My Wish Upon A Star

Chapter 1 - The Mother of all Puffy Dresses

(A/N: Just a heads up before you start reading this. I'm not censuring myself with this story, so yes, I'm going to swear and yes, this might get rated-R, so young minds, you might want to stay clear! 8D)

Chapter 1

The Mother of all Puffy Dresses

I was wearing a dress.

            Now, seeing I was a girl, there wasn't anything remotely weird about that statement. What was weird was the dress itself—a frickin' puffy dress. The puffiest of all puffy dresses, the mother of all puffy dresses, the Eve of puffy dresses.

            I was the frickin' Star Fairy, and Santa Claus had been trying to cope a feel all frickin' morning long. Honestly, if he asked me if I had been a bad girl this year one more time I was going to wrap his beard around his neck and choke him, maybe stuff his mouth with it too.

            I really had a knack at getting myself into bizarre situations. Or getting bizarre jobs.

            Growing up, I had never believed in Santa Claus. My parents were death set believers in being non-believers. Well they weren't exactly non-believers, they were just... into that New Age, feng shui, find your inner peace, smoke pot, run around naked, live in a commune kind of thing. And when I say commune, it isn't a figurative term, I mean my parents were god damn polygamists. Okay, they had married each other and had me, but they were still paring up with another couple and a girl, they were kind of like this five people fuck group and they all had dozens of girlfriends and boyfriends on the side. When I was younger, it was just normal for me, I always lived in that environment, but when I got to school and people realized my family situation, oh sweet not so virgin Mary, I got laughed at over it. I wasn't a polygamist myself though. Oh fuck no. I had seen enough of it, to know that it was way too much work. You had to sit and talk about your feelings and issues with your partners, all the frickin' time. That was way too much talking for my liking. And the jealousy. Oh! The love we have for each other isn't undermined by the love we might have for another person and blah blah fucking blah. They couldn't bullshit with me, I knew my mom had her little fits every frickin' month! So I grew up with free love and liberal views on things. They weren't uneducated though and jobless. My dad was an engineer and my mother a professor in University in psychology, so we never had money problems, but they still had wacky hippie beliefs, like thinking that celebrations like Christmas were just capitalism parties and we had to take no part in them. I think I partly took this job to piss my parents off. And I partly took it to pay the rent for my new apartment that was way out of my price range but just too perfect to not take.

            And by perfect I mean it has high ceiling with and a huge balcony that overlooks the city and also access to the rooftop. There were frickin' high columns in it, and two bedrooms and a high tech kitchen and it had absolutely nothing to do with the commune house I had grown up in, with my parents and there fifty lovers—ew.

Seriously, just by looking at it from outside, with all the Buddhist and Hinduism crap hanging around—honestly I don't think they got the whole principle of those religions—and bead curtains and all that shebang, you could just smell the hippies and brown sandals.

When time for the lunch came, I all but praised the lord, singing alleluia and hurried over to our lunch spot, which was pretty much a back store with a bunch of broken Christmas decorations. But I now had a dilemma. There was this awesome sale on snow coats at a store in another mall across the city and I really needed a new coat. Okay, the word needed was used loosely here, but whatever.

"Hey Danika, I have your present hidden right here" Santa Claus told me, grabbing his crotch and making faces.

I flipped him off. "Seriously James, knock it off! You have a god damn girlfriend, and she's my cousin." That was why I had gotten the job, my cousin June had told me about the job because of James.

"Yes, but I'm thinking of trying your parents' lifestyle..." he trailed, wiggling his eyebrows. What have I done to the world to have the parents I have and know so many pervs?

"James, I will shove that reindeer up your ass if you continue!" I exclaimed, throwing the blond wig off my head and vigorously scratched my skulls.

I looked like hell, and there was no way I could get out of the dress, go shopping and get back in the dress in time to get back to my shift.

James was still making crude gestures my way—and by crude gestures, I mean he was humping the reindeers—while I contemplated my options. I had done a lot worse in my life than going out in an atrocious puffy blue dress. My ego could totally deal with it.

"I have errands to run, I'll be back before the end of our break," I said, to no one in particular. I was a god damn twenty three year old woman so I really didn't have to explain myself to anyone.

"Need to leave because you can't resist my sex appeal," the perv countered.

"Keep telling yourself that," I smirked, and hurried outside.

Of course, I got countless judgy looks from everyone I passed as I hurried to get to the street and hail a cab. Needless to say I had to wait a while for one to actually stop for me.

I quickly told the driver the mall I wanted to get to. "And step on it, I need to be back here soon."

He grumbled something incoherent and started the meter. Thanks dude. I was probably going to be late now and I'd get scolded for it.

I sighed and looked out at the city scenery, trying not to freak for no reason.

There was nothing like New York during the winter—and well during fall too... and summer, and spring! I grew up in Ithaca, which was a good four hour drive from Manhattan, and I believed the whole 'there's not place like home' concept, but I also believed that you could make your home wherever you wanted to and New York had become my home. There was just something magical about the light snow falling from the sky and resting on the twinkling buildings that just made everything eerie. I could sit on my balcony all night long just looking at the city.

My waking reverie was cut up short by the sound of crashing metal though, while I was projected on the other side of the car.

Well, I was definitely going to be late now...