New chapter! I know it's a holiday break, but who's ready to go back to school?

Please enjoy.

This is set in my A New Life universe, which is set in Dot's M.Y.T.H. universe.

Fair warning: Suicide is attempted, but (spoiler alert) the attempt fails. And thus comes the real Christmas gift in this story.

The Christmas Eve midnight service was wonderful. I took my place in the soprano section of the choir and sang carols that I had literally known for decades. I had to pay attention to what I was doing, though. It would have been easy to slip into the baritone or tenor parts that I had learned years ago.

At the stroke of midnight, Pastor Dan placed the baby Jesus into the manger. We all wished each other a very merry Christmas, sharing hugs all around.

Monad crept slowly across the overgrown, neglected gardens, staying out of sight of the cameras. "Are you sure somebody lives here?," Monad wondered aloud, "It looks kind of degraded." "I'm sure. It's registered to a Hailey Bonne, and she's definitely in the building now. Probably sleeping though," Demiurge replied through Monad's headset. Monad soon made it to the west wall of the mansion, and began sliding across, checking for unsecured windows.

What should I do?
Maybe he won’t hit me this time.
If I show him how much I care,
Maybe he’ll change.
I wish I knew what to do.