The church doors swung open, and families filtered out into the crisp December afternoon, their voices mixing with the sound of rustling coats and cheerful goodbyes. Mark stepped into the sunlight, grateful that the service had ended, when he heard his name called out urgently.

"Mark! Mark!"

Isabella came running up to him, her cheeks flushed from the cold—or perhaps from excitement. Mark turned to face her with a puzzled expression.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you know if your family is doing anything special for Christmas?" Isabella asked, catching her breath.

Mark shrugged. "I don't know. Probably just the usual Christmas service. Then after that we will probably do Christmas dinner with my aunt Sue. Why?"

Isabella's eyes lit up with an idea. "Well, my family doesn't do much during the Christmas season. So I thought we could do something fun. You know, something to spice things up."

Mark considered this for a moment. "Oh, well maybe we could do something fun at the church for Christmas Eve?"

"Like a Christmas Pageant! Or play!" Isabella exclaimed, her enthusiasm growing with each word.

"That could work," Mark agreed, warming to the idea.

"What should we do?" Isabella pressed.

Mark didn't hesitate. "Well, I think the obvious thing to do is the Nativity scene."

"Okay. Who will be in it?" Isabella asked, already thinking ahead.

"I could ask Connor," Mark suggested.

"Ooh! And I can ask Lidia!" Isabella added eagerly.

"I think my little brother could be in it too," Mark said.

"Wait, how old is Micah?" Isabella asked.

"Seven."

"He should be old enough," Isabella decided. "What part could he play?"

"We could just give him a small part. Maybe one of the shepherds," Mark offered.

Isabella nodded. "Alright. So far we have Connor, Lidia, and Micah."

Mark frowned slightly. "I think we will need a lot more people than just three kids."

"Yeah, probably," Isabella agreed, looking around the parking lot as if searching for potential cast members.

As if on cue, Ana walked up to them with a friendly smile.

"Hey guys. What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Oh, we're just making a Christmas play to put on," Isabella explained.

"When are you going to do it?" Ana asked with interest.

"Christmas Eve," Mark answered.

"Can I be in it?" Ana asked hopefully.

"Sure. We need more kids anyways," Mark said.

"Are you guys doing the Nativity?" Ana asked.

"Yeah. We need a lot more kids though if we're going to do it," Isabella confirmed.

"I could see if Charlie is interested," Ana offered.

Mark and Isabella exchanged a nervous glance. They both knew Charlie had a reputation for being difficult—his temper was legendary around the church.

"Well…I don't know if Charlie should be in it," Isabella said carefully.

"Why not?" Ana's voice took on a defensive tone. "Just because he has anger issues doesn't mean he shouldn't be in it. He's really nice when you get to know him."

"Didn't he wreck the kids' room because Michael wouldn't let him play with the Legos?" Mark reminded her.

"In his defense, Michael was being super rude about it," Ana countered.

Isabella sighed. There was something in Ana's loyalty to her brother that was hard to argue with. "Fine. He can be in the play."

"But if he wrecks anything, he's out!" Mark added firmly.

"Great! I'll go tell him," Ana said, rushing off before they could change their minds.

Once Ana was out of earshot, Isabella turned to Mark with doubt written all over her face. "We're not going to actually put him in it, right?"

Mark shook his head. "Isabella, we kinda have to. And just because he may not be the best kid in the church, we still gotta be kind. Besides, he could be really good at acting. You know we've both watched The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

Isabella reluctantly nodded. "Fine."

"Good. Now who else would want to be in our Christmas play?" Mark wondered aloud.

As if answering his question, Caleb walked up with his characteristic swagger.

"Yo, yo, yo! Mark! Whatcha doin' bro? Hanging out with your girlfriend?" Caleb asked with a smirk.

"Caleb. We both know she is not my girlfriend," Mark said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, we are just friends," Isabella added quickly.

"Well, whatever. Call it what you want," Caleb said with a shrug. "Ana told me you're doing a play?"

"Yes, we are," Isabella said. "But I bet you don't want to join. It's probably too 'kidish' for you."

"Not really. I like plays," Caleb said matter-of-factly.

Mark's eyebrows shot up. "You. Caleb. Like plays?"

"Yeah."

"I never thought of you—out of all people—would like plays," Mark said, laughing in disbelief.

"Alright! Skip to the point!" Isabella interrupted. "Caleb, do you want to be in the play or not?"

"Sure," Caleb agreed.

"Okay!" Isabella said. "Caleb, can you go downstairs and see if Lidia, Connor, Micah, Charlie, Skye, Cassidy, Ana, and Michael can come here?"

"Why?" Caleb asked.

"Because we need them for our play!" Mark explained.

"Right…" Caleb said, heading toward the stairs.

Once Caleb had left, Mark turned to Isabella with a serious expression. "You do know that we'll have to check with Pastor Aaron to see if we can even do any of this, right?"

Isabella made a dismissive sound. "Hmph…"

A few minutes later, Caleb returned with the group in tow. Mark immediately pulled Caleb aside, noticing that Connor had a bruised leg and a black eye.

"Caleb, what happened down there exactly?" Mark asked quietly.

Caleb spoke rapidly, the words tumbling over each other. "So, Connor and Charlie had gotten into a fight about who knows what. Later, when Connor's dad came to pick him up, Connor asked his dad who was right and who was wrong. And when his dad said that Connor was right, then Charlie got upset over it and got into a fight with him. So yeah."

Mark winced. This was getting complicated.

Isabella turned to address the group of kids gathered before her. "Okay, everyone. Mark and I are thinking about doing a Christmas play of the Nativity this year. We were wondering if you all would be interested in being a part of it!"

"Ooh! That sounds fun! I'm in!" Lidia said enthusiastically.

"Why not," Connor said with a shrug, despite his injuries.

Micah looked up at Mark for reassurance before nodding. "I'll do it."

"Does it have any action?" Michael asked, his eyes lighting up at the prospect.

"I guess?" Isabella answered uncertainly.

"Sure," Michael agreed.

"Are there Angels?" Cassidy asked.

"It's the Nativity, so yes," Isabella confirmed.

"Do we sing in it?" Skye asked hopefully.

"We might do a couple of songs," Mark said.

"ARGH!" Charlie protested loudly.

"We might do a couple of songs," Mark repeated, ignoring Charlie's outburst.

"Yay!" Skye exclaimed, undeterred.

Just then, Pastor Aaron appeared, having come up from downstairs. Isabella straightened up, suddenly aware of the authority figure's presence.

"Pastor Aaron?" Isabella called out respectfully.

"Yes, Isabella?" the pastor responded warmly.

"Mark and I were wondering if we could put on a Christmas play this year," Isabella asked.

Pastor Aaron smiled. "I don't see why not. Just don't ruin the stage, and make sure you are telling the Christmas story. Alright?"

"Thanks, Pastor Aaron!" Isabella said gratefully.

Once the pastor had left, Isabella addressed the group again. "Okay, everyone! Practice starts at 6 o'clock every Friday night here at the church. Be there. Tell your parents. Goodbye, everyone!"