Chapter 27: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

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Chapter 27: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

One by one, strips of construction paper fell off school-crafted chains used for the mere purpose of counting down to Christmas Day. The line of rings was now down to ten loops and I still hadn't gathered up the energy to go Christmas shopping. I figured that if I waited too long everything that was worth buying would be off the shelves, leaving only the crappy rejects for procrastinators like myself to pick up.

I had a bad case of Shopper's Block, if that was even a thing. As I strolled through the crowded mall, I honestly couldn't think of anything to get anyone. The only thing I really made a decision on was that I was going to get gifts for the boys, including the ones that I already "eliminated." They sort of just pushed their way into my circle of friends, which was okay because it wasn't huge to begin with. Most of the people who sat at our lunch table were friends with Luke, not me.

I decided to start with Dad, because I could give everyone else their gifts after break, or at least after Christmas. I couldn't exactly put off Dad. I saw a fishing rod in the window of an outdoor recreation store. I entered it, and with the help of a knowledgeable sales associate, I came out a hundred dollars poorer. I would pop by the bait shop and get him a gift certificate. Then he could fish until his heart's content.

I bought Mr. and Mrs. Chandler matching mugs. I got them couple's items each year and they never complained. I thought it was cute and couldn't wait until I was married to buy adorable, pointless junk that would eventually clutter my home. They never complained to me about it; not to my face, anyways.

The guys I no longer had a romantic relationship with—and Tyler—were easier to shop for. I made a frog at Build-A-Bear Workshop for Beckett as a sick yet humorous reminder of our awful dissection and clothed it with a stylish pair of hipster glasses. I got Alec—err, Maddy, his daughter—a pink baseball jersey.

I wracked my brain for gifts to give Ian and Tyler, but I found the task next to impossible. The problem with Ian was that he had money and could buy whatever he desired and the only thing I really knew about Tyler was that he liked sex and motorcycles. The thought of sending them both prostitutes to satisfy their dry spell crossed my mind, but the process of finding suitable ones sent goosebumps up my spine. I wouldn't even know the first place to look, let alone the cost of one. Besides, a seventeen year old girl hiring two prostitutes is sort of odd and probably illegal.

I settled on getting something crude for Ian. That seemed to be his thing. I would have to order something online using my dad's credit card since there were no places in the mall that sold the kind of thing that I was looking for. I hoped Dad wouldn't look at the descriptions too closely otherwise I'd have a lot of explaining to do.

I recalled Tyler saying something about pirates, so I went to a toy store and bought him an eye patch, a fake but still realistic looking treasure map, and a package of plastic doubloons. It was stupid and he probably wouldn't use it, but I found it somewhat meaningful and silly.

It took half an hour of my time and the surprising reveal of my negotiating skills that were in fact existent, but I had crossed the barrier that was Luke's parents. I was quite proud of myself and I couldn't wait to get his present.

I wasn't the only person who was at the Addison Animal Shelter today. It seemed that many of the residents of Addison adopted pets during the holidays.

I looked at the whimpering dogs that surrounded me and couldn't help but feel a sense of compassion and sympathy for them. Most were on their hind legs, scratching at the fence that separated them from us.

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