The "Nauty" List [BxB]

1 - christmas starts in november

November 28

TW// Use of homophobic/f slur

Cassius Tuffin

Cassius trudged down the stairs, tired and still wearing his pajamas- some comfy plaid bottoms and a random t-shirt.

Only one more week of school until Christmas break, he thought to himself. I'll be fine.

He yawned as he reached the stair landing, but stopped when he saw his mom in the living room.

"Mom, already?" he asked, a bit of annoyance in his tone.

She looked up at him, an ornament in her hand, "Oh, you're up, sleepyhead," she greeted, standing up from where she had been kneeling in front of a tall green pine tree.

"What is this?" he asked, gesturing to the red, green, white, silver, and gold decorations the living room now exhibited.

"Christmas decorations! I think it's time our house got festive," she answered, hooking the ornament she'd been holding and putting it on one of the tree's branches.

"It's still November, mom."

She sighed, "It's the end of November," she pointed out. "Thanksgiving has already passed, so Christmas is on the way."

Cassius groaned, "I swear, you make Christmas start earlier every year," he replied.

"We usually decorate a few days before Thanksgiving- if anything, this is the longest I've ever waited for Christmas," she told him.

Just then, Cassius's older sister, Delaney, quickly jogged down the stairs and into the room where her mom and brother were.

"I smelled a pine tree," she said, grinning.

"Well, tada!" their mom responded, waving her hands towards the half-decorated tree.

"But it's not even a real tree," Cassius said at the same time.

"Oh, whatever," Delaney replied to her brother, stepping over a box of seasonal wreaths to stand closer to the Christmas tree.

"You two better get going to school soon," their mother spoke, fishing through a bag of tinsel and garlands. "Don't want to be late on the last week."

"That's something you'd say on the first day, not the last week," Cassius replied, his mood dull because of the early morning holiday talk.

She shrugged, going over to the stairwell and wrapping the silver tinsel she'd picked out around the railing, "Works either way," she said.

Cassius took one last look around the room and turned around, going back up the stairs to get dressed for the last five days at school before winter break.

- - -

"I can't believe my geography teacher gave our class an assignment right before Christmas," Morris- Cassius's best friend- complained. "Who even does that?"

"I remember she gave me and Rowan double homework on first day back after New Years last semester," Cassius responded.

Morris groaned in annoyance, "Really, what the hell? We only have three days for it too! Bullshit," he said, shaking his head.

They were talking to each other as they walked down the halls to the cafeteria for lunch. Cassius and Morris always sat at a table with their other two friends, Zaiden and Rowan, along with a friend group of six girls. The four of them had grown used to eating lunch with the other group, and now did it every day. Sometimes the two friend groups conversed at lunch, but during classes and in the halls they never really spoke to one another.