Page 21 of My Fake Date With My Childhood Friend
“Want to go to my friend’s place with me tonight? He’s having a small Christmas party before he leaves on vacation.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Part of me was excited at the prospect, but there was also a part of me that didn’t want to go. A Christmas party didn't sound like something I particularlywanted to go to right now, but I'd been having so much fun eating lunch every day with Alexander's friends, so it would be fun to hang out with them even more.
“How Christmas-y is it?” I asked hesitantly.
“Nothing too crazy,” Alexander said with a shrug. “I think there will be Christmas cookies and eggnog and stuff, but it's really just a party.”
I guess that wouldn't be any more Christmas-y than my own house was at this point, to be fair. And it was probably good for me to go with Alexander so we could continue to sell our fake relationship.
“Sure,” I said. “Sounds like fun.”
“Great, I'll pick you up around seven,” he said with a grin. “And are we still on for tonight?”
“For sure,” I said. Alexander was coming over to my house after school, and we were going to formally tell my family that we were together. While it wasn’t a big deal for my side of the bargain, it did matter a lot for his — he had yet to find a way to subtly drop the news to his parents that we were together, so he thought telling my mom would mean that she would tell his mom for him. It was the perfect plan.
The bell rang. We both quickly packed up our things — not that we had much out anyway — and headed out into the crowded hall. As soon as I stepped out of the classroom, the scent of baked goods wafted through the air, a sweet smell of fresh cinnamon and gingerbread, a smell that made my mouth water. I breathed in deeply. The scent was warm and even comforting for a moment until I came crashing back down to reality.
“I think the cooking class is selling the food they made today,” Alexander said. Even though he was pretty tall, to begin with, he was up on his tiptoes to see above the crowd.
“That explains the smell.” Normally, they kept the door to the kitchen closed, so you would only smell the remnants of the food as you walked past the room. But on special days like today, when they made something particularly good, they left the door open and set up an unfolded table to sell the food.
“I think it's gingerbread cookies!” Alexander said excitedly. He pushed himself even further up on his toes, putting his hand on his shoulder for support. “And hot chocolate! We should get some.”
“You can,” I said as he dropped back down to flat feet. “I'm fine.”
“Oh, come on!” Alexander said. “Get in the Christmas spirit, Penny.”
“I'm afraid it's going to take a lot more than some gingerbread to do that.”
“Since when do you hate Christmas so much?” Alexander asked. “I swear you used to like it. You would beg your parents to leave our Christmas Eve party early because they told you that he wouldn’t come until you were asleep.”
“Yeah, well,” I sighed, “I was a kid. I don’t believe in Santa anymore.”
“It’s not just about Santa, and you know it,” Alexander said. “It’s everything to do with Christmas. Like you suddenly hate it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Alexander.”
“Yes, you do,” he said. He bumped his shoulder into mine. “You just don’t want to admit it.”
“What are you, my therapist?”
“Come on, Penny!” He said. “I’m your boyfriend. You should be able to tell me anything.”
Fake boyfriend, I corrected in my mind. Did that come with the same terms and conditions as a real boyfriend? Did I have to share things with him? Well, I knew I didn’t need to — but maybe it would help me if I did.
“Joseph cheated on me a month before Christmas,” I said. “I mean, we were supposed to go to the Christmas Market the day I found them. And now he’s taking Nikki there and parading her around to all of his friends as if she was the girl he wanted all along. I lost my two best friends in one day, and that hasn’t really made me want to celebrate.”
“Oh.” He had that same uncomfortable look on his face that everyone had whenever I mentioned Joseph.
“Sorry,” I said. Joseph would have been mortified if I ranted like that in public, even in a crowd like this where nobody was listening to us. “I don’t know what got into me.”
“Don’t ever apologize for your emotions,” he said seriously. “I know you said that it hasn’t put you in the mood to celebrate, but I think it’s all the more reason to try to get into the holiday spirit! Don't let that jerk steal even more from you.”
I couldn't help but smile at that. Alexander always seemed so determined to make things right, and he was always so optimistic. It was a nice change of pace from my recent mindset.
“And how do you suggest I do that?”
“Well, it's going to be a long process,” Alexander said with a forlorn shake of his head, “but I think the first step is right in front of us.”
