❤︎ yellowjackets

Snow falls in lazy spirals outside Jackie’s parents’ mansion, frosting the long driveway and the hedges wrapped in gold fairy lights.

It would be peaceful. Quiet.

Except for the fact that Mari, Gen, Crystal, and Allie Stevens (yeah, Jackie invited her too) have turned it into a snowball fight battlefield, complete with icy barricades and trenches.

Through the giant bay windows, the living room is equally chaotic. Gift bags everywhere, Christmas music too loud, and enough string lights to violate several safety codes.

Misty hurries past the snack table with a glass bottle labeled “Holiday Spirit.”

She drops it straight into the eggnog bowl with a bright grin.

“Just a dash of festive cheer,” she whispers.

It's… not a dash.

In the corner by the Christmas tree, Shauna adjusts her glittery green elf tunic for the fifth time. It jingles. The little golden bells stitched into the hem chime with every annoyed step she takes. The pointy felt hat keeps sliding sideways, and the clip-on plastic elf ears itch. But Jackie had insisted on “matching Christmas outfits”…

Shauna sighs, returning to her task of finishing the decorations on Jackie’s massive Christmas tree- a towering monument to her family’s money and Jackie’s need for perfection. Every ornament gleams under the warm lights, glass baubles and gold ribbons twinkling just so.

By the fireplace, Laura Lee sits with Lottie, marshmallow skewers in hand. “So, Lottie,” Laura Lee began in her soft, deliberate voice, “the Gospel of John… it’s all about light and truth. You see, the Word was there before anything, and it became flesh…”

Lottie listened with wide-eyed fascination, nodding along as if this was the most normal part of a Christmas sleepover. Occasionally, she’d ask a question, and Laura Lee would pause, roasting her marshmallow to a perfect golden brown before diving back into theology.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Akilah is hunched over a gingerbread kit like she's conducting surgery.

“Guys, please- if you’re going to eat something, take literally anything except the walls.”

Natalie leans on the table beside her, already chewing something.

“Relax. I’m not touching the walls,” she says.

Akilah narrows her eyes. “…Is that the roof?”

Nat glances down at the cookie piece in her hand.

“…Maybe.”

Over in the hallway, Van and Tai are beneath the mistletoe, making out. Jackie has to squeeze past them to get into the living room.

Jackie glides into the living room, hands on her hips, wearing what can only be described as a fashion-forward Mrs. Claus outfit- velvety red, trimmed with perfect white faux fur, immaculate, and clearly tailored.

“Okay, everyone!” she claps sharply. “Secret Santa gift exchange is at nine. That gives you all”- she glances around at the mayhem- “time to stop destroying my parents’ house like you’re in Home Alone before they get back tomorrow.”