Curvy All the Way
Chapter One: Bethany
As I rounded the corner of Main and North, the Garland Christmas tree came into sight, a giant evergreen cone standing out in Cider Center. In the dusky sky, I could just make out the garland going around the branches and the brightly colored baubles. But soon it would be all lit up. Soon, I could make my wish.
I pulled my hat down over my ears, continuing toward the tree. My nose felt like an icicle and my fingertips were numb.
I always did get cold easily, but even so, I loved Garland during the Christmas season. There was nothing like it in the world, which meant people came from all over to celebrate. No other place did Christmas like this town.
I walked a little faster, sure that the rest of my friends had beaten me there.
As I worked my way through dozens and dozens of people, I spotted my four best friends, Belle, Carol, Holly, and Sera, near the front of the crowd. They were my favorite people in the whole world, and I wholeheartedly believed they were a part of what made Garland special. We had been friends for years.
Every year, on this day, Belle made sure to find a good spot at the very front so we could have the best view of the Christmas tree lighting. This year was no different. If she could’ve set up a tent the night before and gotten a better spot, I was sure she would.
I gave them each a hug and we settled in, excitement permeating the air around us with the growing crowd’s chatter.
“I can’t wait,” Belle said with glee. She wholeheartedly believed in the town legend that if you wished upon the star just as the mayor lit it up, then your wish would come true.
I knew better. Forcing a smile, I said, “I can’t wait for some hot chocolate after this.”
“Not a bad idea,” Sera chimed in, shivering a little.
I stared up at the tree, hands shoved in my coat pockets for extra warmth. My friends looked so hopeful, even Carol, who struggled with the Christmas season since her parents’ divorce. But I couldn't help the pang of sadness that hit at the thought of making yet another wish that didn’t come true.
Every year up until now, I’d made the same wish: that my brother’s best friend would finally notice me as more than his best friend’s dorky little sister.
I still remembered the first time my brother, Eli, brought Kane over to our house. They were ten and I was nine. While they practiced baseball in the back yard, I helped mom with the dishes. She kept wincing every time they threw the ball off course, worried they’d lose it over the fence or bust a window. But me? I couldn’t take my eyes off Kane. He was so cute, with dark brown skin, short black hair, and so much confidence in his every move. Unlike me, who’d just gone through a growth spurt and was still knocking over glasses at every meal.
But after years of wishing for him to notice me with no results, I was beginning to think it was impossible for him to return my crush. As much as the disappointment hurt, I knew it was time to let the wish go.
As the mayor rose up with the help of a firefighter truck ladder, I considered my wish. A different wish.
The mayor gently placed the star on top of the tree, said a few words about the holiday season, and just a second later, the star shone brightly from its perch.
In that instant, I closed my eyes and wished for a chance at my one big dream. Hopefully this wish did have a chance of coming true.
I wish to get into the fashion program of my dreams. I thought the words with all my heart, willing it to come true.
The application deadline for the Future Fashion Icon Summer Program was January first, and it was going to be super competitive to snag a spot, but I was applying anyway. Plus-size clothing designers didn’t usually make it, but I was desperate to make cute clothing available to girls and women just like me. We deserved to feel beautiful, too, not stuck wearing loud, ugly prints and cold-shoulder shirts.
Please, please let me earn a spot, I wished again for extra measure.
Then I exhaled and opened my eyes. Everyone around me was clapping and cheering. Parents pointed and smiled in awe and kids jumped up and down.
I joined in the clapping, feeling a little emotional all of a sudden. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if yet another wish didn’t come true.
Belle’s eyes met mine, and she gave me a look that asked, Are you okay?
Embarrassed, I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and nodded. Even so, she put her arm around my shoulder. I felt better already, knowing I’d have my friends no matter what.
As the crowd started to disperse, my friends and I gathered around in a circle, wondering out loud about the other big Garland tradition.
Every year for the last century, someone got the job of being Santa Claus. It was a big deal to get the honor, and most of all, no one could ever know Santa’s true identity.
“Maybe it’ll be Mr. Thornton,” Carolyn joked.
We all collectively shuddered at the thought of our old, nose-picking math teacher dawning the Santa suit.
As we began walking away from Cider Center, we kept making guesses at the next Santa Claus, each one more and more ludicrous.
“I’m going to miss you guys,” I told them as we reached Cocoa Corner, the coffee shop in town.
The five of us were going to be pretty busy for the next couple of weeks. My brother and parents were traveling before Christmas for him to visit a college, and I was staying with my grandma to focus on my application. I still needed one big, showstopping piece to add. Everyone else had something going on as well, so we agreed to meet back up at Haley’s big New Year’s Eve party and catch up again.
“New Year’s will be here before we know it,” Belle said. “And I bet we’ll all have something fun and interesting to share.” There was a twinkle in her eye I couldn’t quite explain.
I saw Carolynn roll her eyes a bit, but I put my arm around her. “I bet we will.”
After that, we were off.
I had a big mug of hot chocolate on my mind. Sipping it in the coffee shop while putting the finishing touches on my plan sounded like the perfect end to the night before going back home to say goodbye to my parents and brother.
I had no idea if that wish I made would do me any good, but I did know that I needed all the help I could get, including a little bit of Garland magic.
Chapter 2: Kane
I could remember the day I sold my first snowball.
I was twelve years old, having a snowball fight with some of my friends near Cider Center. It was going to be the most epic snowball fight of all time, and I was determined to win.
So, I showed up earlier than anyone else, packing snowballs and building them into a pile so my team would have an unlimited supply, leading us to a certain victory without the hassle of constantly stooping to pack and build snowballs.
But something else happened that year.
Influenza A.
It contaminated the kids of Garland just as thoroughly as a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground. Only one other kid showed up to the snow battle, and I had way more snowballs than we needed.
Noticing that, a dad and his son asked if they could have some of my leftovers. When I said, “Okay,” the dad gave me five dollars.
I walked away from the park staring at the crumpled bill. Abe stared back at me like we were both in on a secret.
It was the easiest money I’d ever made, and the possibilities with that much money were endless.
I could get a toy from the local store, Santa’s Bag. I could pay one of my friends for a video game I wanted. I could even buy a few new baseballs without my parents’ speeches about keeping track of my stuff and not hitting the balls hard enough to go over a fence.
And if one guy bought them from me–imagine how many other tourists would do the same.
I put that theory to the test, and over the years, the business had evolved.
Now I had a kiosk at Cider Center where people could buy snowballs or even pay me to sneak attack one of their friends. (That was a popular service.) I set up snowball fight dates for couples, prepped for photoshoots, and more.
Tonight was one of my busiest nights of the year; the lighting of the Garland Christmas tree always brought plenty of customers.
Even with hours of prep, I sold out. As I was flipping my sign from open to closed, my best friend, Eli, walked up. He didn’t look as happy as usual, though we clapped hands and patted each other’s back.
He gestured at my empty kiosk. “You cleaned up tonight.”
I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. “Guess I did. Can’t believe you’re ditching me this year,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.
He and his parents were going to California for a week to check out a college that wanted him on their baseball team like Santa wanted cookies and milk. But since he had plenty of schools recruiting him, they wanted to make sure this one was the best fit for him.
Eli shook his head at me. “I don’t feel bad for ditching you–just Bethany. I know she says she wants to stay home, but, I don’t know… It’s Christmastime.”
Just at the mention of his little sister, my heart stood at attention.
Something happened a few years ago. Instead of being my best friend’s little sister, I started noticing little things about her…
Her brown eyes that turned amber when they caught the sunlight.
The way her red hair framed her heart-shaped face.
How her entire face lit up when she talked about fashion design…
But I had to keep all my feelings buried because everyone knew you couldn’t date your best friend’s little sister. It was bro code–and that stuff was sacred.
If Eli noticed all the thoughts going through my mind about his little sister, he definitely didn’t notice. He continued on asking, “What are you doing now?”
I shrugged, bringing myself back to the present. “Not much to do in Garland that hasn’t been done before.”
“Movies?” he suggested.
I nodded. “Sure.” We started walking toward the only movie theater in town, It’s a Wonderful Film. Incidentally, all they played were Christmas movies. But the popcorn was the bomb.
Eli was quiet as we walked even though he usually never ran out of things to say.
“Nervous?” I asked. He was leaving with his parents tomorrow, bright and early.
He shook his head slightly. “Still thinking about Bethany.”
Ironic, considering I needed to stop thinking about her. “She’ll be fine–she’s with your grandma,” I reminded him.
We turned a corner, and now that we weren’t on a main road, we were the only ones on the sidewalk.
“I know. It’s just that…” He paused, and I could see he was feeling some sort of way about this. “I hate to leave her behind during Christmas. She says she has a big fashion project she’s working on, so she wants to stay. But still, I kinda feel bad I’m the reason she’ll be here while the rest of us are elsewhere.”
“I get it,” I replied. “I mean, despite all the ways you love to annoy her, I can tell you’re a good big brother to her. And that is just so sweet.”
That got him to sock me in the shoulder. I grinned, glad I’d been successful in lifting his mood a little bit. Eli wasn’t one to always show it, but he had a good heart.
We reached the movie theater and headed inside, getting our tickets along with a couple buckets of popcorn, extra butter on mine.
Luckily for us, the movie theater was doing a special showing of Die Hard, my personal favorite Christmas movie. Talk about Garland town controversy. There had been a whole five-page editorial about it in the newspaper when the movie was added to the movie theater’s playlist when it was only supposed to play Christmas movies.
Who knew Die Hard was such a controversial topic?
We took our seats near the front, and I settled in, ready for a couple hours of primetime action.
But Eli still seemed overly worried about Bethany. I could tell. He hadn’t dug into our popcorn yet. It was hard to relax when my friend was down. Considering the movie was about to start, I said, “Eli, what do we have to do for you to feel better about going? You know you can’t stay home.”
That’s when his eyes lit up like there was a literal idea-lightbulb sparking. “You could watch out for her while I’m gone.”
That caught me off guard. “Watch out for her?” I asked in a whisper.
A couple slid into the seats behind us, the lady quietly telling her husband that they better be seeing The Polar Express after this.
Eli gave them a glance before saying, “Yeah, man. Bethany. If you notice she seems lonely or something, you can spend time with her. She says she’s fine, but you’ll be there for her if she’s not, right?”
For some reason, my best friend asking me to keep an eye on his sister made my stomach turn into a knot. But it’s not like I could say no. He was my best friend, and he was worried about his little sister. “Yeah, man, I got you. Don’t worry.” I could worry enough for the both of us.
He finally seemed to exhale. “Thanks, man. I knew I could count on you.”
After that, the lights dimmed, and Eli finally started eating his popcorn. He seemed to feel a thousand times better.
But I didn’t.
What exactly had I committed to? And why did it make me nervous thinking of spending time together with Bethany?
She was my best friend’s sister, and I’d always kept my distance.
Now my heart beat faster at the thought of being alone with her, talking to her. Getting carried away with her.
No. That could not happen.
The movie started, but it was hard to stay focused on the plot.
I would keep my word to Eli, but I wouldn’t go any further, I decided.
All I really needed to do was just keep an eye on her from afar. She would be fine, and I could tell Eli I fulfilled my promise.
That would be the best thing for everyone.
No need to get close to her.
***
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