Decked the Halls

one: snowed in

Aspen Ski Lodge hadn't been busier. There were countless people, either teenagers pushing their friends down the runs or parents watching their kids go down the bunny hill. The energy on the grounds was electrifying as the sun started to set, the sky painted dark mauve and cerulean, dusted with fluffy falling snow. Of course, it was Christmas Eve—snow was a staple. A symbol of joy and holiday spirit.

    To Wendy Testaburger, it was a symbol of freezing cold socks.

    Curled up on the couch overlooking the ski hill, Wendy was trying to regain heat in her body after racing down all the double blacks. She had fallen off a few steep spots, sprayed her best friend Bebe with snow way more times than she could count, and took various selfies with her girlfriends on the gondola. It was fun. Any time she was with her best friends was always fun. The only thing she didn't like too much was all the snow that seeped into her ski boots. After living in South Park for so long, she'd thought snow would be something she was accustomed to.

    Those thoughts quickly left when the heat of her mug warmed her hands. Oh, right. Sweet hot chocolate met her lips as a soft smile formed. Nothing was better than homemade hot chocolate. Nichole's mom had finally perfected the recipe earlier—even though Wendy thought it couldn't get better—it did.

    "Hey, DeeDee." Bebe's voice overthrows the slamming of the door and the clattering of ski equipment on the hardwood. "Missed you out there, babe. The Owl Run was awesome!"

    Nichole grabs the big hamper beside the shoe closet. "You also missed the boys out there. We could have used your girl power to lower Cartman's ego."

    "As if it could be any higher." Rebecca, commonly known as Red, walked over to a chair to take off her boots.

    "With the way Craig and Clyde were shitting on him—oh Wends, you should have been there." Heidi tosses her jacket and gloves into the hamper.

    Over layered laughs, Wendy loved how considerate her friends were. Even though they missed her, they respected her boundaries.

"Sorry, girls." Her hot chocolate tasted sweeter. "I just kept eating shit— I'm feeling super sore. I didn't want to keep you all from having fun either, but hey—" She thrusts her glass in the air. "Tammy made hot cocoa."

Wendy couldn't contain her giggles as her friends were suddenly moving at the speed of light. Once all the girls settled in dry clothes and mugs of sugary liquid, they came and sat around her, Nichole lighting the fireplace as they did so.

"God, this is so good." Red's face scrunches with happiness. "Please tell Mama Daniels thank you for letting us stay here."

"I will, don't worry. She's just happy our cabin is getting used." Nichole grins.

Everyone at South Park College knew how wealthy Miss Nichole Amelia Daniels was, but she wasn't a charity case. Her parents were extremely successful. Both her father and mother were CEOs of big companies, but they never took their wealth for granted—unlike the student body. She would be damned if anything hurt her parents.

She wasn't comfortable around them unless they were one of Nichole's close friends. So she invited her gal pals to go on a holiday trip. Her parents said yes, and bam. That's how they all ended up at her parent's cabin. It was right next to the ski hill, and the view was definitely worth millions. It was supposed to be just the girls, but Bebe and Heidi invited the boys, to which Nichole was hesitant, but her boyfriend was part of them. It was a good compromise.

"Aw fuck," Bebe's eyes shoot daggers at her phone screen. "Clyde needs us to go pick up the Chinese food from downtown."

"Why can't the boys get it?" Wendy inquires. "Tolkien bought it." The girls thought it would be nice to have takeout since they had been cooking all week, yet this was shaping up to be another adventure for them.