#arowanathestudent

To: Aro (@arowanathestudent)

Happy holidays to you! :)

______________________________________

“That’s ridiculous!”  With an angry swipe of her right arm Holly threw her laptop away and exhaustedly covered her face with her hands. “This is just plain madness! ‘Write me a nice, little script for a holiday short film,’ she said. ‘It will be fun,’ she said. Newsflash: I hate the holidays and everything that has to do with them!”

Ever since Aro had asked her to come up with an idea for a sweet, sparkly, holiday-friendly story – ‘as a treat for all the hard work my studio had to do this year,’ she had said – Holly was relentlessly trying to figure something out that remotely fit Aro’s description. The problem was: she was neither the girl for sweet, nor sparkly, nor the holidays to begin with. She hated the hustle and bustle, she hated how the already obvious distinction between rich and poor even got more obvious, and above all she hated the fake expressions of love and gratitude that came with giving and receiving gifts.
Consequently, she was having a particularly hard time to even write the first line.

Suddenly, Holly heard someone knocking at her door. She sighed. Great. Probably another student asking for advice concerning her latest assignment. Exactly what she needed right now.

“Come in,” she growled.

Not a second later Tyler Winters stuck his head in the door. “Sorry to bother you, Professor Chang, but-“

“For the hundredth time, Tyler, just call me Holly. I’m no bald-headed, old lecturer who has no sense of humor.”

“O-okay, Holly,” he stammered. “I have a question about your assignment.”

“You don’t say,” she remarked and leaned back in her chair. “What is it?”

Clearly nervous, Tyler took a deep breath and mumbled, “You know, you told us to write about a person who overcomes their biggest inner struggle.”

Holly nodded impatiently. Of course she remembered the task she had given her class – since that had happened not even half a day ago.

“And now I wanted to ask you if it’s okay if I write about a person who overcomes their hatred of the holidays,” Tyler continued.

“For God’s sake! Why is everyone just so addicted to the holidays?!” she yelped.

Tyler winced and immediately looked apologetic. “I’m so sorry, Professor Chang, I mean Holly. If you don’t like the idea, of course I won’t do it. It was just a stupid, little-“

“Stop it, Tyler,” she sighed. There was something about this boy, maybe his resemblance to a puppy, that led to the unfortunate fact that she couldn’t stay mad at him. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted so harshly. Tell me, how did you come up with that idea and why on earth do you even ask permission?”

A tiny smile began to form on Tyler’s lips. “My brothers and I have this tradition, you know. No matter where we live, the weekend before Christmas we all get together and watch ‘A Christmas Carol’. The 1938-version in black and white. It’s just the three of us with a lot of cookies and hot chocolate watching this crazy-old movie, talking about everything and nothing, and telling each other stories from when we were little.”

Tyler paused .There was a dreamy look in his eyes and it seemed as if he was light years away, before he went on.  “And I like it a lot as it is our personal calm before the storm. I don’t see my brothers very often, sometimes we don’t even celebrate Christmas together. But when we do, our house is usually so full of other family members – you won’t believe how big our family is – that we can’t really enjoy it. So this one afternoon is the only time of year that we just get to spend with each other. And I have our mutual love for the 1938-version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ to thank for that. So it holds a very special place in my heart and I think it deserves a modern approach. Not in the movie-remake kind of way, there are definitely already too many remakes of this story. No, I mean a true modernization that deals with the conflicts of our generation in relation to the holidays.”

Holly looked baffled. “That was oddly specific, but at least I can see now where you’re coming from.  Still – why do you even ask for my permission?”

Tyler awkwardly cleared his throat. “Because I realized that you hate the holidays,” he admitted.

At first Holly gave him an astounded look, but shortly after she started to grin. “You seem to be the only person who has noticed,” was her dry answer.

“Excuse me?” Tyler said bewildered.

“You’re right,” she stated. “I hate the holidays. I hate how impersonal they have become; I hate this fake talk about love and hope, while people are dying everywhere because of war, violence and starvation. And most of all I hate that it’s not even about giving any more, it’s all about taking. ‘I want a new smartphone, I want the biggest dinner possible, I want the most glittering decorations in the whole city.’ People are just so hypocritical and ungrateful!”

“You really think so?” Tyler asked carefully.

“Absolutely. My friends, for instance, are a wonderful example for that,” Holly started her rant, not even knowing why she opened herself up to Tyler of all people. “For weeks now Ethan has been complaining about this new Armani suit that he wants but probably won’t get, because his parents spent all their money on his big brother’s wedding. Lisa constantly grumbles about having to spend the holidays with her mother at her new husband’s gigantic beach house, and as if I didn’t have enough to do already, Aro wants me to write this holiday short film on super short notice and without anything in return.”

Tyler nodded sympathetically. “Well, you’re right. That sucks. But I don’t think your friends do that on purpose. And I am sure that they will come to their senses eventually.”

“Whatever.” Holly shrugged. “But now back to your question: I don’t mind if you want to write about someone’s attitude towards the holidays. As long as the script is good, I’m good.”

“Thank you, Profe-, I mean Holly. I will give my best.” With these words Tyler turned around and walked towards the door, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“You know, not everything is bad about the holidays” he said and turned to look at her again. “What you said about them being impersonal or about the fake talk of love and hope – it doesn’t always have to be this way.”

Holly simply raised her eyebrow, but didn’t answer, so Tyler went on. “A few years ago after filming in India my brother Chris started a foundation that supports kids from poor Indian families. Since then he has organized at least three fundraisers per year, and every year around Christmas he flies back there to visit a dozen cities and to give the kids money and presents. Yes, I know he won’t be able to stop starvation, but at least it’s a start – and a very good one as a matter of fact.”

“That sounds truly heart-rending, nevertheless-,“ Holly began, but Tyler didn’t let her finish.

“And in addition to that I’ve heard that your ‘ungrateful’ friends plan to do a Hollywood-style bake-sale this evening for the benefit of homeless people in Los Angeles. It’s going to be a really big event with Lisa and Masika performing many of their songs and Crash showing off some of his best stunt tricks. They will definitely raise a lot of money and even better – awareness. So maybe not all hope is lost.”

Holly sighed. “And this is supposed to change my view on the holidays in what way?”

All at once Tyler’s puppy-like demeanor changed, as he put his hands on his hips and glared at her.
“Holly, don’t be so stubborn! You’re an awesome teacher and an even better screenwriter. And do you know why?  Because you’ve taught us that nothing is black or white. Every story has two sides and every character has more than one motivation that drives them. So why should it be different in the real world? Not everything is bad about the holidays. Give the people at least some credit for even trying to be nice and compassionate. Don’t you think that’s a start?”

With these words he rushed out of the room and left Holly dumbfounded.
A few moments later there was another knock on the door and Holly rolled her eyes.

“What do you want now?” she asked.

But as the door opened, it wasn’t Tyler who entered the room but Aro.

“Hey Holly,” she said. “I hope I’m not interrupting something. I just wanted to give you this.” Aro put a big cookie jar in front of her with tons of cookies in many different shapes and colors in it. “Addi and I are preparing for the bake sale and thought that you might want to have some.” Aro flashed her a smile. “And you should definitely accompany us this evening. It will probably be the best bake sale you have ever seen and Lisa is going to perform her new single.”

“Thanks,” Holly answered and took a big bite of one of the cookies. “I guess I will.”

“Oh, and before I forget about it – I have another gift for you,” Aro said and pulled a big cup of coffee with a ‘thank you’-note pinned to it from behind her back. “Thank you for writing this holiday script for me, I’m really grateful for that.” She handed Holly the cup with a ceremonial gesture and smiled widely at her. “I know it was short notice, but you’re a lifesaver for doing it. I really owe you.”

A smile danced across Holly’s lips and she responded sincerely, “You’re welcome.”

“So,” Aro continued after a few seconds. “Would you like to come with me to get some fresh air and take a break from writing?”

“Thanks,” Holly replied with a grin. “But I think I’ll pass. After all I have a holiday story to finish!”

And having said this, she pulled her laptop closer to her and started typing.