Chapter 2

The bell rang, indicating that our six and a half hours of daily torture were over.

Denaé, Amy, and I all quickly went to our dorms where we bundled up in warm winter clothing.

I picked out a pink Jamaaliday scarf, pink candy cane socks, and a pink knitted sweater. I left my flower crown on though because it matched the rest of my outfit well.

Once we were ready we left the school and walked down the school’s long driveway so we could get to the busses.

There was barely any sunshine, for the whole sky was covered in a massive sheet of dark bubbling clouds. There was a light snowfall, just enough to make it look like sparkles were falling from the sky.

The three of us walked to the busses that took us Downtown Jamaa to Jamaa Township. We walked through the chilly outdoors to the mall.

Everything was elegantly decorated. Tinsel and holly adorned the walls and displays of the shops. Golden bells and mistletoe were strung over doors, making everything look like an enchanted winter wonderland.

After dillydallying down the streets, Denaé, Amy, and I finally made it to Jamaa’s mall where we entered into the tranquil warmness. There was light chatter in the halls, animals walking to and from the stores with gift bags and Christmas decorations.

After we all walked for a little in the big shopping center we made it to our favorite fashion shop called Kazu. Right on the display window in front of the store was a big scarlet sign that informed us that all the latest fashion skates and scarves were on sale.

“Oooohh!” Amy squealed. “How exciting! We will be able to get the latest fashion on sale!” Denaé laughed. “Let’s just hope everything isn’t sold out!” She added.

We walked into the massive clothing store. The racks were adorned with flashy winter coats, the walls lined with sparkling skates, the counter full of little stocking trinkets, and the stands covered in beautiful sweaters.

We promptly began shopping. I started by searching for new, chic, in style leg warmers. I flipped through the options for a few minutes before choosing a sparkly white pair with fluffy pompoms dangling from behind them. That was when Denaé came over to me and informed me that they had found the skates and that there were still a ton of beautiful ones.

We quickly returned to where Amy was, leaning over a shelf with a stern and concentrated gaze. She blinked her long black eyelashes.

“Mmmm these are pretty,” I commented, reaching up and pulling down a couple of white skates with pink streaks across them.

We spent a while looking at the skates, and in the end, I chose the ones that caught my eye first. Denaé picked some gold and white ones, and Amy dark red and white ones. She said she needed to get a matching crimson coat, scarf, and beret so she didn’t look weird with clothes that didn’t match.

The three of us shopped for a little longer before going to the cash register. Unfortunately, there was a fairly big line up, so we had to wait for a little while. That is what happens when you shop around Christmas!

As we were standing in line, we saw Evica walk from the front of the line with a shopping bag in her paws. She didn’t notice us at first, but when she did she turned with a long pause. “Uhm.” She began. “What are you guys doing here?” She seemed legitimately puzzled but there was disgust all over her face.

“Uhm. Shopping?” I answered back, copying her facial expression. “Uhm Kazu is for the cool kids.” She shot back. “Uhm. We are cool.” I replied, flipping my hair and trying to hide my snickers at the thought of being part of the ‘popular’ group. Evica looked down in her shopping bag with a face of sheer repulsion, as if wondering if her purchase had been a good choice. With that, she sniffed and swept out of the store like an angry storm cloud.

A short while after this encounter, we had bought our items and were heading back to the Academy.

Once we arrived back in the cozy warmth of our temporary home, we changed into more practical clothing and dropped our stuff off at our dorms.

The school was pretty empty, most of the students had hidden away in their dorms from the cold, or were chattering quietly in the lounges. My friends and I headed to the cafeteria which was also fairly dead, to get some tea.

I poured some of the boiled water into my little travel mug. Which tea should I have today? I scanned through the options. Lemon twist, earl grey, green tea, raspberry, vanilla herbal tea, cinnamon chai… I stopped on a different kind of herbal tea: Christmas Eve tea!

“Huh.” I mused. I know it isn’t Christmas yet, but why not try it out? I plucked the item from the rack and ripped it open, gently lowering the bag into my tea. I added some sugar and a little bit of milk before placing the lid on my cup and twirling it closed.

My friends finished up with their drinks and we returned to our dorms, waving to Marie who passed us on the way.

The three of us sat together on our beds, sprawled out like the fancy rich people from the olden days. We sipped carefully at our tea and chitchatted for quite a while. I remembered to tell them about Astron’s soon return and they were both excited. We continued like this until a loud announcement was heard outside our room.

“Good afternoon, students.” Marie began. “If you signed up for the skating competition, please proceed to the frozen pond behind the school. Lessons will begin there today.” The speakers shut off.

“Oh!” Denaé whispered. “We should get moving!” She exclaimed.

We started to get our things, wrapping scarves about our necks and putting on fresh fuzzy socks.

“You guys don’t need to come, you know,” Amy said as she tugged her boots on. “I have to take the lessons for the competition and it is super cold outside so you guys probably don’t want to come.” I shook my head. “Nonsense! We can skate too on the part of the pond not being used by you guys. Plus, I am an arctic wolf, I have pretty thick fur.” Amy smiled, her eyes shining. “Thanks.” She said. I heard Denaé sigh beside me. “I don’t have winter fur…” She grinned, showing that she wasn’t upset. She was never mad. She had patience like a heron after a frog.

After some more preparation and after gathering our skates up the three of us set out to our destination: the skating pond!

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They finally get to begin their skating routines! I wonder who will win the competition… Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to share with your friends!

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*This book is written by Nop62. Cutey just uploads it. Jam On!