Chapter 668: Tree Time, Part

Once again, I vastly underestimated just how big this goddamn tree really was. I swear it looked a lot smaller when it was surrounded by other flashing, glitzing trees like it, and yet here it was beset on all sides by everyone here and there was still space leftover for another team or two.

I managed to place Sera and I right next to Adaila’s team, lucky me. But that also entailed being situated right next to Amanda’s team, whose partner in crime was pretty much an automatic win since Nick could just stand on tiptoe and drape all the nice decorations beyond any of our reach. So, unlucky me.

Speaking of which, Amanda herself didn’t look like she had any intention of going easy on me... which was, um... understandable enough...

“Hey,” I muttered, nudging her by the arm. “Not mad, are you?”

And look just how stiffly she turned her gaze to answer me-scary.

“Mad? No. Jealous? Yes,” She said, crossing her arms with a huff and a glare. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wanted you to know that I would have chosen you as my partner in a heartbeat if I could, but, um...” How do I explain this in a way that wouldn’t turn into a can of worms? “There’s a very, very good reason I couldn’t, alright?”

.....

“Yeah, I know. There’s always a very good reason, that I understand,” She said, pouting again. “Won’t stop me from being real freakin’ salty about it though. Just once, you know? Just once, I get to have all to myself, but nope!” She pulled a face. “Always that one very good reason...”

As she said that, her eyes briefly dropped down towards Sera, blissfully unaware of any wrongdoings, simply staring down at the scruffy, shabby ornaments she got in her hands.

“And so since I can’t have you,” Amanda continued, her mind made up on its intent. “I suppose a thousand bucks is the next best thing.”

“C’mon,” I said, batting my eyes in a vain attempt at placating her. “You know I love you, right?”

“And I really love you too, Mr. Good Reason,” She said, appeased not the least. “Doesn’t mean I don’t really wanna beat you badly anyway.”

Oh, romance. Oh, relationships. Why must you be such a bitch to deal with?

“Okay, alright!” Tyler bellowed, leaning out from his side of the tree. “Remember you can steal, you can bargain, do whatever it takes, but what matters is you got the most and the best on your side after a period of thirty minutes. All the decor boxes are a good ten feet away on either side, so try not to lag behind. So that’s enough explanations already! is everyone good to go?!”

Some nodded, some gave the thumbs-up, most everyone else whooped and hollered, and I saw Amanda whispering something to Nick from the corner of her lip. I sighed, and with that...

“Time starts... NOW!” Tyler cried. “May the best decorator win!”

It started as a mad dash towards the nearest box of goodies, a goddamn stampede of shoving and pushing. It seemed everyone else had the same idea-one person goes, the other stays-and I volunteered to go bauble-diving myself, joining the cesspool of arms rifling through and nearly tearing the box open.

Nick was the first person out, and also the person that made off with the largest haul-just one big scoop and he was carrying an entire treasure trove in his broad arms, leaving the rest of us foraging for what little remained.

“Hey, wha-Bro, that’s mine! Let go!” Sammy yelled, tugging hard at the other end of a long bushy piece of tinsel. “Had my eyes on this since the start! You can’t have it!”

I pulled harder, gaining ground on this improtume game of tug of war inch-by-inch, while everyone else had already rushed back to their sides.

“Sorry, Sammy,” I said, heaving, winning, but it’s finders keepers ’round here, and I got hold of it first, so how ’bout you just-!”

She shot her hand forward, and it was like I got hit by a bus, like a strong breeze just inexplicably blew in and pushed me down... almost like magic.

One moment, I was crouching, pulling, and the next thing I knew, I was sent careening, and every single ornament I managed to scavenge went flying-before ultimately landing right splat on my face and all over the floor.

“C-Cheater!” I sputtered, scrambling back up as a blur of legs rushed right past me with one end of the tinsel sliding across the floor. “You can’t just...!”

“Oh, yes I can!” Sammy called back, scooping up one of my stray rolling baubles for good measure. “Whatever it takes, he said! Sorry not sorry, Big Bro!”

Yelling and sitting here was not gonna get me anywhere. I got back up and spent a good, crucial minute recovering my stuff from under couches and tables before quickly joining the rest of the competition who were already miles away in terms of headway.

“Here we are, sorry for the wait...” I heaved. “And you, ah... oh, you got started already. Great.”

Sera had hung her entire catalog of her own decorations, spreading them out, some high, some low, some at wrong angles, odd angles, some with pieces missing, some with dirt crumbs still stuck on them, and honestly I think we stand a better chance at winning presenting our side of tree naked as can be than whatever the hell this was.

Fine, sure, whatever. Why am I even trying in this game anyway? I’m not here to win. I got a job to do, don’t I? What, a thousand dollars? Heh, that’s like considered pocket change to certain kinds of people, why would I even want that?

historical

Ah, I wish I was certain kinds of people...

“You understand the rules, yeah? Know how the game works-go nuts,” I said, segregating half the haul into her hands. “You run out, tell me... I’ll uh, I’ll go try and be diplomatic.”

But it’s slowly starting to seem like I was the only civilized person around here. Everyone else was leeching, stealing, swiping. People were starting to fall into roles now-one defender, one decorator-it was just full-blown chaos of ruffling branches and stomping feet, with Amanda’s team being the most grievous and aggressive of all.

Nick was prowling ’round the tree like a lion spying prey and taking whatever caught his eye, and just like I anticipated, putting all the good stuff in heights none of us could ever hope to reach. I’m guessing that was all Amanda’s idea.

And then there was Sammy, sneaking, conniving little raccoon, effortlessly swiping ornaments from others when they were looking the other way by having them literally just glide into her greedy palms. How does she do it so easy?

“Ten minutes in, folks!” Tyler proclaimed, his brow and forehead ridden with sweat. “How’s everyone doing so far?”

Not that I particularly cared, really I don’t, but I wished I could have joined with everyone else when they cheered about their current condition. Right now, there was nothing to cheer about in the state my team was in.

Suddenly I felt something sharp poke at the side of my arm, and I turned around only to find a pair of gray misty eyes staring back at me...

“Deer...?” Adalia whispered, asking, pointing a pointed nail at a reindeer hanging at my side of the tree. “I’ll give you... my bells... for it...” and slowly raised her other hand where a silver pair of chimes lay atop her palm.

And that’s when I decided there was no better time to ask than right then.

“Actually, keep the bells,” I said. “Instead, there’s something else I gotta ask of you if don’t mind...”