Fanfiction

Um.

Hey.

So...I'm supposed to write, like, this *thing*. About Christmas or something. Considering it's already winter break and Christmas is, like, two and a half seconds away, I guess I should get this over with. Or I'll end up talking about New Year's instead. Which I do *not* want to do. I can never think of good resolutions. Well, I can think of them, but then I end up thinking about them too much. At least...I think I do.

So I'm going to write about Christmas.

Right now.

Oh, in case you actually care or whatever, my name is Angela. And I go to Liberty High. I guess you already know that. Like, *duh*. I can't believe the things that come out of my mouth. Sometimes I wish I had some kind of brain filter that could, like, strain out all the dumb things I say. Of course, that would pretty much guarantee silence out of me year round.

I'm not even sure how to do this. It would so much easier if there were, like, rules or something. Um, I guess I could talk about the time Grandpa and Grandma Wood bought a bunch of new ornaments for our Christmas tree because Grandma didn't like my Mom's. That *was* a memorable Christmas...but not exactly fun.

Or the time we had this huge snowball fight outside. That was really fun. Until I hit Brian Krakow in the head with a slush ball. I was trying to hit Danielle, but she ducked behind Brian. That basically sucked the fun out of the entire evening. It's not like I purposely meant to knock him unconscious or something. I mean, really, it was totally Danielle's fault for hiding behind him.

Anyway, that was *so* long ago. I can't believe I even brought that up.

Let's see, what else? Christmas has always been pretty fun at my house. Barring any tinsel incidents with the cat, anyway. Danielle makes the biggest deal out of the holidays. Like that's a surprise. My dad always makes these awesome caramels. And my mom drags us ice skating sometimes. I swear she only takes me so she can look graceful in comparison.  We don't go so much anymore though. I don't even think my skates fit.

But when I was a little younger, my dad used to make us pile into the car and drive us around so we could look at all the houses that were decorated. Some of the houses past the river were, like, amazing. They looked so beautiful. Like...I don't know. Giant music boxes or something. Of course some of them were pretty lame. Some houses used so many colored lights they looked disgusting. My dad called the gross ones "Eat at Joe's" houses. Like all the lights made the house look like some kind of neon diner or something. Whenever we saw an ugly house, we all yelled out: "Eat at Joe's!" Maybe that's why we were hungry for the caramels when we got home.

One of my favorite Christmases was probably this last one. When Rickie didn't, you know, have a place to stay. It was so...*scary* going into that warehouse. I didn't want to. But I had to. Does that make sense? And even though I had that huge fight with my mom, that moment when I found her in the church, when I found Rickie safe...is like, the *best*. It's like there aren't even words adequate enough to say what I mean.  It's like I finally realized what Christmas was about.  No matter what Danielle says, it's not about gifts.  And it has nothing to do with my Mother's obsession for getting everything just right.  It s about the people whose lives you touch and the people who touch you.  And maybe every day of the year should be about that, but since mostly they aren't, it's good to always remember it at least once a year.  Maybe that's a start.

Last night was this Christmas dance at school. Sharon planned the entire thing herself. I helped decorate though. I'm pretty good at hanging streamers. And get this--she called it the Snow Ball. Can you believe that? That is *so* Sharon. I wasn't going to go. The last dance I went to wasn't exactly great. It sucked, actually. But I went anyway. Sharon kept bugging me. Sometimes it's easier to say yes just so she shuts up, you know?

But the dance was...fun. I think sometimes it's enough just to be with your friends and, like, *dance*. To hang out. Sharon and I hung out a lot. It was kind of like old times or whatever. Kind of. Rickie and Delia hung out too. And Rayanne even showed up for a while. Just long enough to dance. And get into trouble.  She was wearing this hat and she hung a piece of mistletoe off of the front.  Like right in front of her face.  Which is so Rayanne.  To take a romantic thing like mistletoe and turn it into some meaningless game.  Of course, like all wild animals, I'm convinced that Rayanne can smell fear, and so immediately went up to Brian Krakow with the mistletoe.  And he got so flustered that he spilled his punch all over Sharon's dress. But Sharon's dress was red, so it wasn't too bad. I mean, considering this is Brian we're talking about, the potential for disaster could have been *so* much worse.

My mom just started making noises about ice skating. I wonder if there's someplace you can rent skates. I'll never actually admit it, but I sort of want to go. It seems like a good day for ice skating. And snow angels.

I think this Christmas is going to be a really good one. Maybe the best one. And not just because Jordan Catalano actually invited me to go with him to church.  It's not just that. I just sort of feel it. Like, in my heart.

I hope it's your best Christmas too.