warm enough?" Ace asks, holding one up. "I've only been cold, like, once since I was ten," Ace admits as Jack takes it from him. "It sucked."
"Won't work--this is one of those frilly ones that are for going from your car to the store and back," Jack says, fingering the material. "It's not what we're looking for." Ace hangs it up, and goes back to looking. "An' don't just assume the little sizes are right, people come in all sizes. Back when I was an orphan, there was a lady that was tossed out of her home 'cause she lost her job--"
When he checks out, he has a pile almost four feet thick of coats, all to donate. Aubrey watches that silently, her heart pounding against her chest and a little smile that doesn't fade as they board the bus back to school.
"Happy?" Liz asks her.
"Extremely," she says.
"Good," Liz says, "because it's time for the party!" she declares as the bus pulls to a stop in front of the school. Most of the Hall is standing there, and picnic tables are laid out with piles of food on them. Several boxes of fireworks sit to the side.
"Oh, wow, we're having a party?" Carla asks, staring out the window excitedly.
"We sure are! Who wants to help me blow up a lot of stuff?" Liz asks. Every kid on the bus raises their hand.
And as the fireworks blast through the air, Aubrey steals a kiss from her boyfriend--and promptly goes, "HAH! I knew I wouldn't stick!"
"Try it up in the Arctic Circle!" Emily shouts over to her. Aubrey sticks her tongue out at her, making her sister laugh.
So what she'd chosen for her day wasn't fancy, or even something that would make headlines, she thinks as she turns to watch the fireworks. It was something even norms could do. But for every coat they'd bought, she imagines a person keeping a little bit warmer in the upcoming cold.
Advent Calendar - Day Ten
Freddy looks at his helpers, taking a deep breath and placing the map on the table. "So first of all, thanks, guys," he says, "I really appreciate it. I couldn't come up with anything, you know? I mean, I guess I could have called in an adult, but... I'd rather do something stupid and fun than something that'll put me in debt for who knows how long."
"It's fine," Lance says, grinning, "this sounds like it'll be awesome."
"I don't mind," Brandon says, slowly disappearing in front of their eyes.
"Brandon," Freddy says. "Stay with us."
"Sorry, sorry," Brandon says, appearing again, "habit."
"You can do your work invisible, but right now we need a strategic meeting," Freddy says. "Here are the items--I sort of borrowed a couple of Nico's junk boxes from the gym building, right? And a few other things. But, like, hide them all around. We've got some great areas to hide stuff here, here, here, and here, got it?" he says, pointing at the map. "We can't get caught by ANYONE, got it? If we get caught, it'll blow our game."
"Yeah, but what will we give as prizes?" Lance asks, perching on Freddy's bed and staring at the map. "I got nothing, man."
"Why does everything need a prize or some sort of moral?" Freddy asks. "Sure, it's fun winning stuff, and it's all well and good to help others, but we're capes. We'll spend the rest of our LIVES helping others, right? So why not just have some fun for a while? Why not just goof off and enjoy ourselves for one day?"
"So... a scavenger hunt is your answer?" Brandon says.
"Yeah, a stupid, no holds bar, scavenger hunt," Freddy says, grinning. "Make sure you booby trap those suckers, or at least make them hard to get to. These are capes we're dealing with, you know?"
"This interests me." They all jerk, looking up as the door swings open and Nico leans against the doorway. "Just for this one, I'll make an exception and join in."
The three teens look at each other, and then at the guy that made the rules and is, apparently, breaking them.
"Will we get in trouble if you help us?" Brandon asks.
"Oh, I'll probably get listed," Nico says, "but I'll ignore that. This sounds like fun. Let's
"Won't work--this is one of those frilly ones that are for going from your car to the store and back," Jack says, fingering the material. "It's not what we're looking for." Ace hangs it up, and goes back to looking. "An' don't just assume the little sizes are right, people come in all sizes. Back when I was an orphan, there was a lady that was tossed out of her home 'cause she lost her job--"
When he checks out, he has a pile almost four feet thick of coats, all to donate. Aubrey watches that silently, her heart pounding against her chest and a little smile that doesn't fade as they board the bus back to school.
"Happy?" Liz asks her.
"Extremely," she says.
"Good," Liz says, "because it's time for the party!" she declares as the bus pulls to a stop in front of the school. Most of the Hall is standing there, and picnic tables are laid out with piles of food on them. Several boxes of fireworks sit to the side.
"Oh, wow, we're having a party?" Carla asks, staring out the window excitedly.
"We sure are! Who wants to help me blow up a lot of stuff?" Liz asks. Every kid on the bus raises their hand.
And as the fireworks blast through the air, Aubrey steals a kiss from her boyfriend--and promptly goes, "HAH! I knew I wouldn't stick!"
"Try it up in the Arctic Circle!" Emily shouts over to her. Aubrey sticks her tongue out at her, making her sister laugh.
So what she'd chosen for her day wasn't fancy, or even something that would make headlines, she thinks as she turns to watch the fireworks. It was something even norms could do. But for every coat they'd bought, she imagines a person keeping a little bit warmer in the upcoming cold.
Advent Calendar - Day Ten
Freddy looks at his helpers, taking a deep breath and placing the map on the table. "So first of all, thanks, guys," he says, "I really appreciate it. I couldn't come up with anything, you know? I mean, I guess I could have called in an adult, but... I'd rather do something stupid and fun than something that'll put me in debt for who knows how long."
"It's fine," Lance says, grinning, "this sounds like it'll be awesome."
"I don't mind," Brandon says, slowly disappearing in front of their eyes.
"Brandon," Freddy says. "Stay with us."
"Sorry, sorry," Brandon says, appearing again, "habit."
"You can do your work invisible, but right now we need a strategic meeting," Freddy says. "Here are the items--I sort of borrowed a couple of Nico's junk boxes from the gym building, right? And a few other things. But, like, hide them all around. We've got some great areas to hide stuff here, here, here, and here, got it?" he says, pointing at the map. "We can't get caught by ANYONE, got it? If we get caught, it'll blow our game."
"Yeah, but what will we give as prizes?" Lance asks, perching on Freddy's bed and staring at the map. "I got nothing, man."
"Why does everything need a prize or some sort of moral?" Freddy asks. "Sure, it's fun winning stuff, and it's all well and good to help others, but we're capes. We'll spend the rest of our LIVES helping others, right? So why not just have some fun for a while? Why not just goof off and enjoy ourselves for one day?"
"So... a scavenger hunt is your answer?" Brandon says.
"Yeah, a stupid, no holds bar, scavenger hunt," Freddy says, grinning. "Make sure you booby trap those suckers, or at least make them hard to get to. These are capes we're dealing with, you know?"
"This interests me." They all jerk, looking up as the door swings open and Nico leans against the doorway. "Just for this one, I'll make an exception and join in."
The three teens look at each other, and then at the guy that made the rules and is, apparently, breaking them.
"Will we get in trouble if you help us?" Brandon asks.
"Oh, I'll probably get listed," Nico says, "but I'll ignore that. This sounds like fun. Let's
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