Chapter 3

The preparations started early, on the cold Christmas day. When Mona and her cousin Lisa arrived at the elderly home, she was greeted by a familiar voice.

“Mona!”

Her friend Ti from school waved at her.

“Glad you came here to help, Ti-chan”

“I thought you would be busy at work”

Ti shook his head.

“We already had our christmas party at Cafe Kizuna last night, so we packed up the decorations and brought them here”

He pointed at a couple of cardboard boxes, overflowing with different decorations.

“And look, we have some cute outfits too, you should wear this Mona”

Ti held a Santa-like dress in her hands.

“Looks a little cold for the month of December Ti…”

“If not for Christmas, when else would someone wear this, July?”

Mona took the from Ti’s hand.

“I see your point”

“And for you, I have this cute headband”

Ti put an antler headband on Lisa’s head, as well as one on his own.

“Look now we are matching!”

Mona looked around the room.

“Mmm, we are still missing something…”

“Something important…”

That’s when they heard a noise.

They turned around.

“Hey lazies, please stop chatting and come help me!”

Nia was trying to drag a giant christmas tree through the rotating door.

“That’s not going to work, Nia”

Ti said.

They asked one of the employees to open the side door and the girls all helped Nia pull in the tree. They then pulled it upright, in the center of the big dining hall.

After getting the task done, Mona focused her attention on her friend.

“Glad to see you here, Nia-chan!”

Mona smiled at her friend.

“Where did you get that huge tree?”

“It came from my backyard. I cut it my… eh I mean the groundkeeper did”

Her face turned red.

“Ahhh, you look so cute when you deny being into outdoorsy stuff”

“That’s awfully specific”

Ti added.

“So you must be Mona’s little cousin, Lisa?”

Lisa nodded her head.

“Great, you're going to help me in the kitchen today, while Mona and Ti are going to do some shopping”

She handed a huge paper list to Mona.

“Can’t I stay with big cousin Mona?”

Lisa looked at Nia with puppy eyes.

“You can’t. If you spend any more time with her you’ll turn into a huge slob like her”

Mona chuckled while rubbing the back of her head.

“You’re right Nia, take good care of her”

Lisa still looked a bit worried.

Nia walked up to her and whispered in her ear.

“You get to eat some of the cookie dough”

She cheered up instantly.

“Bye, Mona!”

She waved at her as she walked toward the kitchen door.

X

Mona and Ti took the metro and arrived at the shopping mall. It was filled to the brim with people making their last purchases before christmas. Mona grabbed Ti by the hand and took him to the back of the mall.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see”

Mona stopped before the arcade.

“They have a new two-player game here, I’ve been willing to try out”

Ti looked a bit awkward.

“We can’t go off playing some games Mona! We need to buy Nia’s groceries, it’s our responsibility.”

Mona chuckled.

“Well, since this is a new game I have never played, you have a 50% chance of beating me.”

“You can’t let this chance slip by, won’t you Ti-chan?”

She said with a big smirk on her face.

“One round only! We can’t tell this to anyone!”

The friends entered the arcade and put a coin into the game.

“Yeah! I won”

Mona exclaimed.

“This game is amazing isn’t it Ti?”

Ti looked angry. He grabbed a coin out of his wallet and inserted it.

“One more game…”

A brief moment later…

“I lost - again…”

He looked totally defeated.

Mona petted his head.

“You’ll win... eventually”

“Let’s go shopping to cheer you up!”

She exclaimed.

The two of them went into a couple of different shops, crossing off the various items on Nia’s list. They ended up both carrying a big shopping bag in each hand.

“It’s so… heavy…”

Mona kept complaining.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost done”

Ti-chan said.

“There is one thing Nia forgot to put on the list”

“What is it Ti, please tell me…”

An exhausted Mona said.

“I present for Nia.. or have you bought one already?”

“Can’t say I have”

Mona wiped her hand across her forehead.

“Do you have any ideas, Mona?”

“Mmm…”

A grin formed on her face.

“I have a great idea, please follow me”

Ti followed Mona to an outdoor shop.

“What are we going to buy here?”

“Don’t worry, Ti-chan, this will be awesome”

Mona walked to the back of the shop, a section full of shovels, hammers, saws, and axes.

“Are you going to… kill me?”

A worried Ti-chan said.

“No silly, we came for this”

Mona grabbed a grindstone from the shelve.

“That doesn’t sound like an appropriate gift for a young lady, Mona”

Ti’s eyes looked questioning.

“Don’t worry, she’ll make good use out of it”

Mona chuckled.

“Trust me”

On their way out of the mall, they spotted a familiar face.

“Rena-chan!”

Their shy friend walked out of a gift shop. She was desperately trying to hide something behind her back.

“I thought you could only come in the afternoon”

“T…that’s”

“B…becaus-suuu”

Ti entered the conversation.

“I send her here to do some important business”

He grabbed a non-translucent plastic back out of his big shopper and handed it to Serena.

“You look like you could use this, Serena”

“Look there Mona, food!”

Ti pointed behind him, after which Mona turned around.

“I see nothing Ti”

Serena was now carrying the thing she was hiding in the bag Ti gave her.

“Too bad Mona, I think Nia and Lisa have been busy preparing a lunch for us.”

“Let’s head back”

X

When the three friends entered the elderly home, their noses were met with the incredible smells of freshly baked cookies.

Mona ditched the bags with groceries next to the entrance and then plopped down on the reception bench.

“I am so tired…”

She yawned.

“Usually around this time on non-school days, I would just be getting up from bed”

Ti looked at the clock.

“But, it’s noon already! You can’t wake up this late!”

“You sound like my Mom Ti-chan”

“So where are those cookies?”

“Can you get me some Ti?”

Ti waved to her and ran off to the kitchen.

A brief moment later he returned together with Nia.

“Come on Mona, you can’t let Ti do your dirty work like this”

Ti grinned.

“I forgot for a moment that this isn’t a cafe. You can get your own cookies if you want to Mona”

He said while taking another bite of the cookie in his hand.

“Alright… alright”

Mona let out a big sigh and she walked in the direction of the kitchen.

“Don’t forget to bring the bags!”

“You’ll pay too much attention…”

She mumbled when picking up the bags.

In the kitchen, Mona was met with an overjoyed Lisa.

“Mona, Mona! Your friend Nia-nee-chan is so nice!”

“Nice? That’s not the Nia I know”

Mona mumbled.

“She taught me how to bake these incredible-looking cookies.”

“Look, this one has a cute snowman on it.”

She held up a colorfully decorated cookie.

Mona grabbed it out of her hand and put it into her mouth.

“Mmm…!”

“My… my snow…man…”

Lisa said with a creaky voice.

“He would have melted anyway”

Mona whispered while petting Lisa’s head.

Lisa now looked at Serena who had also entered the cookie.

“Your hair is so beautiful!”

“Th…thank you”

She quietly exclaimed.

“Are you a friend of Mona as well?”

Serena nodded.

“She is my roommate Serena”

Mona said while putting an arm around her.

“C…can I have a cookie, too?”

She asked while bowing before Lisa.

“Of course, you can!”

“Since you asked for it so nicely”

“Unlike my big cousin Mona”

She turned around and looked at Mona with a frown.

“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Nia…”

X

That afternoon the girls helped put up the christmas decorations, making the dining hall into a true winter wonderland spectacle.

Serena came walking toward Mona, clamping the tree topper with her hands.

“P..please! Put it in”

“Me?”

Her friend nodded.

“You know it’s been a tradition that I drop at least one topper a year, right?”

Serena shook her head.

“Y..you thought of this. It’s your honor”

Mona sighed.

“Alright, I’ll do my best”

She took over the topper and walked up to the tree.

With her arms stretched in the air, she tried her best to reach.

“Almost there, Mona!”

Ti exclaimed.

“You can do this big cousin Mona!”

Lisa said while she was busy laying out the present beneath the tree.

Mona stretched just a bit farther and…

It settled right on the top.

She carefully moved her hands away from the tree.

“Seems like it’s going to fit”

Mona wiped some sweat off her forehead.

“I… I knew you could do it”

Serena said with a soft voice.

“With that, the decorating is all done!”

Ti exclaimed.

“So beautiful!!!”

They all looked around the room to take in all the work they put in.

After that, the friends went to the kitchen to help with the final dinner preparations.

X

Mona peeked out of the kitchen door. The dining hall slowly filled up with the elderly people residing in the building. Christmas music softly played to the hall's speakers.

“It’s almost time Mona, are you ready?”

Ti said to her.

“As ready as one can be!”

She had just changed into her Santa outfit and was now waiting for the remaining residents to enter.

Mona looked around, the former mall Santa was still nowhere to be found.

“It’s time Mona, do you remember your words?”

She nodded.

All the girls go together in a circle and put their handles in the center.

“Alright let’s make this a great christmas party!”

Ti, Serena, Nia, Lisa, and Mona all walked upon the make-shift stage together, dressed in stunning christmas outfits borrowed from the cafe.

Mona grabbed a microphone and took a deep breath.

She scanned the room one final time, but she still couldn’t find him.

“Mona, why don’t you start”

She lingered for another brief moment, she took another breath.

But then finally, someone appeared behind the door.

It was the mall Santa!.

He waved at Mona as he rushed in and took a seat.

“Welcome everyone, thank you all for gathering here!”

“My friends and I heard that there wouldn’t be a christmas party at this home this year.”

“So we stepped in to make this a splendid night!”

“I hope you enjoy yourselves, tonight!”

Ti took over the talking.

“While we are still waiting for the dinner to be finished, please grab your bingo cards next to your cutlery.”

“It’s time to play some christmas bingo, with these beautifully wrapped presents to win!”

The girls took turns turning the bingo wheel and shouting the numbers.

“8”

“39”

“23”

“41”

“Bingo!”

An elderly woman exclaimed.

“Which color preset do you want as your price madame?”

Ti asked through the microphone.

“Can you please give me the yellow one, darling?”

Serena picked up the package and handed it to the women.

She unpacked it and found a pair of christmas socks inside.

“Thank you, Santa!”

The woman said with a smile.

Soon enough, all the other presents were handed out too.

That was about the time when Nia signed from the kitchen that the diner was ready to be served.

The girls excused themselves and started helping Nia with bringing the places of food.

When Mona arrived at the mall Santa’s table, he smiled at her.

“Thank you so much for organizing this amazing night!”

“It was just a small effort”

Mona looked down at the ground.

“Look around, everyone is enjoying themselves”

“You should be really proud of yourself”

“Please hold on to these wonderful friends of yours, there is so much you can get done together!”

A cute blush formed on Mona’s cheeks.

“Thank you a lot, mister Santa”

She took her Santa head off and put it on the elderly man’s.

“Have a nice meal!”

She said before continuing to hand out the plates.

After all the residents were provided with a plate of Nia’s christmas food, the friends sat down together at a table at the side of the hall.

“Mmm, this turkey is delicious, you did an amazing job, Nia!”

She crossed her arms.

“You should also thank your little cousin, she has a surprising talent for this”

A huge smile formed on Lisa’s face.

“Thank you so much, Nia!”

“I had a great time”

After finishing their delicious meals, the girls went up on stage again. Ti plugged in the karaoke machine he borrowed from the cafe.

“Time to do some christmas karaoke!”

“What song do you like to sing Mona?”

“Cha-la head cha-la”

Ti laughed.

“I mean a christmas song of course”

“Ah, what about Rudolf the reindeer?”

“We can do that”

When the backing track started playing, the room cheered up and all the people started singing and clapping along. Some even got out of their chairs to dance.

As always, all attempts to have Nia sing a song proved fruitless.

X

Later that night, after the residents went to bed and the cleaning was done, the friends gathered around the christmas tree. Underneath the tree lay five presents still wrapped in colorful paper.

“Please, grab the first one Lisa”

Mona said to her cousin.

“It says Ti”

Ti unwrapped the present and started smiling.

“Something so beautiful… for me?”

“Let me put it into my hair”

She put the christmas ribbon into her hair.

“Thank you a lot!!”

Ti walked up to the pile and picked a package with a blue wrapper.

“So heavy…”

“It reads Nia, so I’ll give it to you”

Nia accepted the present.

“I hope your guys won’t be pranking me!”

As she started tearing the wrap, her face started looking more and more angry.

“Are you guys seriously giving me… this?”

She held up the grindstone in the air.

“I’d blame Mona”

Ti said.

“It will come in handy right?”

Mona said.

“Yes, it will”

Nia softly said while her face turned red.

“Thank you, Mona”

“You mean Santa”

Mona winked her eye at her friend.

“Here Lisa”

Nia gave the young girl an orange present.

She joyously unpacked the gift.

“A Book?”

“50 ways to make fried rice”

She read out loud.

“This way you can make a different breakfast for almost two months long”

Mona added.

“Thank you so much, Santa!”

She handed the purple present to Serena who slowly unpacked it.

In the box was a little light you can click on a book while reading in the dark.

“Th.. thank you so much, S…Santa!”

“Now I finally won’t get blinded by your light again!”

Mona exclaimed with a happy expression.

“Don’t you watch TV till past midnight?”

“Yeah… stop focussing on me and please someone grab the next present”

She said while rubbing the back of her head.

Serena walked up to the tree and picked up to last present that lay underneath the tree.

“Mo….na-chan”

The label read.

Mona carefully unwrapped the box. He reached in with her hands and pulled out a green christmas yo-yo.

She was silent for a second.

“We couldn’t find the exact one you had, so I hope you like this one too”

Mona carefully embraced the toy.

“I’ll take it as a reminder of the great christmas we all spent together this year”

“Thank you all so much, for this”

“Let’s do a group hug!”

“Do we have to?”

“Don’t ruin this precious moment Nia!”

All of them cheered together, celebrating how successful the party was.

X

“Thank you a lot Mona, I had a great day too”

Nia whispered in her ear when they were leaving, so as not to let the others hear.

“The axe got a bit dull after cutting down that tree, so the stone will come in handy”

She said while fumbling with her hands, and looking down at the floor.

“I am glad you like it, you are great to have as a friend”

Mona glimpsed.

“By the way, are you free tomorrow? Can you give me a ride to the…”

Nia interrupted her.

“Don’t press it, Mona!”