Every Monday, I post a piece of flash fiction--a story clocking in
at around 300 words. Each story can also be found on my deviantART and Wattpad pages.
Enjoy!
~~
I hate Christmas. How can I not, really, when the scratchy
PA system is blaring Christmas carols louder than it should be, threatening to blow
the speakers at any moment? How can I not, when seemingly everyone within a
twenty mile radius has left the majority of their Christmas shopping until December freaking 23rd, and
somehow have fallen under the misguided impression that I am to blame?
Working
retail is bad enough. Retail during the holidays? I’d rather saw off my arm and
cook it for Christmas dinner.
“I have a coupon!” one woman
screams at me.
“That coupon expired yesterday,”
I try to explain to her, for what was probably the twentieth time.
"I just
got it in the mail yesterday!” she yells. “How can it be expired already?”
How can
I not hate Christmas when the general public makes it so damn easy?
I’m not
a big fan of the snow, either. Or the cold that comes with it. I’m bundled up
so much that I take up twice as much room as I barrel through the mall, eager
to get out before I start sweating under all of my layers. Nobody apologizes
when they bump into me; neither do I.
I pause
in front of the entrance to yet another busy store, the crowd so thick that
even with the padding of my parka, I can’t plow my way through. Someone touches
my shoulder. I brush them off, ready to keep moving, until a candy cane is
thrust into my face.
I
snatch it and turn, my glare cranked up to death level. Once I get a look at
him, though, it’s incredibly hard to keep my glare steady; he’s standing next
to the entrance of whatever store—a boutique, I think—wearing a ridiculous elf
costume, complete with goofy shoes and a hate covered in jingle bells. A basket
was hanging in the crook of his arm, filled with more striped candy canes.
He
grins at me. “Merry Christmas!”
I turn
away quickly, face reddening. “Merry Christmas,” I mumble, hurrying along.
I look
back once, before I turn the corner. I can barely see him through the busy
shoppers, smiling and offering candy canes to everyone who walks by. He doesn’t
seem to be working for the mall or any store in particular—he’s just here to
hand out candy canes because he wants to.
His
smile must be contagious, because I catch myself smiling a real smile for the
first time today.
~~
Until later,
- Justyme
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