Over the next few days, Georgie began to busy himself with his crystal ball business.
After the first batch of crystal balls sold out, he used the money he earned to purchase over two hundred new ones.
However, there were only so many households he could visit in the surrounding area. If Georgie didn't expand his sales territory, selling the second batch of goods in this vicinity would be his limit.
Therefore, during this period, he sought out Mike again, suggesting they go to the street together to promote the crystal balls.
Three days had passed since Mike and the others participated in the "Christmas Joyful Day" program.
Due to Mike's handsome appearance, he, as the songwriter and instrumental accompanist, received more individual screen time on stage than the girls from The Plastics.
As a result, Mike's perfect appearance was broadcast via television to thousands of households in Texas.
This also led to him becoming incredibly popular in Medford Town.
Compared to his previous fame at the football field, which was limited to a specific audience, this time, Mike appeared as a creative star on a variety show with a much wider audience, making him more easily remembered.
This situation also led to enthusiastic girls approaching him for autographs when he appeared on the street.
It was based on this situation that Georgie suggested Mike sell crystal balls on the street.
According to him, with Mike's current popularity, even if a crystal ball sold for ten dollar, many girls would rush to buy it.
However, Georgie's naive suggestion was quickly rejected by Mike.
Compared to selling crystal balls on a cold street, Mike preferred to spend this special Christmas Day playing happily with Cady and the other girls.
...
And so, the seventh day of the Christmas holiday arrived.
On this day, when Mike returned home after spending the entire day playing alone with Lina, he unexpectedly saw Paige and her sister in the living room.
"Merry Christmas!"
After offering Christmas greetings, Paige said with a smile, "Mike, I watched your performance on 'Christmas Joyful Day,' and the song was indeed very good."
Although the little girl's compliment was a bit ambiguous, it was her sincere feeling.
Paige had previously seen the manuscript of Mike's song.
While she thought the song was good at the time, she never imagined that it would have such a great effect when performed by Mike and the others.
It's no exaggeration to say that after this new Christmas song aired on television, it became a phenomenal Christmas song within Texas.
If an entertainment company were willing to package them, it wouldn't be impossible to promote Mike and the girls from The Plastics into stars based on this song alone.
"Thank you."
Mike had little interest in becoming an entertainment star. He smiled and then asked curiously, "Why are you here? Where is your family?"
As mentioned before, Christmas is an important day for families to reunite. Barring unforeseen circumstances, whether traveling or relaxing at home, families try to stay together.
And according to Mike's observation, Paige's parents were not present to accompany their two daughters.
"My parents wanted to have a sweet Christmas trip for two. So they sent my sister and me here..." Paige explained with a smile.
It was clear that the little girl wasn't upset about being left behind by her parents on Christmas.
Instead, she seemed to be in a good mood because her parents' relationship had become closer.
"Oh, Mike. My parents already know about the event you planned for them last time." After Paige finished speaking, she took out a beautiful gift box from her person and handed it to Mike, continuing, "This is their thank-you gift for you."
Inside the box was a Parker fountain pen, the kind MacArthur himself praised.
For elders to give a fountain pen to a junior during Christmas could very well be a wish for them to further their academic studies.
Of course, the Swansons giving Mike a fountain pen likely intended to show their approval of Mike's character.
"Please thank your parents for me, I really like this gift." Mike said with a smile after trying out the pen.
Although the value of this gift couldn't compare to Mike's efforts, its underlying meaning suggested that the Swansons considered Mike one of their own.
Receiving such goodwill after giving felt wonderful.
"Mike, Paige, stop chatting, it's time to eat." At this moment, Connie, who had prepared dinner, appeared at the dining room door and called out.
Connie was very happy that Paige and her sister could come to her house for the holiday.
On one hand, the more lively the house was during a holiday, the better. On the other hand, the actions of the Swansons showed their complete trust in Connie.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving their daughters here on such an important day as Christmas.
Subsequently, Paige and her sister joined everyone in enjoying a Christmas feast at Connie's.
Amidst the pleasant dinner atmosphere, Mary suggested that everyone go to church for worship the next morning.
Tomorrow was Saturday, which was also the first Sunday after Christmas.
Seeing Mary's expectant expression, everyone agreed one after another to go to church for worship tomorrow.
Mike, having already spent several days playing with Cady and the other girls, decided to give himself a day off tomorrow.
The next morning, inside the church, Pastor Jeff led everyone in prayer and blessings.
After the ceremony, as Mike and his group were about to leave the church, Mary saw Veronica, looking somber, in a corner.
This girl, who had a relatively close relationship with Cooper, was standing alone in the corner, appearing both lonely and helpless.
"Wait, she looks like she needs help." After observing for a moment, Mary immediately walked towards the girl.
"Veronica, what happened? You don't look well." Mary asked with concern.
The girl, lost in thought, looked up and saw Cooper and Connie, among others.
"I..." Surrounded by so many people, Veronica was first surprised, and then, as if remembering something difficult to speak about, her expression became very complicated.
There were still many believers in the church, so it was clearly not a good place to discuss private matters.
The thoughtful Connie realized this and said to the girl, "Veronica, is that right? Would you like to come to my house for a cup of hot chocolate?"
The girl, burdened with worries, had been longing to confide in someone. Connie's suggestion perfectly suited her wishes.
Then, a large group of people returned to Connie's.
In a warm setting, holding a cup of hot chocolate, Veronica revealed her troubles.
It turned out that during Christmas, the girl's single mother had found a boyfriend from somewhere.
This man was not only ill-tempered and rude, but he had also made *harassing gestures towards the girl behind Veronica's mother's back.
Yet, this man had somehow enchanted Veronica's mother, making her completely infatuated.
As a result, despite Veronica's repeated hints to her mother that the man she found was not a good person, she only received scolding from her mother.
This situation left the girl at a loss.
Not wanting to stay at home for even a moment longer, she had used the excuse of going to church for worship today to run away from home.
"That's too much! I'm going to your house right now to help you get justice!" After hearing the girl's story, Georgie immediately became enraged and wanted to confront the man.
Although Georgie had been rejected by Veronica before, he still had some lingering feelings for his first love.
What's more, his crush was almost bullied by a despicable man.
This made it even more unbearable for Georgie.
"Calm down, Georgie—" Mary, seeing her eldest son's reaction, spoke up to stop him.
Although she also sympathized deeply with the girl's plight, Mary, with more life experience, realized that this was Veronica's family matter, and it would be very difficult for outsiders to intervene.
Unless Veronica's mother came to her senses herself.