My Christmas Wish [folive] ✔️

one

December 20th
Z Tech

     On a gloomy, cold December day, Olive Doyle sits in the Z tech lounge swiping through picture after picture on her Z phone. When she comes across pictures of her "ex" boyfriend Fletcher Quimby, she presses the trashcan icon, deleting them all. Whether it's a goofy selfie he'd taken on her phone or even if Fletcher was in the photo, but in the background, Olive deletes it-though not permanently. She lets them sit in the "recently deleted" section of her Z Phone to be revisited later.

The room-a-vator's doors ding open and Olive's best friend Chyna Parks walks into the Z lounge smiling widely. She takes a scan at the area, and suddenly her expression changes in to scrunched up, sour face. All of the prodigies are either glued to a Z Phone, an A.N.T. Pad or a computer. Not a single student is engaging in human interaction including Olive who everybody new loved talking. Chyna, who just came back from a recording session for her Christmas EP, is fed up with how the prodigies spend their free time; she decides to take action.

"Look at you guys!" Chyna announces in a stern voice. She walks to the middle of the lounge, to make herself known to all the prodigies. "Z phones, A.N.T. Pads, computers. You're all in the same room, but you're not talking to each other."

Angus, who is sitting on the other side of the lounge holds up his Z Phone. "Uh yeah we are," he asserts. "I'm video chatting with Seth."

Chyna rolls her eyes. "I'm meant in real life. You know, no screens just face to face interaction."

Angus sighs. "But it's too exhausting!" he complains.

Chyna cocks her head and raises an eyebrow. "To talk?"

Angus nods and she shakes her head indicating she's given up on him. She turns to her friend on the couch, staring at her Z phone. "And you Olive. You usually never stop talking."

Olive doesn't look up or answer. "Olive?" Chyna says. "Olive?!" Chyna snatches her Z phone away.

"Hey!" exclaims Olive aggressively. She tries to swipe the phone back.

"No! You can't have this back. You need to get up! Talk to people. Socialize. You know, what you normally do," Chyna demands. Olive crosses her arms.

"I'm not in the mood okay! Stop hounding me!" Olive huffs.

Chyna pauses for a moment, then her face brightens. "I've got the perfect idea!"

She runs off and comes back with pads of paper and a pile of pencils. She miraculously gets the prodigies to gather around. Chyna passes out a note pad and pencil to each of the prodigies.

"What is this?" asks Angus.

"That's a notepad," Chyna explains. "You know, that thing where you write stuff down? With an actual pencil?"

"But what is it for?" Olive says, speaking for all the students.

Chyna scoots a chair to the front of the lounge near the room-a-vator's doors. "With Christmas coming up-"

Seth looks at her.

"And Hanukkah," she adds. "I thought we could all make a wishlist. It doesn't have to be just material things. You can add you're hopes, dreams. Things you've always wanted to accomplish in life. Then, we can all share what we've written."

Angus growls. "Bor-ing!"

"Come it'll be fun!" Chyna insists.

A few prodigies mumble "okay sure." They begin writing down a list and eventually Angus shrugs and gives in. As everyone diligently writes their list, Olive finds herself stumped. She taps her pencil on the couch, trying to figure out what she wants for Christmas. But nothing comes to mind. She has everything she wants. I mean, Z phones, A.N.T. Pads, computers, clothes; she doesn't need any material items. Chyna did mention abstract things, like goals and dreams. But what are Olive's dreams? She has an eidetic memory going for her and that's about it. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life yet. She's only sixteen after all.

Once everyone is finished, Chyna asks the prodigies to read their list one by one. Angus went first.

"On my wish list, I put the new ultra thin laptop, a drone and for my non material thing, to be Olive's boyfriend." Angus gazes at Olive and she glares at him, shaking her head.

"Okay...thank you Angus," Chyna says. "Who's next?"

Each prodigy lists off their wishes, until Olive is left. She desperately tries to think of something to write down in ten seconds.

"What about you Olive? What do you want for Christmas?" Chyna asks.

Olive looks up, feeling guilty. "I, uh didn't write anything down."

"Not single thing?" Chyna says.

"Yeah, you didn't put anything about me on there?" Angus asks hopefully.

"Sorry I just can't think of anything I need or want," Olive explains. She stands up feeling embarrassed that out of all the prodigies, she Olive Doyle, who loves sharing things, doesn't have anything to say. She shuffles to the room-a-vator control panel and presses the floor where she shares a room with Chyna. The doors ding open, and Olive steps into the dorm, escaping to her bedroom where she cries into her pillow.

•••
It's December! So here is a folive short story! Ten chapters or so. Hope you like it! Don't forget to vote and comment! Merry early Christmas 🎄