Midwinter Celebration

“Guess what day it is!!” Caitlyn suddenly appeared beside Serena early that morning, bouncing up and down in her excitement.

Blinking, Serena mulled over the question. It wasn’t a day of significance like a holiday—not that Serena could think of, anyway—so she was perplexed about what Caitlyn was referring to. Deciding to go with what she knew, Serena replied, “Well, it’s Monday and the 31st of January.”

Caitlyn sighed in exasperation. “Well, that’s true, but no! Today is Pranksgiving!!” she exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Serena cocked her head to the side, puzzled by Caitlyn’s declaration. “Pranksgiving? What’s Pranksgiving? Is it supposed to be like Thanksgiving?” she inquired.

Caitlyn nodded vehemently. “Pranksgiving is a very important celebration. It’s similar to Thanksgiving and April Fool’s Day, but it takes place on January 31st. It’s to celebrate the middle of winter, and the highlight is the feast where everyone gathers together,” she added matter-of-factly, as if it was common knowledge.

Serena processed the new information. While it could be an official holiday or celebration, she suspected that it was an original from Caitlyn’s imagination. The kiddos in before care always were creating and pretending, so it wouldn’t be a surprise in the least. None of the other kids had mentioned the celebration, so that gave credence to her suspicions.

Caitlyn began insistently tugging on Serena’s sleeve. “Come on! Come on! We need to celebrate! Pranksgiving only happens once a year! We need a feast!” she urged.

Allowing herself to follow along, Serena’s brow furrowed in thought. Before care was hanging out in the gym to burn off some excess energy prior to the official start of the school day. The gym lacked food and means of creating meals, so she couldn’t fathom what Caitlyn was possibly planning. She voiced her question, “Wait, what are you planning to have for your feast? We don’t particularly have food here…”

Caitlyn waved off the question, unconcerned. “Don’t worry about that,” she declared confidently. “I’m the queen of everything, after all, so I can do whatever I want!”

“Okaaaayyy….” Serena trailed off, not entirely convinced.

She may believe that she’s the “queen of everything,” but there were still rules the school expected before care to follow. If Caitlyn was merely creating a new game and pretending, that was one thing, but if she intended to have an actual feast in the gym, there were bound to be significant obstacles appearing for her. Serena was unsure what Caitlyn intended to do if she was serious about the feast because she didn’t imagine the principal was onboard with her “doing whatever she wants.” There were bound to be restrictions to that, especially when it involved safety and wellbeing of Caitlyn and other students. Some things just wouldn’t receive the green light in a school.

Caitlyn positioned Serena the way she desired before announcing, “You’re my breakfast.”

Stunned, Serena blinked at Caitlyn. Convinced she must have misheard, she asked, “Wait, what?”

“You’re my breakfast. I only eat people. Since I’m the queen of everything, I get to do what I want,” Caitlyn informed, “so, I’m going to eat people.”

Serena opened and closed her mouth a few times, uncertain how to respond to such a bold and strange assertion. She never anticipated anyone saying something like that before, and she was at a loss. Serena decided to settle with asking, “But what if people don’t want to be eaten?”

Caitlyn thought for a moment, considering the possibility before announcing, “If I want to eat them, I’ll still eat them. I’m still the queen.”

Serena supposed that was a choice someone could make, although it wasn’t an ideal one. She raised an eyebrow at Caitlyn as she proceeded to pretend to eat her leg. Kids could be so strange.

Amidst her “feasting,” Caitlyn proclaimed, “Don’t worry. As soon as my eggs hatch, my babies will feast on you, too. Oh, and I invited all of my family to join me for the feast, too.”

Serena didn’t know how to comment on that. She pondered what exactly Caitlyn believed she was. She knew that Caitlyn claimed to be the queen of everything, but queens, and humans in general, didn’t lay eggs and hatch their young. That begged the question, what kind of creature did Caitlyn believe she was? Serena knew Caitlyn often pretended to be a cat in her games, but cats didn’t lay eggs, either. It was quite the conundrum. Imaginations could be so strange.

During her internal musings, Serena’s coworker, Collin, noticed her predicament. He imagined that she didn’t particularly want to be eaten, so he considered how to remedy the situation. Collin decided to attempt a trade.

Approaching an, apparently, ravenous Caitlyn, he offered a basketball instead. “Would this work for your breakfast?” he questioned.

Caitlyn glanced at his offering before smacking it away in distaste and snubbing it. “That’s gross!” she exclaimed.

Collin reviewed his options and returned with a cone. “What about this?”

A scowl appeared on Caitlyn’s face at the proposition. Smacking the cone away, she declared with vigor, “I only eat people! I don’t eat gross basketballs and cones!”

Collin was at a loss. Serena chuckled internally at the irony, considering how many would view eating people as gross. Collin sent an apologetic look towards his coworker, but Serena merely shrugged. There were worse things than kids pretending to eat her. Granted, it was incredibly strange, but there was no harm. Caitlyn was determined to “eat” her for the Pranksgiving feast, but all she was doing was hanging close while making eating noises. It could be much, much worse, so Serena figured she would just roll with it; today, for whatever reason, she seemed fated to be a “feast.”

Another child showed up for before care, so Serena left the gym to let them inside the school building. When she returned with the new kid, Serena witnessed the peculiar sight of Caitlyn chasing after Collin all across the gym. Collin was playing basketball with a few of the other kids, but Caitlyn didn’t appear to be playing the game. The two approached Serena, and Serena pondered what the new development could possibly be.

Collin gave Serena a knowing look and supplied, “She started following me with a vengeance, demanding water because she’s thirsty. I offered the drinking fountain, but she refused, insisting that since I was made of water, she would drink me.” He shook his head before adding, “She then chased me around the gym in her quest to quench her thirst. Nothing else would satisfy her.”

Noticing Serena had returned, Cailyn exclaimed, “Oh, good! You’re back! I’m still hungry!”

Caitlyn then proceeded to latch herself onto Serena as she continued her feast. It was quite the unusual morning. Serena supposed this could have been Caitlyn’s prank for “Pranksgiving” and hoped that things would return to normal the following day. While she didn’t find it all that bothersome, it was strange to have a kid following you around and insisting that she was their food. Serena shook her head. Kids could be so bizarre and such enigmas at times. There was never a dull moment in before care thanks to them, though, so that was a plus. Her mornings were always interesting.