Chapter 39: Jingle Bells
Summary: ๐๐ Present Time ๐๐
Evie's Notes: Happy Sunday! I hope you all are having a wonderful week ! As always, thank you so much your support of this story, it really and truly means the world to me ๐! I hope that you all enjoy the this new update ๐บ.
"Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh; O'er the fields we go laughing all the way" sang Nina bobbing and weaving her way from the kitchen to the sitting room with a replacement plate of holiday cookies.
The front rooms were crowded with all thirteen Anubis House residents gathered for the Holiday gift exchange and party. The radio blared holiday songs to which KT, Joy, Mick and Eddie were dancing along too. Mara and Fabian were mixing up colorful salt crystals at the dining room table for homemade icicle decorations. Amber, Liliana, Jerome and Alfie were playing a fun and competitive game of exploding kittens. The chiming of the grandfather clock in the atrium announced that it was officially seven pm.
"Present Time!" cheered Amber, throwing her cards into the pot and dashing over to the tree.
"Wait just a moment! We have to draw straws to figure out who goes first" demanded Joy. Snatching up the cup of straws that she had pre-cut before the party, the students compared their straws and it turned out that Mick drew the shortest straw and got to give his present first.
The blonde jock passed a big box decorated in reindeer wrapping paper over to KT. "Merry Christmas K.T., I hope you enjoy them".
K.T. tore open the box to reveal new camera supplies and a set of museum tickets to an art museum in London. "Oh Mick! I love them. Thank you so much!" grinned KT, pulling the football player into a grateful hug.
"Of course, I am so glad that you like them," grinned Mick.
"Now Kara, since you got a present, you get to give your secret santa their present" instructed Joy.
"Awesome! Well I had Alfie" announced K.T., passing a glittery green gift bag over to the boy.
Alfie pulled out the silver tissue paper to find a 'do it yourself' UFO model kit and a large book called 'Monsters, Myths and Legends'.
"Wow K.T. This is amazing! I can't wait to build this model"
"As soon as I saw it at the store I knew it was perfect for you" grinned K.T. "I got the book at Fabian's Uncle Ade's shop".
"Well thank you. This is an awesome present!" grinned Alfie.
"You're welcome, I can't wait to see your model!"
Alfie rummaged around and pulled a purple shiny package from under a couple bags and passed it to Patricia. "My Secret Santa this year was Trixie. I hope you love your present"
Patricia unwrapped the gift and squealed with excitement at what she found "NO WAY!". Inside the box lay a Sick Puppies tee-shirt and a set of mink fur brushes wrapped in a velvet ribbon.
Patricia held up the tee-shirt showing it off to the room.
"Damn yacker, that's an awesome band tee" complimented Eddie
"I know! It'll look killer with my skinny jeans and leather jacket. Thanks Alfie"
"You're welcome, Trix"
Patricia got up from her seat between Joy and Eddie to find her present. Spotting the box she had wrapped in gold paper last week she happily returned to her seat and handed the gift to Joy.
"Merry Christmas J-bird. I had SOOO much fun shopping for you!"
"Aww thanks Pep!" beamed Joy. The tiny brunette carefully unwrapped the box doing her best to not rip the paper. Inside she found a photobook that Patricia had painstakingly put together with pictures of the pair over the years.
"Patricia, this is gorgeous" whispered Joy, as she flipped lovingly through the photobook.
"I'm glad you like it, JJ. There is one more thing though, look underneath the tissue paper."
Joy lifted the flowery tissue paper to reveal an adorable bunny plush. One that was incredibly familiar to both girls.
"Bunnsy Bun?" asked Joy, in awe at seeing her beloved stuffed animal again.
"It took a bit of doing but I found someone to custom make him through an etsy shop. I sent them a couple pictures and they were able to recreate him." explained Patricia.
"Thank you, thank you so so much Peppermint" Joy wiped away tears of happiness, as she hugged her friend tightly.
"My pleasure J-bird. I've been wanting to get you a new one after Bunnsy Bun the first faced his untimely end. I love you, Joy Mercer"
"Love you too" sniffed Joy.
The rest of the students looked upon the intimate moment feeling slightly guilty and uncomfortable at witnessing their friend's vulnerability.
Eddie cleared his throat with studied casualness, bringing the girls back to the reality of the present moment.
"Ok, since Pep gave me my gift, I get to give out my Secret Santa present. I drew Mara" grinned Joy, passing a gorgeous box over to Mara.
The Indian girl eagerly opened the gift box. Inside she found a large collection of silly science stickers, lip gloss and a beautiful tote bag decorated with math symbols. In short it was absolutely perfect for the nerdy girl.
"EEEE! The bag is so cute! Thank you so much, Joy!" cheered Mara, pulling the girl into a grateful hug.
"I'm so glad that you like it! I saw it online and just had to get it".
Mara rustled around the christmas tree and pulled out a small sparkly blue bag before passing it to the house's resident researcher. "Merry Christmas Fabian!"
"Thanks Emmy" grinned the boy, pulling out the tissue paper and finding a book of puns and a soft sweatshirt decorated with the digits of Pi. Fabian happily tugged it over his head and proudly wore it the rest of the night.
Fabian had drawn Nina for Secret Santa so he excitedly handed over a large wrapped package to his girlfriend. "Happy Hanukkah, my love"
"ืชืืื Fabian" replied Nina, her eyes shining happily. The American Girl ripped open the present to find a beautifully painstakingly precise version of her family tree inked onto expensive parchment and encased in a heavy golden gilded frame. Each cursive name also had a tiny portrait accompanying it. Nina's fingers traced the lines of her ancestry in silent wonder.
"Hey! There's me!" chirped KT excitedly pointing off towards one corner where the Rush family line had split from the Frobishers.
"I am speechless" breathed Nina, in shock at the consideration and thoughtfulness of her boyfriend. "Thank you so so much Fabian. I love it"
"I'm glad. I took the information we pieced together this summer and forwarded it to one of Uncle Abe's contacts, who created it".
Carefully storing her gift out of the way, Nina passed Jerome the present she had gotten for him.
Jerome beamed excitedly when he saw the contents of his present. Nina had ordered a set of high end wireless headphones for the tall boy, along with a fancy new watch. She had also included a leatherbound notebook and several energy drinks she knew he liked.
"Thanks Martin" called Jerome as he cracked open one of the vibrant energy drinks. Alfie eyed his best friend warily and slowly scooched away towards safety.
Putting down his can, Jerome selected the pinkest and sparkliest box from under the tree. He began to walk over towards his girlfriend who perked up excitedly in her seat, only to chuckle and spin around and hand the box to Amber instead. The Anubis residents laughed goodnaturedly at the teasing as Liliana sulked in her seat, bummed the sparkly box wasn't for her.
"Present!" squealed Amber excitedly, fiercely ripping away the wrapping paper creating a whirlwind of pink and sparkles. Underneath she found a beautiful velvet box in which lay a pair of new white skates laced with pink ribbon. Along with the skates, Jerome had also included a few warm up gear items and a pair of large pink fuzzy earmuffs.
Amber pulled the tall boy into a tight hug, "Thank you Jerome!"
"You're welcome Amber. I got myself a new pair of skates too, so we will have to break them in together sometime soon".
"It's a date!" Amber's blue eyes sparkled with joy as she grabbed the expertly wrapped blue and gold box she had stashed under the tree two weeks earlier. This left only two presents waiting under the branches.
"Merry Christmas Mick! I'm so glad that you are back with us this Christmas and I hope that you like your gift".
Mick opened the box only to freeze and ask, "Ambs, you didn't?"
"Sure did babes" replied Amber with a silly smirk.
Mick lifted the gift out of the box to show a clear display case which held a signed football from his favorite player Hugh Ainstin. The box also included a folded letter and a sweatshirt Amber had designed and sewn for him.
Mick opened the envelope and silently read the message found inside. Amber had chosen to write a very long and heartfelt letter to the boy about how impressed and proud she was of him and how much he meant to her. The room's inhabitants were confused by the interaction and the reaction the letter caused as the normally upbeat jock's eyes began to water. Sniffing, he stood up and pulled the pretty fashionista into a long tight hug.
"Thank you Amby, I really needed that" Mick whispered into Amber's ear.
"Anytime. You're my best and oldest friend Mick. I would do anything for you" swore Amber.
"Well I already gave my gift to KT, so who is up next?" asked Mick as Anubis House's Barbie and Ken retook their seats.
"That just leaves Liliana and my presents. I can go first!" offered Eddie, passing his present over to Lili.
"That's fine with me, thank you Eddie". Liliana opened her gift to find a gorgeous silver and blue bracelet and a large pink basket filled with fancy fabrics, thread, sketch paper, buttons, and various other sewing implements.
"I tried to find things you might not already have upstairs along with a couple of fun items," explained Eddie.
Lili shot him a grateful smile, "I love it! Thank you so much! I can't wait to start using them in upcoming projects. Especially this pink cherry print"
"I'm so glad you like it," grinned Eddie.
Liliana then passed her beautifully wrapped present over to the American boy. Eddie excitedly ripped open the packaging to find a very nice black leather jacket, a tripod for his camera and a camera strap. The camera strap was embroidered with the boy's name, music notes and little american flags.
"Wow Lili!" gasped Eddie. "These are awesome! Thank you so much".
"You're welcome! I had a lot of fun embroidering the camera strap" replied Liliana, grinning as she watched the rocker tug on the leather jacket which fit snugly over his shoulders. She was so happy that her guessed measurements were correct and that the coat fit the boy well.
The students enjoyed the rest of their evening, singing Christmas carols, playing games and eating all of the delicious treats Vera had made. When ten o'clock hit, the Anubis residents gathered their presents and scurried off to bed under the watchful glower of their house's caretaker.
Evie's Notes 2: Thank you all so much for reading ๐! I hope you enjoyed this update, let me know your favorite part of in the comments ๐!
I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and the story as a whole in the comments or my Tumblr House-of-Secrets! Have a great week and stay safe! - Xo Evie๐บ
