A Pristine Christmas: Day 2...

Here's day 2 of A Pristine Christmas:
Alicia received the devastating news about losing their rental home and having to move out on Christmas Eve; the gas was off, there were no groceries, and their vehicle had broken down. With Christmas approaching, her husband Charles, was still unemployed.

As the story closed on yesterday, her children were returning home from school. Read on to see what Day 2 brings and what news the children will share:

 A PRISTINE CHRISTMAS: 


Charles handed Alicia a paper towel so she could dry her tears. He left the kitchen to head their children off at the pass before they could see their mother upset. Alicia was thankful for her husband, he was as good as they got.

“Boy, what I tell you ‘bout running and screaming through this house like a wild animal, we ain’t running no zoo up in here,” Charles voice boomed to the little boy. The squeals following Charles statement told Alicia he must have picked their youngest up and swung him around in the air. Charles came back into the kitchen holding CJ by the feet hanging upside down, and a somber Chelsea following behind them.

“Mommy, guess what?” CJ asked when Charles put him right side up on his feet again. The little boy was taking off his coat, despite the frigid temperatures in the house.

“What’s that baby?”

“Chelsea’s got kicked out of school today.”

“Did not!” she shouted.

“Did too,” he argued back.

Their children were the perfect images of them. CJ with his father’s dark coloring and curly hair, had inherited his paternal grandmother’s dimples. He also had Charles’ warmth and charm. Their daughter, Chelsea, on the other hand showcased her mother’s caramel coloring, with a thick mane of chestnut colored hair.  Her almond-shaped dark brown eyes always seemed to be brewing a storm behind them, and even more so in these days when she had become a temperamental pre-teen.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Charles said, turning to his daughter. “What’s this about you getting kicked out of school?”

“I’m not being kicked out of school,” she replied crossly, folding her arms across her chest.

“Honey, what is your brother talking about?” Alicia asked, the scowl on her face clearly showing signs her patience was wearing thin.

Chelsea walked over to the kitchen tale, sat her bag on the floor beside a chair, and plopped heavily down as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

“I got into a fight,” she grumbled.

“What?!” Alicia and Charles shouted at once. They were both flabbergasted. A straight A-student, Beta club member, and student citizenship award recipient Chelsea had never been in trouble before.

“What do you—” Alicia began to ask.

“This girl Nina kept picking on her,” CJ interrupted, “she was being mean to Chelsea and she pushed her and then Chelsea pushed back and the next thing I know Chelsea was on top of Nina on the ground punching her. Chelsea won the fight, even if she is being kicked out!” he exclaimed, as if his sister were some superhero.

“I’m not kicked out, CJ! Would you quit saying that, you idiot!” Chelsea snapped and folded her arms on the table and laid her head down to drown out everything around her.

“Hey! Chelsea you know the rules about name calling in this house. I don’t care what happened at school, me or your mother won’t tolerate that,” Charles admonished his only daughter.

“I’m sorry. But he keeps saying that and it isn’t true.”

“Honey what happened?” Alicia asked, pulling out a chair next to her daughter to sit in, and began rubbing her daughter’s back to soothe her.

“She kept talking about how we were poor and wear the same clothes every week. Then she said CJ always looked dirty. She does this every day mom, and every day I ignore her. Today she followed me outside and she started in on me again. I turned around and told her to quit and she said make me, and then she pushed me and called me poor again. So I pushed her back and when she swung to hit me, that’s when I just pulled her by her arm and knocked her on the ground. She started it mom.”

“So what happened after that?” Charles asked with a softer tone than he had last used.

“Ms. Sinclair and Mr. Preston broke it up. They took us both to the office and I got suspended for a week. They gave me this note,” Chelsea said, leaning over to open her back pack. She pulled the note out and handed it to her mother. “They couldn’t call because our phone is off so they told me to bring the note home.”

“What am I going to do with you, huh? It’s cold in this house, there’s no food, no phone and I have to go to work tomorrow and your dad has business to take care of!” Alicia fussed “I mean there’s nothing here for you to eat for breakfast and lunch. You get free meals at school. What are we supposed to do Chelsea?”

“We’ll work it out, honey. Don’t worry about it,” Charles said, attempting to assuage his wife’s concerns.

“Look, Charles I have to go to work now. I need to go next door to Ms. Rose’s house and use the phone to call a cab. I’ll be right back,” Alisha said, standing to leave the cold kitchen for a warmer temperature.

Charles shook his head and placed his hand against his forehead. “Come on you two, we need to make some cornbread to go with dinner.”

Come back for Day 3 on tomorrow to see what happens next on A Pristine Christmas.

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Living Life Beautifully Inspired!
Chelle Ramsey