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“Let me get this straight,” Mrs. Claus looked down at Nim and Pepper with reproach. “Not only did you let Charlie out of his kennel, you also managed to get yourselves locked in?”
Pepper and Nim glanced at each other sheepishly.
“We didn’t let Charlie out Mrs. C,” said Pepper. “It was Lu–.”
“LUCK!” shouted Nim. “It was luck, the bad kind.”
Mrs. Claus eyed the two suspiciously. “The mischief you’ve gotten into during this beta test is astounding to say the least. Perhaps we need to rename this program to the Tinsel Terrors!”
“Mischief?” Lil said as she whizzed into the room, followed closely by Smarti and Flaky. “Have I got a tale of mischief for you! Bella and Cheyenne are in SUCH a pickle!”
For the next few minutes, the five elves shared stories of the shenanigans their assigned kids had gotten up to.
“…and then they set off a glitter bomb and the WHOLE kitchen was sparkling!” Lil finished the story with relish.
Mrs Claus laughed gently with them. “Alright, alright. It sounds as though your charges have been getting up to quite a bit of mischief as well. Let’s see what you can do to direct their energies elsewhere.”
“Why didn’t you want Mrs. C to know about Lucile?” Pepper asked Nim as they made ready to head their separate ways.
“I don’t know. It just seems like cheating somehow. Having a helper.”
“I don’t think it’s cheating at all. Especially when this supposed helper ends up causing more harm than good!”
“Maybe you’re right…”.
“She is absolutely right,” said Smarti. “Harold is out of control. Last night, he tried to ‘help’ by making extra cookie dough.”
“Well,” said Pepper. “That actually seems rather helpful, Smarti.”
“It would have been…if he hadn’t filled every empty container in the kitchen with sugar cookie dough. Including the kitchen sink!!!!”
All the elves stopped, imagining a sink filled to the top with sugar cookie dough.
“It sounds like heaven,” Lil murmured.
Smarti harrumphed.
“The carpet is covered in snow,” Flaky offered.
The other four elves stared blankly.
“Fake snow,” Flaky clarified.
“Oh, well, I guess that’s…better?” Lil said with a frown.
“Yes, it will make it easier to clean up.” With a smile and a salute, Flaky rose into the air, and flew off, leaving the others wondering what happened, and just who the culprit was.
***
What Flaky didn’t tell the group, was that the snow was actually attic insulation that fell down in the living room as the result of an accidental rocket launch into the ceiling. The rocket was, of course, Gretyl’s idea. Mostly.
Unfortunately, the brunt of the blame landed squarely on Sabine’s shoulders. You see, her parents did not believe in the Elves of Christmas and so every catastrophe or triumph was Sabine’s.
“We’re going to make it up to her tonight, Gretyl,” Flake admonished as he pushed a toy lawn mower in from the garage. “All we need is the fuel for this contraption, and we’ll have this mess cleared up.”
Gretyl smiled, knowing exactly where said ‘fuel’ was. “One moment!” She raced from the room and came back with two bottles of Super Bubbles. “Here it is!”
Flaky smiled. “Ok, let’s get to work!”
The Book: “Take responsibility for the messes you make. Don’t leave a bubble-covered mess behind!”
a pinch of homestead 