Where Are you Christmas?

12. Toni and Austin

A/N: So we're trying again in 2022, and we're still not off to a great start XD

Also a fun fact, I should have updated the character picture, but I didn't because I forgot about it until I went to post this XD

Character A and Character B both sign up for a Christmas Pen Pal project to exchange postcards. 

Toni was beyond excited when she went through the mail and found a postcard for her all the way from Pennsylvania USA.
     Everyone in her class had thought it was stupid, but she thought it actually sound fun. Her homeroom teacher had a friend who was a teacher in the States and they'd decided that their classes would take part in a pen pal project to exchange postcards. How exciting would it be to make a friend in another country, when she's old enough, how exciting would it be to go to that country! She was getting ahead of herself, but sometimes you had to think big, and she'd always wanted to visit the United States.
     The postcard had a picture of a big, cracked bell with a tacky 'Merry Christmas!' plastered across it. Hers had been a koala wearing a Santa hat. The first postcard had been mandatory, but it was your own choice from here and she had a few postcards upstairs ready to go. She was hopeful this person, Austin, was keen to keep this. His note is certainly positive enough, there was smiley faces.

'Hi Toni.

Is Toni short for something like Anthony?

It's so awesome that your postcard made it all the way from Australia! I've heard it's sunny there at Christmas, like you go to the beach? It doesn't stop snowing here so I can't imagine a summer Christmas, what's it like?

-Austin 😊'

It definitely seemed like he wanted a response, also he thought she was a boy. An opening line immediately pops into her head and she has to get it onto the card ASAP.

'Hi Austin,

Is that short for Austina? Because I'm just Toni, it's not short for anything, and if it were, it would be Antonia, or Antoinette, seeing as I'm a girl.'

She was weirdly proud of that and goes on to tell him that it's just hot in the Gold Coast and it doesn't stop being hot, but at least it's not muggy like it would be in Auckland, New Zealand, where she's actually from.
     Toni's disappointed that she can't really fit all that much on a postcard. If he responds again, maybe she'll suggest they post letters?
     Done writing she rushed from her bedroom and shouted that she's going for a walk to the post box. It's about a 15-minute walk away, they removed the one at the end of their street, the world just doesn't need as many post boxes as they used to.
     Her mum called back to tell her to take her grandma's Christmas card too, it's going to England.
The walk to the post box was sweltering, a tank top and mini-shorts don't stop her from sweating, her sunglasses kept sliding down her nose. But it felt worth it, and it gave her something to do.

...

"Austin, honey, post's here!" His mom calls from upstairs.
     He instantly dropped his controller and sprinted the stairs from the basement, what if today was the day? He pulled on sneakers that he never undoes; he doesn't bother with a jacket which he regretted instantly. It's bright out, sunlight reflected off the white snow and he could see his breath. He carefully ran for the letterbox, it was his brothers turn to shovel the path, he'd done that but hadn't salted it.
     Along with an envelope for his mom, a couple of shopping brochures, there was a postcard all the way from Gold Coast Australia, it's a picture of Santa on the beach. He loved it, it was funny, as it turned out, so was she, the 'Austina' thing is exactly his sense of humor, also his bad. That'll be the first thing he writes back, an apology for assuming she was a boy, and he'd make it funny.
     "Austin get inside you'll catch a cold!" His mother shouted from the doorway.
     He rushed back, skidding on the ice, but he caught himself on the stair railing of the front steps.
     "One day honey you are gonna scare me to death," his mom sighs with her hand over her heart.
     "I got a postcard," he held it up in one hand, and gave her the rest of the mail.
     "Brilliant, and all I get is the boring stuff."
     He's already halfway down the hallway, re-reading the card.
     "Write your reply quick enough and we can drop it in the post box when we pick up dinner," she managed to say before his door shut.
     Austin glanced around his room, "I don't have another postcard," he quietly told himself. He found one of his schoolbooks and tore out a page, realised he should have written it and then torn out the page, groaned, located a pen and got on with it.
     'Toni!

My bad, I apologize a lot for that. It's cool though if you call me Austina, I deserve that.'

He wrote about not having another postcard, so writing letters could be fun too. He hoped she's cool with that, otherwise he'll get more postcards for the future. He filled the page quickly asking more about Australia and telling her more about Pennsylvania. He hated spiders, so naturally he asked about them and signed it off, Austina.

...

Toni was surprised just over a week later to receive a letter, thrilled that it was Austin, laughing because he'd signed it off Austina. And she couldn't wait to do it all over again, and again.

A/N: I hope you liked it, just some cute nothingness to hopefully get me back into the swing of things :)

Please vote and comment, it truly makes my day :)

Hannah :)