Ignoring Santa (now dedicated Karen Berger)

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OracleX

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Edited By OracleX

I wrote this last Christmas and it is my only pure Mary-Sue fan story. It is sort of comic-related and rather sad now.

Dedicated to Karen Berger

Title: Ignoring Santa

It twas the around night before Christmas. Not creature was stirring, except Amanda Martin and possibly her rabbit. Being the awful person that she was, she had forgotten to refill rabbit's water-bottle and rushed down to fill it. When she left the living room, she saw Santa Claus in her family room, placing presents under the Christmas tree.

"I'm dreaming," she said flatly.

Santa looked up at her with his eyes twinkling. "Some fairy tales are real."

"You're not a fairy tale. You're a myth from medieval European times that somewhat resembles Saint Nick," She said.

"College education does seem to turn some people cynical," he observed.

"I have been helping my Mom wrap presents for my brother and sister for a few years."

"True, but you're sister still believes. If you don't think that much of me, why don't you tell her I'm not real?"

Amanda chewed her lip for a moment. "Because, it is the one time where magic takes on a physical form for her."

"You have a kind a heart. You want others to believe in magic, even though you don't and don't want to believe anymore."

"Magic is for kids. Believing in yourself and possibly a higher power are more important. It is has gotten me this far."

"Yes have done a great job. You recently completed your Bachelor's degree. I am very proud of you."

"Like I care. This dream is getting depressing. I'm going to bed." Amanda began to walk away.

"But don't you want to sneak a peak at the presents I got you?"

Amanda turns around. "A set of gift cards. A bunch of clothes that I will pretend to like front of parents, that I will not wear and will not return because I hate the waiting in lines at the department stores. A dry-erase board that my mother has been keeping behind the couch in the living room. And a few random books my mother picked up from the last library book sale. Goodnight you ridiculous dream."

As Amanda climbed the stairs. Santa shouted: "I have not given up on you Amanda! You maybe surprised by what you find in the morning."

Amanda woke up Christmas morning as usual. Her brother smiled appreciatively at his new video games, a jersey, and a set of gift cards. He sister squealed in delight at she unwrapped a new set of dolls, a stuffed Snoopy, and a ballerina snow globe along with a few other things. Amanda admired some feature of every top she got and pretended to have no idea what the large flat surface she was unwrapping was. Her father liked the gift card for the sporting goods store. Her mother loved the angel figurine that she had attached to her gift card for a clothing store and said "Awe" as she read her schmaltzy card.

She went up to her room to get her white board out of the way. She pulled the plastic off and groaned at the sight of no hooks. She pulled the paper office supply tag off the board and saw a note written in red on the on the board: "Karen Berger will be expecting a call from you at 9:00 on Dec. 27" There was a number listed below it. Amanda was stunned. The only Karen Berger she knew a the vice president of Vertigo Comics. She had read books about how she convinced D.C. Comics to sign on Neil Gaiman. Though she thought it was a joke, she looked up the number online and saw that it was a New York City area code, but the rest of the number didn't match any results.

She tried to put it out of her mind for rest of the day and the day after. She didn't believe in miracles. There were no magical kingdoms needing princesses. She knew she had a decent chance at finding love at some point in her life, though she was suspecting later rather than sooner. She knew that she would find a pleasant job that paid better than minimum wage. After many rejections, some of her short stories would end up in an e-magazine and earn her a few bucks. She might even have her own column in her parish newsletter. She didn't think anything would ever elevate her life a level above of mediocrity.

But she couldn't resist finding out what the number was about and her cell phone plan allowed for free long-distance calling. She called the number at 9:00 on the dot. "D.C. Comics executive offices, how may I direct your call?"

Amanda nearly jumped. "Um, yes this is Amanda Martin. Karen Berger is expecting a call from me?"

The receptionist paused for a moment. "Yes, I'll connect you directly to her."

As she waited for the connection to go through, Amanda's heart began to race. "This can not be happening," she thought.

"Hello Amanda, I'm so glad Comic Vine got my message to you," Karen Berger's friendly voice said.

"Comic Vine?" Amanda said trying to sound steady.

"Yes, an assistant of mine frequents the site, saw your work, and showed it to me. I liked what I saw and decided to request your information."

"You like my work?" Amanda said, stunned.

"Yes, and as I began to find more information, I became intrigued. I saw that you were a journalism major and found your ability to integrate your elegant prose style into hard-hitting stories fascinating."

"Why thank you!"

"Times are tough in the comics industry now but I still want to try to get a pet project of mine off the ground. I am looking for some one to write story about a print news reporter that breaks all the comic journalist stereotypes. So I'd like to see a draft for a story from you."

Amanda still could not believe what she was hearing. "Ma'am, I am beyond flattered, but I don't have experience writing comic scripts."

"Script-writing, isn't important. I'm looking a for a writer who can think visually. Send a story to my personal assistant by January 6th and we'll see if there might be a future for you with us. The details are in the letter I'm sending you."

"I can't thank you enough!"

"I look forward to hearing from you again soon. Good Luck! Oh, congratulations completing your degree." She then hung up.

Amanda fell onto her bed. This seemed impossible. This could still be an elaborate prank, but deep down she knew it wasn't. She thought of what "Santa" said for the first time in a very long time, she believed.

THE END

So now you all know what I really wanted for Christmas. Yes I know it would be a violation of Comic Vine's privacy policy to give my information to anyone, but this is what I came up with at the time. There was no message on the white board I got. That is not my real name, and the rest you can have fun guessing as to what things are fictional and what is based in real-life. The story sounds really self-loathing, but honestly I am content with my life.

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InnerVenom123

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#1  Edited By InnerVenom123

That was a really fun story! Got me grinning when CV was mentioned and I realized it was a semi-RL story. ^_^ Good stuff, and belated Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Early Happy New Year to you! :D

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#2  Edited By OracleX

I thought I'd bring this story back to the surface as a way of honoring Karen Berger. I admire her deeply.

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feebadger

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#3  Edited By feebadger

Damn, that Santa does goo work, doesn't he :) What a lovely story. Warmed the christmas cockles of my heart. Thank you, OracleX.