" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 15

The months seemed to go by rather quickly, from September, to October, to November, now it was December, the month of holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, all holidays that were celebrated by people of various backgrounds. And everyone in Mx. Sapphire's class were practically jumping with excitement as they were just a day away from holiday break. When the kids woke up that day, they all knew that wouldn't be doing much that day, most likely watching cartoons and eating snacks.

Edgar was practically bouncing in his seat as he was filled with pure excitement. He was wearing a baby blue sweater dress, thick socks, and a pair of snow boots. Sure, there wasn't snow outside (Yet, that is), but it was better for him to wear snow boots, just in case.

" Alright class, what holiday do you all celebrate with your families? " Mx. Sapphire asked their class.

" Christmas! " A lot of kids exclaimed, including Gary, who was sitting behind Edgar.

Mx. Sapphire smiled " And what about you, Edgar? " they asked.

Edgar looked around the classroom, a bit afraid to speak, especially because Brody was staring him down like an angry bull.

He gulped as he spoke " M-my family is Jewish! We celebrate Hanukkah, not Christmas. "

" What's Hanukkah? " A little girl asked.

Before either Mx. Sapphire or Edgar could respond to the girl, another student, this one a boy, looked over to her and responded " It's where you light candles. " He looked over to Edgar " Though you don't get presents like on Christmas, do you? "

Edgar looked back at the boy " W-we do, we get presents! " He exclaimed.

The boy rolled his eyes, clearly not believing him. The boy had light skin, almond-shaped eyes, dark brown hair that was messy and unkempt. He was wearing a gray shirt, black sweatpants, and black rain boots.

" Natsuo Fujiwara, " Mx. Sapphire spoke " Remember, be nice. And also, people who celebrate Hanukkah do get presents, i have a few friends myself who celebrate Hanukkah, and i tend to buy them presents. "

Gary raised his hand " Mx. Sapphire? " He asked, catching his teacher's attention " What holiday do you celebrate? "

" I'm glad you asked, Gary. " The teacher responded " I celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa, just like my mom and dad, and the rest of my family. " They smiled softly.

There was then a light knock on the door, catching the classes attention as they turned to face the door. Mx. Sapphire walked over to the door and opened it, and in walked none other than Fatima Salman! She was finally back after being gone for the past couple months! And oh my, did her friends miss her ever so much!

" Hey Guys! " Fatima exclaimed happily, her lips curling into a wide smile as she pointed out her friends. She struck a pose before she ran over to her friends, practically knocking them over and embracing them in a hug.

Edgar and Gary both embraced Fatima back, they too were happy to see their friend again. They hadn't seen her in months! Sure, they had each other, but not having Fatima with them made them sad, but now that their friend was back, they could catch her up on everything that had happened while she was gone!

Mx. Sapphire smiled and sighed as they closed the door and walked back to their desk. They then reached into inside their desk and pulled out some animated holiday movies to put on. They also pulled out some drinks and snacks for the kids as well.

Edgar, Fatima, and Gary all got settled at their table. Pillows on their chairs so they didn't have to sit on the hard plastic. They all giggled excitedly as Mx. Sapphire handed out the drinks and snacks after setting up one of the movies on the small T.V that sat atop the rolling cart that was always present in the hallways.

" You were gone for like.. a billion days! " Gary exclaimed as he opened up a bag of cookies the teacher had set in front of him " You missed a lot! Where were you anyways? "

Fatima smiled as she took a drink of her juice " My Baba got married! I have a step-mommy now! " She took a bite of her chips " What about you guys? "

Edgar smiled widely " My Maman's Pregnant! " He exclaimed happily " I'm gonna be a big sibling! " 

Fatima and Gary both felt their jaws his the floor, they were shocked! Yet also, they were extremely happy for their friend. They never knew what it was like to be a big sibling, and here was one of their friends that was gonna be one! They had so many questions!

" Is the baby a boy or a girl? " Gary asked.

Edgar shrugged " I dunno " he took a sip of his juice " My Maman and Papa don't wanna know until the baby's born, but i can't wait to be a big sibling! "

Then, Natsuo tapped Edgar on the shoulder, catching his and his friends attention as they all turned to face the other child " Can i sit with you guys? " Natsuo asked sheepishly, looking down at the floor, holding a cup of juice in his hand.

Edgar looked over at his friends, and the both of them looked back at him. They almost seemed to have a silent conversation. After a minute or two, the three friends all nodded as Gary grabbed a lone chair and placed it down, patting it excitedly.

" Arigatou Gozaimasu " Natsuo spoke, sitting down in the chair " Sorry about earlier " He muttered out quietly, clearly feeling bad about what he said " What's your names? "

The three all introduced themselves one by one, as Natsuo did the same. The three then became four as Nastuo joined their friend group.

" Where are you from? " Fatima asked as she ate her cookies and drew a cartoonish reindeer on a piece of paper.

" My Chichi is from Japan, and i do not have a Haha, It's just me and my Chichi " Natsuo muttered as he looked down at his near empty bag of cookies.

" What do those words mean? " Edgar asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

Natsuo looked up " Chichi means Dad, and Haha means Mommy " His lips were curled into a frown " My mommy isn't nice, she's mean " tears started to well in his eyes.

Edgar, Fatima, and Gary all got out of their seats and embraced Natsuo in a hug. They all felt so bad for him. Natsuo cried quietly as he felt this embrace, it was warm, comforting, and friendly. Sure, his father was a kind man, never really got angry, but was always making sure that he was doing well, Natsuo never felt his mother's touch, he didn't know what an amazing group of people he had just met.

" So... " Nastuo spoke through his tears " You're gonna be a big sibling? " He wiped his tears away with his sweater sleeve.

Edgar nodded " Imma be a big sibling! " He sat back down in his seat " My Maman says the baby will be here very soon! I can't wait! "