Episode 2 : SO THIS IS MY CHRISTMAS PT 2
It was the morning after the well-deserved and much anticipated party the school had offered since the lockdown eight months ago. It was definitely a success in every aspect and the crowd was not so eager to leave but this time around there was no gang fight to interrupt things but the sudden outburst of the sirens of an ambulance. Principal Simpson had emerged confused but determined and ordered the students home right away as the ambulance which interrupted so swiftly was gone just as quickly. It was obvious that there was an emergency and the principal knew the party was to come to an end even though he found it quite a sad thing to do. So many students had put their all into the affair and he truly thought they deserved a break. At least this was as much as was said when he first announced it in assembly on the last day of school a couple of weeks ago.
Adam, however, was not so sure. Like everybody else, he was anxious to know what had happened that night and what would come of it, if not more restrictions and rules next year (and who needs that). He needed someone to talk to about it and with Drew out of the house, he found it best to call Eli. Usually his best friend came over on a Saturday mornings to play video games but with three days till Christmas, that was not going to happen.
It had only been eleven long hours since Eli stormed out of the gymnasium. It was a new day now but he couldn't get last night's happenings out of his head so easily. He wasn't a fool; he knew what it all meant but he kept wishing and wishing that what he heard was all a mistake. Maybe it was some kind of a prank? Or, maybe, Ms. Oh didn't know what she was talking about? He wasn't going to accept this, he couldn't, not after what happened with Julia. He had managed to turn his room upside down by ripping or breaking whatever he got his hands on; everything in his room reminded him of Clare and now she had betrayed him, to the highest level. He sat on his bed and stared at the mess shaking his head when the phone rang. It was perhaps the only unturned thing hidden in a far-off corner inching out from under his bed. He stared at it for a while and begged that it was Clare herself apologizing for taking the joke too far and promising that it was all in good fun. He smiled wickedly as he picked it up.
"You think this is a game, Clare!" he shouted into the phone, "If only you knew what I really did to Julia!" He was choking on his words, fighting back tears.
"Eli, are you OK? " asked Adam from the other end confused.
Realising it was his best friend only made matters worse and he took the phone and flung it at the wall as the connection fell out. He stared at it with fury before he looked down at a broken picture of Julia which had been uncovered from its hiding spot by his recent rampage. "I killed you," he said softly.
[Theme song]
Morning had crept up beautifully with splashes of gold and red with dancing tiny snowflakes falling steadily in a slow waltz. It was the perfect start to another awakening day of the Yuletide season. The chill had been felt since mid-October but it was only until last night, almost like a miracle, when the snow had flooded the streets. Outside was decorated in a snow-white blanket and it was simply beautiful.
Clare stretched her arms as she stirred from her sleep. She felt as though she had been sleeping in her own warm bed for hours but instead she woke up to strange surroundings. She looked around in a panic as she realised she was in a hospital room and finally she trembled when she noticed she was wearing a hospital gown. She could not quite understand why she was there. She didn't feel ill nor had she remembered being ill. Then suddenly, she remembered the sharp pangs of anguish in the pit of her stomach and then the baby boy crying loudly as she heard a woman called her "mommy".
There was no way that that had happened. She didn't want to believe it. There was no way she had wanted to see that baby or anybody else ever again. She wanted to go home and sleep in her room and wake up feeling the magic of Christmas' snow and of last night's party just like she had foreseen it. There was a persistent urge in her every being that she had to get out of there.
She got out of bed and opened the door carefully. She had noticed a small group of people sitting forlorn with their heads buried in their palms a few feet away. She somehow knew that Connor and Alli would be there but she was not expecting to see her parents. And they were together, side by side, almost holding one another. She dashed back into the room and looked around her, there was no way she could face them, not now, not ever.
An idea came invitingly as she noticed the doctor's coat on a rack that stood near the bed. She quickly flung it over her simple gown and tied the fastening as tightly as she could. She then noticed a few of her belongings on the desk head - her cell, her purse and keys. This was what she had carried in the pocket of her formal dress for the Christmas party. She quickly scooped them up and placed them in the large pockets of the doctor's white coat.
She returned to the door once more and took one last long look at her family and friends, making sure no one spotted her. She lowered her head and pulled the collars of the coat up to her cheeks and walked as fast as she could out of the hospital.
!-0_0-!
Clare watched as the bus continued on its journey and she turned from the bus-stop and walked as quickly as she could on unfamiliar grounds. Her hands were buried in the deep pockets but she was still very cold and not having the comfort of the warm seat in the bus, the weather seemed to hit with full force. She clambered up the lane and was speeding towards a small house. She had been here a few times but she felt like a stranger, especially now. She stood on the top step, looking around her nervously as though she was having second thoughts about coming there. Finally she knocked on the door and in no time the door was opened.
"Clare?" asked Adam curiously. After his strange phone call from his best friend, Clare was the last person he expected to see, especially since she never really visited him. He studied her attire curiously, "Why are you doing here?"
Clare started crying despite herself, "Please. I don't have anywhere else to go." She leaned towards him but Adam reacted immediately and held her in a tight hug.
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The entire group was silent as they waited anxiously in the waiting area. Alli and Connor had immediately called up Clare's parents which they thought was the best thing to do at the moment. However, they were not expecting the reaction they had gotten from the two of them. First a flurry of angry accusations and then they settled into despair. They were so upset by the news, like any other parent would have been but not only were they hurt, they were extremely disappointed and confused. Just like them, they had no idea of the baby and was in deep conversation as to how they were going to prepare the home in a couple of days; something that was supposed to be done months ago.
The doctor who was in charge of the monitoring of the baby and of Clare when they had arrived by the ambulance was now coming their direction. She was wearing a simple, pin-striped formal blouse and a black, knee-length skirt. The tap-tapping of her heels resounded loudly as she walked down the hallway.
"Has she awoken as yet?" asked Clare's father as he looked up with an intense stare.
"She should have by now, it's nearly ten o'clock," the nurse answered reassuringly, "And anyway, if she's not, we're going to have to wake her up - her little boy's hungry and crying." She smiled gently as she said this. She assumed the situation was at least a moment they had been prepared for, if only she knew.
"Let's go," Mr. Edwards took up his heavy brown coat on the arm of his seat and led the way towards Clare's room a few inches away.
Alli and Connor sighed loudly and moved with achy muscles; they had been in the same position all night.
The nurse opened the door and directed them in.
"See, she's up," smiled the nurse towards the empty bed. "She probably went to the bathroom." She answered looking at the skeptical expressions on their faces.
"She needs her cell to do that?" asked her mother, noticing the empty table head.
The nurse turned to face the bare table next to the hospital bed. In the same breath, she had noticed that her doctor's coat that was hung on the metal stand was gone.
"Where's my coat?" she asked suddenly scared. She dashed towards the small room in the corner of the wall and replied, "She's not in here."
"You mean she's gone!" bellowed Clare's father.
The nurse rushed immediately to the room's landline and was indulged in a hurried conversation as the others stood looking at each other hopelessly.
The nurse replaced the phone and looked at them sternly, "At least one nurse had seen a girl in a white coat leaving the hospital. The appropriate authorities have been called. Is there anyway that you know where she could have gone?"
"I could try calling her," Alli spoke almost inaudibly as she choked on her words. She could not believe her best friend would do something like this. "She has her cell, right?"
She nervously took out her cell and had dialled Clare's number. She waited anxiously for an answer.
!-0_0-!
Clare's cell phone was vibrating in the strewn white coat that hung over the edge of the shower. The ringing of the phone was drowned out by the loud rushing of the water and it was only when the shower was turned off that it had stopped ringing.
"I don't have anything else to wear," Clare admitted, greeting Adam in the doorway wrapped in a clean towel.
"Uh," Adam was thinking seriously now, "If you don't mind baggy clothes, you could wear mine for now."
"Thank you." Clare smiled but her sad eyes gave away her sorrow, "I really mean it. Thank you."
!-0_0-!
"Don't you think it's kinda cheesy?" asked Jenna as she watched Drew's happy face as he opened the small box she had given him.
"A football jersey. Absolutely not." He leant over and kissed her. They were in the middle of a very busy shopping mall and he was more than willing to show the world that Jenna was all his. "I can't wait to give you my gifts tonight."
"It's kinda early for exchanging Christmas gifts, don't you think?" she said, "And just as early to be going so public - suppose Alli or Clare suddenly shows up?"
"Stop worrying about it - we weren't exactly subtle at the Christmas party. Besides, Alli didn't notice us."
"But someone could've told her," she said suddenly anxious, "I haven't spoken to either of them this morning. It was a bit depressing last night that our fun was short lived."
"And still nobody knows who was in that ambulance," Drew admitted.
"Maybe it was for the best - Alli could have walked in on us at any moment," Jenna grinned, "You're right - why would anyone say something to her about us and besides she's not coming back to Degrassi, right?"
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Drew burst into the house beaming from ear to ear. He looked around the room and not noticing Adam, he decided to check his room where he obviously would be.
"Adam, the best thing happened to me toda-" he said but his euphoria trailed off as he noticed the sleeping body of Clare on the bed. He exited the room and met a visibly shocked Adam who had rushed to the door when he heard the familiar voice.
"You're home early," Adam said sheepishly.
"Why she's doing here?" Drew asked breathlessly, "Does she know about me and Jenna?"
"I don't think that's why she's here. She just showed up at the door. What else was I suppose to do?"
"Oh my God! Are the two of you - together? How could she do that to Connor? How could she could do that with you!" Drew was obviously upset by the revelation of the situation.
"What?" asked Adam confused.
"She's wearing your clothes and she's sleeping in your bed."
"About that," Adam said as he looked away from his brother, "She has nowhere else to go - please don't tell mom and dad." He had to make his brother realise that the situation was not as he was suspecting but at the same time he was asking him for a huge favour.
"When was the last time we got anything by mom?" asked Drew.
"So you'll help me?" begged Adam.
Drew sighed, "How long does she plan on being here?"
"I dunno."
"It's two days to Christmas, Adam!" he yelled and then he finally calmed himself, "She's got to be in some kind of trouble to be running on over here!" He sighed, "Alright, I'll help you - just don't let her know about Jenna, 'kay?"
Adam nodded and smiled, " 'kay!"
!-0_0-!
Later that day, Drew snuck into his brother's room and carefully opened his closet. He took out two small presents and was busily searching around the area for the other one.
"You forgot one."
He looked behind him in shock and answered gently, "So, you're finally awake."
Clare was sitting up in the bed and pointed behind him, "For a while now."
Drew followed her direction and took up the last gift and was wondering just how on Earth she had known about the gifts, "You weren't snooping were you?"
"Adam forgot to hide Jenna's last gift along with the others."
Drew held down his head, "Oh man! You know!"
"What's the big deal? You obviously make her happy." Her voice had remained in the same despondent tone as she talked.
"Yeah?" he asked, happy that she had thought that and finally he looked up at the somber-looking girl, "You saw the tags?"
Clare nodded and watched him as he was about to exit the room when he settled the gifts on the drawer and stopped and looked at her.
"We usually keep everyone's presents in my brother's room. Ever since my little drug bash my mom's been a little snoopy in my room," he explained in one breath.
"That's OK," she replied softly.
"Are you OK?" he asked, watching her curiously as he sat down on the bed besides her.
"Not exactly," she answered honestly, "I just feel tired all the time."
"You must have had quite a night last night," Drew answered cheekily. Clare turned her head from his.
"I was joking," he said matter-of-factly.
"I know you were," Clare answered, still not looking at him.
Drew held her hand and spoke gently, "Look, I know we're not exactly friends, but," he paused before continuing, "my brother's not so good with lying. If it wasn't for me, my mom would have found you out hours ago. So, I'm on your side."
Realising there was no reaction or response, he continued, "So, why are you here again? I mean, it's Christmas, you're really looking forward to spending it here hiding in Adam's room?"
"It's better than going home."
"Why?" He could not understand how she could have looked so happy at the party and now so solemn now. "Did something happen?"
"The ambulance came there because of me." Her eyes were still fixed on what was going on outside. It was still snowing but a little heavier now and the moon's glow made it seem a little eerie. A perfect match to her present mood.
"Wow. First Vegas Night, now this! What was it this time?" He gave a quick laugh as he asked it. The last time it was a knife-wielding student; he was only anticipating something just as dramatic.
"I had a baby, OK!" Clare shouted, finally facing him but with tears flowing down her cheeks. She seemed so uncontrollably shaken as her eyes bore through his. "I had a baby," she repeated as though she could not quite grasp the idea herself.
Music for this episode: So This Is My Christmas: Chrissi B.*
Tune in next week:
Episode 3: Facing Reality - Clare faces her worst fears: her parents
*original title