Secret Santa

by Sabrina James

  “True, but no Catwoman was as hot as Michelle Pfeiffer,” Froggy countered.

  “Definitely,” David agreed. “She made Halle Berry’s Catwoman look like kitty litter! But getting back to the original question. Who’s hotter? Batgirl from the comics or Wonder Woman from the comics?”

  “Wonder Woman,” Froggy instantly answered. “No question.”

  “I agree! So when is Hollywood going to make the movie version? They’ve already done Superman and Batman a bunch of times. We need to see a hot super-chick on the big screen!”

  “Wonder Woman does have nice assets,” Froggy said. “Did you know the TV series from the seventies is out on DVD?”

  “My dad owns all of them. He told me he used to watch it every Friday night when he was kid.”

  “Mine too! He also used to watch The Incredible Hulk. He says the TV show was way better than the movie.”

  “The movie was a snoozefest, but it wasn’t as bad as The Fantastic Four.”

  “Or Daredevil.”

  “Or Elektra.”

  It went without saying that Froggy and his best friend were comic-book geeks. Or that the Sci-Fi Channel was their favorite. They were also fans of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (the original series and the new version), Hercules, Xena: Warrior Princess (Lucy Lawless was hot!), and Star Wars (the movies that were made in the late seventies and early eighties. Not the prequels that were made in the nineties). But because of all this, when it came to the North Ridge High food chain, Froggy and David were at the bottom. Way at the bottom.

  They were nerds.

  Of course, Froggy didn’t consider himself and David to be nerds even though they had a lot of characteristics that were considered … nerdy. Among those characteristics: They were very smart and members of the National Honor Society. They were already taking advance placement classes (David was taking A.P. Biology and Froggy was taking A.P. History). They weren’t jocks. And they weren’t the best dressers.

  Girls at North Ridge treated them as though they were invisible.

  But that didn’t stop David.

  When Froggy thought of his best friend, one word constantly came to mind. Determined. When David wanted something, he went after it. When they were in fifth grade and William Shatner was going to be at a local bookstore signing his autobiography, David made sure he was the first person in line. When tickets went on sale for Spider-Man 3, David got a ticket to the opening show, as well as one for Froggy.

  So when it came to girls and dating, David never had any problems going up to a girl he liked and asking her out.

  The only problem was, they never said yes.

  Compared to the other guys at North Ridge High, David was short. He was also thin. And his clothes were very baggy. He didn’t have the look of an Abercrombie & Fitch model like most of the jocks at North Ridge High. His hair, which was an orangey carrot color, was short and spiky. He looked more like Anthony Michael Hall’s character in Sixteen Candles. The nerd.

  Froggy knew he wasn’t a hunk either, but he didn’t think he looked nerdy. He was an average-looking guy. He wore his light brown hair in a buzz cut and he pretty much wore plaid shirts, jeans, and sneakers.

  Of course, there was his nickname.

  A nickname that made you think of something slimy.

  Even though Froggy’s real name was Frederick, his classmates called him Froggy. They’d been doing it for such a long time that most couldn’t remember how the nickname had started. Some thought it was because of the glasses he wore, which magnified his brown eyes; others thought maybe it was because he liked the color green. There was a reason, but Froggy wasn’t about to remind anyone of it.

  Being on the outside looking in didn’t really bother him.

  Well, it hadn’t until recently.

  David waved Principal Hicks’s memo in his face, startling him from his thoughts. “Did you take a look at this? It’s a golden opportunity!”

  “Huh?”

  “The Christmas dance!”

  “What about it?”

  “What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think about Christmas?”

  “Santa Claus?”

  “No!”

  “Presents?”

  “No!”

  “Candy canes?”

  “NO!”

  “Then what? What?” Froggy asked, exasperated. “Give me a little help here. The bell for next class is about to ring. I could be guessing all day.”

  “Mistletoe!” David exclaimed.

  The lightbulb went on over Froggy’s head as he realized the direction David’s thoughts had headed. “Ah … mistletoe.”

  David slammed Froggy on the back. “Yes, mistletoe! I bet there’s going to be lots of it hanging up at the dance. Which means lots of opportunity for kissing!” David rubbed his hands together and gave an evil Bart Simpson chuckle. “No female lips will be safe from me on Friday night!” He started making loud kissing sounds.

  “Better be careful of who you kiss,” Froggy warned. “Especially if she has a boyfriend!”

  “If you could go out with any girl in our sophomore class, who would it be?” David asked.

  Froggy shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Come on! Give me some names. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how hot some of the girls have gotten since freshman year.”

  “Amber and Shawna are pretty hot,” Froggy said.

  “Reality check! They don’t even know we exist. Give me another name.”

  Froggy gazed around the cafeteria. Then his eyes stopped. “Celia’s a babe.”

  David followed Froggy’s gaze and nodded his head approvingly. “Totally. Beach Girl is definitely a babe. And she’s not dating anyone.”

  Froggy did a double take. “She isn’t? I was at the movies last week and I thought I saw her with a guy. He had his arm around her shoulders and kept pulling her close.”

  David rolled his eyes. “Amber and Shawna keep setting her up on dates with lunkheads from the Jock Squad. When are they going to realize that brains matter more than brawn?” David playfully punched Froggy on his shoulder. “Maybe you should ask Celia out.”

  Froggy blushed and quickly slipped another spoonful of chocolate pudding into his mouth so he wouldn’t have to answer.

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  “Have you noticed that Celia Armstrong keeps staring at us?” Noelle whispered to Lily. Noelle didn’t know why she had whispered. Celia was sitting all the way across the cafeteria. Maybe it was because she was one of the “popular” girls, and the popular girls ruled North Ridge High.

  Lily shrugged, tossing her long red curls over one shoulder. “Maybe we’re both walking fashion disasters and Beach Girl is in shock.”

  “Don’t be so mean! She has a name. And she seems kind of nice. Not as stuck-up as Amber and Shawna.”

  “Don’t be fooled,” Lily warned, her green eyes narrowing. “If she’s friends with them she’s just as evil as they are.” Lily took a sip of her chocolate milk. “So what’s your plan? Don’t keep me in suspense. I’m dying to know.”

  “Are you serious or are you just being sarcastic?”

  Lily crossed her heart. “Totally serious. I swear.”

  “It has to do with Principal Hicks’s memo.”

  “What about it?”

  “I know you disagree, but I think it’s kind of nice. It spreads Christmas cheer. And it’s a great opportunity for Christmas romance.”

  Lily held up two fingers and hissed liked a vampire. “Don’t mention the word romance to me. Not after what Jason did to me this summer!”

  “Oops! Sorry!”

  Noelle knew that Lily’s breakup with her boyfriend, Jason Fitzpatrick, was still a sore point. That summer Jason had been working as a camp counselor at a sleepaway camp in Massachusetts. Even though he’d been calling and emailing Lily when he first went away, he eventually stopped. Lily didn’t think anything of it. She just assumed it was because he was busy, but it wasn’t. Oh, he was busy
alright — getting busy with another girl!

  Of course, Lily had absolutely no idea that Jason was romancing another girl until he returned home and promptly broke up with her via email. Email! He couldn’t even do it in person! And poor Lily had been waiting to go over to his place with a plate of homemade oatmeal cookies (Jason’s favorites) wearing a new outfit she had bought that day just for his homecoming. For weeks she had had the day of his homecoming circled with a pink heart on her calendar.

  Noelle could still remember the pain and hurt on Lily’s face. It had been a Saturday night and she had been watching a Project Runway marathon on Bravo. Her parents had gone out for dinner and she’d been home alone, nestled on the couch, the air conditioner running, munching some freshly popped popcorn. The ringing doorbell had taken her totally by surprise because she hadn’t been expecting anyone. When she opened the front door and saw Lily standing there, looking like she was in shock, she instantly knew something was wrong.

  “What happened?” she asked, rushing to Lily’s side and pulling her into a hug.

  That was all it had taken for Lily to burst into tears and tell her everything.

  Noelle had been outraged for her best friend. How could Jason do such a thing?

  After Lily had cried her heart out — using up an entire box of Kleenex in the process — Noelle had ordered in a pizza with extra mushrooms (Lily’s favorite) and then told Lily she was staying overnight.

  They stayed up until three A.M. — Lily ranting and raving about Jason, and Noelle just listening. Over the next few weeks Noelle made sure she and Lily did lots of fun things together. Manicures. Pedicures. Shopping for shoes. Renting a bunch of DVDs. Having sleepovers.

  Little by little Lily started returning to her old self, although Noelle knew it was still going to be a while before Lily trusted a guy again. Jason had been the first guy she had dated exclusively. They’d been going out for five months since the Valentine’s Day dance — their first date — before he left for the summer. Even though Noelle hadn’t had a date for the Valentine’s Day dance and had stayed home — secretly wishing that Charlie was going to ask her at the last minute. Of course, he didn’t — she’d been thrilled for Lily and told her to call her the second Jason brought her home so she could tell her everything. (Lily called her at 12:01 A.M., a minute after her curfew, and kept Noelle on the phone for an hour, telling her every romantic thing Jason had done until their fathers made them hang up because they were both talking so loudly.)

  Noelle knew Lily had been totally blindsided when Jason dumped her and felt like an idiot for not figuring out there was another girl. To make matters worse, Jason’s new girlfriend was a girl who also went to their high school. It wasn’t even a girl from another high school or even another state! It was Sonia Lopez, who looked like she could be Eva Longoria’s younger sister. So not only did Lily have a broken heart, she got to see Jason and Sonia together every day at school.

  Noelle was a romantic at heart. Things hadn’t worked out between Lily and Jason, but that was because their relationship hadn’t been meant to be.

  It also meant the right guy was still out there, waiting for Lily.

  She was determined to restore Lily’s faith in love so she would one day find that guy.

  And she knew just how to do it.

  By finally getting Charlie for herself.

  Noelle pointed out Mindy Yee, who was going from table to table with a red velvet bag. Inside the bag were the names of the entire student body of North Ridge High. “That’s my plan.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’m going to pick Charlie’s name. I’m going to be his Secret Santa.”

  Lily gave Noelle an incredulous look. “Do you know how many names are in that bag? Your chances of pulling out Charlie’s name are slim to none!”

  “Oh, really?” Noelle said with determination. “Just watch me!”

  “It’s Secret Santa time!” Mindy Yee announced, shaking the red velvet bag she was holding. “Who wants to go first?”

  “I will,” Lily grumbled. “Might as well get this over with.” She dipped her hand into the open bag, pulled out a name, and promptly stuck it in her pocket.

  “Aren’t you going to look to see who you got?” Noelle asked, dying of curiosity.

  “I’ll do it later,” Lily said. “Right now I want to see you pull out the name you’re so sure you’re going to get.”

  “And who might that be?” Mindy asked.

  Noelle stuck her tongue out at Lily. “No one special,” she said, knowing that Mindy was the biggest gossip at North Ridge High and if she said she was hoping to pull out Charlie’s name, the entire school would know by the end of the day. And wouldn’t that be special? Not! She wanted to be the one who told Charlie she had feelings for him, and she wanted everything to be perfect when that day finally arrived.

  And it was all going to start with her being his Secret Santa.

  Noelle focused her attention on the red velvet bag that Mindy was holding. Then she dipped her hand inside, swirling it around the many slips of paper. The names of every student at North Ridge High — with the exception of those already picked — were in the bag.

  Somewhere inside was Charlie’s name.

  Unless it had already been picked.

  Think positive! Noelle scolded herself. Positive. Positive. Positive. Charlie’s name is in this bag. It is! It is! It is! And I will pull it out. I will! I will! I will!

  Holding her breath, Noelle closed her eyes and reached into the very bottom of the bag, wrapped her fingers around a slip of paper, and pulled it out. Once she was done, Mindy moved down the table to the others who were waiting.

  “So, who did you get?” Lily asked.

  Noelle was almost afraid to look at the slip. It had to be Charlie. If it wasn’t, she was going to be so disappointed.

  “Charlie, Charlie, Charlie,” she chanted under her breath as she opened her eyes and unfolded the slip of paper she had chosen.

  Noelle’s shoulders slumped and she gave a sigh of disappointment when she saw the typed name.

  It wasn’t Charlie.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense!” Lily urged. “Tell me who you picked!”

  “You jinxed me!” Noelle wailed, waving the slip of paper in front of Lily’s face. Lily promptly snatched it out of her hands and read it.

  “Well, you came close,” she said, handing it back. “You did get a Grant.”

  “But not the Grant I wanted!”

  Noelle had picked the name of Charlie’s younger brother, Ryan, who was also a sophomore.

  “I don’t want to say I told you so, but I told you so,” Lily singsonged.

  Noelle’s temper flared. “You don’t have to rub it in!”

  “Hey, I was only teasing!” Lily apologized. “Come on, Noelle! Did you really think you were going to pull out his name?”

  “Yes, I did!”

  When it came to love and romance, Noelle felt that you had to believe. Otherwise what was the point? All the heroines in the romantic comedies she loved to rent, like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, made what they wanted happen!

  She was no different. So she hadn’t picked Charlie’s name. She was still going to let him know how she felt about him.

  And she was going to tell him the night of the Christmas dance.

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  Celia couldn’t believe it.

  She was so excited.

  She stared at the slip of paper in her hands to make sure she wasn’t imagining it. That her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

  But the name was still the same.

  Jake Morrisey.

  The guy she was crushing on!

  She really hadn’t had any sort of expectations when she’d reached into the bag Mindy was holding out. She’d gotten a copy of Principal Hicks’s memo like everyone else and figured she’d pull a name, buy a gift, and that would be that.

  It never even occurred to her that she could pull out Jake’s name.
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  But she had!

  Now she had a chance to let Jake know how she felt about him.

  She couldn’t wait to tell Crishell tonight. She wished she had someone to tell right now, but other than Amber and Shawna, she really didn’t have any close friends. If she were friends with Noelle and Lily, maybe she would tell them, but they weren’t. She had noticed Noelle and Lily picking their names earlier. Noelle hadn’t looked too happy with who she’d gotten, and Lily hadn’t even bothered looking at the name she’d pulled. What was up with that?

  Every so often she would smile at Noelle and Lily in the hopes of getting a smile back, but she never did. It was almost like they were afraid of her. And she knew the reason why.

  Amber and Shawna.

  Celia sighed as she thought of them. She knew they were going to want to know who she had picked and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Knowing Amber, she probably had some strategy already mapped out when it came to their Secret Santas and she and Shawna would have to follow it.

  Sometimes Celia wondered if Shawna felt the same way she did about Amber. If she resented her bossiness. She thought she might. It was just a feeling she had. But she didn’t dare ask Shawna. What if she was wrong?

  Just then, almost as if she had wished for their presence, Amber and Shawna came walking out of the cafeteria, designer tote bags filled with the books for their afternoon classes tossed over one shoulder, oversized sunglasses perched on their noses (even though they were inside and it was a cloudy day), looking like two celebutantes. Amber was wearing a low-cut, leopard-chiffon top with puff sleeves, a black pencil-skirt, and black slouch boots, while Shawna was in a V-neck, long-sleeve black top with a white bubble skirt. As usual, Celia felt underdressed when standing next to them, even though she had liked her outfit when she’d chosen it that morning. Today she was wearing a violet turtleneck, gray plaid pleated skirt, and purple suede peep-toe shoes.

  They hadn’t had lunch together today because there had been an emergency meeting of the cheerleading squad and all the cheerleaders, including Amber and Shawna, had eaten together. Amber and Shawna had tried to get Celia to try out for the squad in September, but she had passed, telling them she didn’t think she’d be as good as they were.