Atomic recess

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

December, arguably one of the most magical times of the year. With everyone cheerful and happy, giving gifts to all their friends and families as Christmas was approaching. This December, however, wasn't the cold most were used to when it comes to this holiday. In fact all the kids at third Street school were either trying to stay cool or sunbathing. The only one that was dressed for the colder weather was Hank the janitor.

"What are you doing, Hank?" TJ asked as he and five of his friends were all looking at Hank strangely.

"Getting ready for the blizzard." Hank replies as he looks up to the sky. "It's going to be a white Christmas."

"White Christmas?" Asked Spinelli, like Hank had lost his mind. "Get real, man. We haven't had snow on Christmas since I was in preschool."

"It's all about faith, kids. You've got to have faith." Hank then left the kids to go back into his garage store room.

"I think Hank's a few fries short of a kiddie meal." Vince says.

"He's not the only one. Look." TJ points out into the playground where younger kids were acting like it had snowed. From making 'snow' angels in the sand and even pushing a sled on the concrete, even making a 'snowman' out of mud. "It's gotta be 80 degrees out here but the little kids are acting like it's snowing."

"Ah, the falling of youth." Gretchen sighs.

"Hey, when I was little, I used to get excited about Christmas, too." Paloma says in defence to the younger ones.

"Yeah, back then, everything seemed so big." Gus cuts in. "The presents, the tree, my aunt Enid. Actually, now she seems even bigger."

"I used to start my Christmas list the day after Halloween. made two columns. One for educational toys, the other for research and technical pamphlets." Gretchen informs her friends of what she used to do.

"I used to try staying up late to get a glimpse of Santa. coming down the chimney, but I always fell asleep." Vince says.

"Yeah, but now that we're older, we all know the truth about him, don't we, guys?" TJ asked his friends.

"Well, not all of us." Spinelli says as she points over to the jungle gym, where Mikey was sitting on the slide writing to Santa and Dede was next to him, looking over his shoulder. The group of six all smiled at each other and walked over to join the last two members of their group. "Yo, Mikey, you still sweating over that letter to Santa?"

"Hey, it's important. He's got a special column for lazy writers on the naughty list, you know?" Mikey says as both he and Dede look at their friends.

"No, I hadn't heard." Dede quietly laughs to herself as Spinelli's almost deadpan tone.

"Once he goes online, it will be much easier." The bell rings before anyone can say anything else. "Oh, boy, the bell! I'd love to stay and chat, but it's time for the Christmas show tryouts."

Inside the auditorium there are a bunch of kids all waiting to try out different parts for the upcoming Christmas show. Mikey was sitting on the stairs leading to the stage when his friends all walked over to him. "Hey, Mikey, you're not in line. I thought you wanted to audition." Dede asked, getting his attention.

"No. I'm just here to soak up the Christmas atmosphere. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. This year, besides peace on earth and good will toward men, I'd like a volume of Shakespeare and the Oxford Book of Modern Poetry. And, oh, yeah, gum balls, lots and lots of gum balls." Mikey finishes the rest of his letter, making Dede smile at his wants knowing that the real Santa would definitely have Mikey on his good list, even if some of the things he was asking for were out of Santas control.