Page 48 - My FlipBook

Sarah Sues Santa – P.J. Leonard

And then she saw him. Mr. Vekil strode out of the door and stood on the top step, glaring around
the courtyard. The children nearby froze at the sight of him, dropping the snowballs in their hand. It
rippled out in seconds, until the whole courtyard was still and silent.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mr Vekil yelled, his voice booming around the courtyard, "I did not
give you permission to come out here! Who did this? Who opened the door?"
The children shuffled their feet on the spot, passing sidelong glances at Sarah. Mr. Vekil met her
eyes. Sarah stood up straight, not daring to look away.
"You..." Mr. Vekil's face flushed red, "Miss Pebbleton. Come closer."
Silently, Sarah weaved through the frozen children. She gave a small nod to Becky and Anna as she
passed them, and they nodded back.
Up close, Mr. Vekil's eyes were bulging from his red face, and he was shivering - was it from the
cold? Or being so angry?
"What do you...how could you..." He spluttered, so furious he could barely form words.
Sarah smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Vekil," she said.
The whole courtyard gave a collective gasp, and Mr. Vekil took a step back. The red from his face
drained away, leaving him as pale as the snow.
"What...what did you say?" he said, voice right as if someone was holding hands around his neck.
"You heard me. Merry Christmas!" Sarah repeated brightly.
"How dare you..." Mr Vekil, his voice soft and low, "After the talk we had. You know everything I
went through..."
"And again, I'm sorry," said Sarah, "But you can’t blame others for your problems."
"So you're saying this is my fault!" Mr. Vekil snapped, "My parents disowned me!"
"And you are repeating the cycle," said Sarah, "These children in front you, who do you think
they're going to blame when they’re older? Your parents? Or you?"
Mr. Vekil gazed over the courtyard. Sarah heard a flutter of whispers behind her.
"Bad stuff happens all the time, Mr. Vekil," she went on, "And some of it is unfair. Really, really
unfair. Nice people get nothing, and bad people get too much. But we should stop laying the blame
on others, even if they deserve it. The best thing we can do is show everyone what the right thing is.
If we want Christmas spirit, we have to spread it ourselves."
Sarah picked up two handfuls of snow. A louder murmur spread through the courtyard now, and
Sarah caught a few of the words:
"Is she going to do what I think she's going to do?"
"Uh oh..."
"This isn't going to go well..."
Sarah pressed the snow in her hands into a ball. He passed it gently to Mr. Vekil, who caught it in
his hands.
"Merry Christmas, Noel Vekil," she said for the third time.
Another ripple from the crowd of children, small and scared at first but growing bigger until all of
the kids shouted at Mr. Vekil: "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Page 48