The Christmas season was the period of time that Sandy had always looked forward to each year. The first blessing of the season was the winter break, when there would be two whole weeks of not-having-to-go-to-school. She would not be stuck in the classroom, pretending to listen to boring lessons while fighting to keep awake. And there would be no need to get up early in the morning.
But of course there was the usual 'Happy Holiday' greetings that the teachers gave out in the form of homework. Generous helpings of homework. It was a tradition of the season along with the Christmas tree, the jolly red fellow, the exchange of gifts and so on.
Sandy did not mind the lack of opportunity to be paid by her regular employers because of the next blessing of Christmas - the donations. In the past seasons, there had always been a lot of gifts. There was something about the season that put everyone in a giving mood. Her bicycle and the CD player on her room's desk had been some of the donations she had received in the past. So had many of her clothes and winter wear. And there had been the donated foodstuffs, just like it had been for Thanksgiving.
She hoped for a sweet chocolaty Yule Log that year. (Also known as the Bûche de Noël - the official term for it, if she had bothered to look it up.)
Another blessing of that period of time would be the many parties that she would be invited to. Or rather, the residents of the Sunshine Girls Home would be invited to. As such, attendance was more or less compulsory. It was a must for her to attend and to enjoy the parties. The parties were held to 'cheer the less privileged children'. Thus, as one of the 'less privileged children', it was her duty to be there and 'be cheered'.
When party attendance became a duty, it might not be a blessing after all.
The girls of the Home had been invited to three parties that year. By the third party, Sandy was already tired of them. When she was a little girl, she had always been excited to attend those parties. There had been food and shows and games. There had been other children to play with and talk to. That year, she was older and there were fewer people she could talk to. Plus, with age came responsibilities.
As one of those 'less privileged children' lucky enough to 'be cheered', she had a responsibility to be be polite and gracious to the nice Very-Important-People who sponsored the party. Especially since they were the ones who regularly donated to the Home. Be polite. Smile a lot. And be generous with the 'thank you'. Make happy photos with them for whatever business or political agenda they had. Recite long lines of memorized gratitude to any reporters present.
There were usually reporters present to take photos of the Very-Important-People with Sandy and the other children. They would ask a little about her background and how she enjoyed the party. Fortunately they were usually brief and quick to the point and would soon leave.
However, at the party that day, there did not appear to be any Very-Important-People or reporters. That was a relief. Sandy could concentrate on getting 'cheered up'.
Sandy wore the yellow dress that Annie had given her. She had not worn it for the first two parties. There might people who would be present in more than one of them. If she had worn the dress more than once, she would appear trite and boring, as if she had only one presentable dress in her wardrobe (which was true anyway).
Looking around the hall, Sandy recognized more than a few faces from the previous two parties. She recognized many of the children from the other homes, and their guardians. She also recognized the woman organizing the party.
Sandy had borrowed a leather clutch from Celeste. It was a recent acquisition by her roommate with her part-time job money and Celeste had made her promise to take very good care of it, with an ominous 'or else'. Sandy had also taken the cute little puppy figurine that Esper had given her from her wallet and attached it to the brown clutch. She wore Selina's yellow sneakers. Although the sneakers were not stylish, they were comfortable to walk in. And the color did match her dress.
Hopefully, no one would pay attention to her footwear.
The party was held in the hall of one of the larger children's home. Sandy was pretty much free to do as she wished. That rich orphan Juneida was away at her uncle's and was not present. Celeste was watching over Petra as the little one played with the other toddlers. Momma Lois was gossiping with the other guardians, probably telling everyone how lazy Sandy was at home.
(Of course it was just Sandy's imagination. Momma Lois certainly had better topics to gossip about other than her troublesome ward's habits, like the latest avenues to secure donations for charity homes or the latest news on cybersecurity.)
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