Mistletoe and Wine

Patrisha was bored, out of her mind bored stiff.

Her best friend Emilie had a new board game they were going to play together with some of Holly's mince pies and bunloaf.

The treats had always gone down well, and they'd only known each other for two years.

'Feels longer.' she thought, staring out the window, it was such a beautiful day and she was stuck inside learning about dead people! No offense to people who liked that kind of thing (or the people who were dead), but unless she ever took an interest, she'd never really need to know about it.

"Trisha, can you answer this question?" the teacher asked with a pointed look.

Patrisha quickly read the question on the board and tried to think of the answer, then shook her head with a sigh of defeat.

"Pay attention." the teacher ordered while her classmates laughed.

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When the final bell rang, Patrisha was out the door like her very life depended on it.

Emilie threw her books in her bag and ran after her.

"Are you okay?" Emilie asked when she caught up.

"No, I hate school, and the teacher did that on purpose!" Trisha complained. "I just wanna play games and eat Holly's sweets!"

Emilie just smiled. "Let's go then."

Trisha had always thought Emilie had a very freeing feeling about her as the brunette ran on ahead, like a balloon, and she could just fly away if she wanted.

"Dad said we can have some of that fancy tea, um... Camel-mile?" Emilie guessed.

Trisha burst out laughing.

"Chamomile," she corrected. "Sis said it puts you to sleep."

"It's just got really calming stuff in it." Emilie explained.

Trisha had been looking so down lately, then Emilie found a new game at the toy shop, and Melanie gave her a bag of Holly's homemade goods, she'd decided to arrange a game night for them.

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Half an hour later, the girls were sat on Emilie's living room floor, playing Ludo while eating thick, buttered slices of bunloaf and 'Camel-mile' which Emilie was never living down.

"Ludo isn't new," Trisha complained while she moved her red token.

"You don't have it though," Emilie pointed out, rolling the dice and moving her yellow token.

Trisha looked at her tokens all over the board and threw the dice; 6.

She grinned and took out Emilie's token, then rolled again, 1, she scowled, she'd only needed 2 to take out Emilie's last token, which was now on a safe zone.

"Are you making everyone presents again?" Trisha asked, moving a token into home and rolling again.

"Yeah, you should see them," Emilie said, getting her token back on the board and moving it out of reach.

"Em's trying to grow mistletoe," Emilie's dad said from the door, grinning over a mug of coffee.

"It's not that hard," Emilie winced when Trisha took out her lone token.

"Why don't you show her while I start dinner?" her father suggested. "Looks like Trisha's about to win anyway."

Emilie sulked as Trisha moved her third token into home.

"Fine!" Emilie sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat.

Emilie gathered everything into the box and put it away. "Dad, team up with me for the next game?"

"Of course, I'll pick while you show Trisha your garden." he said with a smile.

The two got their coats on and went outside, Emilie leading Trisha around the house to a small herb and vegtable garden.

"It's been getting colder lately, so I've been moving as much as I can to the green house." Emilie explained, nodding to the plastic shed.

The first time Trisha went in, she'd spent the whole time complaining about the smell, Emilie called it 'humid', but after trying the food grown inside, Trisha had come to love the green house.

"Your dad said you're growing mistletoe." Trisha said, eyeing the plants curiously.

"It's right there." Emilie said, nodding to a tiny tree with white berries. "I'm gonna let it grow some more and hang it at the school party."

"How romantic," Trisha teased.

'I guess that's just how I am,' Emilie shrugged.

"Girls! Do you want to help with dinner?" Emilie's dad called.

The girls spared the tree one last glance before going back inside.