Secret Santa

by Sabrina James

  It was Noelle.

  As he thought about it, the pieces all fell into place. Lily and Noelle were best friends. When Noelle had picked Connor’s name, she had probably asked Lily to help her figure out what she should buy for Connor as gifts. That was why Lily was always hanging around Connor and asking him questions.

  She was acting on Noelle’s behalf and reporting back to her.

  Noelle was the one he had so much in common with, not Lily.

  That meant the feelings he was starting to develop for Lily really hadn’t been for Lily.

  They had been for Noelle!

  Simon had never thought of Noelle romantically before, but now that he knew the truth, he was going to have to do something about it!

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  A bouquet of purple daisies was waiting on Celia’s desk in Anatomy and Physiology.

  “Look!” she exclaimed to Froggy, holding out the bouquet. “Aren’t they pretty?”

  Froggy barely glanced up from the Robert Jordan novel he was reading. “Uh-huh.”

  “They’re from my Secret Santa,” Celia said, fingering the purple petals. “Wasn’t that thoughtful of him? You know, when a guy sends a girl flowers, it means he likes her.”

  Froggy put down his book. Something in Celia’s tone of voice made him nervous. He didn’t know what it was, but he had a feeling. A bad feeling. “How do you know your Secret Santa is a guy?”

  Celia gave Froggy a coy smile. “I just do. A girl always knows when a guy is interested in her.”

  For a second, Froggy panicked. What did that smile mean? Did Celia know he was her Secret Santa? Was she trying to let him know that she knew? No, that was impossible. There was no way she could know. Jake was the one getting to know Celia with each passing day, not him. And Jake was the one telling him everything he found out about her. He knew that he should be the one getting to know Celia on his own instead of hiding behind Jake. He wished he had the courage to tell her how he really felt.

  He’d come close last night.

  Very close.

  But he’d been afraid.

  What if he had kissed Celia? What then?

  Would she have kissed him back?

  Yeah, right.

  Her face would have screwed up like she’d sucked a sour lemon and she would have said, “Ewww! What do you think you’re doing kissing me?”

  What was going to happen tomorrow night when Celia found out he was her Secret Santa and not the handsome hunk she was imagining? He could just see the expression on her face. First there would be shock, then horror and disbelief. She would try hard not to let him see what she was really feeling inside — because he knew Celia wasn’t the type of person to hurt anyone’s feelings — but before she could hide those feelings, they would creep out. Just for a second.

  But a second was all it would take for him to know he and Celia weren’t meant to be together.

  “Was it busy at the bakery last night?” Celia asked.

  “Super busy.”

  “Was Jake working?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you guys work together a lot?” Celia asked. “What days isn’t he working and when he’s not working do you know what he likes to do for fun? Where does he usually hang out?”

  Froggy shrugged. “I don’t have a clue.”

  “You must know! Come on!” Celia urged. “Tell me something about Jake that I don’t know.”

  “Why all the questions about Jake?” Froggy asked.

  Celia looked around the lab, almost like she was making sure she wouldn’t be overhead. “Can I tell you a secret?”

  “Sure.”

  “Promise not to tell?”

  “Promise.”

  Celia leaned in close to Froggy. He could smell the light floral scent of her perfume and the strawberry shampoo she used on her hair. It was pure heaven!

  “I have a crush on Jake,” she whispered into Froggy’s ear. “I’ve had it for a while, and I’m pretty sure he’s my Secret Santa!”

  Heaven quickly turned to hell. Celia’s words were like an ice pick thrust into Froggy’s heart. Celia liked Jake? No, he couldn’t have heard her correctly. It had to be a mistake.

  “You like Jake?” Froggy whispered back, his voice barely a croak.

  Celia’s blue eyes glittered with excitement. “Yes!”

  It wasn’t a mistake.

  Well, why wasn’t he surprised? Jake was a bad boy, a rebel, the type of guy most girls usually fell for.

  They never fell in love with the four-eyed nerd.

  “It’s all I can do not to tell Jake that I know he’s my Secret Santa,” Celia confessed, explaining to Froggy how she had figured it out. “What should I do?”

  Froggy swallowed over the lump in his throat, forcing his words out. “Don’t say anything. You should wait until the dance tomorrow night when everything will be perfect and romantic and Secret Santas are revealed.”

  “You think?”

  “Absolutely,” Froggy said with a forced smile, trying to look cheerful. The last thing he wanted to do was smile. He wanted to cry. He had lost Celia, but had he ever really had her? No. It had all been a dream, and deep down he knew that she was never going to be his. “Who knows what other surprises your Secret Santa might have in store for you? You wouldn’t want to ruin them, would you?”

  “I guess not,” Celia said.

  “Trust me on this. Tomorrow night is going to be everything you dreamed it would be. And more!”

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  Celia fidgeted through most of Anatomy and Physiology, barely listening to Mr. Seleski’s lecture or taking notes. She constantly kept checking the time on her watch, waiting for the next bell to ring.

  All she could think about was Jake!

  It was going to be hard when she saw him next period in Art class. She wanted to tell him that she knew he was her Secret Santa and that she loved, loved, loved all the gifts he had gotten her, especially the daisies.

  Who knew Jake could be so romantic?

  As much as she wanted to throw her arms around him and give him a hug — and definitely a kiss! — she wouldn’t. She couldn’t! If she did, she would spoil the surprise. Freddy was right. She couldn’t let Jake know that she knew he was her Secret Santa. She was going to have to keep pretending she didn’t know who her Secret Santa was and wait until tomorrow night’s dance for Jake to reveal himself to her.

  Then she could hug and kiss him as much as she wanted!

  Finally the bell for next period rang. Celia threw everything into her backpack, said a quick good-bye to Freddy, and raced out of the classroom, eager to get to Art class. Even though she couldn’t let Jake know she had figured out he was her Secret Santa, she could let him know how much she loved her purple daisies.

  And how she couldn’t wait to thank her Secret Santa at Friday night’s dance!

  Celia didn’t expect Jake to be in Art class when she got there. He always showed up right under the wire. Since she was the first one in class, she left Jake’s latest Secret Santa gift on his desk. She hoped he liked this one. She’d gotten him a pair of fingerless gloves that he could wear when riding his motorcycle. Actually, she’d bought a pair of black knit gloves and cut the fingers off herself!

  After taking her seat, she kept her eyes glued on the classroom door, waiting for him to stroll in at the last minute the way he usually did, all attitude.

  But when the bell rang for class to begin, there was still no Jake.

  Mr. Catini closed the classroom door and Celia waited for Jake to open it

  But he didn’t.

  “Does anyone know where our friend Mr. Morrisey is?” Mr. Catini asked as he began taking attendance.

  “He’s out sick today,” Sheila Windsor called out. “I was in the attendance office when his mother called in.”

  Celia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  Out sick?!

  Jake was out sick?

  He couldn’t be!

  Because if
he was, then that meant Jake wasn’t her Secret Santa.

  He couldn’t have left her the purple daisies this morning.

  And if he hadn’t left her the daisies, then that meant he hadn’t been the one leaving her gifts all week.

  So if Jake wasn’t her Secret Santa, then who was?

  Noelle and Lily were in the cafeteria, eating their lunch. From the second she had sat down, Noelle had felt a pair of eyes staring at her. At first she couldn’t figure out who it was. The cafeteria was filled with students and everyone was busy talking and laughing, walking to their tables with filled lunch trays. She’d taken a look around, but didn’t notice anyone looking her way, so she’d gone back to eating her lunch.

  But then she felt it. She got the sense that someone was looking at her. Almost like they were studying her. It creeped her out for a little bit, but then she scolded herself for being so silly. This wasn’t some slasher movie!

  She casually took another look around the cafeteria, pretending like she was looking for someone, and then her eyes fell on Simon and Connor’s table.

  She was about to look away when she realized something.

  Simon was the one staring at her.

  Why would Simon be staring at her?

  When he caught her looking at him, their eyes locked and he gave her a smile. The intensity of his gaze spooked her. It was almost like he was trying to get into her mind! She smiled back and quickly returned to eating her lunch, but seconds later she peeked over her shoulder. She couldn’t help herself. Had Simon been the one staring at her?

  Yes!

  He was!

  Because he was still staring at her.

  And still smiling at her.

  “Why is Simon smiling at me?” she asked Lily.

  “Huh?” Lily asked, grappling with chopsticks as she tried to tackle that day’s special, chicken chow mein.

  “Simon,” Noelle said. “He keeps smiling at me. But there’s something off about his smile.”

  Lily peeked over her shoulder. “What do you mean off?”

  “Don’t look!” Noelle hissed.

  Lily sighed. “How am I supposed to know if his smile is off unless I see it?”

  “You don’t have to be so obvious! Couldn’t you have pretended you were looking at someone else?”

  “Like Connor? That’s what I was doing!” Lily pouted. “Oh, shoot! Connor is leaving!”

  “So what do you think?”

  “About what?” Lily asked, her eyes following Connor as he left the cafeteria.

  “Simon!”

  “It’s a smile!” Lily exclaimed.

  Noelle shook her head. “No, it isn’t. It’s almost like he knows a secret of mine, and he’s telling me he knows, but he’s not going to tell anybody else.”

  “How could Simon possibly know any of your secrets?” Lily asked. “You don’t have any!”

  “Then why does he keep smiling at me?”

  Lily shrugged, abandoning her chopsticks for a fork and digging into her lunch. “I don’t know. Maybe he just came from the dentist and the dentist gave him laughing gas.”

  “I don’t like it,” Noelle said. “Until today, Simon didn’t know I existed. Now, all of a sudden, he’s smiling at me?”

  “Simon’s a hottie! Who cares why he’s smiling at you? Just enjoy it!”

  “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m interested in another hottie. Plus, I don’t want Amber thinking I’m after her boyfriend.”

  “Are they still a couple?” Lily asked, opening a can of diet 7-Up.

  “I don’t know. Aren’t they?”

  “I haven’t seen them together much lately.”

  “Maybe Amber’s moved on.”

  “Or maybe Simon’s decided to move on,” Lily said, popping a straw into her can of soda and taking a sip. “To you!”

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  Connor was on his way to gym class when he got the sense he was being followed. He turned around to see who was behind him, but the corridor was empty. He retraced his steps, looking down two intersecting hallways, but no one was there.

  Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been walking behind him. He’d had the same feeling the night before when he left work but had ignored it, hurrying to get home because it was so cold out.

  Hmmm. Very strange.

  He had to be imagining things.

  After all, who would want to follow him?

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  David peeked up from the stairwell that led to the school basement, listening to the sound of Connor’s retreating footsteps.

  Phew! That was close!

  He wasn’t cut out to be a spy.

  When he realized that Connor knew he was behind him, he’d run down the stairs hoping he wouldn’t get caught.

  He didn’t know how much longer he could do this. Connor knew something was up and David did not want to get on his bad side.

  Of course, there was Shawna’s bad side to deal with as well. Especially if he didn’t find out the name of Connor’s Secret Santa for her.

  David gulped.

  He didn’t know which would be scarier.

  A mad Connor or a mad Shawna.

  Even though he was getting a date with Shawna, David couldn’t wait until tomorrow night’s dance. All this spying would be over with and he could go back to his quiet, nerdy life.

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  After lunch, Noelle and Lily headed for their lockers. As they were leaving the cafeteria, they once again ran into Jason and Sonia, only this time they weren’t all over each other, hugging and kissing and touching. This time they were arguing.

  “I don’t like the Secret Santa gifts you’ve been getting!” Jason exclaimed. “They’re a little too romantic.”

  Sonia tossed her head. “Stop being so jealous!”

  “I’m not jealous!”

  “Yes, you are! And I’m sick of it! Can I help it if other guys are attracted to me?”

  “No, but you don’t have to show them you like it! What if one of them decided to ask you out?”

  Sonia gave Jason a sly smile. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “You already have a boyfriend!” Jason sputtered. “Me!”

  “You never said we were exclusive,” Sonia shot back as they moved down the hallway, continuing to argue.

  “Wow, this is better than an episode of Laguna Beach!” Noelle exclaimed.

  “Maybe Jason might be getting a broken heart this Christmas,” Lily laughed. “Serves him right!”

  “Speaking of Secret Santas, did yours leave you anything today?” Noelle asked.

  “A scented heart-shaped candle. It smells like peach,” Lily said, opening her locker as Noelle did the same. “Hey, something just fell out of your locker.” Lily bent down and picked up a small white envelope. “Oooh! Maybe it’s a love note from your Secret Santa?”

  Noelle eagerly snatched the envelope out of Lily’s hand. “I wish!” She ripped open the note and read: Sometimes what you’re looking for is right under your nose. Meet me in the library at 3:00.

  “What does it say?” Lily asked impatiently, trying to read the note over Noelle’s shoulder. “What does it say?”

  “See for yourself.” Noelle handed over the note with a smile. “It has to be from my Secret Santa! It has to be from Charlie!”

  “Whoa! Slow down,” Lily advised. “You still don’t know for sure that Charlie is your Secret Santa.”

  “Hello! The balloons!” Noelle reminded Lily. “Party City. Do the math! He was giving me clues. How much more obvious does he need to be?”

  “You’re jumping to conclusions. Until he comes out and says, ‘I’m your Secret Santa!’ you don’t know if he is or isn’t!”

  Noelle sighed. “Why must you be Miss Scrooge?” She snatched the note out of Lily’s hand and waved it in her face. “I’m telling you this note is from Charlie and I’m going to be proved right at three o’clock this afternoon!”

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  At 3:
45 Noelle was in the school library, still waiting to be proved right.

  She checked the time on her watch for the umpteenth time, wondering where Charlie was.

  Something unavoidable had to have happened and that’s why he hadn’t shown up. Otherwise he would have been there.

  Unless Lily was right and he wasn’t her Secret Santa.

  No! Lily was wrong. Charlie was her Secret Santa. He had to be. It couldn’t be anyone else.

  Could it?

  “Someone stand you up, Noelle?”

  Mindy Yee slid into the seat next to Noelle. “You keep looking at your watch. Waiting for a guy? He must be something special. You’ve been here for forty-five minutes. That’s forty-four minutes longer than I would ever wait.”

  Groan! Why hadn’t she noticed Mindy was in the library? She’d probably been watching her every move. It was a good thing Charlie hadn’t shown up, otherwise Mindy would have blabbed it to the entire school!

  “My watch hasn’t been working,” Noelle said. “I need to get a new battery. That’s all.”

  “Uh-huh,” Mindy said skeptically. “Fine. Don’t tell me. Keep your secret. But I think you were waiting for someone one. A guy. Simon Larson maybe?”

  “Simon?” Noelle laughed. “Why would I be waiting for Simon?”

  “I hear he and Amber are breaking up.”

  Noelle shrugged. “So?”

  “I saw him watching you at lunch today!” Mindy announced.

  So she had been right! But why was he watching her?

  “There’s nothing going on between Simon and me.”

  Mindy gave Noelle a knowing look. “But you’d like there to be, wouldn’t you? Come on, you can tell me.”

  “Of course not! Simon and I have nothing in common!” Noelle decided to change the subject to something safer. “Get any gifts from your Secret Santa?”

  “My gifts have been l-a-m-e!” Mindy moaned. “Today I got one of those stupid candy rings. You know, the ones that look like a big fat diamond? What am I supposed to do with it?”

  Stick it in your big fat mouth so you can’t gossip? Noelle wanted to say. Instead, she said, “Wear it?”

  “I can’t wait until this stupid Secret Santa exchange is over,” Mindy grumbled. “Some loser definitely picked my name.”