Cardinal

Chapter 27 The Christmas Party

"Hey, you're at the party, right?" I asked Nya, walking out of my house as I began the journey to our job. I wore black jeans alongside an unbutton shirt, with a white t-shirt under it. Very simple, but I was proud in the way it looked. I washed my hair earlier, making sure to comb it before I left.

In one hand, I gently held my phone while holding Nya's gift in the other. My notebook and pencil were in my back pocket, just in case I had any ideas while at the party for a poem. I couldn't help but feel somewhat excited for the party tonight. Management allowed the store to be closed for roughly two hours so that we could have our party without the disturbance of customers or outside forces.

"Yeah, but it's kind of early so not many people are here."

"Is Mallie there?" I asked, walking across the street to the other side of the road.

"No, not yet at least," she explained. A slight smile formed across my face as I looked down at the bag. It was a small, bright red bag with green strings that I held onto. I placed white wrapping paper in the bag to hide the gift, but beforehand I made sure to securely wrap the small Cardinal in bubble wrap so that it wouldn't break.

"Alright, I'll see you there." Nya and I shared our goodbye's before hanging up on each other. From there, I put earbuds in and listened to music as I walked to our job. One of my favorite songs played, a story about a guy who fell in love with a girl and did everything he could for her, later realizing that she had also fallen for him. It was a uplifting song, with multiple powerful quotes throughout the lyrics that conveyed so many emotions of love and loyalty.

I admired the song, a smile forming across my face as I listened to it. With every step, I felt more confident and optimistic. The world around me was cold, but I ignored it thanks to my excitement. The sun was lowering, reaching the horizon as it got closer to five. The party was from five to seven, but a lot of people were off that day, so the party didn't strictly end at seven for many.

Mallie and I were among the crowd that didn't have to work that day. I saw my job in the distance as I walked up the same sidewalk Mallie and I raced on. I smiled, remembering that day like it was only an hour ago, the joy in us was immeasurable. I quickly crossed the road before entering the lobby, immediately taken aback by all the Christmas decorations and number of employees there. There were at least twenty guests to the party when it had only started a few moments ago.

"Harrison! I'm so glad you could make it," Carl called out, before my friends came towards me.

"Hey Harry, what you been up to?" Jacob asked, patting me on the back.

"Ooooh, he's holding a bag guys. Maybe it's for a special someone," Mark stated, pointing down towards it.

"Sorry Mark, it's not for you," I joked, causing everyone to start laughing.

"Harrison!" I heard a familiar voice call out, seeing Nya further inside the store. She wore simple black leggings and a plain blue sweatshirt alongside it. I walked past everyone to see her.

"Hey Nya," smiling, I stood in front of her.

"Nervous to give her the gift?" Nya asked, glancing down at it.

"A little, but I think I'm going to try and pull her away from the party before giving it to her." Nya smirked as I spoke to her, leaning closer to my ear.

"Thats not the only thing you'll give her when you two are alone," she jokingly said, causing my face to turn bright red as I stepped back.

"What! No Nya stop, I don't want to think about that~" I nervously explained as she laughed. I was excited to see Mallie, patiently waiting for her to show up. When she did though, I couldn't help but feel she stole the spotlight from everything. She looked amazing, to me at least.