A Christmas Carol

Chapter One

               Ding, ding, ding!

               As soon as the bell that released us from our final class that Thursday afternoon rang shrilly throughout the stale high school classroom air, it was like Christmas had finally kicked into high gear and officially graced its presence upon us. The atmosphere instantly perked up from being dull and full of students with bored expressions, tapping away at their pencils with prominent impatience and frequently casting glances directed at the clock to one full of Christmas spirit and cheer. You could practically see the glow on everyone’s faces as they nearly danced their way home with backpacks slung haphazardly across their backs, laughing with their friends and talking about what presents they wished to receive on that upcoming Tuesday Christmas morning.

                “Carol, I’m so excited for Christmas! I have this strange sense that this year is going to be the absolute best yet,” Piper, my best friend, decided, a faraway dreamlike expression glued to her face, rosy pink from the cold.

               I wrapped my fuzzy knit scarf closer to my neck in an attempt to block out the frigid air that nipped at my pale skin. “Yeah, I hope so,” I agreed. “I just hope we get a white Christmas this year. It’s no fun when it’s just cold outside with no snow.”

               Piper scoffed and pinched my flushed-from-the-cold cheek mockingly with her gloved hand. I instantly swatted her hand away. “Says the hopeless Christmas enthusiast. I thought there was no such thing as a bad Christmas, according to you.” My brunette best friend picked up her pace, wrapping her arms closer to her body, her teeth chattering a bit too overdramatically. She sighed deeply, allowing a puff of frosty white air to condense in front of her face.

               Piper had never been a winter person, unlike me. She always favored summer over winter and claimed that there was no feeling like the warm sand beneath your toes as you strutted in your favorite bikini, but I, however, preferred winter. There was something about the way the cold allowed you to snuggle by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate and just be at peace with the world.

               I loved that feeling.

               “I still love Christmas, you nut. I just would love to have a white Christmas this year. It’s been – what? – three years since our last one?” I scuffed my warm gray UGG boot along the snow-free pavement, my eyes watering from the stinging cold. I gazed at the town shops as we passed by, each decorated accordingly in spirit of the season. The little bakery had cupcakes coated with thick layers of red and green frosting sitting in the showcase window that was outlined with golden tinsel; the toy shop had little dolls and train sets and books littering the floor space in front of the window; and even the hair salon had incorporated the Christmas theme in their display, with the mannequins looking out the window wearing wigs with earmuffs and Christmassy scarves. The high lampposts that outlined the sidewalks each had garlands of fake evergreen needles twisting around their sleek black exterior, large burgundy bows intermixed in specific intervals.

               The only thing missing was snow, and our tiny Pennsylvania town would have been the picture perfect place for a Christmas card greeting.

               Piper and I kept walking towards our houses, chattering aimlessly, until she finally reached her house and we bid our farewells. We waved to each other just as she escaped from the cold and let the front door slam shut behind her, and then I continued on my way until I approached my own stone gray house about five minutes later.

               As I walked up the small driveway, I instantly took note that my mom’s silver sedan was missing, meaning she had probably ran into town to run a few errands. Probably to get the house ready for when my older sister, Charlotte, along with her husband, Brent, would come to visit in three days, just in time for Christmas. I couldn’t wait to see Charlotte, who was one of my absolute favorite people on the planet.