Random CCS Christmas ficlet.
"It's over! I'm telling you, it's over!"
Hey, if you're going to call me out of the blue like that and yell in my ear, at least tell me your name.
"It's Wakada! Wakada, from the part-time job! How could you forget me so easily? That's so cruel!"
Oh, yeah, I suppose I should have guessed. From the hysterical tone of voice and the over-reaction to minor events, I don't think there's anyone else who fits the bill. "What's happened, Wakada?"
"It's over! My dear Mari-chan has gone and left me, and flew over to Hawaii! Hawaii, man, that's just not fair!"
"So this concerns me how?"
"So you've gotta let me work on Christmas, Kinomoto! I have to drown my sorrows in my job, and then I can forget all about this lonely, sad Christmas!"
It sounds as though you'd rather drown your sorrows in alcohol. But since you're technically underage, I'll let this one slide.
"In any case, I've already cleared it with the boss, so you're on for my own shifts after Christmas. Don't forget!"
Don't do something like that on your own! At least consult with me first!
"What, is there a problem? Don't do this to me, man, please! I have to work this Christmas!"
"Uh, no, there's not really a problem-"
"Okay, great! Thanks, I owe you for this!" Click.
"... will he be all right?" Actually, more to the point, will the customers be all right? I foresee a great storm of activity on Christmas Day, like the second part of Rossini's William Tell Overture. Wakada will be scurrying everywhere and doing everything, just like-
"Hau..."
Yeah, just like my little sister on the last day of summer vacation. Speaking of which, there she is now, wandering down the stairs with an expression full of dread and resignation.
"The play is going to be perfect, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo Daidouji said. Tomoyo-chan is my sister's best friend, and she likes dressing my sister up in all sorts of weird outfits. Still, Sakura does look kind of cute in some of them, although I'd tunnel straight through Mount Fuji and dynamite the entrance behind me before admitting that out loud.
"But it's so embarrassing!" Sakura protested.
"Now, now, you can't be embarrassed, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said. "You're the main heroine of the play, and you'll be just fine!" She turned to me and bowed. "Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon." I looked at my sister. "So, what's this about a play?"
"Um, well, our class is putting on a play about Christmas, and I'm one of the main leads, and Tomoyo-chan's designing the costumes, so she was taking measurements in my room."
"It's going to be a story about a boy who doesn't believe in Christmas," Tomoyo explained. "However, this Christmas, he meets Santa, who's played by Sakura-chan, and she tells him all about Christmas cheer."
"Hm, sounds interesting. Maybe I'll come over and watch."
"Hoe? Oniichan, don't you have work on Christmas?"
"A lot of things happened. I'll ask Yuki if he'll be able to make it." Wait a minute, what was the story about again? "Who's playing the part of the boy who doesn't believe in Christmas?"
"Um, Syaoran-kun," Sakura said.
That brat! I thought he had gone back to Hong Kong!
"He's back in Japan to visit us," Sakura said. "And after the Nadeshiko Festival back in summer, Naoko wanted him to play the part of the main male lead."
That was a horrible evening. Apart from whatever it was that knocked out the whole town during the play, I had to watch that brat get close to my little sister throughout the entire performance. I don't trust him, not one bit!
"Oniichan! Syaoran-kun is a very nice person! Why can't the two of you get along?"
"I just don't like him, okay?" Apart from the fact that he gets on my nerves just by existing, he's also managed to be the boy my little sister likes. How can I, as an older brother, let this travesty pass?
"Mou." Sakura brightened up. "Say, Tomoyo-chan, would you like some cake? There's still some left in the fridge from when I was practicing new sorts of cake with Dad." Come to think of it, Dad and Sakura had commandeered the kitchen yesterday for baking, and produced enough to make even that little fake stuffed toy satisfied. "I think I've gotten a little better with my baking!"
"Yeah," I said. "But only a little."
"Oniichan!"
I was treated to an early Christmas present of yet another of the little monster's kicks. I ask you, how can someone so violent play the part of Santa Claus? Ah well, at least Tomoyo-chan's costume will probably turn even her into a dazzling example of Christmas cheer. Although nothing will make that stupid brat from Hong Kong look good, not in any way.
Inspiration should be obvious.