The Run ©2014 Sydney Wray

Chapter 31

A/N: Early update! Merry Christmas everyone.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!" Someones' voice rang through the air, followed by running feet.

I groaned, rolling over and tucking my head under my pillow. I learned to hate Christmas by the time I was thirteen. All of the gifts were from, again, supermarkets or stores. And even though there was a tag that noted whether it was for a certain gender, or age, it was never something you even wished for. I was thankful for the few people that actually do donate gifts, but it will never be personal.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing my brain to slip into the blissful moments of sleep, when my door swung open, and a body leapt onto me.

I let out a gasp, and stared up at Jason.

He grinned. "Get up-it's Christmas!"

"I'll get up soon." I mumbled, rolling back over.

"When's soon?"

I thought. "One hundred and twenty minutes." He had no knowledge of the amount of minutes an hour held, so I was safe with this one.

A girls voice suddenly appeared. "Which is three hours, Jason. Come on Lindsey. Hellen is making hot chocolate."

I peeked from under my covers, and spotted Ray leaning against the doorway. Her brown hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and her face held a quirky expression.

I looked back and forth between the both of them, and finally sighed. "Fine."

And I slid out of bed, watching Jason jumping up and down from excitement. I felt bad for him; it was his first year in Foster Care. I heard his parents had died suddenly in a car accident, and he of course, was used to the normal Christmas. Of course, I personally had no idea what took place on a 'normal Christmas morning.' All my information came from movies. Jason had no idea what was coming.

I brushed my teeth, and slipped on a sweatshirt. I ambled down the steps, and veered into the living room.

About seven kids sat around, staring at the empty tree.

I raised my eyebrows. That's strange. Usually there was at least one for everyone.

Hellen came in behind me, and grinned at everyone. How could she be smiling at this moment? "I have a surprise for you all."

"Does this involve gifts?" Ray asked sarcastically.

The door swung up, and in came a man dressed as Santa. "Ho, ho, ho! I heard some very special children lived here, and my elves forgot their house!"

All the kids jumped up, gasping at the visitor.

Santa laughed, shutting the door and making his way into the living room. He sat on the couch, and everyone gathered around him. I stood from the staircase, smiling at the surprise and watching their excitement.

Santa chuckled, and reached into a large brown bag. He dug around, and pulled out a red package decorated with bows. "Where's Jason?"

My eyes darted to Jason, and he grinned, holding out his hand. "Here!"

Santa smiled, handing Jason his package. The same process continue; Santa digging in his bag, calling out a name and handing them their gift. Every child got at least two or three gifts. I eventually sat on the stairs, watching the rendezvous.

"Where's Lindsey?"

I was suprised, as I looked at Santa.

He saw my espresson. "What, you thought Santa forgot about you?"