Be Somebody

Alternative Family Christmas

Hey, guys! Merry early Christmas! Tomorrow is a big day for me and my sister, it's the first time I  and my sister will cook the Christmas meal entirely by ourselves and I fear we will mess up or not get along or our parents will grow impatient with how long it takes.

I hope everyone is having a safe and as fun as of a Christmas you get and feel like you need.

Enjoy!

Nansia attempted to sleep for about thirty minutes with no success when she turned to look at Hope who was awake still and marveling at the night sky, mountains, stars, and trees.

They were driving to Atlanta because they wanted to take the scenic route to show Nansia around and Hope didn't particularly like planes and to that Jeremy agreed since he wasn't a big fan either. Furthermore, it was way too expensive in comparison to driving and less fun according to Bonnie who was too cheery since she loved Christmas.

Nansia remembered the story Penelope had told her that Bonnie had been trapped in this astral plane called the Prison World for over a year and she had spent an entire Christmas on her own preparing to commit suicide since she couldn't handle the isolation anymore. And that is why every Christmas Bonnie makes a huge fuss about it, she either arranges school excursions or personal trips just like now.

Nansia had asked Penelope how she knew about it since it sounded like a too personal experience for a third party that wasn't that close with Bonnie to know. Penelope said that Bonnie had taken this experience and told it in a school meeting after a student had tried to commit suicide with Hope's blood in his system turning him into a hybrid two years prior.

Remembering these words Nansia turned to look at Bonnie who was driving while listening to the radio playing softly some upbeat rock music and she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel.

She looked genuinely happy to be here which made Nansia feel less guilty for making them drive through the night to be in Atlanta by early morning.

Hope watched Nansia looking around the car and tapped her knee to gain her attention and then whispered;

"You okay?"

"Yes, just thinking about how this reminds me when I was younger and during the summers my parents would pack us up and we would tour entire Greece in three months to see our friends and family. How we would visit my maternal grandmother's hometown, where she grew up during the 1940s and where my great-grandpa had a wine shop and a shoe repair shop, anyways, dad wouldn't allow us to sleep at night but the entire day we would be out in the neighborhood playing and running around with our friends while mum and dad would pack and sleep. Once we would return dead tired we would have a bath and eat something before we would climb the car and we would drive through the night for twelve hours. It was before Greece created the Ionian Highway Road which reduced the travel time from twelve hours to seven hours with many bathroom stops and emergency stops and it's way more relaxing to do this distance now." Nansia whispered to Hope with a fascinating and fond tone while a small smile played on her lips as she spoke.

Hope listened with fascination too since Nansia didn't reveal easily anything about her 21st century life. She was more open about her 22nd century and so on life but nothing about her family.

"That sounds nice. You used to play out in the streets?" Bonnie's voice made both girls jump and Bonnie chuckled at their reaction.

"Yes, I was born in 1999 and what I'm referring to was early 2006...meaning about 22 years ago since it's 2027 now...shit...I just realized this!" Nansia said as she tried to recall the year and realization dawn on her and she was surprised.