"
"Everything!" May sobbed. "No one wants to come to my party, and not even the lights wanted to stay!"
"Everything will be all right," her mother crooned.
"Max doesn't even want to wait with me, and Daddy's not even coming home!"
"Everything will turn out all right, May," her mother repeated. "We just need to wait. These kinds of things happen, but you just have to wait, and they'll get better. You'll see."
Her daughter continued weeping in her arms, consumed with disappointment and loneliness, even though her mother was still there.
"May," Caroline spoke up, "it's Christmas Eve. We all have to be happy at Christmas time, right? Come now, cheer up! Christmas is a time for joy, and hope that things will get better. They will, May. You just have to be patient. Can you be patient, May? For me?"
May gasped as she tried to stop her sobs. She looked at her mother's face with teary eyes and nodded, forcing herself to give a tiny smile.
"That's a good girl. Now do you want me to bring you some hot chocolate? It's probably a little cold now, but it's still chocolatey!"
May's smile became a little wider, and she nodded again.
Drew shivered. The heat in the car was on, so it was warm, but to Drew, it wasn't warm enough. His butler was sitting behind the steering wheel, driving. Or, at least, he was supposed to be driving.
There was a huge traffic jam. From the looks of it, there had been a huge car accident up ahead, and the road was completely occupied by cars and trucks. That and the fact that there was a blizzard going on wasn't making it any easier. Everyone was moving so slowly, it was as if they weren't even moving at all. Drew's butler was feeling extremely irritated at the moment. He couldn't even drive back to Drew's house.
Drew, to make it as easy as possible for the man, was refraining from asking how much longer it would take. He felt a bit guilty, because if it weren't for him, they wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe his butler was right. Maybe they should have stayed home, and just called May to tell her they couldn't come.
"Well, young Master," the butler said suddenly, breaking the silence. "It doesn't look like we'll be reaching your friend's house any time soon. It will likely be nighttime before we do, not that it's any brighter outside right now."
"Should we call her and tell her we can't come?"
"Hmm… Yes, perhaps we should." He took out his cell phone and searched for a number in his contacts list. Once he found May's, he pressed the 'call' button, and held the phone to his ear. However, when no one picked up, he frowned and tried again, but still with no avail.
"No one's picking up on their home number," he muttered as he tried once more.
"Maybe they can't hear the phone ring."
"Maybe. I'll leave a message." After he left a message, the car was silent once more. And then, finally, Drew couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm tired," Drew said, trying his best not to sound whiny. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. I don't like today."
"Well, perhaps you should try to realize that maybe it's not only you for whom the day is not going too well."
"Huh?"
"Look around. There is a huge line up of cars stuck in the same situation as us. Inside each of those cars is at least one person. Do you think any of them is enjoying today?"
"N-no."
"Everyone is having a hard time right now, Master Andrew. Not only you. And maybe not all of them are as comfortable in their car as you. And maybe some were in a hurry to do something very important, not just go to a party to have fun."
"I guess."
"And now, think about the people who were in the car accident up ahead. What if someone got very hurt? At least you are safe and healthy right now."
"Yes…"
"What about the people trying to help them, the police and the doctors? They probably want to spend Christmas with their families, but they can't, because someone got hurt, and they have to help them."
"Oh…" Drew was speechless. He had never thought about all that. All his life, it seemed he was the only one who really had any kind of problems at all. But now, he could suddenly see so many people around him, each with his or her own troubles to face.
His butler sighed, and his voice switched from his usual stiff one, to a much more gentler one. "I'm sorry, young Master. I should probably take note that maybe I shouldn't burden you with these thoughts, especially with you at such a young age."
Drew shook his head. "No. Thank you for telling me."
A thought suddenly occurred to the young boy, causing him to address his butler. "What about you? Do you have a family you want to visit?"
The butler gave him small, rough smile. "Well, my wife and daughter live far away in the Unova region. I don't see them very often."
"Do you want to?"
"Everyone wants to see their family."
"Why don't you go see them, then?"
"Because, young Master, my job is to be a butler for the Hayden family so I can earn the money to support them. I have responsibilities here that I just can't leave."
"Yes you can. You can take a day off, 'cause there are lots of butlers and maids at our house. They can do the work."
"But, Master Andrew, my job is to specifically take care of you."
"Me?"
"Yes. Think about it. If I were to leave, who would drive you to school? Who would make sure you have everything you need? Who would make sure you have no troubles? The other butlers all have their own specific tasks in your household, and your nanny has other responsibilities she must get through too, besides taking care of you. By leaving, I'll be leaving you."
Perhaps before his butler had pointed out to Drew that he should think of others as well, this would have been a quite horrifying thought for the boy. But now, all he could think about was how the man must miss his family, and how his family must miss him.
"But… what about your family? You still miss them."
"I do. But I have an excellent young Master whom I would also miss very much if I had to go away."
Suddenly, something dawned in the mind of a green-haired boy. This man, his butler, he had given up something precious to him to look after Drew. And despite that, he still felt Drew was special to him. And, Drew realized, he felt the same way. The man before him was not just a servant, but a friend. When Drew had first gone to kindergarten, making friends was his primary goal, but now, thinking back, he had always had a very special friend living within the same house.
And Drew felt thankful for him. This wasn't the kind of thankfulness that was forced out of you during Thanksgiving, but an actual, genuine gratitude. The feeling was enough to let two, sincere words leave the boy's lips.
"Thank you."
"Oh dear," Ms. Kelly muttered. She and Professor Oak were watching the news to stay updated on the weather forecast and to see whether the snow storm would end soon or not. In the meantime, Delia was making phone calls to Daisy, Leaf's parents, and May's mother.
"What is it?" Delia asked as she walked into the room, apparently having finished using the phone.
"Looks like the blizzard is going to continue on for a while longer. It may leave this city eventually, but we have no idea when," Professor Oak explained.
"Not only that. It seems it has caused a blackout in a part of the city," Ms. Kelly continued. "Those poor people who have to put up with that would probably have to go without heat!"
"That's terrible!" Delia exclaimed anxiously.
"So, did you call everyone and let them know of our predicament?" Professor Oak asked.
"Well, I called Daisy, and she says she's fine. And I've let Leaf's parents know too, and while they are worried, they're saying that as long as she's with us and is warm and safe, it'll probably be okay." She frowned. "But… when I called Caroline's house, no one's picking up!"
"Really?"
"Let's hope they're okay," Ms. Kelly said quietly. "I'm not sure where they live, but I'm getting a hunch they've been hit by the blackout." The three of them exchanged worried glances.
Meanwhile, the three youngsters were facing even greater problems.
"Grandpa!" Gary yelled. "Ash ate my cookie!"
"No I didn't! It was mine!"
"Then where did mine go?"
"Leaf ate it!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Leaf, did you eat my cookie?"
"I already have my cookie! Why would I eat yours?"
"Yeah, Ash, why would she eat it? You ate it!"
"I didn't! I saw her!"
"Grandpa!"
"Mom!"
The grownups sighed and went to see what the commotion was about. "What's going on here?"
"Ash ate my cookie! He always eats everything!"
"I did not eat it! And I don't eat everything, just a lot of things!"
"Ash, did you eat Gary's cookie?" Delia asked sternly.
"No, Mom, really!"
"Do you know who did?"
"Leaf! I saw her!"
"Leaf, did you eat Gary's cookie?" Professor Oak asked this time.
"…Maybe."
He sighed. "Mystery solved. Gary, apologize to Ash for blaming him for eating your cookie. Leaf, apologize to Gary for eating his cookie and having Ash blamed for it."
"And Ash, you apologize too," Delia put in.
"What! Why me?"
"Apologize to Gary for yelling and fighting with him. Also apologize to Ms. Kelly for yelling and having a bad attitude in her house when she was so nice as to give you three cookies."
"Good point, Delia. Leaf, Gary, you have to apologize to Ms. Kelly as well."
The three mumbled their apologies to the kindergarten teacher, feeling all of this was unfair. But they glowered at one another, having too much pride to say sorry.
"I'm not hearing any sorrys," Delia said, raising an eyebrow at the three. The kids had to swallow their egos and force a sorry out of their mouths for one another. They scowled sourly afterwards.
"Very good."
"You know, I can see why they would be fighting right now," Ms. Kelly said.
"Oh, they're always doing this," Professor Oak said. "You know, children and their little troubles!"
"It could be that. But it could also simply be that they are all bored." Ms. Kelly smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry I don't have many interesting things to do here."
"Oh, no, it's no problem at all!" Professor Oak said quickly. "We are all very thankful you're letting us stay here. Wouldn't want to be stuck in the car in that weather, now would we?"
"You're all very welcome. But I doubt the kids are having a lot of fun, no matter how thankful they are."
"True…"
"Can we watch TV, Ms. Kelly?" Gary asked. "And not some boring news?"
"Gary!" his grandpa scolded. Ms. Kelly laughed.
"Well, at the moment, we need to use the television to stay updated on the weather. But how about you three do something else? Something fun together!"
"Like what?" Leaf inquired.
"Gary always ruins my fun when we play together," Ash said sulkily.
"What you can play is… Tell Me A Story!"
"You want us to tell you a story?"
"No no, that's just the name of the game. It's called Tell Me A Story!"
"I've never heard of that game."
"Me neither."
"How do you play it?"
"Oh, the reason none of you have heard of it is because I made it up! Well, actually my friends and I did when we were little. But since it's made up, not everyone knows of it, of course."
"This sounds interesting," Professor Oak commented.
"Oh, little kids always have such great imaginations!" Delia gushed.
"How do you play it?" Leaf asked again.
"Oh, it's very simple! One person says a topic, and then chooses another person to say something, like a small story, about it. It has to be related to one of their own experiences, and if they don't have one with that topic, they can either tell a story that happened with someone else, or just give their own opinion on it."
"I'm confused," said Ash, a puzzled expression on his face.
"How about I give you guys an example? Say a topic to me."
"Cookies!" Gary blurted out the first thing that popped up into his head.
"Okay, cookies? Let's see…" She thought for a minute, before snapping her fingers. "Ah ha! I remember a cookie story! When I was little, I always loved those cookies with the cream in them. However, my mother would say that they are unhealthy, so I wouldn't get to eat them too often.
"One day, when I was starting grade three, the new girl in my class brought the very cookies I loved! So I sat beside her, hoping she would share. But she didn't offer me any, so I decided to start a conversation, so halfway through, I would be able to casually direct her attention to her cookies and get her to share them with me. But when we did start to talk, I became so interested in just chatting with her, that I forgot all about the reason I had started to talk to her in the first place!
"After that, I found that she was a very nice girl. We started doing everything together, and became best friends! All because of the fact that I was trying to get some of her cookies! And we're still friends. In fact, I'm renting this very house with her, until each of us finds a nice house to buy."
"Really? Your friend is staying in this house as well?" Professor Oak said.
"That's funny," said Delia. "I didn't see her anywhere around here."
"Oh, she went to visit her family for the holidays. She's not going to be in this house for another week or two."
"But what about you, Ms. Kelly?" Gary questioned suddenly, his expression unusually serious. "Aren't you going to be all alone for Christmas?"
"Oh, don't worry about me!" she insisted airily. "I may love being around children, but those huge Christmas dinner parties, well, they just aren't for me. Trust me, I'm completely fine with being alone."
"But won't you get lonely?" Ash asked worriedly.
"Oh no, not at all! My neighbours are all very nice people. They are always kind enough to stop by to say hello on Christmas if they can."
"But Ms. Kelly…"
"Oh, don't worry, don't worry! Do you guys want to play the game?" The children agreed, and began playing.
After a while, at one point in the game, Leaf announced that the topic was TV, and selected Gary to say something about it. He looked as if he were about to, but then he stopped, and started to think. After a while, with a much more solemn face, he spoke.
"There was a teacher who used to be my kindergarten teacher. I went to her house, and she had a TV, but she, Ash's mom, and Grandpa kept using it for news. Then she stopped watching TV, and told us that she was all alone for Christmas. It made me sad. The end."
"Oh…" Ash rubbed the back of his head when his friend had concluded. He looked unsure of what to say, but his eyes reflected what he was thinking. He felt sorry for the nice lady who had let them stay in her house.
"Poor Ms. Kelly," Leaf muttered, her eyes downcast.
The grownups, who had been listening to the three's stories, were stunned. Did that little spiky-haired six-year-old boy really say that? And Gary of all people! Ms. Kelly slowly got up, and walked over to sit with them.
"Kids, please don't feel bad for me," she said with a smile. "It's really not a big deal. Usually, for Christmas, some of the neighbours invite me over for a while, and I talk to friends and family over Skype. So I'm not alone. Really."
"And right now," Ash said, his face lighting up, "you have us!"
"Yes! We'll spend Christmas with you!" Leaf joined in.
"Yeah!" Gary cheered. "We're stuck here anyways!"
"You three are so sweet!" Ms. Kelly's smile took over her whole face, and she gave the three a big hug.
Suddenly, the ringing of the bell caught everyone's attention. Everyone looked at one another in confusion.
"Who would be out in this weather?" Delia wondered aloud, and she wasn't the only one thinking along that line. Ms. Kelly got up to answer the door. When she opened it, she found a friendly-looking man standing there. Her face shone with recognition.
"Oh, hello, Mr. Wilson! So very nice to see you! What are you doing outside in the blizzard?"
"The blizzard?" He gave a jolly laugh. "Oh, the weather's much better now. See for yourself!"
Professor Oak, Delia, as well as Ash, Leaf and Gary, were curious as to what he was talking about, and came to see as well. Their eyes widened. The blizzard had slowed down to a flurry! Now when had that happened? How had it suddenly changed so suddenly and so drastically?
"Well, I guess we should have been paying more attention to the news instead of being distracted by the kids' game!" Professor Oak chuckled. The grownups had become so interested in the stories the kids were telling, they had neglected staying updated on the conditions outside.
"Oh, you have guests over, Ms. Kelly?"
"Sort of. Everyone, this is my neighbour, Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson, these are Professor Oak, his grandson Gary, Delia, her son Ash, and their friend Leaf. They were stopping by for something, but then the snow storm became worse, and buried their car with snow. They've been staying with me for the past hours."
"That your guys' car?" Mr. Wilson pointed to it, which could barely be seen under the layers of snow covering it. When they answered in the affirmative, he continued. "Not to worry, not to worry! I have quite a few shovels, and my sons and I can help you dig it out!"
They got to work, digging out the car, working hard together. When the car was finally snow-free, Professor Oak and Delia gave their thanks.
"No problem at all! Glad to help!"
"What's wrong?" Delia asked, looking at the kids' expressions. "We got the car out. We can go see May now."
"But we were going to keep Ms. Kelly company," Ash murmured.
"That reminds me!" Mr. Wilson spoke up. "Ms. Kelly, I came to check on you to see if you'd been fine during the storm, but I also wanted to see if you wanted to come over and have dinner with us. My wife was especially saying that she wants to invite you!"
"Oh, that's very nice! Thank you very much. I'll be having dinner with you and your family then!" Ms. Kelly turned to the children. "See? I won't be alone. You go and enjoy yourselves at May's, all right?"
"Okay!" Looked like everyone was happy here!
"Cold?" Reggie smiled at his younger brother as he shivered.
"Not much," Paul answered, his teeth chattering. Reggie chuckled quietly and moved closer to him, which the younger boy, under normal circumstances, would not have appreciated. But as it made him a little warmer, he didn't protest.
"Aw, come on, Paulie! Don't look so miserable. At least try to smile," Reggie urged. Paul just rolled his eyes. Smile? Now? When they were freezing in a bus that was stuck in a pile of snow on the roadside? Yeah right.
"Ohhh, I think I know why you're feeling like this," Reggie whispered in his ear. "It's because of everyone else, right? It's kinda hard to feel happy when everyone around you is all moody and grumpy, huh?" Paul pretended he wasn't listening and continued staring out the window, in hopes that Reggie would stop talking. It may be gloomy in the bus, but Paul felt he preferred the silence.
Reggie leaned back on his seat. For a moment, Paul thought he was actually going to leave him alone for once. But that was before he started humming. Paul recognized the tune as the tune from 'Jingle Bells'.
Paul felt a feeling of embarrassment wash over him as the surrounding passengers shot his older brother irritated looks that clearly meant, 'Be quiet!' But Reggie ignored it all. To Paul's horror, he abandoned the humming, and went right on to singing in a loud, clear voice that filled the air.
"Dashing through the snow
In a Pony-ta open sleigh
Over the hills we go
Laughing all the way!"
Paul closed his eyes, but that didn't stop him from sensing everyone's glares that were directed at them. Why in the world did Reggie have to go back to acting like his immature self again? Especially now of all times!
"OH! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride
On a Pony-ta open sleigh!"
Paul was astonished when he heard another voice joining his brother. It took him to a moment to find out that its owner was the man sitting in front of them, the same man whom Reggie had been annoying with his pathetic prattling earlier. And he wasn't the only new singer. After a minute, the bus driver joined in, and then an elderly lady, followed by a cranky-looking woman, and soon the rest of the bus.
"TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY!" Reggie bellowed at the top of his lungs as they switched songs. Paul stared in shock. What in the world was going on? Reggie's singing had had a strange effect on everyone. It was as if the whole bus's mood had been altered, and shifted to a jolly, cheerful one, and Reggie had done it within minutes! Paul could never understand how his brother could keep smiling in situations such as their current one, but now, he was also wondering how he could get everyone else around him to smile as well.
When they began singing 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Stantler', Paul decided to let it slide. It was strange. He felt a warm energy was slowly creeping into him, one he couldn't quite explain. And it felt like a good thing. His lips were bordering on a smile as he found himself quietly humming along.
They all barely even noticed when help, which they had all been impatiently waiting so long for, finally arrived.
May sipped her chocolatey drink from a mug. She snuggled deeper into the thick blanket that was wrapped around her to warm up, and edged closer to the fireplace.
Max, whom Caroline had covered with a warm blanket, was still asleep, and had no idea of their current blackout. May, on the other hand, was fully aware of it, but it wasn't bothering her as much as before. She and her mother were sitting side-by-side, enjoying no-longer-hot chocolate and candy canes, which her mother had decided to bring out again. Sugary sweets were one way to improve May's mood after all.
A quiet whimpering caught their attention. From the looks of it, Max was up. Caroline attended to him until he was fully awake. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, puzzled as to why they were all sitting in the darkness.
"Light on?" he said questioningly to his mother.
"The lights aren't turning on, Max," his mother told him. He turned to his big sister, still confused.
"May, light on?"
"They won't turn on," May explained. "See?" She got up, going to the light switch, and clicking it on and off to show what she meant. Max stared, contemplating why the lights weren't working all of a sudden.
"No light?"
"Sorry, Max. No lights," Caroline said, smiling gently, trying not to worry her son.
"Wait, do you want a light, Max?" May said as an idea popped into her head. She picked up the flashlight and handed it to him. "See? Now you have a light!"
Max laughed in glee, and began running every which way, shining the flashlight in closets, under the table, at the ceiling, and at every other place he could think of.
"And the big sister saves the day!" May's mother announced, making May swell with pride. Yes, she was the big sister! She was the brave, responsible, smart big sister! She was someone Max looked up to!
Suddenly, the room flashed, and all of a sudden, the lights were on again. May had to blink and rub her eyes to adjust to the brightness.
"Looks like the blackout's finally over," Caroline commented, relieved. May cheered.
"Look, Mommy!" May was looking outside the window, where the blizzard had vanished, being replaced by the gentle sprinkling of snowflakes. The Christmas lights on the neighbours' houses, as well as her own house's, were alight once more, illuminating the street with beautiful colours. It looked even prettier in the dark.
May was brought out of of her trance when the doorbell rang, followed by a loud knock at the door. May was nonplussed. Who could that be?
"Mommy, I think there is someone at the door!"
Finally. Drew's car had finally escaped the traffic jam. It had taken soooo long, and he and his butler were tired. It was also pretty late now, and the sky was darkening. But his butler surprised him. Instead of turning around to head back home like Drew had thought he would, he drove on ahead.
"Where are we going?"
"To your friend's house, of course."
"But I thought you said we would go back home."
"Do you wish to?"
"No, I want to go to May's house, but you—"
"There is no point in going all the way back now, young Master. It is not much farther. And since we have taken so much time, we might as well visit your friend."
"Thank you. You're the best ever!"
They drove on. Drew stared out the window as they went. It was amazing how the weather had changed so suddenly in a few hours. It was almost as if… as if someone had planned that this was going to happen or something. Drew didn't really like being stuck in traffic, but while he was, he had learned to think of others and not just himself. Now, every time he looked out the window, and saw someone in his or her car, he found himself wondering how those people were feeling at the moment, and whether they were happy or not.
They were very close to May's house now. Drew spotted two people walking through all the snow on the sidewalk. There was a taller person and a shorter one, who looked about his age. Drew felt sympathy for them. Those two had to walk all the way to wherever they were going through the cold, cold weather. However, a flash of purple caught his attention.
"Wait! Stop the car!" Drew cried out, startling the butler, who brought the car to a screeching halt.
"What is it?" he gasped, worried that something had gone wrong.
"Look! I think that's my friend Paul and his big brother!"
"W-what? Oh. Don't scare me like that!"
But Drew was too excited to really take note of the fright he had given him. He lowered the window and called out, "Paul! Hi, Paul!"
Paul, who'd been walking with his older brother, Reggie, looked up, confused, trying to detect where the voice was coming from. He spotted Drew waving from the car when Reggie pointed it out to him. The two boys walked up to the lowered window.
"Hi Paul!" Drew greeted, brightly. Paul, who was worn out from the bus events from earlier, just grunted in response.
"Hi, Drew!" Reggie said cheerfully. "You going to May's? Man, I thought we were the only late ones!"
"There was a lot of traffic," Drew's butler explained, joining the conversation.
"I know, right? Paul and I had to put up with a little something ourselves. Whew! The bus got stuck, and it was hours before anyone came, so we only just arrived at the bus stop a while back. So now, we're just walking to her house. It should be around the corner."
"You can come with us," Drew offered. "We have space in our car."
"Hey, thanks! Isn't that nice of Drew, Paul?"
"…"
With the new passengers now aboard, they began heading to their destination once more. When they finally arrived at the driveway, another car pulled up. The passengers of both vehicles got out, and the ones in the second car turned out to be…
"Gary, Ash, Leaf, you guys are here too!" Drew exclaimed.
"Hi Drew! Hi Paul!" Leaf said happily as she suppressed a yawn. "Sorry if I sound sleepy. I fell asleep in the car."
"On me," Gary quickly added in. "I had to sit the whole way with her sleeping on me, but I didn't even wake her up or complain."
"I wouldn't have, either," Ash muttered, thinking it wasn't really something that deserved attention.
"Hey, wait. Then that means everyone was late," Drew figured. There was a silence (at least amongst the five friends – the grownups and Reggie were chatting, recounting what happened to them on the way there).
"Do you… do you guys think that maybe May thought we all weren't coming and thought she doesn't want to have the party anymore?" Ash hesitantly questioned.
"Do you think she doesn't want to be our friends now for not coming to the party?" Drew wondered nervously. More silence.
"I'm tired," Paul finally declared, sounding a bit irritated. "And thirsty. If she doesn't want to have the party, I still want water right now. I'm gonna go ask her for some. And then, we'll just go back home." He began heading for the door.
"Wait, the presents!" Gary remembered suddenly. "If she doesn't wanna be friends with us, we can give her her presents, and she'll like us again!" Gary smiled proudly at his genius.
"Maybe…" Leaf wasn't as sure. But nevertheless, they followed their purple-haired friend to the door of the house. Paul rang the doorbell once, and stepped back to wait.
"Hey, I wanted to ring the bell!" Gary whined.
"Why?"
"It's fun!"
"But she's not opening the door," Leaf pointed out. "Do you think she's angry at us?"
"Maybe she went to sleep," Ash guessed.
"Or maybe the bell's not working." Drew went to knock on the door loudly.
"Hey, I wanted to knock on the door!" Gary pouted.
"Then why don't you?" Leaf said. "It's not against the rules."
"Yeah, but I wanted to be the first one to knock."
"Are you guys arguing again?" Delia and the others came up behind them.
"They won't let me ring the bell or knock on the door!" Gary complained.
"No! I told him he could!" Leaf countered, not wanting to get in trouble for something she wasn't at fault for.
"But I wanted—!" They all fell silent when the doorknob turned, and the door opened. Caroline, May's mother, was standing on the other side. She gave them a look of surprise, before smiling widely.
"You all came! I thought the weather wasn't letting you guys get here!"
"Oh, we ran into quite a lot of trouble on the way," Professor Oak said. "But who could deny the kids the chance to go to their friend's Christmas party?"
"Who is it?" A curious voice came from inside the house, and a little girl with a red bandana on her head came up behind her mother. A smile that took up her whole face appeared when she saw who the visitors were.
"You're here! You're all here!" she shrieked with happiness and excitement.
"Come on in, everyone!" Caroline stepped inside, allowing everyone to step out of the cold and into the warmth of the house. "How about I make all of us hot chocolate or tea?"
"Oh, thank you very much!" Delia said. "But I thought this party was only for the kids."
"It's so late, and I doubt you guys would want to leave the kids here too long past their bedtimes. Not to mention the traffic conditions aren't the best at the moment, so you probably wouldn't want to have to go all the way home and back. So why not have some evening tea here with us?"
After they all had dinner (as they hadn't had anything to eat since they left for May's house), they spent the rest of the evening enjoying themselves. Caroline, Delia, Professor Oak, Reggie, and Drew's butler enjoyed a hot drink and some snacks at the dining room table as they shared the events from earlier with one another, while May, Drew, Gary, Leaf, Ash and Paul drank hot chocolate, and snacked on candy canes and cookies while they handed one another the presents they had brought.
May was excited to hear about their journeys through the blizzard, and as it turned out, she wasn't angry at them one bit. Instead, she told them a rather over-dramatized and suspenseful story (in which she was the fearless 'heroine') about how the blackout had been.
The Christmas party ended up being much shorter than initially planned, but very fun and enjoyable all the same. It was eventually time to leave, with Professor Oak and Delia taking a very drowsy Ash, a half-asleep Leaf, and a hyper (too many candy canes) Gary back home, and Drew's butler offering to give Reggie and Paul a lift to their house while he took his yawning young Master to his.
Max had already fallen asleep, and after her friends left, May nodded off on the sofa, leaving her mother to carry her to her room. She didn't even wake when her mother tucked her into bed, but in the middle of the night, she woke up for about a second when she heard someone open the front door downstairs. She smiled as she drifted off again, dreaming about how Santa Claus had just arrived.
When May awoke the next morning, she couldn't immediately figure out why she felt so excited. It then came to her that it was Christmas Day! She jumped out of bed, instantly rushing to brush her teeth.
She would open all her presents today! With great restraint (and treats as a distraction), she had managed to keep herself from opening the gifts her friends had brought yesterday because she had wanted to open them along with all the other presents she had on Christmas morning. Yes, it was going to be a lot of fun! With Max, and Mommy, and Daddy…
Daddy.
May's face fell as she remembered. Her daddy hadn't managed to fly home yesterday, meaning he wouldn't be there. All of the happiness and excitement seemed to slowly drain out of her with that one thought. She felt a teeny tiny tear sting her eye, but she pushed it back. Her mother had told her to have hope, and with that, things got better. After all, her friends had arrived despite the weather last night, hadn't they? She had hoped they would, and they did.
She didn't feel as enthusiastic going downstairs, but once her eyes landed on the Christmas tree in the living room, her world was alight once more. Max was throwing wrapping paper in the air at top-speed as he joyfully unwrapped his presents. Her mother was kneeling beside him, a merry look on her face as she helped him with the hard-to-open gifts. There were boxes and gift bags surrounding the base of the beautiful-looking tree, but one thing caught May's attention the most. Her biggest Christmas present was standing right there beside the tree, smiling like everyone else.
"DADDY!" May shrieked as she ran towards him.
"May!" Her father, Norman, picked her up, allowing her to hug him around the neck. "How are you, honey? How was your Christmas party yesterday?"
"When did you come?" May questioned curiously, but exuberantly. "Mommy said you couldn't come, 'cause of the plane and the weather."
"Well, Princess, I managed to find a ticket that got me here when the weather improved. I came very late last night, or very early in the morning, I should say, when you were fast asleep in bed. I told you I'd be here for Christmas, didn't I?"
"You kept your promise! Daddy, did you see Santa when you came?"
"Hm? No, I didn't. I think he must have already come and left when I arrived."
"I think I heard Santa last night, Daddy! I heard someone downstairs when it was very late at night! Do you think it was him?"
Norman chuckled. "It most certainly must have been! Now, aren't you going to show me what he got you?"
May got to work unwrapping all her presents, and showing off her new toys and clothes to her parents and her brother (though he didn't seem to really care, being more interested in the things he received). May had three words to describe that day.
Best. Christmas. Ever.
Whew! That took a while to write! I was expecting it to be long, but this turned out much longer than I thought! Over 10,700 words! And I thought it was only going to be at most 6,000… If that had been the case, I would have been done on Sunday.
Sorry again for the lateness. I hope the chapter length makes up for that. For my next update, well, it's probably going to be pretty late too. Next week is filled with school exams. But I'll try! I did for this one, after all, even though I was pretty busy (really, even writing a few lines a day helps). I did consider turning it into two chapters, but it seems better as one story. So thanks for being patient! :)
As usual, reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading!
Bye bye for now! Have a wonderful day, and smile all the way! :)