Voted a fan favorite!

Christmas Incorporated

Gloria sat on a bench outside the school gym looking over her homework. It was a little cold outside this time of year, but such a nice day that it would be a shame to let it go to waste. There was still a little time left before rehearsal, and everyone else was still at school.

            To Gloria’s left was the P*lace, everyone’s favorite hangout. For years, it had been called the Palace, and housed many famous musical acts. Today the marquee read Now Playing: Kids Incorporated.

I wish we were playing now! Gloria wistfully thought to herself. She looked longingly at the sheet music on the bench beside her. If they wanted to have this song down before the holidays, they’d better start now.

            Ryan was the first to arrive. Physically, at least; he had his nose in a book as usual. Despite being the new kid, Ryan was fitting in very well with the others, except for the fact that they couldn’t understand why he read books outside of school.

            “Look out for that fence post.” Gloria called to him. He laughed. “Good book?” she asked.

            “Oh, the best!” he replied. “Sherlock Holmes.” Now it was Gloria’s turn to laugh. Ryan loved detective stories, sometimes a little too much.

            “So, why aren’t you in the P*lace? Isn’t it about time for rehearsal?” he asked.

            “But it’s such a beautiful day! And...I’m broke, and all that ice cream was just calling to me!”  They were laughing when Renee came over to them.

            “Hi, Ryan. Hi, Gloria.” she said.

            “Well, three down, two to go.” noted Gloria. “And just where are the partners in crime today?” she joked.

            “Trying to ruin my life!” Renee cried.

            “Renee...” Gloria said disapprovingly, indicating that a lecture was on the way.

            “Gloria...” Renee mocked, indicating that she’d had quite a few of those lectures before.

           “What’d they do this time?” Ryan asked her. Lately, Renee had been tag teamed by Stacy and The Kid almost every other day. They seemed to be on a roll these days.

            Renee sighed. “They found some poems that I wrote, and now they won’t give them back to me. They were reading them out loud in the middle of study hall! I was so embarrassed!” She hid her face in Gloria’s shoulder.

           “Why don’t you try ignoring them?” suggested Ryan.

            Renee picked her head up and glared at him. “Well, it’s kinda hard when one of them’s your sister.”

            As if on cue, Stacy and The Kid rounded the corner, laughing to themselves. In his hands, The Kid held Renee’s notebook. “This is the dumbest one yet!” he quipped.

            “Yeah, I know! You should see her at home!” Stacy laughed. She struck a dramatic pose and said, “Oh, I think I’ll write another dopey poem about peace today!” Then she spoiled her sister. “Uh oh.”

            “You guys, why do you have to tease Renee so much?” Ryan asked them.

            “It’s fun.” The Kid said plainly. “Besides, we were only joking.”

            “Well, it’s not funny!” said Renee, snatching her notebook from The Kid’s hands.

            Every day it’s the same thing, thought Gloria. She shook her head. “Look, we need to start rehearsing for our Christmas concert. I think we could all use some Christmas spirit around here.”

            “Well, my Christmas spirit has 2 wheels and 10 speeds.” said The Kid.

            “That’s what Christmas means to you?” Stacy asked him, “A bike?”

            “Only the greatest bike ever!” he answered. “Man, I’ve wanted that thing for months! You should see it...”

            Gloria let them talk among themselves. She had an idea that would bring Christmas to the P*lace for sure.

            Later, the Kids were treated to a demonstration of Riley’s latest invention. “It’s a candy cane maker.” he said matter-of-factly, as if one saw that kind of thing everyday. “See, you put little mints in this end, and the candy canes come out here.”

            “But how does it work?” Renee asked him.

            He looked embarrassed. “Uh, I don’t know, but I’m gonna get it working. I will! I’ll just adjust this mechanism right here...”

            “Sure, Riley.” they told him. They’d been down that road before. Many times.

            “Okay, let’s talk presents.” The Kid said suddenly. “I’m sure you all know what I’ve been wanting this year.”

            “A bike.” they answered without missing a beat.

            “Oh, but not just any bike.” Ryan said flatly.

            “Only the greatest bike ever.” added Renee.

            The Kid knew he’d pushed the bike issue a little too much. “Sorrrry!” he muttered.

            “Hey, I have an idea.” Gloria said. Everyone stopped and looked at her. “Instead of buying presents for everybody, why don’t we each just buy a present for one person?”

            “You mean like a secret Santa?” Ryan asked her.

            “Yeah.”

            “But then we’d only get one present.” complained The Kid.

            “Yes, but it would be a much bigger present.” Gloria explained to him.

            “Well, I think it’s a great idea.” Ryan decided.

            “Me, too.” said Stacy.

            “Me, three!” said Renee with a giggle.

            So they wrote down everyone’s name and put them in a hat (not The Kid’s). Then they each drew one, hiding it from everyone else. When Gloria reached into the hat, the name she drew was The Kid’s.

            Oh, this is gonna be fun, she thought. Out loud she said, “Okay, you guys, let’s go shopping!”

            The weeks passed, and Christmas was just around the corner. School had let out for the holidays, and it was time for Kids Inc.’s Christmas concert. They’d seen each other at the mall and around town, but so far, no one had spilled whose secret Santa they were. Just before the concert, the Kids gathered in the storeroom.

                        “So, who wants to go first?” Gloria asked. No takers. A game of Paper, Rock, Scissors proved Renee to be it. She pulled a rectangular, heavy package from the pile.

            “This is for Ryan, from me. Well, okay, it’s from Samantha, too.” explained Renee. “She’s got another one, so she didn’t mind, and I knew you liked to read.”

            Ryan pulled off the paper to reveal an old but fairly well-preserved copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles. “A first edition!” he exclaimed.

            Renee laughed at the adoring look he gave her. “It’s kinda…old, so maybe you won’t wanna, you know, read it.” she said. But Ryan was already turning the pages. “Merry Christmas.” she reminded him.

            “Oh, thanks, Renee. Merry Christmas to you, too.”

            “Okay, now it’s Renee’s turn to get a present.” Gloria said. “Who’s got it?” She was surprised but a little pleased when The Kid stood up.

            “Oh, this oughta be good.” grumbled Renee.

            His present looked book-like too, except it came with a lock. “I know I tease you a lot about your poetry,” he said softly, “and I know it’s wrong. So I thought, I’m probably never gonna change, but now you can lock up your thoughts and keep them private. Unless you want someone to see them.”

            Renee was nearly speechless. “Thank you, Kid!” she managed to say. “I know what I’ll write in it first!”

            “I know why you did this, Gloria,” The Kid said now, turning to her. “Christmas isn’t all about presents, it’s about friends. Who cares about some bike? It’s not important. I realize that now.”

            “Oh, so you don’t want your present?” she asked him, holding up a package.

            “I didn’t say that!”

            It was a license plate, the little kind you hang on bikes. Gloria’d had it personalized. It said THE KID in big, gleaming silver letters. The Kid smiled. “You know, even if I don’t get that bike, this will still be the best Christmas for a long time.”

            Suddenly an explosion rocked the P*lace. “Aw, man!” they heard Riley yell. They opened the door to find him standing there covered in pink syrup.

            “I guess we’re not getting any candy canes this year!” Stacy joked, and then she squealed as Riley gave her a sticky hug.

            “Come on, guys, let’s help Riley clean this mess up.” Kid said. “As our Christmas present to him.”

            “Then we can go rock these halls!” Ryan said.

            “YEAH!” they all yelled.

            Outside, the marquee had been changed to celebrate the occasion. It now said: Merry Christmas.  Love, Kids Incorporated.

The End