Story of the Season

Chapter Five

I woke up staring at the ceiling. I slept horribly last night, but it was my own fault. I despise sleeping in any place that isn't my own bed. I stretch on the bed and force myself to sit up. I want to go back to bed and see if I can salvage any sleep at all, but when I look at the time on the bedside clock, my brain told me it was time to get up.

I reluctantly got up and brushed my teeth. I showered and changed into a white sweater and thick winter pants. I was thankful Mom remembered to pack a winter coat for me because I was definitely going outside today, and I would prefer not to turn into a block of ice when I did.

I don't typically blow-dry my hair, but I thought that going outside in the winter with wet hair was the perfect recipe for getting sick, so I blow-dried it. It immediately retaliated by getting frizzy. My curly hair drove me crazy sometimes.

When I walked back into my room, I remembered something. I turned the heat as high as it could go last night. I was positively frigid, and there were no words to describe how grateful I felt when the room finally warmed up. I fell asleep without turning it down, which, in retrospect, was a bit of a mistake. My room felt similar to a sauna.

I supposed that was the hazard of leaving the heat on the hottest temperature for nine hours straight.

I left my computer in my room and took my phone instead. It didn't get service, but I was so used to having it ready for if I got any business calls that carrying it around became a habit. Even if it was completely useless.

My head felt sluggish today. I tried to think about my story, but my brain seemed to veto the idea of even thinking about it. I yawned as I got into the hallway. I hadn't thought to check my eyebags in the bathroom mirror, so I only hoped they didn't look as bad as I think they did.

I got into the main room and found Maeve on a tall ladder. She was at the very top, Weston holding the bottom of it glancing up at her periodically, but he was mostly looking out the window to watch the gentle descent of the snow.

I pulled my coat closer to me, getting cold just thinking about the snow. I walked into the room, gaining Maeve's attention. She had a garland with red flowers she was trying to hang up on a wooden pole on the wall right where the wall met with the start of the a-frame ceiling.

She smiled brightly at me, tucking the garland under her arm and waving with the other hand. "Good morning!" she greeted in a chipper voice. She leaned back, seemingly forgetting she was on a ladder.

I gasped in surprise when she tilted backward, her arms failing and flying forward. Weston's head snapped up to look at her. He braced his arms to catch her, but she regained her balance and grabbed back onto the sides of the ladder.

She put a hand to her chest and laughed in embarrassment. She glanced down at Weston, who took a deep breath to calm his sudden panic, giving her a stern look. "I know, I know, I'll be careful," she laughed, continuing to wrap the garland around the pole.

She finally got it up and carefully climbed down the ladder. Weston was watching the whole time to make sure she didn't fall. When she got to the ground, he immediately took the ladder and walked away with it, but not before sparing her a glare.

She chuckled to herself before she turned to me, "He doesn't trust me with the ladder. I can see why, but I think it's funny because he acts like he hates me until I almost fall. Then he freaks out and tries to catch me. That's how you know he likes someone; he'll save your life despite it being a danger to him. Such a fickle guy, that one. Anyways, how did you sleep, Cassidy? You look awful."

My cheeks flushed. "Thanks," I deadpanned. She rolled her eyes playfully.

"You look tired," she reiterated. "Didn't sleep? New places can have that effect on people."

"Yeah, I haven't slept well in a while. I'm sure I'll get a good nights sleep tonight. Are you hanging up anymore garlands?" I tried to seem optimistic even though I knew the underlying reason for my lack of sleep. My stress was mounting, and every day that passed was just a day closer to my deadline. I just couldn't take my mind off the story for a single second, and it was getting on my nerves.

She looked down at her feet and gestured to the box I hadn't noticed was there. "Oh yeah, I have a lot of garland. I also have some other decorations in there. Weston's a cheapskate and reuses the same decorations he got for clearance five years ago."

I hadn't even noticed he was back in the room, but I heard him scoff. I find the source of the sound, and he is rolling his eyes at Maeve. "I'm not a cheapskate," he grumbles. "It was a deal!"

"From five years ago. There are new decorations in the stores by now, aren't you curious what they are?" Maeve wondered.

Weston shrugged, approaching us and opening the box, pulling out another garland. "You don't like my garland?" he asked, holding it up innocently.

"The new ones aren't missing most of the red flowers," she grumbled, snatching it from his hands. "Please buy new ones."

"Yeah, maybe next winter," he said dismissively. His name got called from another room, and he gladly took his leave.

Maeve looked at the garland with sad eyes. "He says that every year...and we never ger new ones! Candice knew he liked these decorations, so she said he could have them up for five years before she was going to replace them. She said, 'five years should be enough time to get sick of them, and then we're buying new ones', but I think he forgot. He's always too busy to buy them with me."

"Who's Candice?" I asked, clearly missing something.

"His mom," she responds, although distracted by pouting over the decorations. She glanced back up at me with a small spark of hope in her eyes. I didn't get it at first, but when it dawned on me, I wanted to sigh.

I hadn't decorated for the holidays in years, let alone bought anything. "Why don't we go shopping for new decorations together?" I brought up the idea even though I felt slightly pressured by Maeve's stare.

She dropped the garland, clapping her hands together with joy. A big grin broke out on her face. She hooked her arm in mine, joy flooding her eyes. "Oh, we're going to have the best time! I know the perfect place, and I'll get us there in no time. This is wonderful! Aren't you excited?"

"Uh...yeah," I said, staring at her out of the corner of my eyes. She started dragging me across the room. I couldn't keep up with her on a normal basis, let alone keep up with her now when she had a pep in her step.

She led us to her car, hopping in the driver's seat. I opened the door but stood outside trying to zip my coat up more.

"Hurry up, Cassidy! These decorations go like hot cakes, we got to be the first one to get to the store!"

"It's 10 o'clock on a Wednesday morning, I highly doubt anyone's going to be th—"

As soon as I shut the car door, before I could even buckle in my seat belt or pull up my coat so I wouldn't be sitting on it, Maeve slams on the gas and we go flying out of the parking lot and down the downhill road to exit the lodge.

How do I always get guilt tripped into doing stuff?