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 Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:32 pm
Quote: Snow…Angels? (15) : After a fresh snowfall, is there anything better than laying down in the snow and making your own mark? Snow angels are simple and easy. Except, for some reason, every time you try to make one it turns into some horrible monster. No matter how many you attempt, or how correctly you do it, by the time you get up there is only the silhouette of a horrifying creature lying where you just were. Sometimes it hardly even looks human.
Now? They had two friends from their class that they could hang out with. Mom had picked them up from the city, along with Teddy’s older brother, and now they were enjoying their time in the backyard. Later they could build a fort and have a snowball fight and then hot chocolate, but for now she wanted to get to work making snow angels.
And there was plenty of space to do it. The good thing about having a huge yard is that they could run around without having to worry about bothering any neighbors. She knew it was different for their friends, but that was why they were there! So they could experience everything they couldn’t usually!Teddy was excited to be there with his friends. It wasn’t often that he got to go to other people’s houses, so this was a real treat. He also knew how his brother was, and insisted that Cary be allowed to come as well.
He cast a few glances back over his shoulder to the house where he knew Cary was probably waiting inside with hot chocolate. He lifted his hand to wave and smiled, before adjusting his glasses to see what Abby was so enthusiastic about.
Abby and Henry had a really big house. And a really big yard. It was a bit overwhelming, especially since he was used to a much smaller living area.
“Thanks for letting me borrow your jacket,” he said quietly to Henry as they followed the three girls. He had a jacket for the winter, but it was noticeably older and second hand. It was the best they could do, and Teddy appreciated every bit of effort Cary put into making sure he was taken care of.
“Do you make a lot of snow angels?” It seemed like Abby was really excited about it, so he could only assume.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:33 pm
Henry shrugged because he didn’t really know how else to respond to someone thanking him for a jacket. He had several to choose from, so it wasn’t like it was a hassle to share. Teddy being warm enough was all that mattered.
(Knowing he was more privileged than his friends and truly understanding it were very different. Henry simply did his best to be kind and generous, not because he thought he had to, but because it didn’t make any sense to him not to.)
“When we get good snow like this,” he said.
Fortunately Destiny City tended to get plenty of it, even when other areas around them were notably dry. Henry figured it had something to do with their location in relation to the nearby mountains, but he was also nine years old and couldn’t be completely sure about that. In the end, it didn’t matter much. The important thing was that they got to have fun outside with their friends.
“Careful where you step,” he cautioned, though he picked his way through the snow with confidence. “Sometimes we find burrows out here.”
The Gallos’ yard was huge. Lola knew it would be because they had a big house and a lot of money, but the true size of it didn’t really hit her until they were out in it. She tried not to stare around with big, envious eyes because she knew that was rude, but she couldn’t help that her gaze darted here and there, from the fancy bushes to the nice playset to the sheer amount of open space. Living in an apartment with her mom in the city, Lola wasn’t used to yards or big houses and the freedom that came with them.
She followed after Abby, trudging through the snow in a coat that was just a little too big. (For growing into, Mom had said.) The boys lagged behind a little bit, but Abby’s little sister Elsie darted ahead of them, flopping into the snow to begin waving her arms and legs around as soon as she found a good spot.
Lola followed suit. Snow immediately began to seep through her jeans, but she didn’t mind the cold all that much. That was what layers were for.
“Is it true your dad’s famous?” she asked, because she couldn’t squash her curiosity.
Lola knew Abby’s dad played baseball, but she didn’t pay all that much attention to sports, so she wasn’t sure if the people at school who talked about it were telling the truth or if they were just making things up because it was a subject they liked and they thought everyone else should think it was cool too.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:33 pm
Abby flopped onto the ground between Lola and Elsie, waving her arms and legs like the other two so she could make her own snow angel.
“Yeah! He’s really famous!” Well, she wasn’t sure how famous he was outside of people who liked baseball, but she knew her dad was really good at pitching. “Mom is famous, too! She used to do a lot of ballet.”
Her mom was also a Princess, but she couldn’t exactly tell her friends that. Maybe one day she’d be able to, but right now mom was really paranoid about people finding out.
“Okay Elsie, you gotta be careful when you get back up so you don’t ruin it,” she reminded her baby sister, and wiggled a bit so she could pick herself up. She first held her hand out to Elsie because she was smaller, but then held a hand out to Lola, too.
“Hurry up so we can see yours,” she told the boys, who seemed like they would just rather observe.
It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to participate! He was just worried about getting too wet from the melting snow. He didn’t want Cary to worry about him more than he probably already was.
He adjusted his glasses again, which were a little too big for his face but at least helped him see better, and glanced over at Henry so he could follow his lead.
“That’s cool that your parents are famous,” he said a bit shyly, not wanting to say something stupid but also sincere with his comment. “Do you want to play baseball or do ballet, too?”
Kids usually followed in their parents footsteps, right? Teddy hoped he and Cary wouldn’t follow in theirs. But that wasn’t something to bring up in casual conversation, especially when they were supposed to be having fun making--
“Woah… is it supposed to look like that?” he made a startled expression, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion and concern.
The snow angels they’d made didn’t look like snow angels at all!
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:34 pm
Henry shrugged again and mumbled something that sounded like, “Oh, I don’t know…”
His cheeks acquired a faint flush. Fortunately he could blame the cold if anyone noticed. Henry didn’t particularly enjoy the fact that his parents were known in their respective fields—Mom a little less than Dad was since she’d retired so early. People at school talked. They also stared. Henry didn’t really like being stared at, especially since he wasn’t as good as either of his parents were at baseball or ballet.
He was grateful for the distraction of the misshapen snow angels. They looked like the girls had done a lot of wild flailing instead of carefully forming them. Elsie could be a little excitable sometimes, but he knew Abby took things too seriously to have made such a mistake. Unless she’d been distracted…
“What did you do?” Henry asked.
There was no accusation in his voice, no mocking tone to touch sensitive nerves. He was simply curious.
Lola took Abby’s hand and let herself be helped up. She turned to examine their handiwork, only to find that their angels looked more like devils.
“They’re ugly,” she complained.
Elsie gasped and stomped her smaller feet. “But I did it like I was supposed to!”
Lola nudged at some of the snow with the toe of her shoe, trying to fix the shape of her hideous looking angel. She couldn’t even blame the way she’d gotten up, because Abby had been the perfect help. A couple of errant footprints shouldn’t have made their angels look this bad.
“They look like monsters,” she said.
“I’ll try again!”
Elsie dropped back into the snow and spread her arms and legs again. She did it slower this time, clearly taking care to do it right, but when she got back up the results were the same.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:35 pm
Okay, that was just weird. Abby made a disgusted face and shook her head at her brother.
“Nothing! Why don’t you try?” she scoffed, because clearly if they were doing everything right, then why wouldn’t their snow angels look like they were supposed to?
And then she paused. And frowned, and held out her hand to stop Henry from getting down into the snow.
There was no proof that there was magic involved, but it was pretty weird that they would make perfect snow angels, only to have them look horrifyingly ugly.
“Maybe we should go back inside,” she suggested, glancing over at her brother with a pointed look. They could probably have Lucasta check it out, or one of the other adults. It was a bummer that their snow angels were so ugly, and she didn’t want to go inside yet, but she thought mom and dad would be happy if they were a little paranoid and safe than be sorry.
Teddy didn’t miss the way Henry shrugged again. He couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed by his question, or if it was just the cold. He didn’t really respond, so he could only assume he wasn’t too enthusiastic about either.
Okay. He knew better than to bring it up now. He shuffled his feet in the snow a bit, watching as the girls tried to figure out what was going on with their snow angels. He wasn’t sure what they did wrong, but they really didn’t do them the right way.
He caught the glance from Abby to Henry as well… but pretended as though he didn’t. He felt like he’d already embarrassed Henry by bringing too much attention to things he didn’t want brought into the spotlight. Teddy could understand that. His brother did a very good job when it came to protecting him, but there were still things they couldn’t help.
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2024 5:36 pm
“I don’t want to go back inside!” Elsie said.
Henry didn’t blame her. They hadn’t been out for very long at all, and the snow really was perfect even if the snow angels weren’t turning out very good. Henry shared a look with Abby without making it too obvious that they were thinking the same thing. Mom and Dad had told them before that if something weird happened they couldn’t explain, they should back away and tell someone who could investigate. It might be nothing, but on the off chance that it wasn’t, it was better to be safe than sorry.
“We can ask if we can roast marshmallows,” he suggested, hoping that might appease Elsie enough that she wouldn’t complain. It would mean they didn’t have to go back inside, but it would keep them away from the area long enough for someone to come look, since the firepit was closer to the house.
“Come on, let’s go ask. We can build a snowman after or something.”
Lola noticed the looks being passed between Abby and Henry but figured it was probably one of those twin things, like they could communicate silently or something. She looked at Teddy to test it out but had no idea what he was thinking. He was probably just being shy and nervous.
“We can try again later,” she said when Elsie looked like she might continue to argue. “Maybe we just need more snow.”
Elsie made a face but eventually released a heavy sigh and let her brother lead her away. Lola followed, but looked over her shoulder to frown at their snow angels, which didn’t look any better with distance.
Either way, it was probably just a fluke or a stroke of bad luck.
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