The Annoying Dreamer and the Artistic Doubter

Love And Yuletide Slasher: Act One

Throughout the afternoon and late night, the two of them continued to type and cobble up several thoughts and ideas. By Sunday, he was alarmed to see her calling, elated.

"Hurry up!'

The joy cracked with shock. "We only have today to start writing this!"

"I mean we did, we just have to put the puzzle pieces together."

"Come on, I'm taking this seriously!"

"Just taking it one step at a time," taking what she wrote and altering certain words around. "See?"

"Whoa. So that's how we're going to introduce them?"

"Sure."

They kept going, between figuring out the names of the characters, fitting how they wanted the story to start, going in the middle and end.

"Wait, I need to take a shower. And let's eat, we've been at it for a while now."

"Oh," snapping out of it. Wait, he's always messing with me, snickering.

"So Si, what are you going to be thinking about while you're in there?"

"Huh, where?"

"The shower. Me?"

He cocked his head to the side.

"Why? We're in December and it's super cold. The last thing I wanna do is be in there the moment I turn off the hot water. Cam, you're weird."

He left her stumped and dumbfounded.

I'll never understand him.

Once they returned, he had her read out what she wrote and planned, altering it and making sure it would run by her. By about ten pm, they had finished the script.

Camila yawned. "I'm actually really excited about this."

"Just fair warning, I'm not good at public speaking."

"Neither am I. We'll get through it together."

He took a deep breath, daydreaming about the scenario, and agreed. The next day Ms. Faherty had assigned them last, making them listen to Christmas stories of various degrees of quality and effort put into them, until it was their turn.

"So tell us what the story is about."

"It's a romantic holiday slasher!"

The vast majority of the class were either in shock, confusion, or horror.

"Silas, Camila, care to explain what's it about?"

"Long story short, two misfits that are kinder under the surface start falling for each other while dealing with a serial killer based around their demons underneath the surface."

Nigel raised a finger. "Oh hell no, it's about how you want to kill us?"

He was about to say something when Camila tapped him on the shoulder.

"It's," taking a deep breath. "A lot deeper than that. We've got about ten minutes, so," having her hand out images, "we just ask you to listen closely and respect our right to tell this story."

"Oh so you did all the work, and Camila gave you a reward?

"It was my idea," taking the printed sheets and starting to read.

"Two teenagers were taking pictures of one of their classmate's lockers they defiled and destroyed, with images and red paint of that read murderer, promising to wear different clothes so the monitors couldn't tell it was them. Just as they were about to leave the school, they heard a noise."

Silas had finished handing out the paper as the classmates turned it: an image of what seemed to be a robotic Santa grabbing them by the throat.

"Santa slammed them into the lockers, stabbing them in the neck with a mail opener. Just as they tried fighting them, he stabbed them both in the eye, plugging their eyes with Christmas light bulbs. The next day, they found the couple's bodies in the school with a zip cord tied around their back, with mail around their bodies."

Expletives were made about what they just heard. "I thought this was a Christmas story."

"It is! Didn't you just hear what they got murdered with. Camila, continue."

"The police had to come to the building immediately. All they had was the tapes that showed they were still in the school, and when Santa attacked. No other cameras showed anything. So they asked around for a motive, and it led to Billy Hatchet."

Silas handed out another image, featuring a young black teen with scars over his face, wearing a hoodie, and an unpleasant cowl.

"His classmates let the cops know the two vandalized his locker. They did a quick search and found out why: he was the son of a serial killer many years ago, and that wasn't the first prank done to him. So they brought him in for questioning?"

"Yeah, they've been doing that to me for like two years. Being a murderer ain't in your DNA or shit."

"'So where were you?' They asked."

"Woodshop. Went, left early after speaking to the therapist, ask him."

"They spoke to the school physiatrist: Mr. Crew Kiser, who confirmed that, but noted he was hiding something from him lately."

"The police asked around with two students in particular coming up. Renesmee, a bubbly, kind girl who confirmed he had been harassed before, but never really did anything about it. Another, Bastion, told them stories about how he made a kill list. Those two classmates that died were on it."

"The next day, a new kid arrived, Hayden, who looked slightly taller than most of the seniors, finding everyone watching Billy. No one wanted to talk or confront him until the new kid put a head around his shoulder, asking if he was okay."

"To everyone's surprise, Billy started dropping tears. He didn't like those two, but never meant they wanted him to die."

"Hayden asked Renesmee to trail behind him as they followed Billy afterschool to woodshop: that only had a few people, including Margaret Gilbert, doobed?"

Silas looked up. "Dubbed, like named."

"Oh, um, dubbed Mars for short cuz of her red hair."

Silas handed them a picture, a light brown girl with a tough demeanor slicing up wood, showing him how to do it after the teacher yelled at him. For the first time, Renesmee saw him smile as Mars began helping him cut up a block and turn into a wooden bin.

"That afternoon, they followed the two out of the room where Billy was about to ask hers something when Bastion rammed into him, asking if he killed anyone. As Mars walked away, Billy got upset, and ran off. While Renesmee and Hayden went to find her, the shop teacher was attacked by Santa."