Snowflakes.// ParkerGames

d e c e m b e r s i x t h

[ a l i ]

I thought today was a good day. We had gotten some responses to the talent show, and the Santa scene was all set up. We had a line going and the kids really seemed to enjoy Liam as Santa, and telling him what they wanted. The parents were happy with the pictures Mitch and Brayden were taking, and the holiday spirit was definitely up.

We had finished decorating the store fronts with lights and Jordan and I finished painting the entrance awning to be a candy cane. Most of the flyers have been pinned up in various locations and there are stacks sitting around the mall for people to grab. Everything seemed to be on my side.

That was until we had a meeting halfway through the day.

"I've come to a conclusion that this is stupid!" Someone yelled out.

"Uh, why is it stupid?" Parker asked. We were nothing giving off the really confused face.

"Well, do you see anyone who is actually working at the mall helping? Like, the managers aren't doing anything! It's like they're making us do their dirty work!" He yelled.

"You're helping the community!" I fought back. "You're the one who decided to help the mall, they didn't force you to do anything. And yes, the people that work here are helping. Carly has helped me get a ton of things done." I said.

"So what? It's one person. Not the whole managing staff. I, quit." He said. And before he walked away, he shouted one more thing. "What? Are the rest of you going to keep helping the mall who's going to give you nothing in return?"

A few people walked to where he was standing. But a girl, the one who was excited to pass out the flyers, shouted right back at him. "Did it ever occur to you that it's the season of giving? It's the time of year where you give and don't expect anything back! That's what volunteering is! And this, this was a volunteering job! You want to help out! But clearly, you're too selfish and greedy to care about what goes on in your community! So, have fun being a greedy, selfish, rude person!" She yelled. I smiled at her. And of course, a few more people walks over to the selfish man. We were left with four people. Plus Parker's friends.

I turned to Parker. "This is horrible! Yes, I'm thankful for the four people that stayed, but with the few people that we have, we won't be able to get all of it done! What did I do to deserve this?" I started talking faster, I was freaking out.

"Ali, you didn't do anything wrong. Some people are too selfish to think of anyone else. You're selfless, which is an amazing trait of yours." Parker had his hands on my shoulders, trying to get me to calm down.

I noticed Jordan get on his phone and walk a little distance away from us. The four other volunteers walked over to us. "We'll do all we can to help." The girl smiled. "Hi, I'm Lainey." She seemed to be about my age.

"Hi, I'm Parker!" He introduced himself. "This is Ali."

"Hi." I said quietly.

"So, how can we help?" Lainey asked.

"We need to make the stage look more festive. We need to hang the Santa and reindeers from the ceiling. And we're going to hide a grinch above a store. As well as decorate the tree in the middle of the mall, and put the make believe presents beneath it. The tree is behind the Santa station, so we have to be careful around that." Jordan walked up behind us.

"Where are the tree decorations?" Lainey asked.

"Carly says their in the room next to the storage room. Says it used to be a holiday store but was shut down and turned into extra holiday storage. She just recently found it and said we could use them." Jordan explained.

"Let's get to work, then?" Parker asked.

I smiled. "Let's go."

------

I was much more happy now. I was working with Lainey and another boy on the tree. We were having fun, decorating the tree in lights, bulbs, and tinsel. It was really nice. I could see Parker on the second floor working on hiding the grinch. I saw Jordan and another man attempting to hand the Santa and reindeers.

Everything was finally coming together.

"Are you Ali?" Someone asked.

I turned around to see a man with brown hair. "Yes?"

"I'm looking for Parker. My names Zach." We shook hands.

"Minecraft friend?" I cocked an eyebrow.

Zach laughed. "I guess so."

"Nice to meet you." I looked up to see Parker a few stores away on the second floor. "Parker is working on finding a place for the grinch. He's up there." And I pointed to Parker.

"Thanks. I'll probably see you around." He smiled with a wink and walked away.

"The tree is looking great!" Lainey squealed. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah! We've got a long ways to go, but we'll get there." I smiled back.

"Do you want me to start bringing in the fake presents?" The boy, Jake, asked.

I nodded. "Sure."

He smiled and started walking to the storage room. Lainey turned to look at me. "So I had an idea."

"Lay it on me." I said.

"It's not really all about the mall, but I thought it would be nice." She smiled. I nodded and she continued. "What if we go on the streets and invite some of the homeless people to come to the mall for Christmas? I was thinking that maybe they'd like to spend a nice holiday in a warm place and maybe get to know some people?" She said. "Do you think they'd let us do that?" Lainey asked.

"Lainey! That's an amazing idea!" I squealed. "I would love to do that. I would even be happy to make a Christmas dinner. I would probably even spend my Christmas here. I bet Parker and his friends would too. That would be such a nice thing to do for the holiday season. Yes, I'll talk to Carly about it and get back to you!" I said. "Thanks for the amazing idea."

"I just wanted to help." She smiled and went back to decorating. She looked back to me for a second. "And just for the record, I'd love to help you make the Christmas dinner, if they allow us."

I love the fact that it finally feels that everyone's in the Christmas spirit.

Authors note
Guys I love writing this book I don't know why I just do

And I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

So thank you for reading and if you liked the chapter then please leave a vote!

Well, I'll see you guys around! And keep smiling, because it looks great on you!

-Lilly