This will be a very short story consisting most likely of only one or two more chapters. Written for my mother for Christmas I just wanted a little feedback on it before I handed over a gift. Thanks for reading!

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Observing the rare chance of sparing my cornea, I turned rapidly away from the blaring lights that beamed into my window and dropped the blinds, cursing vehemently when the chord broke and the shade continued to fall to the floor. I rushed over to my bed and ripped the sheet off and returned to the window only pausing to grab a stapler off my desk. The neighbors across my street, the Bells, loved to flaunt the fact that they had a home to decorate instead of a dingy one room apartment and to add insult to injury they always forgot to set their timer so their lights never turned off. I pressed the staple against the blanket and heard it click in hollow hunger as I slammed my fist against it in anger. I pounded against the stapler in vain watching as it hit the blanket but left no staple and finally withdrew my weapon. I padded across the floor and picked up the phone sitting on my dresser as I dialed their number and waited to hear their phone ring, but instead received a busy signal. I sighed in frustration and moved over to my window, jerking it open and glared out into the darkness as I shouted at the window I could have hit with a rock ( and would have had I had one). No one answered as I shivered at the brisk winter air burning my cheeks and I furiously rubbed my arms. I glared to the left, hearing the bells beginning to play a song as midnight rolled around and moved back inside my apartment, feeling a flake of snow hit my eyelash. I blinked rapidly and patted away the obstructive ice as I reached up and tried to pull down the window. A small pile of pure white snow began to form on the windowsill as I yanked on the frame. It wouldn’t budge.

“I hate Christmas.”

“Katerina!”

I started at the sound of someone banging on my door and flopped frantically around in my bed as I pulled my sheets over my head and successfully wrapped them around my body. I groaned in acknowledgment of the thundering on the far side of the door and tossed and turned under the heavy blankets piled on top of my trembling form as I finally threw the comforter and three layers of sheets off of myself and plodded over to the door. I brushed my hand through my short and messy hair and wrenched back the strands that hung around my chin, tickling it as I hurriedly pushed them back with my shoulder. I slipped on a pair of sweats and called to the incessant banging on the door as I straightened my T-shirt and answered with a pert wave to the female whose long blonde ponytail was braided with red and green ribbons.

“Kat, why are you still asleep? And why is it like twenty degrees in here?”

“Those both can be answered with one answer. The Bells.” I pointed over my shoulder and retracted my finger as it began to shake violently.

“Oh not again, Kat. Seriously, how long are you going to hate them for liking Christmas?”

“I don’t dislike them for liking Christmas. I dislike them for not knowing how to set a timer! How difficult is it to turn on a timer?” My eyes turned to the male passing in front of the door as they narrowed significantly causing my friend to question me with her own gaze as she glanced over her shoulder.

“Hello, Jonathon.”

“Hello Mariella, hey kid.” I continued to glare darkly at the male as he waved at me from behind Mary and noticed that he shuttered and paused in my doorway. “It’s freezing in here.”

“I noticed.” I was not fond of Jonathon for many reasons, my main one being the fact that he called me kid. I had many theories about why he had ordained my name ‘kid,’ but my favorite and the most likely of the group was the fact that he probably had no idea that I was a girl. I figured that he assumed I was a young boy living on my own just into college and thus as an older man was referring to me as many older men referred to younger men as kid. I knew I was not exceptionally feminine with short hair and an effective way to cover my shape with baggy clothing, it was not surprising, but that did not mean that it was not annoying. No, in fact I hated it and him.

“Is your window stuck?”

He walked into the apartment and approached the window, examining the bar as he jerked down on it slightly. He wiggled it and smirked as it groaned it protest. I stared at him in frustration and was about to protest him inviting himself into my apartment when my window snapped shut, knocking the snow down to the ground below. He smiled to us and dusted off his gloved hands as he passed around us and laid a hand on my shoulder and patted me on the back, harshly.

“I guess it just needed a little more muscle, kid.”

I frowned as he waved to Mary who swooned as he closed the door behind himself and rolled my eyes at her. “Please don’t tell me you like him.”

“You don’t like him?”

“No.”

“You must be asexual.”

“I must.” I grabbed some clothes out of the top two drawers of my dresser and started towards my bathroom when I heard Mary clear her throat.

“Kat, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Lauren is sick.”

“No.”

“But Kat-”

“You know I hate Christmas!” I walked into the bathroom staring in the mirror at the dull brunette who stared back at me and turned on the shower in aggravation.

“Please just this once go shopping with me!”

“Fine! But you are buying lunch.”

“Thank you!”

“Whatever.”

“Katerina, what are you doing?”

I folded the paper once more in half and pulled out on the head of the bird, puffing up the body of the crane as I grinned in triumph and placed the black crane atop the other eight cranes I had folded during our meal so far. I pulled out a green slip of paper, sneered and returned it to the stack before pulling out an aqua slip and folding it in half. I glanced up at Mariella who was watching me in horror as she sipped her soup in silence with wide, shocked eyes. She reached across the table gingerly lifting the black crane up as she examined the bird and sighed in frustration as she raised her eyebrow at me.

“Well?”

I set down the crane I finished and taking a sip of my tomato soup, I smiled in triumph. “I have decided to fight off Christmas. I will fold a thousand cranes and make the wish that Christmas will never come.”

“Scrooge.”

“Why thank you.”

I glanced up as our waitress approached with more coffee and nodded to her when she held up the pot as if to ask if we wanted more to drink. She moved to poor me more to drink in my cup and tipped it over, pouring the black substance across the cranes that sat on the table as Mariella jumped up out of her seat. The young waitress yelped in concern as she quickly began to clean up the mess, claiming she had no idea how the drink could have spilled. I had a few theories and all of them concerned a jolly fat man in a red suit. After I managed to calm down both the waitress and Mary, I watched as the cranes soaked up the coffee and smirked at the irony of the situation.

“I think using the cranes is now out of the question.”

“They are just wet.”

“Let me throw these away for you.” I jumped slightly at the words of the waitress and watched as she picked up and threw away the napkins she had used in cleaning off the table as well as my cranes. “Can I get you more coffee?”

“No, we’d really just like the bill.”

“I’m really so sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I glanced over to Mary who was grinning in triumph and glared at her as the young girl handed her the receipt.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Happy Winter Solstice!” The waitress glanced at me in shock at first and then smiled awkwardly as she walked away. I could feel Mary kicking me under the table as I laughed behind my hand and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. “What? It’s a holiday in Asia.”

“Well, we aren’t in Asia are we? Now come on.”

I snickered as Mariella jerked me out of my seat and dragged me out of the café behind her, waving to our waitress as we left the cozy warmth of the restaurant. I tightened the scarf around my neck and walked briskly to catch up to Mary who was speed walking down the road, shaking her head as she glared over her shoulder at me. I glanced into a store in passing and noticed in the window a small locket, sitting on black cloth as I paused in my quick stride completely engulfed in the amber heart that sat at the end of the silver chain.

“I don’t get you, Kat! Sometimes you can be so mature and other times you act like a three year old! That was very embarrassing. It’s just a holiday. All I ask is that you spend a few hours with me shopping, unhindered by your Christmas prejudice and you can’t even do that! Katerina! Are you listening to me?”

“What? I’m sorry Mary. What did you say?”

Mary glanced over my shoulder to look into the window and sighed as she placed a hand on my shoulder. “What are you looking at?”

I pointed at the amber heart as she pressed her nose against the glass and nodded her approval, smiling back at me. “My mother had one just like it.”

She stood away from the glass and eyed the ground in silence as she pulled at the pink gloves covering her fingers. She suddenly locked her arm with mine and with a wide beam on her face nodded in the direction of a store not far ahead of us. She tugged harshly on my sleeve as I shrugged, taking one last glance at the necklace before moving to follow after her. I made no snarky remarks about the elaborate Christmas decorations strung without temperance from one lamppost to the next.

“Come on, this place has the best fudge you will ever taste.”

I followed slowly behind Mariella, swinging the small bag of perfume she had politely asked me to carry as we entered the small shop on the corner of the street. The smell of the store was certainly not offensive to the nostrils. In fact it was the opposite of offensive, sweet and strong with a mix of the scent of just brewed coffee and heavenly fudge permeating the air. It was the perfect shop to escape into and even more blissful was the knowledge that my purse was never going to have to appear from underneath my jacket. It would be well hidden and unused for yet another long and arduous day and once again my father would look down on me with a proud smile while my mother glared at him from behind. I glanced around the small shop that was dimly lit, almost in a romantic style as I noticed that had I been a young child this would have been what I imagined when I pictured Santa’s workshop. Little bears sat huddled in the far corner of the room with garlands strung about the chair and hollies on their ears. Above them gold flicks of tinsel shimmered with green wreaths hung in each window, an electric candle in the center of each. It was breathtaking in a word; Mom would have loved it, even the candy cane colored tablecloths.

“Kat, go grab us a seat. What did you want again?”

“A square of the mint fudge and some hot chocolate, please.”

“Yes ma’am.”

I smiled to Mariella before turning abruptly and slamming headlong into a black felt jacket. I sputtered for air at first and frantically backed away from the obstacle, apologizing profusely as I glanced upwards. A pair of curious eyes had settled on me causing me to blush furiously as I frowned in frustration at my oblivious nature and the peering nature of the aqua eyes, nestled behind the black rimmed glasses. I had always thought Jonathon had had the most obscure color of eyes, they were the color of the ocean at those unparalleled, exotic beaches that I could never afford a trip to. Just staring into them could cause me to be lost in the sound of the ocean and suddenly I found myself longing for the crisp waves of warm water lapping placidly against my ankles. Instead when I snapped out of my daze I found myself face-to-face with a befuddled Jonathon who had his classic smirk plastered on his face.

“Hey, kid.”

I was beginning to wonder if he even knew I had a name. Maybe he thought kid was my name; kid and Kat were similar he could have been confused. Or perhaps he enjoyed tormenting me, which was obvious from the rather large grin sent in my direction as he moved towards the table in the corner of the restaurant. There sitting across from him was a voluptuous young woman with wavy blonde hair, intricately tied back with ribbons of red, green, and gold. Her dress, excessively low cut (I rolled my eyes at this) was a red dress with green hem and she had on a shimmering gold jacket that had the same green trimming. The only way she could have supported Christmas anymore was to have been wearing antlers in the tangled mess she called hair as she had a bell on a red rope around her neck. She was utterly repulsive.

I moved to sit down at the table on the opposite side of the room from them when I heard Mariella excitedly chatting with someone who sounded distinctly like Jonathon. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mary, holding our try as she conversed with Jonathon and his date and slowly stood up, approaching her from a cautious angle. I grabbed our tray from her and smiled to the girl who smiled up at me as her long red fingernails appeared on the table. She gently placed her hand over Jonathon’s as she watched me in curiosity as I backed away, motioning for Mary to follow me to our table. Suddenly a hand with red claws extended towards me as I flashed a look of disgust of the offer and shifted the tray to my hip and held out my own hand.

“Hi there, I’m Candy and you are?”

I snorted at first and cleared my throat at the dark glares sent in my direction from both occupants of the table as well as my companion. “Hello, my name is,” I paused glancing at Jonathon who seemed thoroughly engulfed in his drink as he glanced at me out of the corners of his eyes, “you can call me Kid.”

“Well hey there Kid. It’s mighty nice to meet friends of Johnny here.”

Mary and I raised eyebrows at Jonathon and he shrugged slightly as he continued to quickly drain the drink in his mug as if he were competing in a race. I turned to the woman examining me like a vulture might its next meal as I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. I sighed heavily and glanced between the two before looking to Mary who seemed involved in a conversation with Jonathon and thus was apparently not ready to return to the table I had saved for us.

“So, I see that you like Christmas.” I rubbed my eye and smiled at Candy who beamed up at me.

“I love it! It’s my favorite holiday! And how do you feel about Christmas?”

Suddenly both Mariella and Jonathon grew deathly silent as they turned to stare at Candy who shrugged at them. She looked up at me as I stared down at her, my face emotionless as Mary took my arm in hers and began to lead me away. I was just about to pass out of hearing range when Jonathon glanced over his shoulder and smirked back at me as he leaned across the table and motioned for Candy to lean towards him.

“You just met the real life Grinch.”

My eyes narrowed on him as I set down our tray on the table and jerked away from Mary, trying to regain my composure. “He’s just trying to get a rise out of you, sit down and eat, Kat.”

“Every year she complains about how horrible her Christmas is, but there are people more unfortunate than her all over the world, she just refuses to acknowledge them.”

“Kat!”

I flipped the chair I was sitting in as I briskly stood and walked to where he sat causing everyone in the store to turn and stare at the conversation now being exchanged. He glanced up from the mug of coffee he held his hands over as he flashed a smile up at me along with a confused look.

“Can we help you?”

“If you have something to say, you can say it to my face. And don’t you dare pretend to know me because you don’t know a thing about me. You don’t even know my name!”

“Katerina Montgomery.” Jonathon stared up at me as I stared down at him with a mix of shock and anger written on my features. “Is there anything else Kat or may we return to our date?”

I turned around and began to stalk back to the table when I heard a rustle of clothing and a deep Southern accent, “Someone needs a little touch of the Christmas Spirit.”

I shot a silencing glare at Candy as I batted her hot chocolate all over her dress causing her to scream and jump up out of her seat as she began to cry. Her red eyelashes slipped off her eyes and began to run down onto her cheeks making her look even more ridiculous as she flailed frantically in the middle of the store, screaming at the top of her lungs. I preceded to gesture rudely to Jonathon as he stared in utter horror at his date whose black mascara was dripping off her chin in her tears.

“How’s that for your Christmas Spirit?”

I stormed past Mariella who was watching the scene in a mix of terror and amusement as she slowly rose from her seat. “Katerina... he didn’t know.”

“Do not defend him.”

I shoved open the door to the store and slammed it shut, hearing the bell chime inside the store as the overhang shook at the force. I glanced up at the groan of protest in time to see a pile of snow plummeting down at my face. I covered my face in fear only to feel the heavy snow push down against my arms, slipping into my sleeves and jacket. I began the shake the snow off me and out of my hair as I glared around the empty street. Jonathon covered his mouth before he burst out laughing when he saw the pile of snow drop from the roof and sat silently in the restaurant. He glanced up to see Mariella approaching their table as she nervously brushed hair out of her face.

“Kat, she, well she really hates Christmas, for good reason. Which doesn’t justify what she did at all! By any means. Let me pay for that, but you have to understand, Christmas is a hard time for her.”

Jonathon peered out the door and slid across the bench, dropping a twenty on the table as he squatted down beside his date. “You are beautiful no matter what is on your dress,” the girl smiled as he stood up and pulled on his long coat and red scarf, “but I’ll be just a few minutes. And don’t worry about it. I’ll pay for lunch. It was my provocation that caused it.”

“Johnny?” Candy slowly sat upright as he walked towards the front door, “Jonathon!”

I glared at the sky as I balled my fist at my side, “This means war, Kris Kringle.” I heard the door open and began to walk down the street when a car barreled past me, splashing icy cold water up onto me as it sped through the alley. “Alright, score one, Kris.”

“Did you just declare war on Santa?”

I glared over my shoulder at Jonathon and rolled my eyes as I continued down the street, “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to apologize. I didn’t realize I was going to upset you so much.”

“Well maybe this will teach you to think next time before you speak. Now really, your presence bothers me. Go on, go away.”

“Santa can see you turning down my apology, you will regret that.” Jonathon turned on his heel as I spun around and flailed angrily.

“There is no Santa Claus! We both know there isn’t one! So really let’s stop being childish and go our separate ways.” I stepped off the curb and felt my shoe and pant leg sink into ankle-deep slush as I threw my arms up in frustration. “Oh, come on! These are the only slacks I own!”

“For someone who doesn’t believe in Mr. Kringle, you sure are making a ruckus over there while yelling at him.”

“We both know that every person in this town is so absorbed in that Christmas Spirit of yours that they’ve forgotten common decency! That’s all it is. So I’m yelling at everyone and no one, to be blunt.” I shook the bag of perfume at Jonathon and was about to storm off when the bottom ripped dropping the glass bottle on the ground, luckily it rolled to a stop at his foot. I stared at the hole in the bag as I covered the blush, spreading across the bridge of my nose, feeling tears brim in my eyes. “I hate Christmas.”

I felt fingers pull down the hand covering my face as he placed the perfume in the center of my palm. He brushed back the few tears that had managed to escape my attention and smiled at me as I straightened, returning the scowl to my features. I backed away from him cautiously as I fingered the bottle of perfume, watching him in uncertainty.

“Maybe all of your plans are going awry for a reason.”

“I know that, Jonathon! It’s because I’m trying to make Christmas horrible and in turn Christmas is making my break from work horrible. A little tit for tat, I get it.”

“That’s not what I meant, Katerina. Maybe all this mayhem will lead to something good in the end.”

I stared at him through my blurred vision as I blinked back the newly forming tears and shook my head in confusion. “Well, I at least hope you are involved in all this mayhem so I can ruin your Christmas too.”

He flashed a genuine smile at me as he nodded in agreement, “Me too. Well, I have to get back to my date. I do hope your day starts looking up.”

“What? Wait, Jonathon, I think we had a misunderstanding. Jonathon!” I stared down at the perfume bottle in my hand as I glared out into the open streets. “I’m sure you think this is real funny, don’t you?”

“Who are you talking to, Kat?”

I turned around to see Mary, approaching from behind me as I shrugged, “No one. Where to next?”

“Well, since I only have Stocking Stuffers left to buy, my shopping list isn’t very long, so we only really need to go to the The Body Shop,” I nodded as if to agree and then saw her place her finger over her lips and tap them thoughtfully, that was never a good sign, “Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Virgin Records, Pearl Paint, Geller something it’s near Broadway, I think that’s all.”

“Really? That’s it?”

“Katerina, were you crying?”

I quickly held the perfume out to her which she slipped into another bag she held, “No, of course not. The bag broke. Shall we? No time is better than the present.”