Ignore the Status Quo

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time of together and peace. Now, everyone was together, but the peace could use some work...

It was November in the Maine mountains, and there was already quite a bit of snow on the ground making for a chilly set-up. Up in one of the many ski condos, a group of people were attempting to set up for a thanksgiving dinner. Emphasis on attempting. With the chilly weather and fresh dusting of snow, it made for more of a Christmas view than your typical fall one. Fortunately for the condo's occupants, they had a nice heating system, keeping it just toasty. They had broken out the quilts and duvets to keep the nights comfortable, though many still had a few extra blankets and socks to keep their toes warm.
Now, the occupants of said condo were quite the, um, peculiar bunch you could say. The group of seventeen to eighteen year olds were very diverse, from Minecraft to theater to painting; they really had a person from every social category. This lead to myriad opinions and discussions. Most of the time this didn't really make much of a difference in the way they got along, but sometimes, it caused a bit of an issue. Which brings up the problem of what was currently happening inside the condo. Now, again, on the outside, it appeared calm and beautiful with the setting sun, but the inside could not have been more different.
Nobody really had any idea what started all the chaos, it may have been the messed up turkey, the food coloring mix-up, or the disagreement on which placemats color were better, or it could have been a combination or all three (my money's on this one). Anyways, instead of the picture perfect family and friends dinner, it was rather disastrous. But really, the panic started at the beginning of the day.
Starting the day with a Trea and Chloe pillow, sheet, and blanket fight (this happened every other day now. Why they still occasionally bunk together is a mystery to many), the idea of a quiet breakfast was shattered. As everyone finished breakfast, people began to branch off to get the chores done. Now, whoever thought that Alice and Trea would ever get anything done really needs to be checked up on, because someone had the absolutely brilliant idea to let them do laundry. As they headed off, you could feel the mischief bubbling around them.
Now, thankfully, some people have sense and didn't allow Linnea's potato chip idea to be on the grocery list.
After the Alice and Trea duo headed off, they other got down to getting other things done. "Thomas and I can take the shopping, if everyone's okay with that?" Linnea asked. When no one objected, she and her boyfriend snagged the car keys and headed out to the market for turkey, stuffing and other traditional fixings. This now left pie baking and decorations to be done.
"Ok," Isabel said, holding out her very awkwardly-cute to-do list. "We've got shopping covered by Linnea and Thomas," as she said this, she crossed out the words with her little purple pen, "and laundry is covered by Alice and Trea." Giggles and thuds could be heard from the laundry room as they spoke.
"Someone should probably check in that. Not really the best idea to leave them unsupervised." Julia mused.
Isabel sighed loudly in frustration as she turned her gaze towards the sounds. She shook her head, as if she didn't even have the energy to worry. "Anyways, we still have to make pie and get the decorations set up and the get the desert fixings. What should we start on?"
"Well we should probably start on the pie considering-"
A loud screech suddenly interrupted Chloe.
"NO!" Was the scream from Alice, soon followed by Trea's maniacal laughter, which much closer than it should have been.
The teen in question suddenly rounded the corner holding above her head, Alice's iPad, with her best Joker smile on as she zipped by. Followed right after was Alice, her face being the general idea for panic.
Trea somehow managed to do some sort of hockey stop on the ground and turned to Alice, smirking. Her brown hair was all ruffled up from the running, and she was panting slightly.
"Guess what Alice has on her iPad?" Trea asked with a giggle.
"Trea, I might not want to know..." Chloe said slowly.
"No! It's not anything inappropriate! Trea, don't show them!" Alice pleaded with her hands out, as if to calm Trea. Not one of Alice's better ideas, because it should be know that really, only food will distract Trea when she has her mind set on something.
With a devilish smile, Trea turned the iPad on, to reveal what must have been some of the worst selfies, ever. Like, ever. It consisted of Alice and her boyfriend, Jason Milton. Jason appeared to be doing a duck face (which didn't look any better on a guy, mind you) while Alice's hands were buried in the sleeves of his sweater and she was making a face similar to that of some one who was on drugs. In the background, Jason's cousin, also Isabel's boyfriend, James Novak, could be seen, brows furrowed in confusion. As everyone crowded in, they burst into laughter, much to Alice's displeasure. As the laughter increased so did the color on Alice's face. Soon the poor girl was beet red. Being optimistic, the color did complement her hazel eyes nicely.
"Look on the bright side Alice, at least you two have equally horrible selfies faces!" Chloe giggled.
"I hate all of you," she grumbled. Her grumpy face and crossed arms just made people snicker even more.
"It's alright Alice!" Julia comforted. "Now," she said, pulling the iPad easily from Trea's hands, who's only protest was to give an indignant 'hey!', "you two still have laundry to fold, and we have pies to make. So shoo!" With only minor grumbling the two shuffled back down the hall.
"Alright then!" Isabel said, with a roll of her eyes. "Let's get back on track shall we?" She gave Chloe a pointed stare and cleared her throat, as the dark haired girl was still chuckling lightly.
"So, Chloe, you were saying that we should get started on the pies. I've got to agree. So, off to the kitchen?" Julia said with a smile and a wave of her hand.
As they walked into the kitchen, Chloe grabbed one of the baking books, and looked up a pumpkin pie recipe. Meanwhile, Julia and Isabel got out the bowls and measuring equipment.
"So, first we are going to need 2 2/3 cups of flour..." And with that, the pie making adventure started. Making the filling actually was pulled off with out a hitch. But getting it in the bowl and not on the floor, counter or each other, was slightly more challenging.
"No, wait! Pour a little more-" a splat of pumpkin pie filling landed on the floor, cutting Chloe off mid-sentence. They all stared forlornly at what must have been the fourth spill. "You know what? Sorry Isabel, but I think that maybe Chloe should maybe take over for now." Julia suggested.
"No, wait! One more try.," Isabel pleaded.
"Isabel, just let me do it," Chloe stated. With a bit of pouting, Isabel handed over the bowl. It went off mostly without a problem from there. They got the pie in and set the timer just as Alice and Trea came in.
"We have finished the laundry," Trea announced, with more pride than the achievement was worth. They both carried baskets filled with table cloths, napkins, and place mats.
"Perfect! So, if you could just put them on the dinning table." Julia pointed over to the plain wood table, ready for decorating.
The group then set off for the basement to gather thanksgiving wreaths and little pop up turkeys. The wreaths were easy to set up, and they were place up on the front and back door. The turkeys needed a little more work. They were the kind that fanned out at the end, making more of peacock tail than a turkey one. After a few ripped and crumpled tries, the girls finally got the hang of it, and soon, little mini turkeys were placed on the counters, bookshelves and coffee tables. As they were furnishing the house with the festive foul, the stove timer for the pumpkin pie went off.
"I'll get it!" Julia shouted. She rushed off to the kitchen and pulled it out to cool. Despite the previous spillage incident, the pie seemed to have come out quite well. Cinnamon, pumpkin and other yummy smells drew everyone into the kitchen.
"Yum," commented Trea. If she stared any harder at the pie, she would drill a hole in it.
"I think I'm ready for lunch," Alice decided. She pulled out a pot and the makings for Macaroni and Cheese. As they waited for the water to boil, Trea ended up bored, no surprise there. Unfortunately, her search for something to do led to her the discussion of pets. And by pets, I don't mean getting a cute little husky puppy. This was Trea and she wanted something exotic. Chloe also seemed to like some of Trea's ideas.
"I think a snake would nice," mused Trea. "Or perhaps a lizard."
"Ooo!" Chloe exclaimed. "We should get a boa!"
"Okay, I don't even know if boas are allowed in Maine." Julia started. "Also, we have no idea how to take care of one!"
"Well than, how about a gorilla?" Trea asked. This earned her sarcastic looks from everyone.
Sighing, Trea turned to Isabel. "Hey, does James still work at that animal shelter?" She asked. When Isabel nodded, Trea smiled.
"So does he know of any good places to get an animal? Like a snake?" Enthusiasm seemed to bubble off her
"The animal shelter actually has a few reptiles that you could look into." Iz said slowly.
"You know what? I think I hear the water boiling! Let's get lunch ready, and, maybe finish this later..." Julia said, turning to the pot. Luckily for her, the water was boiling, and she was saved from having to again explain why some things weren't allowed in Maine to Trea.
As Alice poured the noodles into the pot she smile slightly and turned to Isabel.
"I still think that it's quite funny that your boyfriend, Mr. Tough Gym Guy, works at a shelter." She shook her head. "I mean, Jason looks like the kind of guy who would do that sort of thing!"
"You mean cause of his dorky smile?" Julia questioned.
"He is not dorky!" Alice defended.
"Alice, it's not a bad thing!" Chloe told her.
"It is to me." She grumbled.
Trea smiled and patted her on the head as the got out the bowls for lunch. While they were all eating, they head the sound of a car engine running.
"Looks like the love birds are back from their shopping spree!" Trea said as sound of the fall wreath hitting the door rung out.
"Hi! We're home!" Linnea shouted. She and Thomas rounded the corner, each carrying enough food to feed a small nation. Both of them had snow flakes in their eyebrows, and Linnea had a few leaves stuck in her blonde hair. Both set their share of the groceries on the floor and dragged Trea out to the car to get more. When they arrived out side, Trea marveled at all the food and other assorted items.
"We told you to just get the stuff in the list! Not the whole store!" She exclaimed. There appeared to be a bag just dedicated to whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
"Well," Linnea said as she hefted a bag into her shoulder, "we knew how much whipped cream Chloe and Isabel have, so we got a good portion."
"A good portion Linnea?! God!"
They returned each carrying a few bags in hand. As they set them all down, Thomas looked around.
"Wow, looks like you guys really did decorate!" He nodded his head, impressed. Linnea walked over with a concentrated look on her face to a paper turkey. With a hand not unlike a professional surgeon, she pulled at the paper turkey's peacock tail. She began smiling as she played with the tail. Thomas stood behind her with a confused frown on his face. He walked over to the turkey in question and repeating Linnea's actions. Brows still furrowed in confusion, he looked at her.
"Why is this so funny? You're just playing with it's tail."
Linnea smiled and twisted it back and forth.
"But look! It's like a lion's mane on the back!" Thomas just shook his head again. Trea snickered lightly and turned back to the kitchen.
"Hey, do you two need any lunch?" she called back to them as she grabbed the leftover Mac and Cheese.
"No, we ate at Panera Bread, but thanks!" Linnea responded. Alice and Isabel started going through the bags left on the table. They pulled out cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls, peas, carrots, potatoes, tofu (for Trea), gravy, corn, but no turkey.
"Hey, guys..." Alice started. "Where's the turkey?" Linnea and Thomas exchanged worried glances. Biting her lip, Linnea turned to Alice, but before she could say anything, Isabel held up what appeared to be a slightly deformed chicken.
"Please, please, tell me this is not the turkey?" Isabel begged. She held the poultry at arms length, squinting slightly at it. Alice came over and poked her head into the bag that the chicken/turkey mutation had come from.
"I found another!" Alice told them, holding up a similar meat. All heads turned towards Linnea and Thomas. They smiled sheepishly.
"We discovered why it's a bad idea to shop on thanksgiving day." Thomas said.
"They didn't have any large turkeys, but they had a two-for-one price for the mini ones!"
The whole room seem to sigh at the same time.
"Linnea, we only have one pan for the turkey..." Someone said.
"But maybe we could squish them! Put them side by-side!" She set both in the pan, and, with a little re-arranging, they did fit. Linnea smiled happily and set the oven.
Trea didn't seem that peppy. With a grimace she said, "if this is a failure, it's all on you!"
"Well, let's start on everything else, we still have to set up the table and prepare the food." the ever organized Isabel said. People branched off to complete the tasks; Trea, Julia, Chloe and Isabel worked on food, while Linnea, Alice and Thomas did the table. More pop-up turkeys appeared on the table (along with giggles from Linnea) and the argument over using red placemats or orange ones came up.
"But red is just such a traditional fall color." Alice explained.
"It just reminds me of, like, creepy things! Orange is also very traditional." Thomas shot back.
"It's like having a pumpkin to eat off of!"
"But we're having pumpkin pie!"
"Hey guys..." Linnea said from where she was setting out silverware, "how about yellow? We have those?" And sure enough, she held out a whole stack of yellow placemats. Looking at each other, then nodding, Alice and Thomas both took some and set them up. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, someone, *cough* Chloe *cough* got into the food coloring cabinet and decided that regular colored stuffing wasn't right. Unfortunately, Isabel happened to agree with the food coloring idea, just not with the color red. She wanted blue, so now they had a purple stuffing.
"Hey Chloe, how's the stuffing going?" Julia asked from where she was mashing the potatoes. She abandoned her post and walked over.
"Looking pretty- oh good god, what have you done?!" She yelped. The two tricksters started laughing.
"We're sorry Julia, but come on! Purple is just so much more exhilarating!" By this time Trea had come over. After basically repeating what Julia had said, she rolled her eyes and went to put her rolls in the oven.
With dinner well on it's way, they gang settled down with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. After 30 minutes and about four buckets of popcorn later, the timer for the rolls and veggies went off. Everyone cleaned up the food and put the disc away to get ready for diner. People unstated the bowls and began a set-up like a buffet. The diner, all together, looked quite impressive. People lined up with their plates and silverware. The two mini turkeys actually came out ok, though they did still look more like a chicken.
"I'm really quite happy with what we were able to do. It all looks yummy!" Isabel said happily.
Finally, after much waiting, everyone got seated with their food. But before they could dig in, Alice interrupted. "Wait!! We have to say thanks!" I'll start." She 'hmm'ed thoughtfully. "I'm thankful for the snow." Alice smiled, content.
"I'm not!" Isabel chimed in.
"Well to bad! Linnea. You chose something!"
"I'm thankful for, um, Doctor who!"
"Attack on Titan."
"Potatoes!"
And as people shared what they were thankful for, the atmosphere changed from barely collected to the traditional happiness felt on such a day.