The Strength of Us

Chapter Six - Are Turtlenecks Back In Style Now?

Chapter Six - "Are Turtlenecks Back In Style Now?"

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When I think of Christmas, the first thing I think of is traditions. Traditions are something that my dad looks forward to all the time, whether it's for a holiday, or having our weekly leftovers on Sunday nights while watching football or one of our favorite movies together.

So, one of our traditions for the holiday season is decorating the house together. No matter if it's a blizzard or in the negative degrees, we still manage to pull it off every year. By the time December 22nd arrived, which is my last day of school in preparation for Christmas day on Monday, the decorations were all up, the tree was done and we were ready for another year.

Alex's birthday was yesterday and we didn't do anything too exciting since it was a school night. Our group of friends and his family went out to eat at an Italian restaurant about twenty minutes away, and it was amazing. Then we just went back to his house, had cake, gave him his presents and that was it.

Like he said, he never likes to do anything huge for his birthdays and he only agreed to do the whole townhouse thing because it was my brilliant idea. And the fact that we never do anything like this helps too.

I was done getting ready a little early in the morning, so I was standing in the kitchen, waiting for my coffee to get done. My dad was sitting at the table, reading his paper and sipping the end of his coffee that he brewed earlier this morning.

"You gonna be warm enough today?" He asked, peering at me over his glasses.

I looked down at myself and nodded, shrugging a bit. I have on a pair of tight, black jeans with a two-sizes-too-big gray turtleneck pullover. As for shoes – since my feet are always freezing – I'm wearing my white high tops, but with a pair of cute, thick socks peeking out up top. Then I have a slouchy, black beanie on my head that has a pom pom on the end, and I'm wearing my parka as well for when I go outside.

"Yeah, I think so," I said, looking back up at him. My dad is always looking out for me when it comes to staying warm in the winter. I guess he figures because I'm pretty tiny, I get cold easily and he gets way too worried.

I'm always fine though; I know how to look out for myself and I make sure to wear warm enough clothes. It's like he thinks I'm stupid or something.

"Alright," he nodded, glancing back down at his paper.

My hazelnut coffee came pouring out into my thermos, so I threw in some sugar and creamer, stirred it around and pulled on my jacket. It's now almost 7:40, which means it's time for me to head across the street to Alex's car.

"I'll see ya later, Dad," I slung my bag over my shoulder after I pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Stay warm! Have a good day!" He called to me from the kitchen.

I opened the front door and shut it behind me, greeted by a gusty, bitter wind right away. I ran across the street and plopped down in the backseat of Alex's car, opening my thermos and taking a sip of my coffee. Which was stupid, because I burnt my tongue. But when the smell of coffee is right in front of me, I'm too impatient to wait for it to cool down.

The driver door opened and in came Alex, taking his seat and starting up his car. "Hey," he breathed, backing out of his driveway and shooting me a smile.

"Hiya," I smiled back.

"It's our last day of the year," he noted.

"I know, junior year is going by too fast," I sighed, staring out the window and watching the decorated houses pass by.