The Christmas Crusade [NaNoWriMo 2015]

❄ Chapter Two ❄

          "Jingle bells, Batman smells-"

          Moose slapped her younger cousin with a pillow, glaring at the nine year old. At least they were leaving today; then coming back for Christmas.

          The little girl scowled up at her cousin before stomping away, screaming at the top of her lungs. Moose sighed and ran a hand through her hair, getting up and walking downstairs. School had been cancelled for the next three days because someone (cough cough Gary Lorenzo cough cough) trashed the school over the weekend. Don't ask how he did, he just did.

          Moose walked into the dining room and piled a bunch of rice and bacon on her plate, sitting next to her (slightly) older cousin. The two were close enough, not more than they had to, but close enough.

          "You got a boyfriend yet, Darcy?" Moose asked, scooping a spoon of rice into her mouth. She smirked at her cousin who went rigid. Moose was the only person in the family that knew that teenage girls could actually have crushes on actual human beings (blasphemy!) and it's been an inside joke between the two of them.

          "Do you?" Darcy spat back, taking a bite of egg. Moose cringed at the egg; she hated eggs.

          "Chessie, are your mean neighbors still living here?" Moose looked down at Izzy, her obnoxious little cousin, and tried not to get too annoyed by the use of her real name nickname.

          "No, they moved away three months ago," Moose said, taking a drink of water. Izzy sighed quietly and went back to her own seat. Moose's heart ached slightly and she saw Darcy's face soften as she looked at them.

          "What happened with them last year?" Darcy whispered, hiding her question behind a spoonful of rice. Moose pursed her lip and thought back to last Christmas.

          She really wished she hadn't.

          "People are stupid, Darcy, never forget that." That was all Moose said on the matter before she went back to eating. Darcy hummed her agreement and went back to eating as well.

          By the time everyone was done eating, Darcy and Izzy had to go back home. There were the usual goodbyes and Darcy forgot yet another article of clothing (a really nice shirt that Moose was never giving back), so there was nothing new.

          The only thing that happened was that Moose locked herself in her room until she had to get ready for work because she was not in the mood to associate with people. That flashback really messed her up.

          She stayed in her room and watched some mind-numbing Christmas shows. ABC decided that they weren't going to have their daily Harry Potter Marathon, so there really was nothing good to watch.

          The next thing she knew, Moose's phone was going off because she was late for their meetup and they couldn't make it to get hot chocolate because Nicole said they had to be on time. She nearly impaled herself on the side of her desk as she shoved her tights on.

          She couldn't find her extra Santa hats, of course, so she grabbed her moose antlers (not reindeer ones) and raced out of her apartment. She met up with Babs who was holding an extra Santa hat in her hands in front of the bus stop, smirking.

          "You're my favorite person," Moose said, taking the hat, sitting down in her seat. Babs just nodded and closed her eyes, falling asleep. Moose guessed she didn't sleep last night.

          They made it to the Workshop only five minutes late, but that must have been ten minutes too late.

          "Where have you been?" Nicole demanded, waving her clipboard around. Since when did she get a clipboard? Moose and Babs cowered under the glare of the older, um, elf and glanced at their actual boss who was sorting through some papers. Were they getting fired?