Page 45 of Not Another Christmas Movie

Annie woke up the next morning, curious to see what the magic suitcase had planned for the day. She remembered hearing whispers of an event with “ugly sweaters,” but when Annie pulled out the cheery, cherry-red sweater with intricate gold bells woven with cream-colored pearls, she was underwhelmed. It wasn’t so much ugly as it was uninteresting.

Annie thought fondly of the “All I Want for Christmas” sweater that she had worn to a SantaCon bar crawl a few years back. It had presented a scantily clad Santa perched on a sleigh, but instead of reindeer, there were nine, diverse cartoon penises dressed in holiday wrapping paper of various colors and shapes. Annie made out with two random Santas and an elf that night. She also recalled dry heaving into his hat. Aw, the memories of youth.

When Annie arrived back at the school, Nick was waiting near the entrance, wearing a green, ferociously furry sweater. It took Annie a moment to realize that he was meant to look like a Christmas tree.

“Don’t you look like a perfect Christmas present, Nicholas Laurel,” Bailey giggled, approaching Nick in a form-fitting dark green knit sweater dress. Small bows adorned the bottom half, and she wore nude, iridescent tights that sparkled with tiny red and green sparkles. She wore tall Mary Jane shoes, which gave her some added height, and she looked like the true and rightful Queen of Christmas.

That’s the kind of woman Nick should be with, Annie thought, trying to ignore the swelling of emotion in her chest. A beautiful, holiday-loving, family-driven gal who adores him, that’s what he deserves. Yes, the best tactic for both of them would be to give Nick some space so he could focus on Bailey and she could get back on track with Chris.

“It lights up!” Nick grinned, pushing the buttons of the remote attached to the sweater and changing the colors and blinking speed. Bailey giggled in delight, and Annie deliberately took a step back, allowing Nick and Bailey their moment.

The cafeteria space had transformed into a gingerbread palace. The scent alone was the stuff of holiday fantasies. Long tables had been moved to create a large square, and each had a bright red and green striped tablecloth. On top were bowls of various decoration options, including glittery snowflakes, marshmallows of every size and color, and bags of frosting ready to pipe. On a center table were plates of gingerbread cutouts in different shapes that could be used to structure the homes.

“The bakery supplied the gingerbread,” Bailey purred to Nick. She looked up at him, batting her eyelashes in mockingly bashful blinks.

“They look and smell incredible,” Nick smiled back.

“I’m sure you two will win this contest,” Annie said by way of a greeting.

“Aw, Annie, you’re so cute,” Bailey laughed.

“And funny,” Annie returned.

“Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to be on a team, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the town participants. But I will be on the judging panel, of course!” Bailey told them. “This event is done in teams of two—”

“Well, I better find Chris!” Annie said; she didn’t trust herself to abstain from volunteering to partner with Nick.

“Hi, Annie,” Chris said loudly, jumping up from a nearby table upon hearing his name. Annie involuntarily stumbled back in surprise at his sudden appearance, but Chris didn’t seem to notice. “Actually, my little reindeer and I will be teaming up,” Chris said, and as if he had summoned her, Holly hopped past Annie, causing her to then stumble forward again. As Annie steadied her heartbeat, Holly snuggled into Chris’s open arms. The two were dressed in matching reindeer sweaters with scarves that looked like candy canes.

“That’s right, Rudolph! You light up my life!” Holly said in what sounded like a practiced routine between them. Chris’s eyes misted over, and he put his hand over his heart.

“Oh, I love you deer-ly,” Chris told her.

“Let’s make it rein with holiday cheer!” Holly answered, and Chris let out a loud booming laugh.

“Isn’t she so wonderfully precocious?” Chris asked, his eyes still fondly on Holly.

“The most precocious!” Annie replied. “But surely, I can join your team, right?”

“That’s against the rules, Annie,” Bailey said coolly.

“Then I’ll sit this one out,” Annie tried.

“Aw, Annie, I hope not,” Chris said, his eyes looking full and disappointed.

“Fine, Felix can be my partner,” Annie said, searching the room. She found him standing next to a very protective Noelle. Noelle’s sweater read “The Twelve Cats of Christmas,” and Annie counted an even twelve cats adorning every angle. Annie couldn’t help but be charmed by the thing and by the woman wearing it, and she had no intention of cock-blocking her.

“Good morning, Annie,” a voice said. Annie whipped around to identify the speaker.

“Marsh—I mean, Eve, hi!” Annie said, her eyes glimmering with hope. Eve was wearing a delicate satin skirt in a deep pink with three tapered tiers, with a light pink sweater with tiny candy canes embroidered on its collar. “Great outfit,” Annie said admiringly. Marsha would actually love that look.

“I have been brought in as a judge for today’s competition,” Eve said bashfully before Annie could beg for her partnership. “I so look forward to your entry.” Eve gave Annie’s arm a small squeeze of encouragement and walked to what looked to be a judge’s table with leather-bound notebooks atop the red cloth and three chairs facing a series of smaller tables ready for teams of two to use as workstations.

“Hmm, I wonder if Ferguson can compete,” Annie considered.

“He’s partnered with Perry,” Bailey explained.

“Oh, c’mon!” Annie muttered.