Just for Fun

Jelly Beans

Nothing about the manically flashing lights, jarring jingles of piped music, or curdling scents of apple cider and chestnuts made Raine feel anything other than nauseous.

She just wanted some cigarettes. That was the only reason she'd found herself forced to venture out into the wretched winter wonderland her hometown had become. While the rest of the year, simple errands weren't an issue, for some reason the first of December made every day tasks into some nightmare gauntlet of elf dodging, false smiles and forced fun of the worst level.

Raine had never seen the sparkle of any of it, but this year in particular it grated on her soul. To her it was all so obviously false. There was worry behind every smile, fear behind each seemingly cheerful greeting. Will lunch be good enough? Will the children like their presents? What if the shop is out of sprouts? How will we afford to pay this back? And yet year after year people merrily got on the bandwagon, insisting that it was all worth it.

Feeling as if she'd trekked through Narnia, she finally reached the store, and navigated her way past the obnoxious displays, trying desperately not to let the glitter latch onto her. It seemed to be cascading off of the sign adorning the front of the showcase of all the store's very best festive tat.

"Believe in the Magic of Christmas." She snorted. If that Magic had anything to do with glitter, or as she liked to call it, devil dust, then she wanted absolutely no part of it. Just as she approached the counter, a woman with extraordinarily white blonde hair tripped over a trailing cable from the fairy lights. Instinctively, Raine dived to catch her, for fear of her ending up face first in a shelf of glass snow globes.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. As she lunged towards the stricken shopper, her coat caught on the sign, the glitter acting like velcro and pulling it, and the plethora of polystyrene ball bearings mascarading as snow behind it, all over the shop floor. It was like an avalanche. But dry, warm, and obscenely sparkly. And underneath it, was Raine, the sign glinting away happily on top of her.

The shopper rushed over to help her, attempting to brush off the worst of it and thanking her for her efforts.

"At least you sparkle now! No need to find a Christmas jumper." She tried to find a positive. Raine smirked.

"This stuff kills turtles. Or something. It's bad anyway." She muttered in response.

"My God, it's all over your hair." the lady was only just stifling a giggle, "Look, you deserve a little something. Take this. I bought it as a spare in case I'd forgotten someone." She handed her a similarly sparkling bottle of some sort of mulled cordial.

"Thank you, but really, you don't need to. I just need to get my tabs and get home."

"Please. If nothing else, it matches you." She held it up next to Raines glittering mane of hair. Defeated, Raine took it and tried to look grateful.

"Christmas Magic." She read the label and chuckled, "Alrighty then." The lady looked at her deeply for a moment and sighed.

"Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something, sad girl. Maybe it's time you gave it a chance." The words didn't quite seem real, and yet they angered her all the same. When she turned around to confront the woman, there was no sign of her anywhere. She shook her head and jammed the bottle in her pocket.

"You should put some tape over that cable." She said to a shop assistant who was merrily stacking shelves by the counter, seemingly oblivious to it all, "20 lambert please." She spotted a man by the window, trying to warm himself in his wet hat and gloves, "Make that 40. And two lighters. And these please." She threw a hat and scarf onto the counter.