Katy's Carol

1. End of 1st Semester

Finally, it was here. The break of Christmas, that would last for two to three weeks, was here. Unlike Kathryn Worthington, each and every child of Pine Middle School let out the excitement that they've held onto for as long as Katy held her own. She exited the front doors of the school, not so happily like the children her age. For the past few weeks into the month, she was the main target to be bullied for her Christmas spirit being...childish. She was growing older and mature, despite everything that had something to do with this Christmas spirit. It was Wednesday, 12/18/13, a half day for the sake of the fun of the holidays, which happened once a year. It snowed, not so heavily, as Katy walked across the yard, leaving a trail of footprints in the few inches of snow. The flakes sparkled from the sky to her hazelnut hair, which she kept in a long ponytail. It was close to a bus that sat in the parking lot, when a blonde girl caught up with Katy. "Hey, Katy," she said. "It's about time Christmas dismissed us like the bell, not our teachers. Isn't that great?" She was a ecstatic, positive blondie with an IQ of one hundred fifty-four. "Yeah," Katy replied grimly. "That's good, Megan. Well, it's probably not just good, it's exciting." She heard Megan, her best friend, practicing her vocals in a beautiful, orchestrating manner. It was the most beautiful sound rather than a bell that rang around midnight on Christmas Day. Megan suddenly stopped, asking, "Are your parents picking you up?" Katy shook her head. "It's the bus this time, because they've been acting weird and giggly since this morning. I hope it's a surprise not too...Christmassy." It was as if she wasn't asking for presents like any toddler would; such as a doll, a new dollhouse, or a new bicycle. Megan wasn't prepared to hear the negativity that belonged to Katy. "Not too childish if you ask me," she mumbled. Katy stopped, something almost snapping inside her. Megan quickly assured, "Childish of your parents to be giggly, like you said."
"Oh," Katy mused, seeing her own breath in the wind as she calmed herself. "I'm sorry, Megan. I didn't mean..." Her apology didn't get far, as the bus honked so loudly, that she felt her ears ringing, not so much like the jingle bells. She hurried aboard, with Megan close behind. They were the last two children to board, before the doors closed automatically. Just as an empty seat in the back was picked by both girls, the bus moved slowly from the parking lot to the open road. As they all cruised downtown, Katy could hear classic Christmas music singing beautifully from loud speakers. Decorations roamed from one sidewalk to another, even at every red traffic light. "Megan," Katy said. "Do you know when your concert is?" Her best friend gave her a look that bloomed like a Christmas flower, that was red and green like an ornament. "It's this Saturday. If we sopranos win it, we take home the Christmas violin." She dug into her pocket for her phone, before she held the screen in front of Katy. "This is what it looks like," she went on. Katy examined this violin with her own eyes, having known it was covered in an image of Santa's sleigh flying through the sky on Christmas night. Megan had played violin before, which Katy had seen, but this was a Christmas gift she'd be glad to see her best friend appreciate for a lifetime. Before Katy could reply to the picture, she felt what seemed like a paper ball tossed at her. From the top of her head to the bus floor. Demoralized, she stood to see the person who sat behind her. "Duke," she said. "You know you can do better than that, right?" This Duke, a boy in her grade, stood to return her gaze. "I can do worse," he replied. "Like I've done before since you came along." Katy didn't retort, as anger wasn't the solution in all the drama she experienced, despite the frightening emotions warring on her face. Looking scared, Duke swallowed hard before sitting back down. "Dude, at least you know you weren't going to be beat up by a girl," said his friend next to him. Katy was surprised at herself.  She had done this kind of standoff to other bullies before, but to Duke, this was a different story. He was indeed a leader of the kind of bullies, who thought they were grown up and outgrew Christmas, which was never true in this sixth grader's case. The bus lurched, and Katy almost fell from the seat, startling her away from her nemesis. "Ignore him, Katy," said Megan. "What a...boy," Katy agreed, not even trying to find an angry way to describe Duke.