Jo
"SAY CHEESE!" ELOISE beams holding a phone to my face. I glare daggers at her and she takes a picture regardless, with the flash of her camera almost rendering me blind.
"Aw, you look so cute." She smiles unaffected by my apathy. "Otis, come take a look."
"No. I look like a clown in a Santa costume." I groan as I scratch my chin under the white beard. "And why does this beard itch so much?"
"I don't think Eloise dry cleaned it." Otis says as he wraps fairy lights around the Christmas tree next to the door.
The door jingles and a woman walks in with her overly excited kid. I sigh heavily before adjusting myself on the seat and patting my faux protruded stomach. They walk towards me and I plaster on a fake smile when the kid's mother smiles at me.
"Hey baby, I'm just going to get a few books while you wait here with Santa. I'll be right back, okay?" She smiles at her daughter and walks away with Eloise.
The girl stares at me with every ounce of excitement gone. Her hair's in blonde ringlets and her eyes are narrowed as she stares at me. There's no reaction on her face and it looks like she's trying to detect if I'm real or fake.
"Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas." I say with the deepest Santa voice I can muster and she doesn't respond. For a moment, I think she's deaf until she screws her lips into an annoyed frown.
"You sound like a girl. Santa's not a girl." She looks cheated.
"Santa can be a girl too." I try convincing her but she doesn't like it.
"He's a boy."
I roll my eyes. "Look, I'm just trying to do the best I can, kid."
My words apparently hit a nerve because she suddenly lets out the loudest wail I've ever heard in my life. I cringe immediately and she wails even louder. I dig my hands into the makeshift gift bag Eloise and I made and take out a copy of Harry Potter and Sorcerer's stone before thrusting it towards her.
"Hey, hey, stop crying. Would you like this book? It's free."
She cries louder and her mum shuffles towards us in hurried strides. She shoots me an unimpressed look as she lifts the kid up and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
"It's okay, Trula. We're leaving now." Who the hell names their kid Trula?
'Trula' sniffs into her mother's shoulder and shoots me a glare before leaning towards me and snatching the novel from my hands. While her mother walks towards the counter, 'Trula' glances behind her mother and sticks out her tongue at me before placing her fingers in her ears and imitating a monkey.
I sneer at her and she starts wailing again before they exit the store.
"You're not that great with kids." A familiar voice says behind me and my mood gets significantly better when I'm able to recognize who they are by their cologne.
"They're overbearing sometimes." I complain when he kisses my neck. "Little devils."
"Do I get my gift now? Or did I get into your naughty list?" He comes to stand in front of me and that's when I take a look at him fully. Fortunately for him, my butterflies fill my belly when I take in his appearance but that's what happens every time I see him. He looks adorable in a grey shirt layered with a thick, black parka. There's a scarf around his neck and a head warmer on his head and the tip of his nose is slightly pink from the cold. Lakeville doesn't exactly take it easy on us during winter so it's no surprise he looks like this. I'd cover up too but this fluffy Santa Claus outfit keeps me warmer than I expected. Maybe it's not as bad as it seems.
I look around expecting to see Ellie next to him since they move as one now especially since she left the hospital about four days ago. Like the doctor had said, she depends on a wheelchair now to move around so Flynn usually does that for her. She'd had three things left on her bucket list before she broke down in the toilet.
Ellie's bucket list
18. Zip-lining (Very daring)
19. Paint-balling (Very colorful)
20. Ice skating (Surprisingly)
Her immobility wouldn't allow her to be brave and daring as she'd hoped. Plus, the doctor advised her against performing rigorous activities for the remaining time she has left so her attempt to become a wannabe Lara Croft died immediately. But we'd gone paint-balling regardless and we'd separated ourselves into teams with Flynn teaming up with her while she held the gun. It was fun, really fun and it got her to laugh again. After that, she amended the list so it turned out to be something like this.
Ellie's bucket list
- Zip-lining (Nope. Can't argue with the doc) Instead: Attend a concert
- Paint-balling (Done.)
- Ice skating (Could have if I could move, so not anymore) Instead: Camping under the stars in my yard because mum would freak out if I chose the woods over her garden.
The first amendment was Flynn's idea because by some miraculous way, he'd secured a bunch of tickets to a private VIP performance from Rage Nation at Appleton. Rage Nation. I'd been too busy spending time with Ellie to even know about this but Flynnâbless his heartâwas able to get tickets and wristbands before they sold out. And they sold out pretty quickly. It wasn't my bucket list but I was the most excited one there.
I don't see her anywhere so she's probably at home with her mum and Cass and the others can't be here because they'd volunteered towards the end of the semester to help with the planning of the winter formal so it's just me, him, Eloise, Otis and a few customers rushing in because of the Christmas sales displayed outside the store.
I signal for him to come closer and when he does, I grab him by the collar of his parka and eagerly plant feather-like kisses on his mouth. "You're so cute."
He smiles against my mouth and then he scoffs and tries to pull away but my grip on his collar is strong. "I'm not cute. Flynn Cauley is not cute."
"What is he then?"
"He's good-looking, hot and very manly."
I blush and push him away. "You're disgusting."
He laughs but doesn't move away. I lean against the chair and pat my stuffed stomach with a sigh. "And that's why you made it to the top of my naughty list."
"The top?"
"Yup. Your name was first. I can't say I'm surprised." I look away from him. "Sorry bud. I guess you're getting nothing this year."
His voice drops a little lower when he grabs my chin. "You know, you make a really cute Santa."
"Don't try to win me over. You'll fail."
"Ugh. If I ever met some random dude fondling Santa when I was five, my whole childhood would have been ruined."
I jerk away from Flynn once I hear his sister's voice and lift myself and my plump body over to her to embrace her in a hug. She's dressed similarly to her brother and Eloise wheels her closer before leaving us to attend to the customers who seem to be swarming in now.
"I thought you stayed home today." I say and she sighs, waving her hand sideways.
"Nah. I came with Flynn but Otis was giving me all the deets about his and Eloise complicated situationship."
"All the details?" Flynn questions, raising a brow and she snorts.
"Don't worry, he was decent enough not to turn it into an erotica." She taps her gloved hands on her thighs. "Is your shift going to be over soon? Flynn and I want to see a movie and if there's still time, we could go shopping for Christmas before we say goodbye to Otis." She looks round and sighs. "It looks busy here though."
I nod, agreeing with her statement even though I don't want to pass up an opportunity to hang out with them but this place looks busy enough. "You'll just have to go on without me."
"Actually, you can go with them." Talia says and I whirl around, wondering where she appeared from.
"I wasn't too far away." She smiles, explaining her sudden appearance. "Anyway, you can end your shift now. I'll take over from here. I know how to handle these people."
I try not to smile too much while I thank her because I've been wanting to step out of this costume from the very second I wore it. I hurry into the inventory office and strip out of the costume before making myself comfortable in the original clothes I'd worn earlier. I step out of the office and hand Otis the costume and he groans.
"That's a little send off gift." I say and he rubs his nose in frustration.
"Just get back in time." He says, referring to the small send off party we'd planned for him after work today.
"You don't need to worry about that." I say and then I grin maliciously. "Besides, you'll have plenty of time alone with Eloise at that dark corner of the store."
He's glaring at me but there are little spots of pink on his cheek. "And have Talia firing our asses? No way."
I give him and Eloise one last wave before joining Flynn and his sister outside the store. It's snowing lightly from the starry sky and there's a pile of slush here and there on the sidewalk. The town is still active since it's early evening and twinkling, Christmas lights are hung round about the surrounding trees and the traffic lights on the road.
I wrap my arms around Flynn's neck and smile when he kisses me before he hands me a cup of hot chocolate that they'd gotten from a nearby cafe while they were waiting for me. The cinema's not too far from Talia's bookstore, so I wheel Ellie forward while she pretty much gives us spoilers to the movie we're about to go see.
It's fairly crowded at the cinema so we don't get to stay in the line for too long. Also, once the attendant sees Ellie, he pretty much lets us cut the line so he can take our tickets and go in.
"One of the perks," Ellie says when a girl gives us a dirty look and I laugh before eyeing the popcorn stand and excusing myself to go get some while they go in.
When I join the line, my phone pings with a text.
Mum: Could you get those chili pretzels for your grandma? You know how she gets and she won't shut up about it now.
I grin, remembering when she'd pretended like she didn't like it the first time I gave it to her and how it became her guilty pleasure eventually.
I move forward when I sense a movement in front of me and tap my fingers on the keyboard. Kay. Do you want soâ
I don't finish typing because I feel a nudge at my back that almost sends me crashing into the person in front of me.
"Sorry," I swiftly apologize before turning around and glaring at the perpetrator. Red hair, blue eyes and red lips. It doesn't take me up to a second to realize who it is.
"You pushed me." I say quietly because I don't want to create a scene. It's not unusual to run into her here. We live in the same town after all and it's not exactly a big one either.
Semia raises a perfectly arched brow and frowns a little. I like to consider myself as someone who has some adequate knowledge on how to apply makeup but it'd probably take me weeks to get this flawless look on her face.
"I didn't see you there." She says without any intention to apologize and I turn around, deciding that ignoring her is probably the best thing to do right now. However, she doesn't get the hint because she continues talking.
"I heard you're back together." She says and for better clarity, she adds, "You and Flynn."
The girl in front of me takes a step forward when the person at the front of the line leaves with their bucket of popcorn and Pepsi and I do the same, mirroring her movements without giving Semia a response.
"Unbelievable." She scoffs and my lips move against my will.
"What is?"
"You and Flynn being a thing." She answers with condescension in her tone. "That's what is. It doesn't even make sense."
"Why not?"
My simple questions seem to annoy her further. "Because we had a thing, okay? We liked each other. And at first, I thought he was using you to make me jealous or something. I didn't know you'd cling to him like a leech."
"Cut the crap, Semia. You sound like you actually really liked him in the first place."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me." I sigh. "You just liked the attention he gave you. That's all. He's popular, you're popular. He's hot, you're hot. It seemed like the perfect match. You wanted him around for the fun of it. Like a confidence boost, really. And when that attention was taken away from you, you realized you wanted it back. Not because you actually had feelings for him but because you like being desired by many guys especially the popular ones like him. It gave you that self-esteem you never knew you had."
I get to the front of the line immediately I'm done with my speech and I pay the lady in the red top some cash before grabbing three buckets of popcorn and three bottles of Pepsi from her. She smiles at me while I try to balance them all in my hands. Meanwhile, Semia is pretty much speechless as she watches me and when I finally take a look at her, she's red. Either from embarrassment or from annoyance. I can't tell which one.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
I shrug. "Fine. Maybe I don't but all I'm trying to say is, you didn't like him then and you definitely don't like him now. Look, you're hot and all and I envy you sometimes but you really shouldn't bother me or him anymore." I step closer to her and narrow my eyes. "And if you still try to be an obstacle to this relationship we have going on, I will come after your ass. He won't give in, just so you know, but I'll still come after your ass. How's that sound?"
She scoffs, her body language clearly saying she doesn't believe me. Or maybe she doesn't believe I can talk like this. I really should work on my jealous girlfriend role.
"You can't beâ"
She pauses when my eyes dart behind her figure and when she sees Flynn walking towards us with a slightly arched brow, she plasters a fake smile on her flushed face.
"I was wondering what was taking you so long," he says, when he gets to me before taking all the snacks from my hands. When she waves at him like an overly excited schoolgirl, he politely says 'hey' in response and then looks back at me.
"Oh, nothing much." I say. "Semia and I were just talking about how much of an amazing boyfriend you are to me."
He smirks at me even though his eyes are telling me he doesn't believe me. "Really?"
"Oh yeah." I nod, nudging her on the ribs like she's my best friend. She tenses and flashes me an uncomfortable smile.
"You know what? We should go on a double date sometime soon." I say referring to her and the dude that's been waiting awkwardly for her a few meters away. "Sounds fun."
"Thanks." She icily says. "But I'm not interested."
Flynn nods and wraps his arm around my shoulder before steering me away from her before I can say anything else and leads me towards the doors of the cinema.
"We were just saying hi to each other." I shrug when he shoots me a funny look. It's not like I told her to back off or anything.
"You okay?" He asks as we step into the theatre and I nod before taking a seat next to Ellie while he takes a seat next to me.
Just two rows away from us, I see Semia take her seat with a bucket of popcorn and a can of soda and when our eyes meet, she looks away like she doesn't see me. I lean against the cushioned chair and shrug with a devious smile on my face. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Half of the time, Ellie whispers what's going to happen next in my ears and Flynn eventually falls asleep after the first thirty minutes. Apparently, he finds slasher movies extremely boring and even though Ellie and I pretty much know what is going to happen in each scene, we clutch hands tightly throughout the movie and jump slightly on our seats when there's a villain on screen. Even until the end of the movie, Semia and I don't lock eyes anymore and even when we brush past each other while Flynn, Ellie and I are trying to hurry out of the cinema so we can make it in time for Otis's party, we don't act like we know each other and I have a feeling I might not run into her for a while.