The exercise:
The (now officially labeled) Christmas Week trundles onward with: candy canes.
Kat and I are on the road and heading north today. Take care of the place while I'm gone, won't you?
We're expecting to be back next Wednesday, but I suspect that will depend on the weather.
Mine:
"Where have you been all night?" Rosa asked when she spotted Miguel stumbling into the workshop. The other elves were preoccupied with their final assignments but she kept her voice low anyway.
"Looking for Big Red," he replied, blinking at her in confusion. "Where else would I be?"
"Listen, I've made a list of places for us to search," Rosa said, pulling him to a quiet corner.
"Have you checked it twice?" Miguel asked, struggling to maintain a straight face.
"Not funny. At all. We're running out of time here; we need to be more organized!"
"Of course, of course. Let's have a look at it then."
"Okay." Rosa glanced around before pulling a folded square of paper out of her coat pocket. "I've ticked off everywhere we've looked together: stables, woodshed, Frosty's place, Jack Frost's cafe, and the grounds to the east and west of the Claus home."
"So what's left?" Miguel asked, swaying slightly from apparent exhaustion.
"Well, there's the Abominable Snowman's bar, the Candy Cane Club... no need to check there though. Mrs. Claus has forbidden Santa from stepping foot in there ever again after that incident last New Year's Eve. Those girls are permanent residents of the Naughty List, that's for sure."
"I checked there already anyway."
"You... what? Is that where you've been?"
3 comments:
I love the list of places that there are up at the North Pole! Miguel's clearly had experience of Santa disappearing before, and it sounds like the girls at the Candy Cane club helped him out as best as they were able :)
But I wonder where Santa is? I know you wouldn't give us a dead Santa on Christmas Eve (and I know these are all scheduled posts so I can't give you ideas now either!)
I still Rosa did it, by the way. She's trying too hard to be helpful to be innocent.
Candy Canes
The wormhole in the garage hung in the air like a mirror suspended from invisible strings. It was oval, about the height of a tall man, and perfectly reflective. What it reflected at the moment was Santa and a tooled-up Frosty the snowman heading purposefully towards it.
Santa was first, stepping into the silver mirror and disappearing. For him, it seemed like he stepped into a silver bubble that then popped, leaving him with a taste like candy canes in his mouth and stood in the middle of Santa's workshop. A moment later and Frosty was stood next to him, looking as menacing as a top-hatted snowman with a turkey-baster can.
"How do we know if the Elf's here, Carl?" said Santa, looking around the dizzying heights and breadths of the workshop. The ceiling was lost to view; sometimes when the weather was bad clouds formed beneath it and rained on the workers. Banks of steel boxes with strange wheels, arms, and moebius conveyor belts stretched away into the distance, and now and then there was a soft ping or sproink as a part failed. Then little feet would scurry off to it to fix it and ensure the production of toys for Christmas.
Frosty walked over to a hopper of gaudily-wrapped Christmas packages and tore the paper off one. The paper, though thick and colourful tore easily with a happy ripping sound. "Oh, he's here," he said, handing the half-unwrapped gift to Santa. It was "Baby's first Howitzer".
"Unless you've changed the gift list this year to something a little more cutting edge, Santa?"
"Will this work?" asked Santa, looking a little stunned.
"You bet," said Frosty. "This workshop only turns out toys that work, you know that."
In the distance there was a small explosion, and Carl pointed towards the plume of dark smoke that billowed up.
"Follow that smoke! That was an anti-personnel high-shrapnel, fifty-metre land-mine!"
"How do you know this, Carl?" asked Santa as they ran towards where the Elf was hiding.
@Marc - of course the Candy Cane Club would be erm.. that kind of club *giggles* Elves have needs too you know... *snciker* Okay, pulling mind form the gutter now.
@Greg - LOL it rains on the workers? that's too funny. but who are the workers... if the Elf is a man eating thing...
Anyway here I go:
Candy canes eh? Well I think I know how to fit those in. *grin* This is fun to have a Chrsitmas week but not be wrting a Cristmas story. He He... or should I say Ho Ho. *giggles*
Candy Canes
“Maybe we should go back inside,” Tina whispered to Noah.
“No,” Noah pulled the sock tighter about him. “I’m not going back until I see what’s going on.”
“I’m going back inside.” She sighed and began to untangle herself.
“Wait,” Noah caught her hand. She looked back annoyed at him. “Please?” he asked, “No one will believe just me, but they, they respect you...”
Tina looked at the chimney they’d climbed up and then back out to the yard where another car pulled into the driveway. This time it was a man who stepped out. He was smartly dressed and he moved to the woman and spoke.
“Emily Greenland, I presume?” The woman nodded her head and Tina wrapped herself back up with Noah.
“She’s grown hasn’t she?” Tina whispered, but Noah hushed her as he tried to listen to the conversation.
“I’m Stephan Solder.” The two shook hands. “Would your girls like some candy canes?” he pulled two form his coat pocket.
“Can you guarantee they will keep them from talking?” She asked with a slight chuckle.
“Well no, but you can hope right?” Stephan smiled.
Emily opened the car door and let the two teens back out again. “Julia,” she handed the younger one the giant candy cane. “You can play in the garden.” She turned to her other daughter, candy cane ready to give. “Alicia you stay in the back yard, throw snowballs at the fence if you want, but.” Emily’s gaze toke them both in, “If I hear ANY fighting, it’s back to the car for you both. Understood.”
Both girls, candy cane in their moths nodded and trooped off to their assigned locations.
“Now, Mr. Solder,” she smiled hesitantly upon the man, “what do you need to see for this apprasial?”
Greg - good to see the holidays did nothing to slack your bloodthirst :P
Loved the descriptions in this one, particularly the workshop and the wormhole.
Elor - great job with this scene. I like the camaraderie between Tina and Noah, and the interplay between Emily and Stephan.
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