CYOA: The Wishlist - Chapter 2 (Story) (Patreon)

"Because..." Selina paused, ready to do it, but, at the last minute, changed her mind. Tomorrow would be better... The vindictive section of her brain was tempted to do it now, to see how Camelia would react, how she would scramble to try to deny it, or if she'd burst into tears like the little girl she acted like.

But the next day would be better. Maddie could snuggle up in her bed tonight and dream of Santa and his reindeer showing up, then tomorrow - assuming her parents got her there early enough to beat the rest of the family - Selina would let her know it had been her parents who bought her all that stuff. It might make her more grateful for it... And it would stop her from running around, yammering about Santa to their other relatives like a baby.

"Because he's already fat enough," she shrugged. "He could do without cookies at a house or two."

"He rides around the whole world in a sleigh," Maddie informed her, Camelia silently looking quite relieved. "And he's, like, way up in the sky... He has to be big so he doesn't freeze."

"Sure," Selina waved it off, not interested in debating any further about a fictional character. She felt a bit dirty, pretending he was real for a sentence or two; she had no idea how Camelia had been able to keep it up all holiday season, much less all the years leading up to this... "Whatever."

Maddie was less inclined to let the subject drop. "You aren't going to eat his cookies, are you?"

"You think he'll freeze on the ride from your house to here?" Selina smirked, using the girl's own explanation against her.

The girl pouted. "I don't know! It's gonna be cold!"

Selina opened her mouth to tease her cousin further, then stopped. This might be perfect, actually... The next morning, she could ask Maddie if she'd gotten anything from Santa, or if she'd heard anything about any tragic sleigh accidents that had happened overnight, then show her the video she was going to make of herself eating the cookies, and inquire as to how Santa had been able to get by without them, if they were so important.

"All right, all right," Selina acted as if she'd given up. "I wouldn't want to be responsible for anything bad happening to him."

"No, you wouldn't," Camelia shot her an icy glare. "He has a lot of wishlists to fulfill tonight."

"Oh, yeah!" Maddie's eyes lit up. "What did you put on yours, Lina?" Selina glowered at her, having a bad feeling that she was going to be hearing that infernal nickname an awful lot over the next couple days.

"Did you two make yours together?" she deflected, suspecting she already knew the answer. She wouldn't have been surprised, in fact, if their lists had been exactly the same, considering how badly it appeared Camelia seemed to want to be Maddie.

"Uh-huh," Maddie nodded. "Well, mostly."

Selina raised an eyebrow. "Mostly?"

"'Melia said there were some things she was going to keep just between her and Santa," Maddie told her, Camelia fidgeting in her seat.

"Ohhh, 'melia," Selina cooed mockingly, using Maddie's nickname for her. "Did you ask Santa for something naughty?" From the way the other girl's cheeks went red, Selina was certain she'd hit a nerve. "You did, didn't you? Does that mean that you were naughty, too, and won't get anything but coal anyway?"

"I didn't!" Camelia huffed, though it was clear from her reaction that there was more to it than she was letting on.

In a way, Selina was almost impressed... As childish as her cousin behaved, and dressed, she would have assumed she was too bashful to write anything like that down, much less send it to Santa, in the off chance he'd actually read it. She wouldn't have been that surprised to hear Camelia didn't have those kinds of thoughts in the first place, that she was still a mousy little virgin, too scared and innocent to even touch herself. "Whatever you say," she grinned.

"What did you ask for?" Maddie tried again.

She nearly turned the conversation around on the girl, telling her that her list was between her and Santa, too, but she preferred to lay some more groundwork for tomorrow's revelation. "I didn't make a list."

Maddie's gaze shot to Camelia, panicked. "It's okay," Camelia soothed. "You don't have to make one, really... Santa knows what to give you, it just makes it easier for him to keep everything straight if you write it down. And it lets him know which things you want the most."

"I don't need anything from Santa," Selina rolled her eyes, although, now that it was being brought up, she could think of plenty of other things she wouldn't mind having, outfits she'd seen in some of the nicer stores that had been way to expensive for her, that would make her look more mature, and ensure nobody here thought of her as a kid anymore if they saw her in them, heel and shoes with lifts to give her an extra inch or two on Camelia, some nice, realistic looking, padded bras to give her curves some help...

"She's worried she wasn't nice enough this year to get anything from him," Camelia 'translated' for Maddie, who giggled in response. 

"Oh, I bet he likes the naughty girls more anyway," Selina replied salaciously.

Thankfully, after that, Camelia quickly changed the subject, moving them away from Santa, and all the baggage that came with that. Selina was going to make sure they went back to it the next day... Though she had little doubt it would have happened on its own. For now, however, she was glad to move on, to have her cousins ask her what college was like, giving her a chance to brag about her experiences as the biggest and oldest of them.

Of course, being Christmas Eve, it was impossible to avoid the subject of Santa for long, with the girls immediately racing to the living room after dinner to switch onto the Santa tracker on TV, and then on Camelia's phone when Selina informed them that, no, they weren't going to be watching that all evening, while the parents cleared off the tables, Selina once again not thinking to help, or do it herself, until her mother had come to take her plate away, and it was too late.

Selina was sure her cousins wouldn't make it through the traditional viewing of It's A Wonderful Life, and its minimal mentions of Santa. She was less certain which of them would fall asleep first, whether it would be just one - and which of them it would be - or both, but she knew at least one would drift off before long. She didn't get the chance to find out, however, as she cuddled up under a warm, cozy blanket, and cuddled up in the corner of the sofa, eyeing the other two, stretched out on the floor beneath her, her tummy feeling nice and full...

"Wake up, Lina," her mother said, giving her a gentle shake. "You're going to miss Night Before Christmas."

"Huh?" Selina blinked, cheeks warming as she came to, sensing the eyes of everyone in the room on her, the TV now off, Camelia and Maddie sitting up at the foot of Camelia's father's armchair as he held a picture book of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. "I-I wasn't asleep," she lied.

"She's just afraid the story will put her back to sleep," Camelia mocked.

"I wasn't asleep!" Selina glared at her, embarrassed that she'd done what she'd thought her childish cousins would. "Besides," she reasoned out loud, as much for her own benefit as everyone else's, "it was a long trip."

"It's all right," her mother patted her on the shoulder, "we're only teasing."

That didn't stop Selina from sulking her way through the story, however, or saying goodnight to Maddie and her parents, or getting ready for bed. Camelia, wisely, didn't bother to ask her if she wanted to join her in putting out cookies and milk for Santa, but she had no doubt that was what kept her downstairs for so long, why she was already in her pajamas by the time she heard the creak of the stairs.

She gave it a little while, lying on the guest room bed, playing with her phone, before she hopped down, creeping out into the hall, her heavy eyelids tempting her to allow herself to fall back to sleep, but her determination to follow through on her plan keeping her up. The house was still and quiet, more than she would have expected at this hour... Then again, it really had been a long trip, and her parents had driven it, Camelia's parents had no doubt put in a lot of work getting the meal for tonight, and tomorrow, ready - and they had to wake up early to get the presents under the tree, and the stockings hung - and Camelia, of course, wouldn't want to give Santa any reason not to show up by being awake when he made his rounds.

She was such a baby... Selina wondered if that would change when Maddie got older, or if Maddie would outgrow her before that happened, recognize how sad it was for somebody Camelia's age to be so into the same things as her younger cousin. College might help her, but she wasn't sure it would be enough.

It hadn't even really occurred to her until now; was it possible that she was going to be revealing the truth about Santa to not only Maddie tomorrow? Could Camelia still be so immature that she believed in him? Selina had assumed she was defending him for Maddie's sake, but... Well, she didn't actually know. If that was the case, however, that made it doubly important for her to do this.

Camelia's parents had left the lights on the tree lit up, giving the living room a soft glow as Selina tip-toed in. She had suspected, from experiences long ago, when she and Camelia had been closer, and snuck, giggling, to check the tree after they'd been put to bed, too excited to fall asleep, that the packages there would be the same as they had been when she went to bed, that the girl's parents would wait until the next morning to put the rest out. Sure enough, the pile was the same size, although, bathed in only the twinkling Christmas tree lights, it seemed the tiniest bit bigger for a moment, until she took another step closer.

That hadn't really been her goal, yet now that she'd done it, it sort of felt as if it was, like she was a little kid again, hoping to sneak a peek of Santa. Thinking of it that way, she was almost surprised to not find Camelia camped out down there, snoozing on the couch. 

In fact... Was she there? Selina glanced around the dimly lit room, unable to shake the sensation that she was being watched, that, something beyond the small circle of light the tree was putting off, there was somebody else there. She shivered, shook her head, telling herself she was being paranoid, and that she should just get this over with so she could get to bed.

"Hi, Maddie, 'Melia," she whispered to her phone's camera, standing in front of the tree. "It's Christmas Eve, and look where I am... And look what's still here..." She tilted the phone, showing the end table where Camelia had set up a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. "That's funny... It's a bit after midnight, so it isn't Christmas Eve anymore. Shouldn't Santa have already been here?" She pretended to think about it for a moment before getting 'distracted.' "Wow, those sure look good, don't they?"

They actually did; Camelia might be a big baby, but she was good at making cookies. Selina picked one up, took a nibble, giving her camera a sly look. "Oh, so yummy! I don't think Santa will mind if I have a bit more..." She took a bigger bite, and another one, not stopping until she'd devoured the whole thing, going back in for the second, then the third, leaving behind only a few crumbs, washing it down with the milk. "Gosh," she said sarcastically, mocking her cousins, "I hope Santa doesn't tear up my wishlist because of this! Or give me any coal... Even if I have been a naughty girl for eating his cookies so he'll freeze to death on the way to the next house."

Amused with herself, she ended the recording, giving one last look around the living room before flouncing up the stairs to bed. Camelia was, unsurprisingly, up and about bright and early, Selina hearing her anxiously shuffling around her room, despite the girl's attempts to be quiet.

Selina took her time, getting dressed for the day, putting on her makeup, wanting to seem as mature and put-together as she could this early in the morning, knowing it would make for a bigger contrast between her and Camelia, who, even though she'd been awake sooner than her, would definitely show up to the tree in her PJs, which were probably themed to the holiday. Her parents surely weren't still buying matching pajamas for the whole family... Were they? Selina nearly gagged at the mere thought of her parents suggesting that to her at her age.

Whether that was the case or not remained to be seen, but, when she heard Camelia's bedroom door open, she couldn't help following after her. She was, indeed, wearing red and white PJs, looking for all the world like the little girl Selina was trying so hard not to be seen as, especially once she got to the living room and let out a wide-eyed, "Wow!"

Her parents' bedroom - and the guest room Selina's parents were staying in - was on the first floor, which no doubt made it easier for them to get the rest of the presents under the tree quietly. Even so, Selina was surprised she hadn't overheard them, since she had heard Camelia's restlessness. And, early as it was, she was impressed they'd already gotten it done... But, of course, they knew their daughter, and that she'd be sneaking a peek as soon as possible.

She was shocked they weren't still up, as far as she could tell, that Camelia's mother wasn't starting breakfast. It seemed like they were all alone, just the two of them and the mountain of gifts. She watched Camelia kneel down, checking tags, though she was such a goody two-shoes that she didn't even attempt to open any of them, to peel back the paper to see if she could catch a glimpse of what as underneath. There was one in particular that, the moment she spotted it, she dove for it, turning it over in her hands. It was big, which Selina assumed was what had drawn her to it. The sides didn't appear hard, however, the paper crackling as Camelia's hands compressed what was underneath slightly, sinking into it a bit. When she saw the tag, she let out a disappointed sigh, setting it back down.

"You must have been a very good girl this year," Selina spoke up, Camelia jumping, dropping the box she was holding.

"O-Oh," Camelia turned, saw her, blushed. "I-I mean, they aren't all for me... Obviously..."

"Don't sell yourself short," Selina smirked. "I'm sure Santa knows exactly what you deserve." Camelia squirmed, turning even redder. "Aren't you going to get your Mommy and Daddy up so you can open them up?"

"W-Well," Camelia stammered, "I was thinking, maybe we should wait until Maddie gets here, to open them with her..."

"Do you really want to wait that long?" Selina asked skeptically. By then, the rest of the family would probably be there, too... Selina didn't particularly want to open her presents in front of all of them, although she had to admit that Camelia had a point, that it would be more mature to do that, to prove she wasn't so excited to get them that she couldn't hold off for the whole morning, with the pile of presents staring at her, tempting her...

"No," Camelia confessed. "I don't want to, but..."

"I bet what you want to do is open them right now," Selina grinned. "Before anyone else is even up. Don't you?"

"We can't do that!" Camelia sounded scandalized... She didn't say no, though, not exactly.

"We could just do these ones from Santa," Selina said, taking another step in, sneering to see that her parents had apparently also bothered to label some of hers as being from him, too, as if that was going to fool her into believing it. "Nobody else would know... They wouldn't know what Santa gave us, would they?"

It was a test, a feeler she sent out to give her an idea if Camelia was further gone than she'd realized. And, to her surprise, she saw the girl hesitate, considering it. That was so pathetic! Selina was almost ashamed to be related to her... She really was such a baby...

That did make it easier for Selina to sate her curiosity, however. She was too cool to care that much, of course... But, now that she'd seen all the presents, she did kind of want to find out what was in them, and she didn't want to have to wait...

"We could be careful with the paper so we could wrap them back up if we want," she suggested. "But if they came from Santa, nobody would know the difference..."

"Lina!" Camelia gasped... Again, she didn't say no. She'd been looking forward to this for so long, definitely more than Selina had been... 

"Come on, Camelia," Selina taunted. "What do you want to do?"

Camelia shook her head. "I... I-I don't know. You decide."

"Really?" Selina raised an eyebrow. "And you'll do what I say?" Camelia nodded.

That was quite the decision... The most mature thing would be to wait for the whole family, to hold off on opening anything for as long as possible... If she could convince Camelia to open one of her presents from Santa, then take it up to her room, then that would be more proof in her favor when she dove into telling her cousins Santa wasn't real. Her parents would certainly be confused when that gift didn't show up... They'd probably whisper to one another, sneak off to see if they'd left it in their hiding space... Selina would know what to look out for, and to point out to Camelia, to make her wonder what was going on, why they were so worked up...

"Let's see," Selina mused, mulling it over one last time. "I think we should open our presents...

"Right away, before anyone else is awake."

"As soon as our parents are up."

"After Maddie gets here. We're old enough to wait a bit."