"So, what is the plan with this?" I asked, holding up a strip of tinsel and draping it around my shoulders as though it was a scarf.
"We don't really have a plan, it's more of throwing everything around the house and hoping for the best," Granny said, inspecting a bauble against the light.
With Christmas only two weeks ago, Grandpa decided it was time to decorate the house ready for the big day itself. He had instructed Granny and me to get the decorations from the attic, an easy enough task, whilst he drove to a Christmas tree farm to get the crowning jewel of our living room. Granny had used her Magic to get the decorations down from the attic the moment Grandpa had left meaning we had a little while to kill before Grandpa got back with the tree. To fill the time, we examined the contents of the boxes, checking for damage and trying to decide what we were going to do with them.
Just looking at the boxes was overwhelming enough for me. I never participated in decorating at home and often find ways to escape to the workshop or to my room, so I didn't have to get involved. Nick always got overly enthusiastic, wanting to have everything everywhere, leaving no place safe from decorations. It was like Christmas had vomited all over the house. The lights, the tinsel, the garland, all of it layered the house. Only my room was a safe haven from the chaos throughout the house. Even the workshop was difficult to stomach once the Christmas period officially hit. It was all so chaotic and hectic that I wanted out if that was even possible.
"So you just do what Nick does and throw it all up? No colour scheme, no plan, nothing?"
"Pretty much. You know your Grandpa, he's never been one for organisation. Perhaps you could come up with a plan? Maybe the house could look more like a wonderland than a train wreck."
"Really? You'd trust me to do that?"
"Yeah. You'd have a harder time convincing your Grandpa, though. He loves a bit of chaos, organised or otherwise."
"That I can do. He'll see my ways soon enough."
Granny responded with a chuckle and went back to rooting around in the boxes, pulling out garlands and those weird metallic bells that get pinned to the ceiling. When it came to decorating, we always went for the normal way of decorating. Using step ladders, push pins, balancing precariously on the sofa belting out Christmas music. Back home you had to use Magic for a lot of it, like the star trick. There were somethings you couldn't do without it, but Granny and Grandpa had a different tradition. One year, Nick and I stayed with Granny and Grandpa and helped them decorate the normal of putting up decorations appealed to me more than the Magical element to it.
I examined the stuff from afar, noting the different colours we had, the different decorations and in my mind, I created a colour scheme. Most people often associated Christmas was greens and reds, the typical seasonal colours, but when I looked at the pile of decorations I noted that the colours we had in vast supply were blues and silvers. To me, they were Christmas colours. They showed the ice, the snow, the signs of Winter that are so annoying, people often overlook them. The weather outside might have been dark and dingy, but Winter could be so much more than that and that was what I was going to show with the decoration.
As we waited for Grandpa, I started to sort the decorations into piles by colour, ignoring those that didn't fit my scheme by discarding them into boxes. By the time Grandpa returned, everything had been sorted by colour and I was ready to turn the house into a Winter wonderland rather than a mess of light. Perhaps decorating the house could be fun rather than the horror I had always thought it was.
"Who's ready for a tree?" Papa said, dragging a wrapped-up pine tree into the living room, needles dropping onto the floor despite its tight packaging.
"That's...big," Granny said.
"It has to be. The tree is the centrepiece of the decorations, you know that."
"We'll see. Kenzie has planned a colour scheme for this year, so it doesn't look like a mess of colour."
"A colour scheme, eh? Lay it on me Kenz, what'cha got?"
"Blue and silver."
"Icy colours? More of a Jack Frost colour scheme than a Claus colour scheme."
"You don't have a colour scheme."
"True. Well, we'll give it a go! If it doesn't work, then it's back to my favourite type of chaos."
Grandpa took less convincing then I thought he would and as we set about decorating the house, my mind stayed focused on what he had said about the colours. It seemed as though I couldn't do anything without it somehow linking to Jack Frost in some way or another. The Halloween costume, the drawing the colour scheme, all of it linked back to him. Everywhere I went there he was, in the weather outside, the Art tasks we were being set. I couldn't even go online without seeing a drawing of one of his animated personas. The world loved the adorable Jack from Rise of the Guardians, but they hadn't seen the real thing.
I couldn't seem to escape him.
Pushing Jack from my mind, again, I snatched up decorations from my piles and began putting them on the tree. Blue and silver baubles dripped off the branches, tinsel wrapped around the tree like webbing. I even managed to dig out some icicles that wrapped around the tree and glinted in the light like a frozen spider web. We even went as far as spraying the edges of the tree with fake snow to add to the effect, seeing as Grandpa wouldn't buy a fake one. According to him, fake trees were worse than sugar-free sweets, though I didn't understand the comparison.
With the tree decorated and shoved in the corner, with a lot of effort, Grandpa and I headed to the front of the house to work on the light display that they had every year. Most of the time it was a light up Santa on the roof and electronic reindeer on the small patch of grass we had at the front of our house. The reindeers we were keeping, they were silver so went with the theme and would look great with the snowflakes Granny was hanging up in the window. To accompany the reindeers, Grandpa unpacked some light up silver presents to scatter all over the grass and some string lights to wrap around the bushes and trees.
"It's much more mellow then what I would have gone for," Grandpa said.
"You would have all of the outside decorations out if it were up to you. I don't think Mrs Webster would be too happy about it."
"We've been putting up those decorations for years and she's never complained."
"First time for everything," I said, walking around the bush with the string lights.
Mrs Webster was their elderly neighbour from across the road. She was often caught peering out of the window and watching us whenever Niska and Joel came around. If there was one thing she hated more then anything else in the world, it was teenagers. She wasn't too happy the first time she saw me come out of the house and she wasn't happy the other fifty times she saw me. The spectacular light show Grandpa would have put on would have been the tip of the iceberg. I expect the only reason she put up with the light show as much as she did was because she didn't have to deal with teenagers.
"I'm not going to get my Santa on the chimney this year, am I?"
"You might. Let's just see what we've got first. Maybe a splash of red will add to it. I'm only trying to think if the aesthetics here."
"You have an attention to detail, Kenz, I can't knock that one. We should go and help your Gran inside, gives you something to do whilst you think about my chimney Santa."
"I'll get back to you on that one."
Finishing up the decorations, Grandpa and I shuffled back into the house, carrying up empty boxes between us. In the living room, Granny had decked out the window with snowflakes, leaving them in standard mode so they weren't flashing and annoying any of the neighbours. With the tree and the lights finished, all we had to do was set up the living room, but that was easier said than done. Grandpa wanted everything everywhere, despite the chosen colour scheme. We ended up compromising on most things. I allowed him to have the multi-coloured Merry Christmas banner across the window whilst he let me put small tealights on the coffee table, unlit.
By the time we were finished, there was tinsel wrapped up around the bannisters, hanging over family photos in the living room, and we had even put the Christmas themed tablecloth in the dining room. It was like walking into a Winter Wonderland, without the snow and the added elves running around all over the place. We didn't even need to put spray frost on the window seeing as it was cold enough for the frost to settle itself. With the fire roaring in the fireplace, it was almost like being back at home. Almost.
I always avoid decorating at Christmas because I found the whole thing to be chaotic, arguments were caused if something didn't go according to plan and there was just too much going on for me to be able to think. Putting up the Christmas decorations with Granny and Grandpa was a calmer affair, less chaos and I was actually given the chance to participate without being told I was getting in the way, like at home. Everything was far easier when it came to staying with Granny and Grandpa. Fewer people, more space and there was a distinct lack of little brothers and Christmas obsessions in the air, at least to some extent.
"Right, anything else you want to put up, Kenzie?" Grandpa asked as searched through the boxes to try and find something we could use to finish the decorations off.
"I'll tell you when I see it," I replied.
I dug my hand into one of the boxes, pushing abandoned decorations around. I ended up elbow deep in the box, scrounging around for something that had been buried at the very bottom of the boxes. After several seconds of pushing the smaller items around the box, I felt something sharp on my forearm, dragging across the skin. I yanked my arm out from the box as I felt something trickle down my skin. Turning my arm over I spotted the cut that extended from the middle of my forearm to my wrist, blood trickling from the cut.
"Ow," I muttered, examining the cut.
"You alright?" Granny asked.
"Yeah. Watch out, there's something sharp in that box."
"Come here, let me have a look at it."
"It's fine, honestly."
"Yeah, no. Who knows what's in those boxes. I need to clean it and wrap it up, at least for covers sack. I expect it'll be healed in a few days, but we need to keep up the act. So, come on, over here."
From under the sink, Granny produced the first aid kit. Placing it on the side, she opened the lid and snatched out a tube of antiseptic cream, squeezing out a small blob and rubbing it along the cut. I winced slightly as the cream burned the cut, but after a while the burn faded, taking the pain away with it. With the anti-septic cream doing its work, Granny moved onto the bandage, taking a white bandage and wrapping it around the cut on my arm.
"There. Keep that on for the next couple of days, at least long enough for people not to get suspicious."
"I know the rules."
"No more rummaging around in those boxes, either. I'd say we have enough decorations, the rest can go into the attic. I'll sort through them later and take out any sharp pieces. It was probably a smashed bauble or something."
"Probably."
"Keep an eye on that over the next few days, it might heal quickly but you're still at risk of infection like everyone else."
After several days, I think it's safe to say that I got a little annoyed at having to keep an eye on the cut on my arm. I expected it to be healed within a matter of days and that the bandage would end up being just for show until we thought it was safe, only it didn't turn out that way. By Wednesday, the cut had started to heal, but it was taking its sweet time in doing so. I know most injuries and cuts take at least a week before they even start to heal, but for a Claus, it was normally three days maximum before it had healed completely. Four days after the accident and it was still there, much to my annoyance.
Granny said it had something to do with the extent of the injury. If it's minor, like a cut or graze then it will only take three days if that, but the bigger the cut the longer it takes to heal, even for us. It became one of the most annoying things I have ever had to deal with. Not only did I keep having to apply the antiseptic cream which always stung, but I had to change the bandage on a daily basis and deal with the occasional pain. Sometimes I would forget about it, the pain would disappear as
though it was never there but then it would rear its ugly head, like Mrs Reynolds. I couldn't wait for the thing to heal so I could stop having to put up with it, I didn't know how normal people managed it. The only thing I had to distract myself was the showcase.
With the showcase only two weeks away, things were really starting to get exciting, and a little frightening. Jason had even managed to go as far as creating our run places so we know who was going when we had been scheduled to go last for some reason I didn't know. Excitement was in the air but there was also a sense of nervousness that was surrounding us on top of everything else. No one other than Ant had gotten up and spoken in front of a crowded bleaches before, the rest of us hadn't even thought about it properly. Speaking in front of so many people was a terrifying idea, to say the least, so none of us was looking forward to it. Joel more so than anyone else.
"Why don't you picture everyone naked? Isn't that how it works?" Niska said, leaning against the wall.
"I don't think that actually works, Nisk. Plus, picturing me mam naked isn't somethin' I want to be doin'."
"There has to be some way of getting over stage fright, right? Kenz, what do you plan on doing for the showcase? You've never spoken in front a crowd that big either."
"Cross my fingers and hope for the best? I don't know, I haven't really thought about it, to be honest. I figured the more I think about it the stressful it's going to be. Picturing people in their underwear is a no from me, though, that's just weird."
"So, you have no plan?"
"I do have a plan, ignore it. If the lights are bright enough we won't even know that the audience is there. Besides, unless we make a big show of a mistake, it's unlikely anyone will know we messed up in the first place."
"That's true if we can cover it well enough no one will know we messed up and we'll be in the clear. We have to plan forever scenario," Leo butted in, inserting himself into the conversation even though we really didn't want him to.
"If we've rehearsed it enough, we shouldn't have any issues righ'? The more we talk about thin's going wrong, the more likely they are to go wrong, at least tha's what me mam says."
"Your mother is right, Joel. I know you're all nervous about the showcase, I'd be surprised if you weren't because. Let's face it, talking in front of a hall full of people isn't something normal people do for fun unless you're a thespian. Go into your performances with a smile on your face, be excited, get involved. The whole point of the showcase is to show your skills, have a bit of fun before the end of the year and be prepared for your final exam. Whether you go wrong or make it through without a mistake, we'll still have the party on the last day, that won't change. View this as an opportunity to see how you work with each other in a stressful environment, how you cope with unexpected circumstances.
"Don't think about what can go wrong, think about how it can go right, how it can work. There is no point stressing yourself out when we still have two weeks to go. Relax, have some fun, make sure everyone knows what they're doing and when they're doing it. You can't assume what'll happen before the day. Trust me, I've been in so many theatre productions I know how these things work. A little bit like saying The Scottish Play before a performance, you're convinced it holds negative connotations when in reality it's your mindset. You've got this, and I know you're all going to do fabulously." Jason said, catching everyone's attention during his little speech.
Hearing Jason reassuring us and telling us not to take the task too seriously was a welcomed relief to a lot of us, but Joel most of all. He had gotten himself increasingly worked up over having to do the performance and being told he didn't have to take it seriously was like a weight lifted off his shoulder. Despite only knowing him for a short amount of time, I had noticed that Joel always took everything too seriously, even if he didn't have to. I didn't know how much of an affect Jason's comments would have, but by the smile on his face and his desire to jump straight back into rehearsing, I would have said it worked pretty well.
Jason was one of the only teachers who could get through to Joel.
Having dismissed us from his little speech, Jason set about walking between the groups and interjecting with comments whenever he felt it was necessary. Most of the time, he left our group alone since he knew we could handle it and if someone did anything wrong then it was going to Leo who set them straight. That kid had some serious anger issues, especially when it came to me, Joel and food tech. We just dealt with it though, and Jason walking between the groups really helped to settle his mood when he was getting particularly angry. Not that it always worked mind, sometimes he was impossible to calm down.
"What are we doing in terms of costumes? I feel like that's sort of been ignored," Leo said.
"I've got mine sorted. It's a black dress that matches one of the outfits for the doll, seeing as I'm technically playing the doll."
"I've got the opposite, a white dress that is pretty much identical to Kenzie's, we got them last week."
"So you two planned your costumes and didn't even consider to tell the rest of us?"
"We thought your costumes would be stuff you already owned, we didn't have anything we could use, that's all," Niska said.
"It still would have been nice to know. Besides, we don't know what the rest of us are doing yet. Do we go with informal wear or formal? You two are going with formal, but what about the rest of us? These are decisions we need to make as a group and you two went off on your own."
"Woah, Leo. Cool it. The costumes should have been decided last week when I told you to sort them out. It was your responsibility to fix your costumes if Niska and Kenz are the only ones who sorted out their costumes when I told them to, then good on them. You know your character, you know your piece, it is your job to figure out what your character should be wearing and arrange the appropriate costuming. You should have had this all sorted out before," Jason said, defusing Leo before he exploded.
"Yeah, but, we-"
"I don't want to hear it, Leo. Your costume, your responsibility. Think about what your character would wear before you have a go at someone else for doing what they were told to do. Next time, actually do the work you were set, it'll save a lot of aggro in the long run."
In response, Leo just rolled his eyes and slumped back against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. If there was anything he hated more than being beaten, it was being told what to do. Leo had so many issues it was a little concerning, but he was a teenager and after spending a few months with them I knew they were filled with a lot of angst. All we had to do was hope it didn't end up ruining our performance because he got angry with someone for making one little mistake. That would have brought the whole thing we had worked towards crashing down around us and I didn't know if I could stand that.
Despite his sulky mood, Leo managed to come up with a plan for his costume, even if he did so with a distinct lack of feeling. Other than his mood swings, it looked as though things were finally starting to come together. Not just with the performance, but with my life away from the North Pole and the hatred of Christmas that was buried so deep inside me that I thought it would never be shifted. Turns out, all you need is a dose of Christmas decorating to show you how different things can be if you look at them from a different angle.
~~~
A/N - There are roughly seven chapters left of Last Christmas and things are about to get serious. They may seem all calm and in control, but just you wait. It's about to kick off! (No spoilers, I promise!)
So, what did you think about Kenz decorating the house? It was a rather fun chapter for me, I know Christmas has just passed but I'm loving these chapters. What about Leo and his comments? And Jason?
Comment below what you think!
Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to DreamySnowflake8008 who not only has an amazing book called 'Infinite Loop' but is also a nice person and leaves great comments! Thank you :)
First Published - February 15th, 2018