Her Smile Could Melt The North Pole

Merry Christmas, Charlie!

Today was my last day babysitting Charlie until after winter break. Mrs. Calvin and Neal graciously offered me a ride home, as I live only a few minutes away from Mr. Calvin. Currently, we are sitting in the car, waiting for Mr. Calvin to arrive home so we can drop Charlie off for the night. Charlie sits in the backseat on his knees, staring out the rearview window.

After a while, Mr. Calvin finally pulls up to the house. I get out and follow Mrs. Calvin and Charlie to the front door. Mr. Calvin comes rushing up to us as we reach the front door, "Oh! Sorry I'm late. Hi," He gives Charlie a quick hug.

"Hello, Mr. Calvin!" I respond.

He turns to me with a smile, "Y/n, I told you to call me Scott," He turns back to Mrs. Calvin, "Did you want to come in for a minute?"

She looks back at Neal, "We have to get Y/n home and Neal's waiting in the car, so..."

"Why doesn't he come in? I can take Y/n home if she wants to stay around."

Charlie looks at his dad, "'Cause, Daddy, he says you'll just end up saying something snotty."

I giggle at his response while Scott says, "Not necessarily. Could be rude or sarcastic. Whatever it takes." He smiles and waves at Neal towards the end of his sentence.

Scott unlocks the door and allows the rest of us to walk inside. I follow Charlie to the Christmas tree, where he places a present. I place my present for him next to it. He walks up to Scott, There aren't that many presents over there."

"That's because Santa isn't here yet," Scott responds.

"Neal doesn't believe in Santa." His statement causes me to gasp. 'Neal told him Santa isn't real? He's too young for that, he still has a few years of  belief left,' I think.

"Well, Neal's head comes to a point," Scott retorts.

Neal starts honking the horn until Mrs. Calvin tells him to wait.

"So, Y/n, what are your plans for Christmas?" Scott asks.

"Probably gonna watch some Christmas movies and eat snacks," I answer.

His eyes widen, "You're not doing anything with your family?"

I shake my head, "I live alone and my parents are on a 'Christmas Getaway.' Whatever that is."

"Can Y/n stay with us, Dad? Please..." Charlie pleads.

Scott nods, "Of course she can, but that's up to her."

"I'd love to Charlie. Thank you, Scott."

Scott goes over to Laura and they argue about Neal telling Charlie that Santa isn't real. Charlie gets upset and confronts them about always fighting. Scott changes the subject and then ushers Laura out the door.

~~~

While Scott was cooking, I quickly ran home to pack an overnight bag and ran back. In the process of cooking, he managed to set the Turkey on fire and was putting it out with a fire extinguisher.  He ended up taking us to Denny's for dinner. The waitress led us to a table in the back. Charlie asks for chocolate milk but has to settle for regular because they're out. I just ask for a glass of water. 

~~~

It's time for Charlie to go to bed so Scott is reading him a Christmas story.

"And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled down for a long winter's nap. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash. With a miniature sleigh and St. Nick... And Prancer and Dancer...and to all a good night."

He puts the book down and turns off the light. Before he can leave the room, Charlie asks him a question, "What's that?"

"What's what?"

"'A Rose Suchak ladder'?" Charlie clarifies.

"It's not a ladder. I said, 'Arose such a clatter.' It means, 'came a big noise.'"

"What?"

Scott tries to explain the saying but ends up confusing him more. I chime in, "A clatter is a loud noise. So, it means there was a loud noise."

Charlie continues to ask Scott questions, but finally goes to bed. I lay on my pallet on the floor and cover up.

~~~

Suddenly, there's a loud thump, waking up Charlie and I. He rushes to Scott's room as I follow him. He wakes him up and Scott hears the thudding. He tells Charlie to stay with me while he checks it out.

Charlie looks at me, "We have to go see. It could be Santa!"

"Okay, but you need shoes and a coat," I agree.

Charlie and I rush outside. "You got him!" He yells, "It is Santa! You killed him."

"Did not! It is not Santa," Scott argues.

"Well, he was," Charlie retorts.

We hear a bell and look to the roof where we see a sleigh with a ton of reindeer. "Oh, wow," I mutter.

Charlie notices that Santa is gone, but his suit is still there. They start arguing about the issue. "It's the ladder," Charlie whispers. Scott turns and bumps his head into it. Charlie begins climbing the ladder to the roof. I follow after him to make sure he doesn't fall as Scott grabs the suit.

Charlie and I climb into the sleigh, but when Scott gets in, the reindeer start flying!

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god," I freak out.

Eventually, we stop on the roof of a house and I breathe a sigh of relief. Scott gets sucked down a chimney and we wait in the sleigh. Not long after, he flies back out and we fly to another house.

~~~

We arrive to what I assume is the North Pole and a kid with pointy ears presses some buttons on the pole before we start being lowered to beneath the ice. I see hundreds of these kids with pointy ears, 'They're elves!' I think. Charlie and I look around in awe. Scott tells us to stay in the sleigh, but Charlie doesn't listen, so I follow him.

I chase after him as he finds Scott talking to a teenage-looking elf. "I'm thirsty, and hungry, too," Charlie chimes in.

"Who's this?" The elf questions, motioning to Charlie.

"This is my son, Charlie. I'm sorry. Charlie, this is..." He struggles to remember the elf's name.

"Bernard," The elf reminds him.

"Hi Bernard." Charlie greets.

"Hiya, sport," He turns to me, "And who are you?"

"Y/n. I'm Charlie's babysitter."

Bernard seems startled by my answer, "Babysitter? We can't just allow random people to show up at the north pole! This is unacceptable," He mutter the last part.

I'm slightly taken aback at his hostility. He takes a deep breath before turning back to Charlie, "Hold out your hand, all right? Now, be very careful. This is very old, just like me," He hands Charlie a snow globe, "Shake it up, Charlie. Why don't you hold onto it for me for a while?"

Bernard ordered an elf to take me and Charlie to get some coco and snacks before taking Scott elsewhere.

~~~

In the morning, I wake up to Charlie shaking me. "Merry Christmas, Charlie!" I say as I rub the sleep from my eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Y/n! We have to wake up Dad!" He runs to Scott's room and jumps on him.

(1178 Words)

This might be the longest chapter I've ever written. Thank you for reading! I'll be on Winter break tomorrow after my exam, so I will try to keep updating as much as I can.