Zoey was currently sitting at her desk, listening to Mr. Feeny read 'A Christmas Carol', but she didn't pay attention to the story as she tried not to laugh at Shawn and Cory pulling funny faces at each other. Zoey placed a hand up to her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.
"'And it always said of Scrooge... that he knew how to keep Christmas well... if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us. And so as Tiny Tim observed... God bless us, every one." Mr. Feeny said, finishing the story. "And so ends Dickens' masterpiece 'A Christmas Carol'."
"Wait a minute. That's not the end. Where's the Grinch?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah. Isn't the Grinch supposed to show up now and, like, take everything?" Cory questioned.
Mr. Feeny rolled his eyes in annoyance, but Zoey chuckled at her best friends.
"How comes it's called 'A Christmas Carol' anyway?" Shawn wondered.
"Yeah. There was nobody in this story named Carol." Cory said.
Zoey shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her fingers. "Oh, my God."
"Miss Lawrence, would you please trade places with Mr. Matthews?" Mr. Feeny asked.
"All right." Topanga said, before closing her eyes. "I'm a hyperactive, underachieving, eleven-year-old boy."
"I meant physically." Mr. Feeny clarified.
"Oh well, that takes less of a psychic toll." Topanga said, as she stood up from her desk.
"Why do I have to move?" Cory wondered, standing up.
"We were just giving our review of the book." Shawn said.
"Yeah." Cory said, sitting down at Topanga's desk. "I mean, you say literary masterpiece... we say... Anh!"
Both Cory and Shawn put their thumbs down and made a buzzer sound. Zoey placed her hands over her mouth and nose, and chuckled. She couldn't take this seriously with those boys.
"Mr. Matthews, I'm less interested in your review... than I am that you understand the material." Mr. Feeny said, approaching Cory. "What, in your opinion, was Mr. Dickens trying to express in his Christmas story?"
"That if you're a real butthead... then neat ghosts will take you to cool places." Cory simply responded.
Mr. Feeny puts this thumb down and made a buzzer sound.
••••
After class, the three of them were in the cafeteria, eating lunch. Zoey sat in between Cory and Shawn. Both Cory and Zoey had their tray of food in front of them while Shawn just had a small brown paper bag from home.
"Fish and Sticks." Cory said, holding a fish stick. "Two things nature never would've put together. What'd you get?"
Shawn pulled out a sandwich from his brown bag. "Peanut better and jelly. Two things nature couldn't keep apart."
"Since when did your mum pack you lunch?" Cory questioned.
"Yeah, I thought you liked Fish sticks." Zoey said, turning to Shawn with a small smile. "You love them that much, you would do anything for them."
Shawn nodded. "I do, but I think it's cruel how the little fish scream when they rip their sticks off."
"Well, here Shawn. You can have mine." Zoey said, passing Shawn her plate of fish sticks. "You know I don't like them anyway."
Shawn smiled. "Thanks, Zo. You're the best."
"I would do anything for my best friend." Zoey said with a warm smile.
"May I sit down?"
Shawn, Cory and Zoey rolled their eyes, knowing who it was immediately by their voice. The three of them turned to Minkus with innocent smiles.
"No." They said in unison.
"Well, since you're ambivalent." Minkus said as he sat down at the end of the table. "Ah, Christmas. Season of togetherness. Season of brotherhood."
"Season of wool." Cory corrected. "Nine out of ten Christmas gifts - wool. It doesn't matter if it's shaped like socks or a sweater... it's wool and it's itchy."
"The gift isn't as important as the thought behind it." Minkus told Cory.
"What's the thought behind wool? This kid doesn't scratch enough?" Cory questioned in confusion.
"I agree with Stuart."
Shawn, Cory and Zoey all turned their heads in the other direction to see Topanga standing beside Cory, holding onto her lunch tray.
"Oh, no, it's a nerd swarm." Shawn muttered, before turning to Minkus. "Minkus, shut off your geek magnet."
"I just think that we all often lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas in the frenzy of commercialism." Topanga explained.
"What are you talking about? How do we know what to ask for if we don't have commercials?" Cory asked, furrowing his eyebrows together.
"Christmas is the celebration of the winter solstice... an ancient tribal ritual whose origins are lost in time." Topanga told him.
"Yeah, we were just talking about that in the bathroom." Shawn said. He then looked into the distance and placed his hand up to his ear. "Listen, Topanga, I think I can hear them... calling you back into your own dimension."
Cory and Zoey started to play along with Shawn.
"Oh, yeah, they're saying... 'Topanga, get your aura back here'." Cory said.
"And bring Minkus." Zoey added.
And with that, Topanga and Minkus both left the table without another word. Shawn, Cory and Zoey looked at each other, smiling.
"Ha!" They shouted, chuckling.
"Christmas tree update." Cory announced. "I think I got my real leather NBA regulation basketball."
"Cool. Major gift." Shawn stated.
"So major of a gift... I've been saving up to buy my gift a gift." Cory said.
"What do you get the basketball who has everything?" Zoey asked with a smirk across her lips.
Cory pulled out money from his pocket. "A five dollar top of the line imitation nylon net."
"You have five bucks?" Shawn asked.
"How'd you get it?" Zoey asked, as she ate some of her lunch.
"I've been saving up for a month." Cory told the two of them.
"Let's go but it after school." Shawn insisted.
"No. Then I tip off my parents that I know what I'm getting." Cory explained.
"You are a yuletide master." Shawn stated.
Zoey nodded. "He's right."
"Christmas is very delicate." Cory stated. "You screw up - wool. So, what's the update at your houses?"
"Um, I watched my mum placing another box under the tree." Zoey informed. "But I don't know what it is."
"Have you at least shaken it?" Shawn asked, raising his eyebrows.
Zoey shook her head. "I haven't had the chance yet. What about you?"
"Me? Hey, Bob Stubcheck's Sport World has to send over a truck with all the stuff my dad got me." Shawn told his best friends. "He got me, like, everything."
"That's great." Cory said.
"Yeah. My dad totally came through this year." Shawn said. Zoey then noticed that he was slightly frowning a small bit. And she knew when she saw one of her friends frowning, something was up.
"Speaking of gifts." Minkus spoke, as he approached the table. He turned to Shawn. "I believe that you haven't chipped in your five dollars for the class present to Mr. Feeny."
"Tomorrow." Shawn said, frowning again. Zoey watched him cautiously.
"You said that yesterday." Minkus told him.
"Come on, Shawn." Cory said, while Zoey continued to watch Shawn looking down at the table with a frown. "Don't think of it as five dollars for Feeny's present. Think of it as five bucks to make Minkus go away."
"Look, Minkus, I just spent my last money on lunch, okay? I'll give it to you tomorrow." Shawn said, before pushing his seat away from the table and started to leave the cafeteria.
"Shawn!" Zoey called out, but it was too late. He had already walked out of the cafeteria.
Minkus held up Shawn's lunch bag. "What? His mother charged him a packing fee?"
Ignoring Minkus, Zoey turned to Cory, confused. "What do you think that was all about?"
Cory shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea."
••••
After school, Zoey walked back home. When she opened the front door, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened when she saw her entire lounge room decorated in Christmas stuff. The rails up the stairs were tangled with Christmas lights, with a big Christmas tree near the staircase.
Zoey dropped her bag when she saw her mother walking into the lounge room, dressed like an elf with an apron on. By the looks of it, she's been cooking.
"Hey, Zoey. How was school?" Lucy asked her daughter.
"It was good." Zoey said, letting out a dry laugh at her mother's elf outfit. "Did Santa sent you here to vomit on our entire lounge room?"
Lucy laughed. "Zoey, you know me with Christmas. I love it... especially when it's just you and me."
Zoey smiled as she watched her mother walk back into the kitchen. She look around the living room until she heard her mother singing from the kitchen.
Zoey took the opportunity to quickly look under the Christmas tree, and noticed that there were more gifts there than this morning.
She then grabbed two Christmas presents out under the tree - Cory and Shawn's. Zoey smiled at the memory of her picking out a shirt for Shawn. It took her ages to find what Shawn likes. Cory was way to easy... a baseball glove.
With a sigh, the brunette placed Shawn's present into her school bag, hoping to give it to him tomorrow.
••••
Next day at school, Zoey noticed that Shawn and Cory were acting strange all day. They both weren't talking to each other during class. Zoey was worried for both of them.
During lunch, Cory and Zoey sat next to each other in the cafeteria, eating lunch. Cory was eating his own lunch while Zoey kept a look out for Shawn, waiting to give him his present that was settled in her bag.
"Okay, I'm putting this out there. What is going on with you and Shawn?" Zoey asked Cory.
"What?" Cory questioned.
"You two haven't talked all day." Zoey pointed out, raising her eyebrows. "I'm worried, did you guys have a fight?"
Cory sighed. "Shawn lied yesterday about the presents. He's dad got laid off."
Zoey was shocked, her mouth parted slightly. "What? Why didn't he tell me?"
Why did Shawn kept this as a secret? The two of them tell each other everything. Zoey just didn't understand.
Cory shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I tried giving him one of presents. The NBA basketball, but he refused."
Zoey then heard footsteps walking towards the cafeteria. She turned around to see Shawn entering the cafeteria. She gave him a soft smile and a small wave, while Cory gave him a soft look. Shawn gave Cory a look before he went to sit at another table.
Zoey sighed as she glanced over at Shawn, and saw Minkus approached him, holding a note pad and pen.
"Shawn, it's tomorrow." Minkus reminded.
"What are you talking about?" Shawn questioned.
"I'm talking about the class present. You still haven't paid your five dollars." Minkus told him, flipping through his note pad.
Shawn sighed. "Fine, I'll give it to you. I just don't have it on me."
"I'm going to buy the present tonight... so today is the last day to give me the money." Minkus said.
"I said I'll give it to you." Shawn told him sternly.
"If you don't give me five dollars right now... I'm not going to put your name on the card... and the entire sixth grade of Jefferson Elementary is going to know you're a deadbeat." Minkus said.
Shawn paused for a moment. "Fine, then I am. Okay?"
He got up from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria. Zoey immediately got out of her seat and ran after Shawn.
"Shawn!" Zoey called out.
Shawn stopped in the middle of the hallway, and turned to face Zoey when she caught up with him.
"What?" He snapped, clearly annoyed.
"Look, I know what happened with your Dad. But I just wanted to know if you're okay." Zoey said, giving him a sad smile.
Shawn scoffed. "Cory told you, didn't he?"
Zoey frowned as she nodded.
"I actually have something for you." She said, reaching into her bag and grabbed the purple patterned shirt. "It reminded me of you."
Zoey passed the piece of clothing to her best friend. Shawn took it and the corners of his lips began to tug upwards.
"Thanks, Zo." Shawn said, appreciating the gift.
He walked up to Zoey slowly and pulled her closer to him wrapping his arms around her. His embrace was warm, and his arms seemed very protective when wrapped around her frail body. The world around her melted away as she squeezed him back, not wanting the moment to end.
••••
While in class, Zoey was sitting at her desk as Mr. Feeny was currently talking about the book 'A Christmas Carol'. But Zoey would occasionally glanced over to Shawn, worried. He was frowning and slumped back in his chair.
"I hope our reading 'A Christmas Carol' has interested all of you in reading other works by Charlies Dickens." Mr. Feeny said.
"No, but I will watch the David Copperfield special." Cory said, earning smiles from other in the class.
Minkus raised his hand in the air.
"Mr. Minkus." Mr. Feeny said.
Minkus got out of his seat and approached Mr. Feeny, holding a bag. "In my capacity as class treasurer... I would like to present you... with the sixth grade's Christmas gift."
"Oh, my. Well..." Mr. Feeny trailed off, as Minkus placed the bag on the desk. Mr. Feeny lifted the bag slightly. "Ooh, it has the lovely heft of a thick book."
"You cunning bibliophile, you." Minkus said, nudging Mr. Feeny with his elbow lightly.
"Oh, my!" Mr. Feeny exclaimed, in surprised when he pulled out a dictionary out of the bag. "A dictionary. How wonderful." He then grabbed the card and began to read it. "'To our admired and respected teacher... from his dutiful and attentive class'."
"I wrote that." Minkus told Mr. Feeny.
"I never would've guessed." Mr. Feeny responded with a smile.
"And all our names are written below." Minkus said, showing him the names on the card.
"Yes. Minkus all the way down to Hunter." Mr. Feeny said. Zoey's eyebrows furrowed, confused. "You all seem to be there. Well, I am very touched. This means a great deal to me. So thank you very much."
"What is happening?" Zoey muttered under her breath.
The bell rung, and everyone immediately got out their seats and rushed out of the classroom, basically everyone wanted to get out of the room before Mr. Feeny sets any homework.
"Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful vacation." Mr. Feeny told the class.
"Hurry!" Cory shouted, rushing out of the classroom. "Get out while you can! Hurry!"
"Don't forget to read two books from the reading list." Mr. Feeny called out.
Cory popped his head into the classroom. "Nobody heard that."
And with that, he rushed out. Shawn and Zoey gathered their things and walked out of the classroom, and waited for Minkus to walk out.
"Hey, Minkus." Shawn called, when he walked out of the classroom. "Thanks for putting my name on the card."
"Don't thank me. Thank your friend." Minkus told him.
Shawn turned to Zoey, confused. "Did you--"
"No." Minkus said, interrupting Shawn. "Your deadbeat friend finally paid back the money he owed you."
"What?" Shawn questioned.
"It's okay." Minkus assured. "You don't have to cover for him anymore. He told me how you lent him five dollars and he didn't give it back."
"Cory told you that?" Shawn asked.
Minkus nodded. "Yep, and he handed me five bucks."
"He gave you his five dollars?" Shawn questioned.
"I guess his conscience finally got the better of him." Minkus said, before he started to walk down the hall.
"Hey, Minkus." Shawn called out. Minkus stopped and turned to Shawn. "Merry Christmas."
"Really?" Minkus asked. Shawn shrugged and gave him a slight smirk. "Merry Christmas to you, too."
Zoey lowered her head and smiled as Minkus walked out of the halls. Shawn and Zoey stood beside each other.
"That was nice of Cory." Zoey said, giving Shawn a smirk.
Shawn nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to head over to Cory's. Are you coming?"
"Nah." Zoey said, shaking her head. "Mum wants me to help her cook gingerbread."
Shawn smiled before he reached his hand out for Zoey. She paused for a moment before she placed her hand into his. Her skin tingled where he touched her and her heart beat erratically in her chest so hard that she thought it might fly out. There were butterflies in her chest.
____________________
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2017
WORDS: 2777