Under The Mistletoe

"Come on, Eden, all you have to do is approach him and talk him up a bit. Then, once he has the sense of false security, you give him the food. Easy, yeah?" My best friend was trying to make me talk to a complete stranger. A creepy homeless guy, nonetheless.

The worst part was that she knew I was extremely awkward, especially in social situations.

"Eden, remember, it's for your own good! You need to participate, you are the senior class president, after all." Isa went on about how I shouldn't have gotten president, and how she hated being the secretary because she always had to type the annoying arguments we had. "Besides, it's Christmas Eve, and that's when you should be the boldest, yeah?"

"Isa, I'd really prefer to keep working at the soup stand." I said, referring to the impromptu stand that our senate had set up. There were about five people working it, passing out soup to the homeless people who were brave enough to drop their ego for some nice, warm soup. The senate members were happily chatting with the genuinely nice people, all of them singing "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas."

I, on the other hand, had to work the other job. I was currently clad in a black t-shirt that proudly read "Chilton High School" paired with jeans and an old pair of black Uggs. I needed to buy a new pair soon; I went through the shoes so quickly.

"No can do, mate." Isa said, pushing me one inch closer to my doom. "Come on, Eden, it's Christmas Eve, don't you want to make someone's night? Isn't that what Christmas is all about? Happiness, and family?"

I rolled my eyes, "I'm only here because I need it for my college app. It looks good on my transcript, and I really need to get into Yale. I do not want to go to Stanford like the rest of my family, even though it would be easier."

Isa, my only friend, knew that I desperately wanted to get into Yale. I wanted to be different from my family. But to get into one of the best ivy-leagues, I had to work my butt off. I had been taking all AP classes since I was a freshman, and I had gotten all A's. I was a shoe-in for being the valedictorian, but I also needed the "extra curricular activities." Even though I took a full schedule my senior year, when everyone else only had three classes, I still made time to run cross country, swim, volunteer locally, and be the president of my school.

But still, Isa only wanted to get into Columbia, and being from New York, she was sure to get in. "Oh, are you freaking kidding me? Don't even use that excuse. It's not even valid for this situation. Now go, and give your soup to him. He looks friendly enough." And then she left me to go talk to another homeless person. Except this last was elderly, and very friendly looking. She was calmly knitting a scarf, and smiled a wise, old smile when Isa approached.

I let out a frustrated groan, heading towards the soup stand to get some soup for the person who was causing me a good amount of trouble. "Here ya go, Eden." One of the guys smiled flirtatiously, giving me a bowl of soup. I nodded in thanks, but internally I was annoyed. There were so many guys who joined joined senate merely to meet girls, because they thought the guys were "smart."

Taking a deep breath, I gripped the paper bowl of soup, and headed towards the seemingly unapproachable man huddled in a corner, listening to some kind of music. All homeless people were always badly dressed, with dirty clothes and dirty bodies. This guy, however, was not grungy looking. He seemed somewhat normal, except that he had dark clothes, and was smoking a cigarette. I swear I had seen this guy many times, boarding random trains that led nowhere. He didn't sell newspapers or beg for money, he was just ever-present.

Before I was even five feet away from where this hobo sat, he looked up. We made eye contact, and I was surprised to see that he had gray eyes. I subconsciously expected him to have brown eyes – ugly eyes. Butterflies attacked my stomach as I walked to the stranger slowly, as if approaching a wild animal. I lifted my hand in the universal wave. I tried my hardest to be friendly.