02x26: Christmas Dance

Bukidnon and the rest of the Seton community celebrate Christmas a bit early.

CHRISTMAS DANCE

 

     Austin couldn’t sleep that night. He was still feeling stupid about his reply to Janella. He was so worried about tomorrow’s outcome that he didn’t even worry about the A.R.M. or Sr. Leo or anything else. All he wanted to know was if Janella was mad at him.

     The clock hit 12 midnight and Austin was still up in bed. He couldn’t sleep, even if he tried.

     Hours went by like days. To him, six days went by before the sun rose. He got up, tired and worried, and went to his study. He tried to forget about it but then he saw the snow globe and went back into panic. The party was still at three o’clock this afternoon. Eight more days to go in his point of view.

     He went down for breakfast and ate some pancakes. Kyle went down from the elevator and joined him in the table.

     “Hey, Austin. Holy crap, I still can’t believe you’re back!”

     “It’s been two weeks, Kyle. And by the way, you’re really rockin' the glasses.”

     “Yeah, I got used to it. Anyway, that month you were gone felt like thirty years for us.”

     “That’s strange, every hour feels like a day for me right now.”

     “Why? What’s wrong?”

     “I think I got a fever.”

     “What happened to you? Is the band broken again?!”

     “No. I just said something stupid to her.”

     “Well that sucks! What did you say?”

     “We needed more members for a choir. It’s some dumb contest. She begged me to join and I pussied out.”

     “Nice terminology. But seriously, why’d you do that?”

     “I can’t sing to save my life.”

     “You can’t sing? Can’t sing? Dude, you wanna learn the guitar but you can’t sing? Why do you wanna learn the guitar?”

     “So I can be like Bambam and the guys.”

     “Why do you really want to learn the guitar? Come on, be honest with yourself.”

     “Fine, I wanna impress her.”

     “You want to impress Janella… what’s her last name again?”

     “Deabanico”

     “Okay, the situation is, Ryan Austin Fernandez wants to impress Janella Deabanico by learning how to play the guitar.”

     “Just get to the point?”

     “After you learn the guitar, what do you do? Play Ode to Joy in front of her? Or are you telling me you’re gonna play a song while Joel your trusty parrot sings for you while he’s hanging over your shoulder.”

     “No! And he’s not a parrot! He’s too big to be a parrot.”

     “Dude, you’ve lost your mind.”

     Austin was feeling much illogical. The worries caused a slight fever in him which went straight to his brain.

     “Austin, you gotta learn how to sing. Come on, sing a song for me.”

     “What song?”

     “I don’t care if it’s Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, just sing.”

     Austin took a deep breath as he started to sing, “Twinkle, Twinkle, LI�"“

     “OKAY! STOP! You sound like Ernst De Vera trying to sing like Lady Gaga.”

     “Funny you should say that because he joined the choir and I didn’t.”

     “Don’t strain your voice while singing, create a melody.”

     “I’ll work on it.”

     “Hey man, I’ll help you through it.”

     “Are you saying you can sing?”

     “Hell, no. I just wanna help you get your girl.”

     “Because you already got yours?”

     “Berna and I are just friends at the moment!”

     “At the moment meaning present therefore you will be a couple in the future. Let us add an adverb of time to the previous statement, specifically the phrase ‘the future’. If the adverb if time is ‘near’, the sentence becomes ‘you will be a couple in the near futu�"“

     “I think that’s quite enough,” Kyle said while laughing.

     “Dude, you thought that was funny? I can’t be funny when I’m sick.”

     “No, I’m not laughing because of your joke. I just started imagining Ernst singing Lady Gaga for a second.”

     “Wait, shh…”

     They remained quiet as they listened around. The elevator opened and they heard a horrifying sound.

     “PAPA, PAPARAZZI. I’M YOUR BIGGEST FA�"“

     “HEY, ERNST! SHUT THE HELL UP BEFORE THE WHOLE HOTEL CAVES IN!” Austin yelled across the room.

     “Austin, I think you do have a fever. You’re burning up.”

     “No s**t, who wouldn’t have a fever after hearing the voice of Lady Ernsternst?”

     “Hey, I lost a bet with Joel alright?”

     “Entertain me, how’d it go?”

     “I bet that Bukidnon would qualify for at least fifth place among the six sections. Joel said that we’d end up last. Turns out, everyone quit and there wasn’t even a sixth position.”

     Austin began to feel really bad as he heard this. It was partly his fault. He finished his pancakes and staggered towards the elevator.

     “Hey, I’m really sorry about the Gaga stuff. He dared me to sing that crap for the whole day at the top of my voice.”

     “Before you start again, wait for the elevator to be at least two floors away. Okay?”

     “Okay, deal.”

     Austin and Kyle went in the elevator and headed for the fourth floor. When the elevator reached the third, the painful sound of Ernst singing Poker Face was immediately heard. It wasn’t even funny to hear it as it was simply disturbing.

 

Austin had already got a gift for Janella, a giant, brown, stuffed bear, it was on the same level as Austin’s knee at least and it was adorable. Janella would’ve liked it.

     Austin also got chocolates for the rest of Bukidnon. Sr. Edmond and Sr. Leo were getting T-shirts.

     The hours passed by as Austin tried to play the scenario in his head. Finally, the fourth “day” or hour in normal terms came and Austin carried the gifts and teleported to the front of the chapel.

 

In front of the chapel, Ernst was there watching Anton and Roey fight in a game of Ninjas and Magic.

     “Going back to the basics, eh?” Austin said.

     “Yeah, We got tired of Yu Gi Oh!” Roey said.

     “Anton, how’s life?”

     “Fine,”

    “Hey, Austin, you going to the room?” Ernst asked.

     “Oh no, Ernst. I am NOT going to the room. I’m going to the swimming pool to throw all these gifts in and swim all day long until 10:00 tonight.”

     Anton and Roey laughed at this.

     “Come on, I’m serious.”

     “Yeah, I am.”

     “Can I come with?”

     “Sure, no problem.”

     Austin and Ernst walked over to the classroom. They were passing through the catwalk when they saw DRIX except for Bam sitting around. They paid this no mind as they moved onwards. Then they saw a Choc Nut on the floor.

     “Hey Austin, there’s a Choc Nut on the floor,” Ernst said.

     “No, there isn’t,” Austin said after zipping the Choc Nut to his hand. He opened it up and shoved it in his mouth.

     “You gotta get over that addiction man.”

     “Why?”

     “It’s creepy.”

     “I’ll get over it. You know what else is creepy?”

     “What?”

     “Joel, in a few minutes, give or take.”

     “Haha. What’s wrong with you and Joel?”

     “Nothing. I’m just picking on him recently.”

     “Why?”

     “No reason. He’s getting awfully close to Justin Lubag. I think he has a thing for her.”

     Ernst remained silent.

     “What’s wrong, Ernst? Jealous?”

     “No. It’s just that.”

     “It’s what?”

     “You’re coming off as an�"“

     “A*****e?”

     “Yeah.”

     “I am feeling particularly assy today. I got a fever you see.”

     They passed by the second floor where the second years had a catering service for them. No wonder the hotel dining area closed early.

     They continued on until they finally reached the third floor. They turned right and saw Bam waiting outside the Bukidnon room. Austin felt his fever peak at this moment. What if Janella was inside?

     “Hey, Austin!” Bam said. He was wearing a T-shirt but it was covered with a polo.

     “What’s with the polo?”

     “I have a secret to tell you.”

     “What?”

     Bam pulled the coat aside to reveal his shirt. It was a small cartoonish Batman figure with a box over his head that said “I am Batman.”

     “I’m Batman!”

     “Haha. Nice shirt.”

     “You think I should leave it closed?’

     “Nah. Just open it. Looks cooler.”

     Austin continued inside. The classroom was mixed around so that some tables were connected to each other to form a long table in the center of the room. The food was all placed here.

     He was oddly relieved that Janella wasn’t there. The twist was, Sr. Leo was in there. Well, Bukidnon did honor the agreement; they didn’t make a mess onstage since they never went onstage.

     “Austin, Ernst, what food did you bring?” Sr. Leo asked.

     “I got pizza!” Ernst said.

     “Place it there,” Sr. Leo said.

     Austin forgot about the food and quickly conjured up some KFC.

     “How about you, Austin?”

     “Just chicken, sir.”

     “There, near the spaghetti.”

     “Sir, I also have donuts!” Ernst exclaimed.

     “Krispy Kreme?” Austin asked as Ernst handed it over.

     “No, Dunkin,” Sr. Leo said.

     “Aw. You should’ve gotten Krispy Kreme, Ernst.”

     “What? Laughing Gas-flavored Glazed Donuts?”

     “What the heck will that taste like?”

     “Austin, what’s with the Victoria’s secret bag?” Bam asked. “Is that for Janella?”

     “No, it’s for the exchange gift. Codename Darkstar something something.”

     “Oh.”

     Austin brought out the biggest package.

     “This one’s for Janella.”

     “Holy crap…” Ernst commented.

     “Speaking of gifts,” Austin said as he reached in the other bag to get some chocolate. “Here, Bam, chocolates. Merry Christmas!”

     “Thanks, Austin! Merry Christmas too.”

     “What about me?” Ernst said.

     Austin didn’t mind him and went around distributing the chocolates. Ernst was just following him around.

     “Hey, Austin, let’s give Janella her gift!” Bam said.

     “Nah, maybe later. Wait, is she here?” Austin said as his heart rate suddenly bounced back up.

     “No, not yet.”

     “Oh, thank goodness.’

     “Hey, did anyone bring straws?” Ernst asked. Austin, Bambam, Sr. Leo, Danie, Clara, and the rest of Bukidnon who were already there all stared at Ernst.

     “Never mind…”

     The rest dispatched as Bam and Ernst stayed with Austin.

     “Maybe you should just lick barbecue sticks?” Austin recommended.

     “NO! I hate barbecue stricks.”

     “Stricks?”

     “Haha… I meant sticks.”

     “Austin, Ernst, Bambam! Come here!” Sr. Leo said, setting a basket on the teachers table.

     They followed orders and went over there.

     “Get something from this area.”

     It was Sr. Leo’s Christmas gifts for I-Bukidnon, keychains. The girls had stuffed animals as their main theme while the boys had this ambiguous metal claw. Austin got a red one, as red was his favorite color.

     Ernst got a black one and Bam got a Blue one. Ernst claims he got a black one to reflect his “evilness”. This was true to some extent since anyone who sings Lady Gaga like he does has to be evil to some extent.

     After a while, the food table was getting more appetizing. Bam was playing with a yoyo.

     “Bam, I didn’t know you could play yoyo.”

     “I do, a little, but this is for Rico. He’s an expert!”

     “That sucks. Rico’s not here yet. I wanna see his skillz.”

     “Hey, Austin!” Ivan said from outside.

     “Ivan! Hey there, buddy!”

     Austin went out to meet him.

     “Here’s your gift, Austin,” Ivan said as he gave a package to Austin.

     “Thanks. Uh, I’ll give you my gift on Christmas okay?”

     “Sure.”

     Austin was saving the gift for Christmas so he put it in his bag.

     “Aren’t you gonna open it?”

     “May I?”

     “Of course!”

     Austin got it back out and opened it. It was a Rubik’s cube only it was gold all over and the cubes were of different sizes. Austin scrambled it and it didn’t even look like a cube anymore.

     “Oh s**t. How do I fix this?”

     “I dunno.” Ivan said. They all laughed as Austin struggled to find a solution.

     “Hey, there’s the scary guy!”

     Joel was walking toward them and immediately approached Austin for a crotch kick.

     “Hey! Hey! Easy, Joel. I was only kidding.”

     “Hey, Ernst. How’s your straw?” Joel asked.

     “Non-existent,” Ernst said sadly.

     “What’s that?!” Joel asked pointing to the Screwball cube Austin was trying to solve.

     “It’s just my Christmas gift from Ivan.”

     “How do you solve it?”

     “You lick it like a straw!” Ernst said

     “Shut up, Ernst,” Austin said while trying to solve the cube.

     “Lick it, Austin!”

     “Shut up, Ernst!”

     “LICK THE FORCE, LUKE!”

     “That, is the worst reference to Star Wars I have ever heard in my life. Shut up or so help me I’ll�"“

     “Lick the cube?”

     Austin blinked and Ernst was in pain. He staggered over to Bambam who comforted him. Austin just b***h slapped Ernst.

     “Dude, what the hell did you do that for?” Ernst asked.

     “I don’t know.”

     Austin returned his attention to the cube but he felt real bad now.

     “I think you solve this in steps. Step one is to find the algorithm. Step two is to turn on your flux capacitor and go 88 miles per hour.”

     “Austin, that is the worst reference to Star Wars I have ever heard,” Ernst said.

     “It’s Back to the Future, nimrod!”

     “HAHAHAHA!” Ernst, laughed insanely.

     “RICO! YOU’RE HERE!” Bam said as he went over there.

     “Wait, are you telling me we have no utensils?” Sr. Leo said in the far corner.

     “WE HAVE NO SPOON AND FORK?!?!” Clara exclaimed.

     “WE HAVE NO STRAWS?!?!?!” Ernst said loudly. Everyone stared at him again.

     Austin resumed trying to solve the cube. After a while, Austin accomplished a straight edge but immediately lost it again. I Gotta Feeling started playing and the corner thanks to Bam.

     “Hear that song, guys? It’s weakening me,” Ernst said.

     “Wimp…” Joel whispered to himself.

     “Oh, yeah. Joel, here’s your chocolate.”

     Austin stood and got two boxes of chocolate and gave one to Joel. He went over to Rico and gave the other one.

     “Only one?”

     “Yeah. Hey, do you mind if I borrow that yoyo for a while?”

     “No, here.”

     Rico handed over the yoyo. Austin switched the band to “Power-give” and charged the yoyo with Acid Generation powers. He gave it back to Rico.

     “Try turning your hand to acid while playing with that. Be careful though. You might kill someone.”

     Rico did as told. As he turned his hand into acid, it carried over to the rest of the yoyo.

     “Haha, cool!” Rico said as he turned it back. “Thanks Autsin.”

     “Autsin?”

     “Yeah, Laurenz and the guys call you that. Is it okay?”

     It wasn’t offensive or anything. Austin nodded and Rico resumed to his yoyo. He had super yoyo skill alright. He did a loop de loop, round the world, elevator, rock the baby, just any yoyo stunt you can imagine. Austin simply resumed solving the Screwball cube.

     After a while, Austin quit solving the cube and went around the room. He was eagerly waiting for Janella.

     Ernst was talking to Joel in the far corner. Austin went over to them. The second Austin crossed the boundary; Joel stood up and aimed for another crotch kick.

     “Joel, what the **** is your problem?”

     “Oh, I like Lubag then huh?”

     “Joel, I want you to listen to me. I�"was�"kid�"ding! It was not meant to be taken seriously! GET A GRIP!”

     Joel sat back down angrily.

     “Hey, Ernst, let’s go look for a straw.”

     Ernst stood up and went to Austin.

     “As long as it’s not a barbecue stick,” Ernst said as Austin facepalmed.

    

After a few minutes, more people arrived and more chocolates were given out. Ernst finally found a straw and was marching around the classroom, twirling it like a baton. Austin followed him around, just laughing. Everyone was. It was a good thing, it just proved that Bukidnon wouldn’t be the same without Ernst.

     “Hey Joel,” Austin said. Joel just glared at him. Austin kept quiet and didn’t talk to him from then on. Austin looked again and tears were streaming down Joel’s face.

     “Hey, Joel! Buddy! I’m sorry!” Austin said as he went over to comfort him. Joel didn’t push him away however.

     “It’s not you. It’s Michael.”

     He was referring to Bukidnon’s Michael Santos and not Michael Chua of the ASG.

     “What did he do?”

     “He drank from my jug without permission. He got drool all over it.”

     “It’s okay, dude.”

     “Hi, Joel. Thanks for the drink! Haha,” Michael mockingly said as he passed by.

     “Look, Joel. Don’t mind him.”

     “Hey guys, look! It’s a crybaby!” Arjona, Bukidnon’s resident confused guy shouted out loud. He was accused to be gay by most of the guys. Just then, Austin noticed Bukidnon had problems too, big problems. It was the end of the year already, this couldn’t be happening.

     “Joel, look, don’t mind them. You’re more of a man than them. You’re one of the best guys I know.”
     “Thanks Austin.”

     “Dude, sorry for the teasing.”

     “It’s okay.”

     It was a good thing that only a few people were mocking him. Austin trusted Joel with his life. They were like brothers. Austin just had the a*****e reflex today. He did notice that he wasn’t being made fun of that much anymore.

     “THIS IS MY STRAW! THIS IS MY STRAW! ATTENTION BUKIDNON! THIS IS MY STRAW!”

     “Hey Joel, look at Ernst to cheer you up.”

     Joel looked at Ernst and tried to suppress his laughter but he just couldn’t hold it in and let the laughter out. It was just like old times, two best buds laughing together.

     Austin stood up and got a pack of chocolates from the bag. He went over to Baron von Ernst and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned round to face him. Austin gave him the chocolates.

     “Merry Christmas, Ernst.”

     Ernst just stared at the box and smiled like a kid being patted on the head by Santa Claus. For the first time in history, Ernst looked adorable. He looked up to Austin and said.

     “Thank you, Austin.”

     Austin walked back towards Joel.

     “Austin.”

     Austin turned back towards Ernst.

     “Merry Christmas.”

     “Merry Christmas too, Ernst.”

     “AUSTIN! JANELLA’S HERE!” Deniece shouted. Austin’s face turned white. He felt like fainting. Janella walked in the room, her hair wasn’t tied up but beautiful as usual. She was wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans. She dropped her things and went back out.

     “Hey, Austin, you okay?” Ernst asked.

     “Yeah… I think…”

    

After a few moments, Sr. Edmond arrived, the food table was full and only a few Bukidnon people weren’t there yet.

     Austin gave Sr. Edmond and Sr. Leo their gifts and distributed the rest of the chocolates.

     “Austin, is that Janella’s gift?”

     “No, sir, it’s for the class. I got something special for her.”

     Janella entered the room at that very moment and Austin presumed that she heard what he said.

     Austin had some leftover chocolates and just gave them to Bambam and Rico. He sat back down as Sr. Edmond officially opened the party.

     “Okay Bukidnon, today’s the Christmas Party, let’s begin with a prayer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Lord, thank you for this day. Please bless our food and please bless us. Let us remain a family forever. All this is for you, O Lord. Mother Seton,”

     “Pray for us,” Everyone else replied.

     “God has done great things for us.”

     “May God be forever praised, Alleluia..”

     “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

     “Okay, Bukidnon, you may eat. Girls first,” Sr. Leo said, emphasizing on both words “girls” and “first”.

     The girls lined up to get their food. Janella wasn’t minding him that much. Austin was too much of a coward to go talk to her.

     “Hey Austin, any progress with the Screwball cube?”

     “Nope.”

     “Boys, you may now line up in an orderly fashion,” Sr. Leo said with him emphasis on “orderly fashion”.

     Austin stood up and got his plate, spoon, fork, and cup.

     “Looks like we have utensils after all,’ Austin said to Ernst. They were near the back of the line. Janella then approached Austin.

     “Hey, Austin, may I borrow your cup?” Janella asked.

     “Sure,” Austin said as he gave her his cup.

     “Thanks!”

     “What was that about?” Ernst asked.

     “I dunno.”

     Joel walked over to where Austin was, holding his cup.

     “Janella asked me to give this to you.”

     Austin got the cup, it was already filled with Coke.

     “Tell her I said thanks.”

     “Sure.”

     “Isn’t she the best?” Austin asked Ernst.

 

The party went on; Sr. Leo unveiled the ice cream. It was melted. There was also juice. Ernst got some juice but only used the straw. He then got a cup of melted ice cream and went over to where Austin and Joel were sitting.

     “Hey guys. Time for some straw action.”

     Ernst impaled the pericardium of the melted chocolate heart of the cup with his thin, plastic, straw. He sucked out the brown, chocolate blood as Ernst’s face was akin to that of a woman in her climax. Everyone who was able to watch, watched in horror and felt like throwing up.

     “Ernst,” Austin said.

     Ernst just continued while Joel laughed.

     “Ernst…”

     The euphoria on Ernst’s face was getting more and more drawn out as Joel dropped on the floor.

     “Ernst!”

     He once again paid no mind to his friends, one staring at him in disgust, the other one in a laughing fit.

     “ERNST DE VERA!”

     Ernst finally snapped out of it.

     “What?” Ernst said as if it was normal for him to be doing that.

     “Don’t worry, Austin. He did that in the field trip too. Only that was in public.”

     “He sucked th�"“

     “No, worse, he licked it.”

     “Ok…”

 

The party was nearly over. Sr. Edmond was cleaning up the table. Someone finally brought Krispy Kreme and Sr. Edmond gave it to some guys. Austin took this opportunity of silence to sit down and finally observe the Screwball Cube. He finally found the secret: each side had a different distance from the center. He exploited this and eventually solved the cube.

     “I gotta rub this in Ivan’s face.”

     Austin went down to Misamis Oriental, Ivan’s section. Ernst was there, talking with Ivan and Michael Chua. Austin ran over to them and showed Ivan the cube.

     “HUZZAH!!!! I LOVE THE SMELL OF NAPALM IN THE MORNING!”

     “That is the worst Saving Private Ryan reference I have ever heard,” Ernst said.

     “Ernst, that’s… you know what? I give up.”

     “Wait, what movie is that?”

     “Never mind.”

     “How’d you do it?” Ivan asked.

     “Quiet observation.”

     “What movie is it?!?!?!” Ernst asked.

     “ERNST, ***D****T! SHUT THE **** UP!” Michael spurted out.

     “Anyway, let’s go up. “

     “Nah, we’ll stay.”

     “I’ll go,” Ernst said.

     “Sure, let’s go.”

     As they went up the stairs, Ernst innocently asked, “What movie did you quote?”

     “Fine, I’ll tell you. It’s�"“

     Austin just saw the sky. It was already orange. It was only a matter of time before the Christmas Dance. He had to give Janella her gift.

 

Austin went over to his gift as Ernst went over to Joel in sadness.

     He staggered over to Janella who was chilling out with Queennie. Her hair was tied up again.

     “Hey, Janella.”

     “Austin! Hi!” Janella said.

     “Are you mad? For yesterday?”

     “No. Not anymore. It’s okay.”

     Austin breathed a sigh of relief.

     “Oh. That’s good.”

      Austin brought the present out from behind him. He handed it to her.

     “Merry Christmas, Janella.”

     She had a look of shyness on her face.

      “No, it’s okay. You don’t need to give me a gift.”

     “Come on! It’s Christmas,” Austin said with a smile.

     “No really, it’s okay.”

      “Don’t be shy. It’s all yours.”

     “Janella, take it,” Queennie said while nudging her.

     Janella slowly extended her hand and accepted the gift. Austin had a big smile on his face now.

     “Merry Christmas, Janella!”

     “Merry Christmas, Austin.”

     Austin walked back to Ernst but he could finally rest.

     “Hey Austin, I know the movie now. It’s Platoon!”

     Austin looked over to Joel. He winked at him with an evil smile on his face.

     “Good for you, Ernst.”

     “Okay, Bukidnon, let’s fix up the room. Then we can all head to the gym for the Christmas Dance,” Sr. Edmond said.

     Sr. Leo had already gone to the gym. They fixed up the room, turned it into a classroom again.

     “Bukidnon, line up at the back and sign your name. Then get your ticket from me.”

     Austin was behind Stefan. Behind him was Janella who was in front of Justin who was in front of Queennie.

     Austin turned around and said, “Hi, Mrs. Napiza!”

     “What was that?” Queennie asked.

     “I was referring to Justin but if you want to be Mrs. Napiza, fine.”

     “Austin…” Janella said. Austin kept quiet after this. He signed his name and got his ticket. The room was basically empty except for him, Sr. Edmond, Janella, Queennie, Justin, Aubrey, and Job.

     Berna was then walking down the hallway towards the classroom.

     “Hey, Berna!” Justin said.

     “Justin! Long time, no see!”

     “Berna! How’s life?” Danie asked.

     “Fine, great actually.”

     Austin moved out of the room. The sky was already dark blue.

     “Berna, nice to see you again,” Janella said.

     “Nice to see you too, Janella. How’s Austin?”

     “He’s okay now. How’s Kyle?”

     “He’s great. Have you seen him with glasses?’

     “Yeah but only a passing mention.”

     “Hey, Berna,” Austin said.

     “Austin… I see you’re back in control.”

     “Yeah. Feels great.”

     “Good to hear that.”

     “Okay, Bukidnon!” Sr. Edmond began. “Let’s go!”

     “Okay, Berna. We gotta go!” Justin said.

     “Yeah, see you around.”

     Thinking about it, it has been a long time since Berna was last in Seton walls. Austin walked to the gym as Aubrey was annoying him with her little, pink, teddy bear.

     “Austin! Hug my bear! BEAR HUG!”

     “Ech. Get that thing away from me.”

     “Come on! It’s pink and fluffy!”

     “I like brown and fluffy. Now get away.”

     Janella walked in between them. Austin wanted to thank the Almighty.

     “Austin, you go ahead. I’ll meet you there,” Janella said while smiling. She never looked more beautiful. Austin followed orders and went ahead. He couldn’t help to overhear Janella’s beautiful voice saying, “Mine, away, own, and business”

     Austin went up the stairs and was soon met by a long line. Janella, as promised, was close behind. They were together waiting for the end of the line.

     “Austin, is Janella pretty tonight?” Queennie asked.

     “Of course! Why?”

     “She’s supposed to be in a golden gown right now.”

     “Queennie, shh!!!”

     The image of Janella in a golden gown popped in his head immediately. It was the most beautiful image ever. It was parallel to Aphrodite, the Greek God of Beauty.

    

They finally got in and Austin searched for his friends. Joel had already gone home. He saw Bianca, Ivan, Jericho, JB, and Pocholo in the East Wing. He sat over there.

     “Hey guys,”

     “Yo, Austin,” Ivan and Bianca said. Ivan was playing Pokémon on his DS. Bianca was playing GTA on her PSP.

     Austin just waited. He received a text message after a few minutes. It was from Janella. “Merry Christmas, Austin. Thanks again for the gift.”

     This made Austin smile, as usual. After that, he was just waiting for the dance to get started but what happened was NOT a dance.

     There were a few performances onstage. Austin began to notice that they were the only freshmen there. The freshmen were on the other side. They were in the Juniors area. They tried to escape during a performance. At the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted with the wonderful Christmas Spirit by Ms. Edz, the Sub Unit Head of the Upper Level.

     “WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? CAN’T YOU SEE THERE’S SOMEONE PERFORMING!”

     “But miss�"“ Pocholo began.

     “DON’T YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT? GET BACK UP THERE! GO! NOW!”

     Austin was unable to speak. They went back up again.

     “Can’t we just teleport there?” Bianca said.

     “Okay, everyone hold hands,” Austin said.

     They complained but when they finally held hands, Austin switched the band to Space Manipulation and tried to teleport to the other end. Nothing happened.

     “What happened, Austin?”

     This was it. Austin was pissed off. He wanted to get to the bottom of this already. Who was putting A.R.M.’s all over the school?

     “A.R.M. guys. I can’t use my powers here.”

     Austin was calm on the inside but he was saying, “Stupid, ****ing, piece of s**t, Anti-Radioactive Material my a*s.” And some other expletives. This was only evident on the outside by his crushing of his thigh with his right hand.

     When the performance ended, the Anime Cosplay had began. Students dressed up as anime walked around the gym.

     “Jericho, let’s go,” Ivan said.

     “Guys, you’ll get yelled at again!” Austin said.

     “It’s okay, let’s go.”

     Ivan and Jericho went down. Austin, Bianca, JB, and Pocholo watched in awe as the duo got to the other side.

     “Austin, go!” Bianca said.

     “No, I’m gonna get yelled at.”

     “Just try.”

     Austin stood up and suddenly, Ms. Edz’s head turned and her eyes matched contact with his. Austin slowly sat back down.

     “**** this s**t, Bianca. Let’s wait.”

     The Christmas “Dance” started at 7 PM. It was now 9:30. Not a single person has danced yet. The masses would call this “False Advertising”. Austin called it “Misadvertised Bullshit of Massive Proportions.” This was a slight exaggeration since the performance were actually pretty good but the fact that no one was dancing in the Christmas “Dance” was just plain depressing.

     Eventually, time came where they finally let people dance in the middle. It was already 10:00. There was one hour left.

     Austin and the gang finally made it to the other side. The “Mango Tree Gang” occupied one whole row of seats. Austin looked around for Ernst but he was nowhere to be found. He looked ahead and found the Patola family in the bottom row. He searched for Janella, of course, and when he found her, he was looking at the most beautiful person he has ever seen.

     Like promised, she was wearing a golden gown but she had a black jacket on. Knowing Janella, this was for discretion. She stood up and placed Austin’s gift on her seat and took out the teddy bear. Some of the other Patola members got Teddy Bears too albeit much smaller. It just overjoyed Austin to see her enjoying herself.

     Austin sat back down and chilled with the guys. No one was minding him except Ivan and Bianca though. Austin and Bianca were becoming real good friends. Ivan, however, was craving for some barbecue.

     “Hey guys, there’s barbecue downstairs right?”

     “Yeah, why?’ Bianca said.

     “I need some. I’ll be back.”

     Ivan went out the back door, Austin and Bianca waited for him to get back. He was carrying three sticks of barbecue and a bottle of water.

     “Ivan, I don’t think you’re quite hungry enough!” Bianca said sarcastically.

     Ivan chomped on his food like a maniac. When he was finished, he sat down for a while. Bianca was just staring at him in disgust. Austin however, was looking at the dance floor.

     There she was, enjoying the night. The strobe lights could not hide her beauty, her happiness.

     “AUSTIN!” Bianca yelled.

     “What?”

     “Ivan wants you to go down with him.”

     “Sure, let’s go.”

     Austin and Ivan went out the back and went down to the ground floor.

     They went towards the Acacia Lane where they were selling food and drinks. Ivan headed towards the barbecue stand.

     “Three sticks please,” Ivan said.

     “You again?” the lady at the barbecue stand said.

     “Yeah, you have scrumptious barbecue.”

     “Thanks.”

     “Austin, you want some? Buy some! Come on, it tastes great!”

     “Fine, one stick please.”

     “Coming!”

     “Do you have a Diet Coke?”

    “Yeah.”

     “One please.”

     Austin’s mind was on the most beautiful girl on the dance floor. This was a lot better than the FS Night. Then it hit him, why didn’t he ask her this time. He couldn’t believe it. It’s been a week and it never crossed his mind to ask her. “YOU’RE SUCH AN IDIOT, AUSTIN!” he was telling himself.

     “Austin, here’s your food and drinks,” Ivan said. “Let’s head back up.”

     Austin went back up, slightly depressed. As he entered the dark gym, he just remembered the A.R.M. problems. He was pissed off now.

     “Austin, what’s wrong?”

     “Nothing.”

     “Come on, cheer up! It’s Christmas time!”

     Ivan was right. Austin tried to smile but as failing until they reached the freshmen when an angel greeted him.

     “Hi, Austin.”

     “Janella, hey.”

     “Come on, tell her she’s beautiful,” Austin told himself.

     “Let’s go, Austin,” Ivan said,

     “See ya.” Austin said.

     “Bye…” Janella said bitterly.

    

The night went by and pretty much nothing interesting happened. The clock hit 11:00 but the teachers allowed them to keep partying. Ivan and Bianca had already gone home. Austin was just staring down at Janella. Then she stood up, took off the jacket and went with her older brother. Austin must’ve sworn that his world just got brighter for he had seen the most beautiful thing the universe had to offer.

     “Put your jaw up, Austin,” Michael said.

     “Yeah, um. Sorry.”

     “So, Austin’s in love.”

     “So what if I am?”

     “Nothing, good for you. A member of the ASG too.”

     “What? The ASG is awesome.”

     “I’m not saying it isn’t, I’m a member, remember? I’m just pointing out that she risked her life for you.”

     Austin knew this already but it sounded better in this situation.

     “Right.”

     “Well, guys. Time to retire. Bye.”

     “Wait, I’m going home too.”

     “Sure, let’s go.”

     Austin walked out of the gym and stared at the sky. Just thinking about the day that just happened.

     “Hey, Austin, I’m tired. Do you mind if you teleport us to the hotel?”

     “No, not at all.”

     Austin gripped Michael’s arm and they teleported to the hotel. Austin went to his suite and laid down. He just remembered that he had to tell his best friend something. He rolled over to his telephone and put in 10-0009. It redirected him to an answering machine. When it beeped, Austin left his message.

     “Ernst, that movie I quoted. Joel lied to you, buddy, it ain’t Platoon. It’s Apocalypse Now.”

     Austin thought of a good way to end the message.

     “Okay then. Merry Christmas!”

     Austin put the receiver down and was finally able to sleep well after 41 hours. He was able to sleep with a smile on his face.