Seven Swans And The 13th

On the fourth day of Hanukkah when the menorah was nearly halfway lit and the Losers called Stan and told him to meet them in the clubhouse, he didn’t know what he was meant to expect.Well, he knew what he hadn’t been expecting when he climbed down the ladder and into the clubhouse- an honest to God real, full blown shrub in the corner- leatherwood, if he wasn’t mistaken- decorated with blue and white ornaments strung with yellow thread and made up of paper and fabric and cut into the (at that point barely recognizable) shapes of candlesticks and stars of David (some stars only had five points originally, with an extra point messily taped on).Stan tugged the sleeves of his cardigan down fastidiously. He was glad it wasn’t a useful one like a buttonbush.“What is- what is this for?” he turned and asked the others, all of whom were shifting on their feet nervously.-On December 26th, 1989, the Losers do something nice for Stan.