The Envy Game (completed)

Chapter 39 - Sherbor Alley Winter

Thin coates of snow were starting to fall outside. Life was heading into December. If you liked Sherbor Alley in the Atumn, wait till you see it in the winter. The town square was crusted by a layer of ice that made it glittler like glass.

The statue of the Sherbor brothers in the centre of the square, each had a tall hat of snow on their heads. The library had gained a new white roof just like the University and the church tower.

The girls walked along the pavement enjoying the frozen December air and the lit up windows of shops and cafes. The road beside them had a little ice on it aswell but it soon melted into water, because of the heat of the passing cars.

"Yay it's snowing!" Sarah jumped around touching any posible form of frozen water.

"Not Yay, Sarah." Brooklyn rolled her eyes and sighed liberating a cloud of mist into hte air, from her mouth. "It's snowing and that means it's December. Do you know what that means?"

"Christmas?" Hazel smiled.

"No. Do you know who was born in December?"

"Jesus?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"No. Marissa." Brooklyn sighed and walked ahead, "Marissa's birthday party is this weekend."

"Come on, you don't even know if we're invited." Fallon shrugged. "Try and not ruin our Christmas atmosphere."

"Oh come on. We're always invited. If she doesn't want us to come to wish her happy birthday, she wants us to come so she can torture us."

Leighton shook her head. "She's actuallly not that bad anyomre. She changed since last year."

"People don't just change, Leighton." Hazel spoke with a serious voice. Seems she caught on, to Brooklyn's version of christmas spirit.

They passed by the shopwindow of an antique shop. It sparkled with colourful christmas fairy lights all arounds it on the inside.

A tiny vintage ballerina swirled inside a wooden music box to a tune they couldn't hear outside on the street.

"Look how pretty!" Fallon pointed it out.

"It reminds me of the one Ariana had when she was little." Leighton smiled.

"She was obsessed with that thing, she carried it everywhere she went." Hazel smiled. All these memories flooded each of their minds. "I remember how she played it to the younger girls in ballet class."

"Yeah," Sarah sighed. "When the teacher couldn't get them to be quiet, Ariana would get out that music box and they'd sit there charmed."

There really was something amazing about Ariana's music box. It played the theme music from the nutcraker as a polly pocket doll sized, pure golden balerina twirled in a piruette position. It wasn't like an ordinary ballerina jewlery box, that little girls have.

You know, those ones that have a ballerina smaller than your pinky, stuck onto a spring. And the danecer's face is absolutely unclear.

Those ones that are made of cardboard wrapped in glittery paper from a chinese shop.

Ariana's box wasn't like that.

"But she never let anyone touch it." Leighton sighed. "That's Ariana. You can look at it and want it, but know that you will never get it."

"I think I remember something like that... where did she even get that box?" Fallon watched the wooden dancer twirl.

Hazel Laughed. "Now I know what I want for christmas."

"Really Hazel?" Brooklyn rolled her eyes and walked on pulling them along.

"Biotch."

"What was that Sarah?" Brooklyn turned around.

"You're a biotch."

"I know."

Fallon was about to walk out of the school building into the parking lot, but Marissa somehow appeared in her path and started walking with her.

"Oh hello Fallon!" Her fake smile flashing as always."It's so good I bumped into you!"

"Hi Marissa, what's up?" Fallon didn't let herself be stopped, and continued walking ahead.

"You know my birthday party is this weekend," she took some envelopes out of her handbag. "EVERYONE is coming. So I thought, it would be so nice if you and your friends came too!"

"Alright..." Fallon said as Marissa put the envelopes into her hand. "It's just... I thought you hate my friends."

"Oh all that happened so long ago!" She winked at Fallon."And they didn't do anything wrong... it was aaall Ariana."

"Right... ok I'll see if I can come this weekend. See You around." Fallon brushed the remaining sticky particles of Marissa, off her clothes and turned to walk down the huge, ice-over-layed steps of the school.

For some reason Marissa's usual overly-kind tone of voice seemed especially hard to trust right now. Those four girls she was inviting to her own house, once broke into it. They were friends with 'that girl who tortured Marissa' and somehow all the hatred for them vanised from her system.

Fallon caught up with Sarah, Brooklyn, Hazel and Leighton. Now she would have to take the difficult task of telling the girls were they had to go this weekend.

"Yeah. This is what I was worried about." Brooklyn shook her head.

"We're caught in a dead end." Hazel recited the obvious. "We can't not go because then Marissa will be able to say that we don't want peace with her."

"Yeah... that we're avoiding her or something..." Sarah added.

"If we go, we don't know what she's planning for us." Leighton held her hand out to catch a few falling snowflakes. "Why would she be inviting US FOUR? She hates us; there must be a catch!"

"There isn't, she was all nice when she spoke to me." Fallon hesitated for a moment. "...Well, as nice as Marissa gets."

"Let me guess, the you-guys-ruined-my-life-multiple-times-but-it-doesn't-matter kind of nice, am I right?"

"Wow Sarah, the last time you said such a long word was when we sang 'Supercalifragelistic' in third grade!" Brooklyn grinned.

"Very funny Brooklyn." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Sarah's right. I dont think Marissa's ever been not fakely nice to me." Hazel nodded.

"That girl has so many faces..." Leighton shuddered. "It's like you take off her mask and she has five more hidden underneath."

"Ugh... creepy." Hazel said. "There's no other words for it, Marissa just genuinly creeps me out."

"But you guys know we're going to have to go, don't you?" Fallon kicked a small hill of snow out of her way. "Come on it won't be that bad."

"You don't think I can stand some Marissa for a few hours?" Brooklyn raised her eyebrows. "Seriously, think again."

"Alright we'll go then." Leighton shrugged.

"It might even be fun!" Sarah smiled.

"No trust me Sarah, it will not be fun." Hazel shook her head. "We're not going so that we can wish her happy birthday."

"We're going because it would be strategical suicide not to go." Brooklyn rolled her eyes.