𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟 || 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘧𝘪𝘤

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕚𝕩‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

It had been a struggle to get Clove to set the toys down and leave the train car, but after promising they could play on the way back from the North Pole, Felix was able to follow the two girls back to their booth seat in the passenger car.

All of the other kids had their faces pressed against the cold windows to see the elves; Felix could see the fog from their breath on the glass.

"Where are the elves?" The overly happy boy was saying, tapping at the glass to point at the empty sidewalks of the North Pole.

"There should be elves." The Know It All kid stated with a matter-of-cat tone.

"Wow," Felix muttered. "You don't say."

Agnes let out an unexpected snort of laughter that had Felix's face heating with embarrassment.

"You can't say that," Agnes was laughing the entire time, and Clove was also giggling.

"Sorry," Felix mumbled, feeling a bit shy, but smiling at his new friends regardless.

"The elves are gathering in the middle of the town." The train conductor was explaining. "Where Santa will arrive, and give out the first gift of Christmas."

"Who gets the first gift of Christmas?" Clove shouted. The train conductor trained his brown eyes on them.

"He will choose one of you." Was that Felix's imagination, or did the train conductor single him out with that stare?

"What is the first gift of Christmas?" Clove kicked her legs impatiently.

"The first gift of Christmas," The conductor announced, turning away from Felix as if nothing had happened (it was probably just in Felix's imagination). "Is whatever you want, assuming Santa chooses you. For example, one kid asked for a go-kart one year; I highly recommend that you ask for something a bit smaller as we do have an entire train ride back home."

"Like what?" Know-It-All interrupted. The train conductor didn't seem to be annoyed by said interruptance.

"Like a baby doll. Or a toy car. Or a sleighbell, straight from Santa's sleigh."

Silence fell over the train before one kid, the overly happy kid who was smiling more now than the entire train ride, whispered, "A sleighbell?"

"Oh, yes." the train conductor nodded, a twinkle in his eyes. "It's the most beautiful sound, like angel song. You'll hear it here shortly when the elves come out to harness the reindeer and shake those bells... it's like your favorite song, multiplied by a thousand."

"A thousand?" Jolly Boy whispered eagerly, quite literally on the edge of his seat.

The train conductor nodded. A chorus of 'ooh' rippled across the train car, before silence fell again.

Felix didn't have a favorite song, but he did love Matilda the Musical. He can kind of relate to Matilda. His parents and brother aren't really cruel to him, but the relationships are strained. He loves his family, of course. His dad always wants to take him places and hang out with him, and Felix doesn't want to hurt his dad's feelings, but the random trips make him feel shaky and sick, he gets so nervous. His mom is quieter than his dad but gives tight warm hugs that protect you from the world. But Evan likes Dad better and Evan seems to always know best, so Felix wonders if he made the wrong choice, still loving Mom. It's like he can't love them both.

Everything seems to come so easily to Evan. No one at school is mean to him, he doesn't rely on a stuffed frog to keep him calm, he's strong and brave. Felix tries so, so hard to be just like Evan, but when he tries to talk loud with adults and tries to be a part of a big conversation, he freezes up or gets talked over. The only living things he doesn't get uncomfortable around are the puppy Custard and grumpy old Cottontail.