As she lay in bed staring at the ceiling Xandra sighed, she knew what was coming, but what could she do? Not sleep? It wasn’t like the dreams we’re frightening, just annoying and they were getting sort of dull to. The same dream, night after night. What she wouldn’t do to have a nice normal dream about battling the giant dust bunnies under her bed with a toothbrush. At least those showed some creativity she thought as she began to drift off. Below her window the cars continued to speed past, and the whoosh of their wheels soothed her. She heard a duck in the park across the street and somewhere far off there came the sound of a boat.
It wasn’t until the next week that Xandra remembered the strange incident. It was snowing and both girls were shivering slightly as they hadn’t been expecting it when they left the house. “We should go to the mall this weekend Xan, I need a new winter coat” said Joanne as they passed the brightly lit window of The Gap displaying mannequins engaged in what seemed to be a very amusing snowball fight. “Yeah me to” said Xandra pulling her sweater closer to her, “are you sure you don’t need any help?” Joanne was sleeping over at Xandra’s house tonight to celebrate the end of the semester and she was having some trouble juggling her sleeping bag and backpack while navigating the packed streets. “Nope I’m good. Just gotta - ”, Joanne slid her arm under the cord holding her rolled sleeping bag together, “there. Oh hey, let’s go to Yorkdale to get ‘em. My Great Aunt Mildred sent me some Disney Dollars for Christmas”
“All ready? Christmas is still more than a week away”
“Yeah well, she seems to think we’re destitute. The card actually said to use it to make sure my sisters got ‘something nice this year’” as if my dad was getting us all socks for Christmas.” Joanne’s Great Aunt didn’t like her father. She was convinced it was his fault her niece had left him and their children to live in California with her trainer. “I didn’t show my dad. He always gets really moody whenever anyone mentions her or Mom, but I figure I might as well use it for something useful”
They were at the school gates now and both girls were grateful for the impending warmth. However this was quickly replaced with panic when the bell rang. They said a quick good bye and hurried off to reach their classes before O Canada.
à
That night Xandra and Joanne were eating microwaved s’mores in front of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and taking turns putting their school notes through Xandra’s Mom shredder when the phone rang. “Xandra! It’s for you!”, Called her Mom from downstairs, “Keep it short please sweetie. The weddings tomorrow and Mrs Drew will throw a fit if she can’t reach me”
“No problem Mom” called Xandra as she picked up the living room phone. “Hello?”
“Is this Alexandra Anderson?”, asked the unknown male voice on the phone, sounding a long way off. Xandra winced slightly at the use of her full name. No one ever called her Alexandra, not even her Mom, who could possibly be calling? “Speaking, may I ask whose calling please?” She had to duck as Joanne, laughing at her prim phone manners, lobbed a cushion her way. “I’m calling on behalf of the Disney Store - Canadian branch. I believe you entered a contest recently at our Yorkdale location?”
“Y-es”, said Xandra slowly, not daring to acknowledge that spark in the back of her mind. There was no way. “On behalf of the Walt Disney Corporation, I would like to congratulate you on winning our ...”, but Xandra didn’t hear the rest of his well rehearsed speech. Joanne looked up from shredding four pages of particularly nasty math equations, alarmed by the thud of the phone on the carpet. “What’s wrong? Who is it?” “I...I won” said Xandra so quietly that Joanne would not have even heard her had she not been able to see her lips moving. “You...what? Won what?”. Then simultaneously, both girls seemed to get it. The resulting screaming brought Mrs Anderson running, certain something catastrophic must have happened.
Mrs Anderson insisted on accompanying her daughter to the Disney store where an employee would explain in more detail about exactly what she had won and ultimately, award her the prize. Joanne of course came too, because there could be no doubt as to who the one friend she was bringing would be. “Hi”, said her Mom to the employee behind the counter. We’re here to see the manager, apparently my daughter here has won some sort of contest?”
“That would be me”. A middle-aged man in a suit came striding towards them. “I’m Fred Trundle, and you must be Alexandra. Or is it Alex?”
“Xandra actually”, she said shaking his outstretched hand awkwardly.
“Really? Interesting” Xandra wasn’t sure if she liked the way he said “interesting”, but said nothing. She was used to people thinking her name was odd. She had never felt Alexandra fit her. It was the kind of name one of Stephanie’s friends would have. When she started school, there had been a boy named Alex in her kindergarten class, and she didn’t want to have the same name as a boy. So Xandra it was.
“So Xandra” said Mr Trundle smiling as he sat down behind an enormous desk in his office, “You must be very excited”. Xandra was about to respond when her mother cut across her, “Before we begin Mr. Trundle, I want to make a few things clear. We aren’t interested in any timeshares or vacation property and I frankly I think it’s a bit underhanded the way you market to children like this. So,” she continued, ignoring Xandra’s groan, “whatever the catch is here, let’s save us all a lot of time and effort and get it out on the table now.”
Xandra was afraid to look up at Mr Trundles expression. She studied the texture of her jeans, trying to ignore the disappointment welling up inside her. She knew this had been a possibility. Things like this didn’t just happen to people out of the blue. Sixteen wasn’t very old, but she was old enough to realise that there was no such thing as something for nothing, but it was nice to dream, that was the draw of Disney after all. The belief they marketed, that anyone could be anything no matter what, but that was just it. As magical as it seemed, Disney was a business, and this was real life not a fairy tale. The silence seemed to stretch on for ever, but finally Mr Trundle spoke. “I understand your...concern Mrs Anderson, but I assure you there is no catch. Xandra”, he smiled warmly in her direction, “entered our contest and her name was drawn at random by a computer program. It could have just as easily been anyone, of any age. Lady Luck seems to like your daughter”. Xandra felt a tiny glimmer of hope, but her mother wasn’t convinced. “Mr Trundle, you are telling me that your store is going to send my daughter to Florida simply out of the goodness of your hearts, for no personal gain?” Hearing her mother voice her thoughts made it her hopes seem so much more childish.
“Well,” began a still smiling Trundle, “our store, as well as the Walt Disney company obviously gets media coverage from this and of course, you daughter was entered in the first place because she gave our store her patronage. So you are correct, we are not giving away something for nothing, but your part has already been played. This is no scam, or sales pitch.” Judy was silent for a long time and Xandra suspected she was trying to find a flaw in his speech, some loophole. After what seemed an inordinate amount of time, she smiled. “Well then Mr Trundle, where do we sign?”
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