A Christmas Story (Part I)
“Merry Christmas,” Siri whispered, and pulled the bright red Santa hat onto her head. She swatted at the little white puffball at the tip of it and knocked on the door to Hallie’s apartment. She could hear music and laughter on the other side of the door.
The door opened, and Hallie was standing there, laughing. “Merry Christmas!” four different voices behind her shouted in unison. Siri held up a large shopping bag that contained a present for everyone and a chocolate cake. “Merry Christmas!” she said.
“Nice hat!” Hallie said, grinning. Siri laughed and entered the apartment.
The apartment had been decorated so lavishly that it looked as if she’d just walked into the North Pole. Red and green tinsel was hung on the walls. Paper chains and snowflakes plastered everywhere the tinsel hadn’t covered, and wreaths were hung at every window. The counter was covered with food, and Siri put the cake on the side where all the desserts were resting. She placed the presents under the tree, which looked like it belonged in Times Square. There were strands of white tinsel and popcorn strings and candy canes draped over the branches. Red and white glass balls hung from almost every other branch, and mini stockings were hung along the bottom, each one holding a candy bar. There were santas and crosses and mangers hung at random places on the tree, along with a few ornaments that had special meaning to Hallie or her friends. Siri touched a plastic baseball cap and smiled. She’d bought that ornament for Hallie when they were seven years old.
Aly turned up the stereo and started singing along to “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” while everyone else joined in. When the song ended,Kelly jumped up and said,”Everyone’s here now, Hallie! Let’s eat!” Hallie laughed and nodded. Without saying another word, Kelly rushed to the counter and grabbed a cocktail weiner. Vicky and Ellie followed, grabbing apples. Siri must have given them a look, because Vicky said, “We’re being healthy!”
“Yeah!” Ellie agreed. “We’re going to beat everyone in the fitness test this year!”
“And the mile run, and the sit ups, and the–”
“Okay, okay!” Siri yelled. “We get it!”
“And you’re gonna fail!” Vicky teased.
Siri glared at them, and everyone started laughing.
