Dog Days Are Over

What happened ?

Christmas Holiday wasn't that soothing. Teachers didn't care about it, and gave us a substantial amount of homework. Snow refused to fall, letting the outside air dry and the days getting darker and darker. All my friends were with their families anyway so there wasn't anything to do except staying warm at home, stuffing my stomach with food and listening to the everlasting rerun of Home Alone while painting quietly next to the heater. Despite the weather it was comforting. The whole place smelled like food, and each and every houses in the street shined in the night with vibrant lights. The boys had both texted me with greetings and pictures of their colorful tree, letting me take a peak at their home, like a peeping tom trying to get a glimpse in between the curtains. A member of their family must've taken the picture because the twins were posing next to the huge tree, wearing their traditional ugly sweaters as Josh had mentioned before. Jake was holding Josh on his shoulders, purposely looking silly with a big toothy grin on his face, while Josh was dangerously reaching out to put the golden star on top of the highest branch, looking like he was screaming when the picture had been taken.

It had been a week and I missed them already. And the thought of getting them presents was knocking more and more at the door of my mind. We didn't live in the same city at all afterall so we sure didn't have the same souvenirs... Lost in thought, I played with Jake's rings, idly making them turn around my fingers as they were too big for them. The boy had forgotten them at the top of Mandy and I's fridge after our paint fight. When I saw they were still where he had left them, the urge to take them with me to play with them at all times was too big for me to resist. Removing one from my index finger, I studied it, enjoying the way it rolled between my digits. Of course I'll give them back to him, but in the meantime maybe that'll help with the Christmas present...

Coming back to school after the holidays was always a challenge, but after New Year's Eve it was even worse. We all went back two or three days sooner in order to unpack, get re-accustomed to living in the dorms and finish our homework, for some of us who had more space to work here than at their home. Even with the only presence of the dorms' residents, campus looked like a scene from The Walking Dead, and the twins were no exception. They already seemed to enjoy booze a little too much for their own good on a regular basis, so I didn't even wanted to think about how they partied for New Year's Eve. Despite their excitment to see us again when we met in the morning, Josh still looked slightly drunk, and Jake had purple bags under his eyes like he didn't sleep in years. Everybody melted together in a tight group hug, Mandy by my side and a twin on each of my shoulders, exchanging « I missed you »s and « Happy New Year »s. They didn't let us any time to recover though, as Josh had the fantastic idea to organize a private Christmas party in his room. Jake blinked at him, looking like he didn't know about it in the slightlest until just now.

- I really missed ya, y'know ? So I thought we should arrange a party, just for us.

- Should we exchange gifts ?, asked Mandy.

- I already have some for you, shrugged Josh as if it was normal.

That info made Jake's eyebrows rise so much they nearly disappeared in his hairline, further proof that he was learning that at the same time as we were. Mandy, on the other hand, was now stressed out because she had no idea what to give them. Man they were already tiring me and school hasn't even started yet.

Jake accompanied us downtown to shop, trying to be discreet everytime something behind the showcase of a store piqued his interest, while Mandy directly asked him what he wanted and which gift Josh would like better. That's how I found myself between these two, not having found the good timing to tell them I already had gifts for the lot of them. At some point I had try to offer Josh my help with the decoration of the room but he heavily insisted that he handled the situation before dismissing me. The boy looked way too excited and it only meant two things ; either his family spiked their cookies or he had an idea in mind. I had a bad feeling about this.