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Claudia had just finished placing the try of cookies she had baked, with permission from Mrs. Wilson to use the oven in the house, on the table in front of the couch when Alex and Reggie walked into the garage. Each boy had multiple presents in their hands as they approached the rest of the group. A choruses of greetings and wishing each other a Merry Christmas rang throughout the room. Everybody put their gifts around the little tabletop tree that sat on the floor. After about thirty minutes of Reggie staring excitedly at the presents while the others conversed and ate cookies, he finally convinced them to open presents. Each member of the band grabbed the gifts they bought their friends and moved to sit in a circle on the floor around the little Christmas tree.
"Reg, you seem very excited. Do you want to go first?" Alex asked the practically shaking boy.
"I mean if that's fine with everyone else..." he trailed off. The rest of the group agreed and passed Reggie the gifts they had gotten him. He grabbed the first one from Luke, who was sitting to his left and ripped the wrapping paper off. Once he pulled the last piece of wrapping paper off he flipped the box over to reveal a Star Wars Millennium Falcon Lego set. The boy's eyes widened as he threw himself at Luke giving him a hug and thanking him profusely before setting it down to open the next gift. He pulled open the wrapping paper on the next two gifts one after another revealing a flannel pajama set from Bobby and a blanket that looked like a burrito shell from Alex. He repeated his reaction to Luke's gift to both boys. Wrapping himself in the blanket he looked around the floor for the last gift, which would be from Claudia. When he didn't see it he looked up sadly.
"You didn't get me anything?" he questioned the girl looking both confused and sad.
"No no, I did!" Claudia replied hastily. She was happy when a smile returned to the boy's face. "You just have to wait until all four of you can open them together," she said crossing her arms and leaning back slightly. The other boys shared confused glances before Alex spoke up.
"I'll go next!" he stated cheerfully and everyone handed their gift to him.
"This one is from both Reggie and me," Luke explained as he handed Alex a big box. Alex nodded before unwrapping the gift. He let out a laugh as he exposed the label on the box.
"You always complain about needed to walk all the way into the house to make coffee whenever we are rehearsing late so we thought we'd keep this out here and save you the trip!" Reggie commented as Alex finished unwrapping the Keurig box. He thanked the two boys before proceeding to unwrap his gifts from Bobby which consisted of k-cups for his new Keurig and a mug with "drummer nutrition facts" on it. Alex let out another laugh as he thanked the boys. He looked at Luke. "Do you want to go next?"
"Sure," Luke shrugged. The rest of the group handed their presents to the boy who happily accepted them. He grabbed the one that was set closest to him. Once the wrapping paper was removed he fanned out the multiple vinyl records of various rock bands that Alex had bought him. "Thanks, dude!" He shouted.
"No problem," Alex responded grabbing a cookie from the tray in the middle and taking a bite.
Luke moved to open the next gift. It wasn't wrapped as neatly as the others and was a little flimsy. Luke removed the wrapping paper to reveal five folded shirts. He unfolded them all to see they all had long sleeves. Everyone laughed as Luke eyed them confused.
"Here," Reggie said as he handed Luke another wrapped gift. Luke opened it quickly to reveal a new pair of fabric scissors. Everyone, including Luke this time, let out a laugh. "You told me once that cutting the sleeves off your shirts is therapeutic so I bought you therapy!" Reggie explained bouncing up and down in his seat on the floor.
"Thanks, Reg," Luke said before grabbing his final gift. He opened it to reveal a composition notebook with a plain black cover.
"I noticed you almost filled up your current one," Bobby shrugged. Luke thanked him before encouraging him to open his gifts. Bobby started with his gift from Luke. It was a small wrapped box that when he opened revealed a very nice leather wallet. Bobby thanked the boy before moving to the next gift. He picked up his gift from Alex and his eyes widened at how heavy it was. He looked towards Alex confused before opening the package to see a candle with a label that read "You're Really Hard To Shop For". Bobby laughed loudly and showed it to the rest of the confused group. They all agreed with the statement and Bobby grabbed the last gift. This one was squishier than the rest. He opened it and looked very confusingly at the llama stuffed animal that now rested in his hands.
"Remember when we were walking to that gig the other day and you saw it in the window of that shop. You said it looked soft so I took that as you'd be happy if I got it for you. If not I can take it back and get something else for you." Reggie explained quickly reaching for the stuffed animal.
Bobby pulled it away from his grasp and shook his head. "No Reg, I love it. Thank you." He set the llama down in his lap and turned to Claudia, the last one in the group who needed to open presents.
Claudia smiled at the boys before reaching down to her pile of gifts and grabbing the smallest one. She picked up the little box and unwrapped it to expose a flat box. When she opened the box she found a guitar pick with the date of their first gig engraved in it. She smiled up at her brother thanking him for the gift and tucked it safely back in the box as to not lose it. She grabbed another gift. This time grabbing the largest package in the pile. She opened it to reveal a makeup bag full of different cosmetics products and nail polish.
"I didn't know what your shade was so I just stuck to eye shadows and stuff. I hope that's okay?" Alex rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"That's fine!" Claudia stated calming the boy's nerves. "Thanks, Alex." The boy hugged the girl sitting next to him. Claudia returned to her pile of gifts and grabbed one that looked very similar to one of Luke's. She unwrapped it and saw a new notebook with a mix of all types of paper. There was lined, dotted, and blank paper. Bobby explained that he figured she could use it for a mix of songwriting and art. She thanked him and grabbed the last gift. When she unwrapped it she was greeted with a little black box. She opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring that looked like a rose with vines surrounded her thumb when she slipped it on. She admired it on her finger for a moment before looking up to the group.
"U-um I saw that at the store and I figured it would be a perfect gift because of y..." Reggie started.
"My middle name. That's very sweet Reg thank you." Claudia interrupted his explanation then leaned over kissed his cheek. A soft pink crept its way up Reggie's cheeks. He turned his head away from the girl in hopes that she would not see. Claudia suddenly stood up clapping her hands. "Now I can give you my gifts! Everyone close your eyes," she instructed the boys before rushing to grab the gifts from the loft. She placed one in front of each boy before plopping back down in her spot between Alex and Reggie. "Okay, open them!"
All four boys opened their eyes and eyed the strange-shaped boxes suspiciously. Claudia gestured at the boys telling them to open them. The boys jumped into action quickly unwrapping the gifts. They all reached into the house-shaped box at relatively the same time and all pulled out matching Build-A-Bears. The bears were a light tan color and all had matching black pants with white shirts. On each of the shirts was a silhouette of each boy playing their respective instrument that Claudia had painted. The boys all stared at the bears in shock.
"Did you draw this?" Alex asked pointed to the shirt.
"Y-yeah..." Claudia responded nervously fearing that they didn't like her work.
"I knew you were talented but DAMN! That's my sister!" Luke yelled getting up to hug the girl. The other boys echoed Luke's praises before joining the group hug.
"I wish you had one too. Then we could make the whole band." Reggie said sadly as everyone pulled away from the hug.
"Well..." Claudia chuckled. "Funny you should say that." She rushed back up to the loft and came down with a bear of her own. "I know, I know they are gifts for you, and I'm being selfish but I just couldn't resist making one for myself." She rambled.
"Hey, it's fine we don't really care. Right guys?" Bobby asked the rest of the group. They all agreed before going back in for another group hug. The hug broke apart and everyone went their separate way to clean up the mess. Luke grabbed a trash bag and held it open as everyone threw the excessive amount of wrapping paper away. Once the garbage was picked up everyone moved to examine their new gifts while Claudia queued up a movie on the little portable TV Bobby brought into the garage. They all crammed onto the couch under Reggie's new blanket as the movie's opening credits started. Passing the tray of cookies around each member of the band took one before Reggie spoke up with his mouth full.
"Best Christmas ever?" he asked.
"Best Christmas ever!"