Wild Christmas was my debut novel, first published during the Christmas season of 2006 when I was a teenager. All these years later, I return to it with a fresh eye—re-editing and reworking certain passages while honoring the spirit of the original story. In the glow of nostalgia and renewal that Christmas brings, I’m delighted to present the third chapter in its newly refreshed form:

Amidst the many seemingly heartless teachers at Hodge High, there were nice teachers too. Though they were scarce, they shone bright in the darkness. The brightest star in the school had to be Ms. Madison. The best time to be in her class was at the end of the day, because she always left her students feeling good about themselves before they went home. Ms. Madison was pretty in a traditional sense. She often wore button up blouses or cozy sweaters. Her hair, though frizzy, was perfectly shaped, and she was always sporting old-fashioned red lipstick. She had a very trusting and steady demeanor about her. She was always organized, refined in manner, very polite, and always seemed to handle situations just the right way. When she got upset, it was always justified, and when she laughed, many students were right there with her. One of her greatest characteristics was that she was an encourager. She could encourage just about anyone and build up a confidence that was rooted, not in a falsity to win favor or manage her classroom, but in truth and sincerity. For some of the more rowdy students, sometimes the truth she delivered hurt at first, but the after-effect always built the students up. She was wise like that.  

English class with Ms. Madison was the only time of the day Linzy and Dan met up with Sarah, their long time friend. Sarah was a very smart student and in many advanced classes. She had to be the smartest one in her class, well, at least in terms of book smarts. Facts stuck in her mind better than the gum stuck under the desk, and she collected more facts than a junk drawer collects mysterious keys and random objects. It was very rare that Sarah would be found without her nose stuck in a book or her pen glued to paper. She was utterly consumed by her education. She had black hair, a pointy face, a delicate frame, and a very childish look about her.  Sarah didn’t fit in with most of the girls her age, for her priorities were not well balanced. She simply didn’t have time for what was trendy or fashionable or to be gushing over boys. “First off, I don’t need any mere boy in my life.  Let him become a man first, and if he wants to win my heart, he must first ask to court me.” That’s what she would say. Despite being odd to many of her peers, she did get along well with Linzy and Dan. Linzy was amused by her unusualness.  Her extreme behavior towards school, her obsessive orderliness, and strange array of phobias made her amusing to Linzy, and since Dan was close to Linzy, he just went along. They were all friends. 

Dan had the privilege of sitting next to Sarah during English class. Sarah didn’t talk to Dan or even say “hi”, but she was like that, and Dan accepted her. She would often be too wrapped up in schoolwork to pay any attention to those around her. Because Dan knew Sarah wasn’t going to say anything to him, he decided to initiate.

“Hi Sarah. How’s your day going?” Dan asked. Sarah continued to stare at her textbook, and she held up a finger signifying that she needed just one more minute to finish her reading. A moment later she responded, “What were you saying?” she asked.

“Oh, I was just asking, how’s your day going?”

“Well, I am very upset,” she replied matter of factly..

“Why?”

“I can’t believe they made us come to school today,” she said while closing her textbook. 

“Sarah, I thought you liked school.” 

“Yes, education is very important, but I still think it is wrong that they made us come to school on Christmas Eve.”

“Yeah, that is kinda weird.”

“Weird? No, it’s just cruel and unusual. Usually on Christmas Eve my family travels down to Traigo for a big family Christmas celebration at my grandparent’s house. The cousins are always there and so many relatives, some of whom I don’t even know, but we always exchange gifts and it’s a lot of fun. It’s always been a tradition. This year, because of this high school, and its remarkably ill considerations, I am going to be late for the party. I might even miss it. It makes me mad! School should not interrupt tradition.” Dan was shocked. He has never heard any bit of criticism of the school from Sarah.

“Well, at least you have somewhere to go. I don’t do anything on Christmas Eve. I just go home to my aunt’s house and we just watch TV or something,” confessed Dan. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence when neither of them spoke. Sarah wasn’t sure how to respond to Dan, and Dan regretted bringing up his evening plans, or lack thereof. He had already decided long ago he wasn’t going to mention his home life to others. He didn’t want people to feel sorry for him. 

“I’ve had a wild day,” said Dan. “First I got sent down to detention by Ms. Tripkin, and then I fell asleep and woke up late for history class and didn’t have my homework. Now I have to stay after school for another detention with Linzy…She was late too.”

“Yeah, everything is getting a little crazy around here. I just can’t wait until I hear the dismissal bell…” She sighed and continued “…Hark how the bell, sweet silver bell. It will tell us to throw cares away, that Christmas is here, and at least for me, it will bring good cheer.”  

From two seats behind Sarah sat Linzy. Overhearing Sarah, Linzy broke out singing the Carol of the Bells. While doing so she stood out of her seat and quickly walked over  to Dan, finishing with a “ding-dong…” then a subsequent much lower and prolonged  “…ding doooooong.” She quickly transitioned, casually introducing her reason for intrusion: “I forgot to tell you that Ms. Wenea still expects you to present your part of the psychology project to her even though you missed class by being in detention,” she explained.

“Linzy, I’m so sorry I missed it.”

“No worries, bubs, I slayed it, but tag, you’re it.” she gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

“How am I supposed to present?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not like I can go after school, we have detention, remember?”

“Just tell them, ‘sorry, I can’t go to detention because I have to present a project, Merry Christmas, bye’,” Linzy explained.

“That’ll never work.” Dan replied.

“You never know until you try. Could be a Christmas miracle.” Linzy shrugged as if providing a smidge of probability to her suggestion. 

Ms. Madison stood in front of the class wearing her usual friendly smile, but today there was something different about her. Her smile seemed to have more to it, and the way she addressed the class gave some supposition that she was up to something– up to something good. “Class, good afternoon.” The classroom fell silent. “I am very happy to have you as my students. You all have been working so hard these last couple days, or really weeks rather, and since Christmas is tomorrow…” Dan loved the fact that Ms. Madison actually used the word Christmas. “…I have decided to reward you for your hard work with a little Christmas party.” She had brought cookies and punch, candy and a movie for all the students to watch. She was the one and only teacher who brought Christmas cheer. 

As the students enjoyed the Christmas flick and munched on their cookies, Ms. Madison came over to Dan and tapped him on the shoulder. She knelt down beside him to whisper, “I have your last report graded. You can keep it now. She handed Dan the report. “I have been very impressed with your report. I could tell you put a lot of work into it, and I just want to tell you that I really enjoy having you in my class. You are a very intelligent student. I am looking forward to finding out what you pursue in the future.” Everything that Ms. Madison said was always so encouraging, and it definitely helped Dan get through the days. She saw something in him that no other teacher could. 

*                    *                   *

As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Dan took off running down the hallway, trying to get to Ms. Wenea’s class to deliver his psychology presentation to her. The hallways were packed with students, thicker than the Rockefeller Plaza at Christmas time, but not one was lingering. Everyone was in a rush to leave school. Dan went to his locker, grabbed everything he needed. His backpack dangled from one shoulder, draped around his arm was his sweatshirt, and in his hands was a poster-board. Super-focused and determined, he made his way to Ms. Wenea’s class. There was no time to waste, for she would soon be leaving too, and he had to make it to after school detention in time. This presentation couldn’t wait. He just had to get this project out of the way and off his mind. He needed the grade too. So, he was quite the sight for other students in the hallway who noticed him, dunning and dashing, and ducking,and sliding his way through the halls with his flapping poster board. As he was running he heard a student call out, “Run, run Rudolph.” 

After zipping down two flights of stairs, around four corners, and overhearing many “Merry Christmas” wishes, he finally reached Ms. Wenea’s room. He dropped his backpack on the floor, caught his breath, and stood in the front of the classroom as if he was about to present to an entire class, but the only ones in the classroom at the moment were Ms. Wenea and one other student. Sometimes Dan was nervous to present in front of others, but Ms. Wenea was pretty approachable, and he knew she wouldn’t be expecting anything extravagant. More than anything he just wanted to be done with it and had set his own feelings aside. He had to research a specific mental disorder and talk about how it develops, what it looks like, and what kind of therapy is available. This project was actually a month in the making. Linzy and him were arranged as partners, and so they divided and conquered. He just had to present his half of the project.

“Ms. Wenea, ready for me to present?” Dan eagerly asked.

“Yes, but just a minute.” Ms. Wenea was talking to another student about a grading mistake. Dan had little patience. He was anxious about making it to detention in time. After a couple of minutes, which seemed much longer to Dan, Ms. Wenea sat down at a student’s desk and was ready to listen. Dan thought it always looked strange to see a teacher at a student’s desk. It always made them look out of place. 

As Dan started his presentation, Ms. Wenea seemed quite interested. Dan figured she was either genuinely interested or was a great actress. She began asking a lot of questions, which Dan figured was a good sign,  but these questions were also taking up his time. Upon describing how some disorders are formed by stressful situations, Dan paused for a moment.  If that’s the case, he thought, I am going to end up in shambles before this day is over. Dan’s presentation was very good, except for the fact that he talked a mile a minute, and some points went by so fast that they weren’t clear. As soon as Dan finished his presentation, he waited for Ms. Wenea to give her usual applause, and he was out of there. 

Dan glanced at the clock in the hallway. He was already five minutes late for detention. He knew he had to pick up the pace and started running down the hallways again, dodging past all the other students. The hallway of the detention room was wet. It was difficult to tell exactly why. Some students coming and going may have brought in rain water from the outside, a mother picking up her daughter from school brought her a peppermint mocha, but slid on the wet floor, sloshing the beverage far and wide, and some boys had been playing around in the bathroom making a “snowman” out of giant wads of toilet paper. When they finally decided to flush it, it caused the commode to back up. The Janitor was there with mops, rags, and cones, trying to clean up and caution the passerbys. As soon as Dad reached the hallway despite all his might, he slipped, fell down, and slid right into detention. He was slightly impressed with how perfectly he slid right into the room he needed to be, but now his back was wet with a concoction he didn’t wish to dwell on. Dan saw Linzy was already there, as well as a few other students. He acknowledged her with a nod of the head and sat down. There was no talking allowed, so Dan opened his backpack and pulled out a book he had to finish reading during break, every once in a while glancing over at Linzy. She was discreetly knitting in her lap, shielded by the tablet of the desk. Dan saw a ball of red yarn tumble to the floor. 

It was very rare that Dan and Linzy would be in detention. In fact this was the first day in high school in which Linzy found herself there. Distracted from his reading Dan dwelled on the fact that it was so odd that the first time he and Linzy were in detention together so happened to be Christmas Eve, as if it was some morbid Christmas gift, much more malicious and even less deserving than a lump of coal. He felt like the school was out to get him. Dan couldn’t wait to get out of the place and on with Christmas break, though he didn’t have much of anything planned. He was just looking forward to not being in school. Linzy had finished her knitting, so she stared at the clock and watched the second hand make its rounds. The hand didn’t pause after each second but continuously moved very slowly clockwise. Linzy began to slouch. She was in a trance while looking at the second hand make its rounds. To anyone else it would be boring, but as for Linzy, she could find amusement in the simplest of things. 

By the third chapter of his book Dan was entirely distracted and couldn’t pay attention to it any more. He was too anxious thinking about Christmas and leaving school in less than an hour. He began daydreaming of snow and how nice it would be to have a snowy Christmas Eve. Too bad it was just raining. 

  Linzy quietly cheered each minute on, staring at the clock all the way until four o’clock when the bell rang, signifying the end of detention. As soon as that bell sounded, everyone in detention raised a ruckus, and shouts of joy filled the air.. Linzy broke out singing Jingle Bell Rock, exalting the school bell which had just freed them from detention. She got out her gloves, scarf, and matching hat from her backpack, preparing to leave school and walk with Dan over to her house. 

“Linzy, you’re probably not going to need those gloves or hat. This morning the temperature was fifty degrees.”

“I know, but what if it has been snowing? What if the temperature suddenly dropped, and we are faced with a huge blizzard?” Linzy knew Dan was probably right, but she decided to say that anyway to defend her decision. She just wanted to put on her winter accessories, because she thought they were cute. “Who knows what it truly is like outside? I mean, there are no windows in this hallway, so we can’t see what’s out there. What if we truly are going to see a white Christmas? Furthermore…” Linzy paused for dramatic emphasis. “…Ta Dah!” She revealed a red knitted scarf. “I made it for you during detention…” She slung the scarf around Dan’s neck, and while still holding onto each end of the scarf, she pulled Dan near her to whisper in his ear. “….to always remember our first detention together.”

“Thanks Linzy.” Dan was startled for a moment, when she pulled him near and started to whisper, but he was  relieved when he realized it was just Linzy being her usual self. 

 Linzy continued talking about the snow as they walked down the hallway. When they reached the wide exit doors of the school, she swung them open and was hit with a surprise. “SNOW!” she exclaimed. It was absolutely surprising. Snow had covered the school parking lot and was collecting on the trees, beautifully and delicately. Linzy ran out the school doors with her arms wide open, dancing around in the falling snow. Both Linzy and Dan couldn’t refrain from laughing at the joy and coincidence of it all.

Linzy formed a snow ball in her hands and threw it at Dan in a playful way. The snowball split into thousands of powdery flakes crescending up from Dan’s shoulder dusting his blond hair. He pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, and formed a snowball of his own. He threw one back at her. Before they knew it, they had a genuine snow ball fight going on. Linzy liked the way her scarf blew as she threw the snowballs, and she kept eying the scarf she had knitted dangling around Dan’s neck . 

The snow was really collecting well. Within about a half hour, there was a good two inch white blanket covering the ground. The sun slowly began to set, though no one could see it behind the heavy clouded sky. It was getting dark very fast. The winter days were always short. 

After their snowball fight, in which no clear winner was determined, Linzy noticed it was about time for her family’s Christmas party, and she still wanted to practice her solo, along with the music, for the church service. The two started walking through the big sports fields behind the high school. It was a shortcut to Linzy’s house. The whole time the snow relentlessly fell.

“I love the snow,” said Linzy. “I wonder what it would be like to live in the snow all the time. Sometimes I just want to build an igloo and live my winter in it. I think I would make a pretty good eskimo.” They continued to walk across the snow covered field, kicking the powdery snow. “Look at the stars,” Linzy pointed. There was a break in the clouds, and a patch of stars twinkled above. “They’re so beautiful. I love this– the snow, the stars, me and you on this cold Christmas Eve.” Linzy looked over at Dan in quiet admiration and smiled. Their friendship had grown a lot over the course of the year. They shared everything from friends and belongings, to their deepest and most random thoughts. Dan always liked Linzy more than any other girl he knew. Lately things had been a little different, way too complicated for him to explain. It was like Linzy was going through a metamorphosis. She was growing increasingly confident and playful, and little bits and pieces of her personality were starting to take new and unpredictable shapes. It’s not like this sort of thing hadn’t happened before. Linzy was known for changing with the weather, but lately Dan was seeing her as a different person than what she used to be, and he liked this change a lot, yet he still felt like he had lost something. He had no clue what was going on other than the fact that she was growing up.

While Dan and Linzy were walking together, a thought weighed heavily on Dan’s mind. He hadn’t seen his good friend, Dakota, for weeks, and felt that he should pay him a visit. Dakota had been confined to his bed after breaking his legs and getting all battered up in a severe snow boarding accident. Dan really wanted to go over to Dakota’s house and wish him a merry Christmas, yet he didn’t want to leave Linzy. Dan had a persistent fear of letting Linzy down, and ditching her to go over to Dakota’s was aligned with just that. Finally after much hesitation Dan made a decision and broke the news to Linzy.  She responded with much approval, setting Dan’s mind at ease. “Wish him a Merry Christmas from me too.”

Read more about Wild Christmas on my website: www.joshhodge.com/wild-christmas

Chapter 4 Coming Soon!