Cape High Christmas: A Side Story (Cape High Series) (7 page)

"Why does everything need a prize or some sort of moral?" Freddy asks. "Sure, it's fun winning stuff, and it's all well and good to help others, but we're capes. We'll spend the rest of our LIVES helping others, right? So why not just have some fun for a while? Why not just goof off and enjoy ourselves for one day?"

"So... a scavenger hunt is your answer?" Brandon says.

"Yeah, a stupid, no holds bar, scavenger hunt," Freddy says, grinning. "Make sure you booby trap those suckers, or at least make them hard to get to. These are capes we're dealing with, you know?"

"This interests me." They all jerk, looking up as the door swings open and Nico leans against the doorway. "Just for this one, I'll make an exception and join in."

The three teens look at each other, and then at the guy that made the rules and is, apparently, breaking them.

"Will we get in trouble if you help us?" Brandon asks.

"Oh, I'll probably get listed," Nico says, "but I'll ignore that. This sounds like fun. Let's see that map of yours."

"Listed?" Freddy asks blankly. Nico ignores the question, looking over the map for a long moment.

"You three will also act as the opposition," he says. "We can't let them win this too easily, now can we?"

"Wait, wait, we can't beat some of the guys that'll be playing," Freddy says, suddenly worried. "Like Trent? I've got no chance. In fact, I have no chance against any of the named capes, and I don't want to put my brothers in danger just for a stupid game!"

"Leave that to me," Nico says, only to make the random pieces of metal that Freddy stole earlier start floating. Before their eyes, small devices are built in groups of fives and separated into neat piles. "You figure out the clues and the routes each team will take--I suggest you keep each of the groups at a different station at all times, and I'll give you your battle orders in the morning," he says, grinning evilly. "Don't worry, this is going to be fun for everyone."

He walks out of the room, leaving them to examine the items he created. "We've got a... button on each of these," Lance says, picking one of them up. He pushes the button, staring at it blankly for a moment before letting go. "Nothing happened."

"Let me see it," Freddy says, taking the object and pushing the button again. An image of Lance floats above it, going, "Nothing happened."

"AWESOME!" all three of them cheer. "This is going to rock!" Freddy adds, scooping up one of the piles. "Let's get to work."

***

"Sir?"

"Mmm? Ah, yes, yes, what is it?"

"Nico's broken the rules. You definitively said that there was supposed to be only ONE helper, if the helper is an adult."

"Well, yes, I suppose I did... It's Freddy's turn, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"And did he ASK Nico to help?"

"Well, no..."

"Then I say this is just a bit of... high spirits on Nico's behalf. It does me good to see him so interested in things not mechanical. He's been on the naughty list for some twenty years, now. You can cut the man a bit of slack!"

"Yes, sir."

***

"So? Where's Freddy?" Justin asks, looking around the campus. "Are we going somewhere again?"

"Where's Lance?" Carla asks. "And I don't see Brandon, either--" she races around the group, waving a hand through each of the empty areas. "Nope, he's not here!" she declares.

"Today is a bit different," Nico says as five different objects float over his head. "Today, thanks to Freddy, Lance, and Brandon, we're going to play a little game. Form groups of five or so, everyone--one acting brawler per team." The groups sort themselves out and Nico tosses them each a clue.

Invisible, the three watching them nod in agreement. Lance and Freddy go visible again as they head off to their personal posts. Lance shifts into a tiny lizard, perched high on the cliff wall. As the first group approaches he waits for one of them to point him out. When they do, he grabs the clue and shifts, changing into a reindeer and racing away with them chasing after him and laughing.

Brandon sits on one of the buildings, clearly visible from the ground. The team assigned to go to his post first shows up, looking around for a long moment before looking up. He gives them a wave, showing off the clue, and promptly disappears, clue and all.

Two of the teams are lucky, and find the first clue easily--only to fall into a Technico trap. The last team, though, find themselves facing Freddy, who perches on a red and white pole sticking up a mile in the sky--right in the middle of the Apocalypse field. He's dressed like an elf, complete with pointy hat, golden bells hanging from his clothes, and pointy toes on his shoes. The team steps forward, only to jump as holes in the field open and the robots come out, also dressed like elves and singing Christmas songs. That is, until one of the robots turn on them, and shouts, "INTRUDERS!"

Freddy jumps off the pole, landing lightly on one robot's shoulder and jumping to the next, waving the clue in a taunting manner as the students try to get through the outraged elf robots. Nico, floating overhead with the rest of the school staff, has a grin on his face. Once the teams get the clues, they'll be switched around, the next group facing off against one of the three, or one of his traps. It'll keep them busy for the entire day.

"You're breaking the rules for this, aren't you?" Superior says over Nico's earbud, using the family line. "You know the repercussions for doing that too often."

"I do," Nico says, laughing his head off as Trent waves his arms through the air, trying to find Brandon. "Totally worth it," he declares. "I couldn't have picked a better team for this game if I'd tried. These three are brilliant evasive types, probably the best I've ever seen--or they will be, when I'm done with them. It would have been stupid of me to not step in, regardless of the threat of getting listed. This is the perfect training practice for them."

"I see," Superior says. "You have a good point."

Back on the field, Freddy can't help the massive grin that crosses his face as he hears everyone shouting and laughing. Maybe his day wasn't heart-wrenching, or touching (AT ALL), or even have a point, but hey, HE'S having fun! Once in a while, that's really all you need.

Advent Calendar - Day Eleven

Her name is Piper. She's all of fourteen years old, and would be classified as a telepathic dream walker, if she weren't so afraid of using her powers. She hasn't slept at night in over a year, so she's ALWAYS sleepy during the day. She yawns, covering her mouth with a hand as she stares at the phone in her hand. She doesn't remember signing up for this, she thinks with an inward sigh. It means talking to someone.

Well... she looks around her room, trying to figure out what in the world she can do that hasn't been done, or would be done better by someone else. There is... one thing, she thinks as she gets out of her bed and wanders into the den of the dorms. People jerk slightly as they see her, their eyes widening slightly at the sight of her out in public by choice. Sure, she'd volunteered and worked on Max's team, but that had been silent peer pressure. Everyone had done that--well, everyone other than Sandra.

"Piper?" Rocco asks, looking at her curiously. "Is there something wrong? I thought you went to bed."

"I need to..." she says, only to yawn again, "talk with Ace," she says, still half-yawning. "Will he help me?"

"Sure," Justin says, looking over from where he's gaming. "Do you need anyone else?"

"Ummm... someone with... lots of pillows," she says after thinking for a long moment. "And blankets."

The entire room looks around and Rocco pulls out his phone. "Max?" he says a second later. "Piper wants help with getting pillows and blankets."

"Piper does?" Max asks. "Let me--" he hangs up on Rocco and Piper jerks as her phone rings for the very first time. She stares at it for a second before answering.

"Hello?"

"How many and what type?" Max asks.

"Lots and um... lots," she decides.

"Got it," he says.

"But I should owe you something, right?" she asks around a yawn.

"Don't worry about it," he says before hanging up.

A few moments later her phone rings again. She stares at it for a long moment before answering. "Hello?" she asks.

"Hi, Piper," Ace says, his tone soft. "Justin texted me. You wanted my help?"

"Um, yes, please," she says, looking confused. "But we've never talked, have we?" she says almost to herself, starting to wake up from the dreamy state and remember the facts.

"Nope, but that's fine," Ace says. "I'd be happy to help. What is it you want to do?"

She looks around, seeing several curious looks, and heads back to her room before answering. That she yawns several times during the short trip is completely ignored on her behalf. She's ALWAYS yawning, after all. She's even sleepier than Sunny is, most of the time! "I want to tell a story," she says after closing her door. "Just a simple Christmas story," she adds. "Can you help me?"

"Yeah, I can do that, tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," she says, looking at the clock. She hesitates, knowing she hasn't had enough sleep today, but if she tries to go back to bed now, she might be asleep when everyone else is. That wouldn't be good.

She sits in her bed, staring at the wall and trying to stay up until it's well past three in the morning. Finally she gives up and lies down, dozing fitfully. She wakes to the sound of a soft knock on the door. "Piper?" Max calls through the door. "I brought the supplies."

She looks at the clock and climbs out of bed, yawning once again. "Thank you," she says, opening the door and looking up at him. "Where are they?"

"In the gym," he says. "Come on, Ace is already there." He leads her along, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she's following once in a while. "I didn't expect you to ask for help from villains," he says.

"I needed help," she says. "But I didn't think you'd both agree," she admits. She tugs her cloak around her, realizing she's still in her white and blue pajamas. Her soft white hair is tugged by the wind and hits her in the face until she shoves it away. Her skin is a dark reddish brown, contrasting sharply with her hair and her pajamas. Her feet are bare. She looks at them thoughtfully as they cross the campus.

"Why wouldn't we?" Ace asks as they reach the gym.

"Wouldn't what?" she asks, yawning.

"Help you," he says, only to look at Max. "Is she always like this?"

"Usually she's not even this awake," Max says with amusement. "I brought in snacks, too," he tells her, motioning to a table laid out with junk food, juice, and hot chocolate machines. "Since we're having a sleep-over, right?" he asks.

She gives him a shy little smile, pushing her hair out of her face. The floor of the gym is literally covered with pillows, blankets, and stuffed toys. She walks over to a massive stuffed teddy bear, and sits on it. "We need a stage, please," she says, leaning back happily. The pillows and blankets move, leaving a large empty spot in the middle of the floor. "I should get everyone," she realizes belatedly, getting to her feet again.

"Everyone please proceed to the gym," Ace's voice blasts over the speakers. "If possible, wearing pajamas, if not, well, you can take your shoes off when you get here." Before Piper can blink, the doors swing open and the student body starts pouring in. A few drones float in, as well. She looks at them curiously before sitting back down on her teddy bear throne. Soon everyone has picked their favorite place and are looking up at her expectantly.

"Hi," she says, holding up a hand, only to cover a yawn with it a second later. They all grin at her, calling back their greetings. "I'm here to talk about stories," she tells them. "There are a lot of Christmas traditions--like Jimmi and her papa showed us. That was a Posada, wasn't it?" she asks the Hispanic girl with a curious smile.

Jimmi blushes slightly, but smiles. "It was sort of one," she admits. "But it wasn't a proper one, and they were hungry, so I thought it wasn't the time to go into details."

"A Posada is a Mexican tradition where either neighbors or family members go from house to house, acting out the scene where Mary and Joseph try to find a place to stay," Piper explains for her, yawning as she goes on, "It's followed by a big party, and it all leads up to Christmas day, right?"

"Yeah," Jimmi says. "There are usually piñatas--which is why Pap
á
brought so many. It's a... touch of his past, back when he lived in Mexico," she admits.

"I love stories like that," Piper says with a smile. "Things that are done with families, and passed down... I've always been a little jealous of that," she admits. "I don't know who I am, or why I can do what I do. But I have a family now, right? So why not start a new tradition?" she says. "So with Ace's help, I'm going to tell you a story... if that's okay with you?" she asks shyly.

"Totally fine," Jack says, lounging back against a pile of pillows. He's got a few bags of chips and a bottle of pop next to him. "Let's hear a story."

"Since the Posada is about this... how about... a long, long time ago, there was a woman named Mary," Piper starts out. Suddenly a woman appears in the middle of the room, wearing a dress. "She was engaged to marry a simple woodworker named Joseph, but before they married an angel visited her." The room lights up and an angel appears in the sky.

"A MALE angel," Piper says dryly, glancing over at Ace. The angel's gender abruptly changes, much to everyone's amusement. "He tells her that she's going to be a mother," Piper says. "But she has no clue how, because she's still a virgin. He tells her that God is going to give her a son. And that's where this story truly begins," she says, looking over the group, "because that son turns the world upside down, even as a baby."

The world warps around and plays out in front of them as she describes a dangerous voyage on the back of a donkey, and a birth in a small stable, where the Son of God is laid to rest in a manger. The group sits on a cold hill covered in sheep and shepherds watching as the sky is filled with angels singing. They watch a train of wise men and their servants cross mile after mile of desert on camels to get to the baby boy, only to be waylaid by a jealous king.