The Trouble With Christmas by Robin Daniels

Author:Robin Daniels [Daniels, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bluefields
Published: 2019-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

“Are you ready?” Nate asked with more enthusiasm than I thought necessary.

I shrugged. “I guess.”

He took me by the shoulders and gave me a firm shake. “Come on, grumpy Gus. You can’t tell me you didn’t have at least a little fun yesterday.” His hand was in front of my face, thumb and index finger about an inch apart.

I went for my driest expression and tried to hold out, but a smile slipped through anyway. “Fine,” I admitted. “It was a little bit fun. I especially liked the winning part.”

In a show of confidence, Nate laced his fingers together, then turned his hands outward and cracked his knuckles. He bounced on his toes, stretching his head side to side like he was gearing up for a fight. “And we’re going to win today, too. That’s what awesome people like us do, Chrissy. They win. Because they’re the best. And they’re awesome.”

I laughed. “Okay, Tony Stark. Want to tell me how intelligent you are next?”

“Nah.” He waved me off with a devilish grin. “You already know that.”

“Good afternoon, people of Rudolph,” Kathy called from the stage. She’d managed to fix the microphone feedback problem. “Are you ready for the second challenge in our competition?”

“What do you think it’ll be?” I leaned over to ask Nate.

“I dunno. But I bet it’s something big.”

Kathy continued. “We have thirty contestants left after last night’s eliminations. And there are thirty Christmas trees set up in the high school gym. They’ve all been sectioned off with tarps for privacy.

“Yes!” Nate hissed. “Tree decorating. We totally got this.”

“You have until seven o’clock to decorate your tree in any theme you like.” The crowd started buzzing with whispers. Kathy held up a finger. “Except Christmas.”

Say what?! The tittering came to a screeching halt. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, so of course I snorted—really loud. I got a few dirty looks and some nasty grumbles. “Sorry,” I said, coughing into my hand as I tried to conceal my giggles.

“Now, now. Settle down, folks. I know this is unconventional.” Kathy looked out over the mob of confused and angry faces. “But anyone can decorate a Christmas tree. Where’s the challenge in that?” Kathy was right. Every single one of these fools could create a Christmas-themed tree in their sleep.

A random guy from the crowd shouted, “If it’s not a Christmas tree, what’s the point?”

“The point is to be creative. Make something beautiful that expresses your personality. If you could sum yourself up and stick it on a tree, what would that tree look like?”

“Hmm.” Nate thought for a second before he elbowed me in the ribs and nodded appreciatively. “It’s an anti-Christmas Christmas tree. This challenge is perfect for you.”

I grunted. “Except you’re forgetting the part where I’m not creative at all.”

He slung his arm around my shoulders. “That’s where I come in.”

Kathy continued, “You aren’t prohibited from using Christmas colors or wintery décor. In fact, it’s highly recommended. We still want this to feel like the Yuletide Pageant.

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