Quote:
The line for Santa is miles long and doesn’t seem to be moving. At the front, it appears there isn’t enough help to keep everything running smoothly. Suddenly you are tapped on the shoulder and turn around to find a woman dressed as an elf looking at you with panic in her eyes. “There you are! Where have you been? Why aren’t you dressed? Hurry up! We need more hands up there!” It appears she has mistaken you for one of the missing elves. Do you go along with it? Set her straight?
WC: 1059
Jadyn stood at the end of a very long line with Santa Claus at the other end of it. It might look strange to some people, an eighteen year old male waiting in line to see Santa with no kids in sight, but this was something he and his older sister Marni had done every year. When they were kids they had gone with their parents. The Christmas before they died, Marni had put up a fuss about going. She was eighteen, she didn't want kids from her school to see her on Santa's lap and make fun of her for it. Their parents had made her go anyway and seven months later they were gone. Car accident. Jadyn had just turned eleven. Since then, Jadyn and Marni had gotten their picture taken with Santa every year as a way to remember and honor their parents.
This year, Marni had texted that she was running late because one of her co-workers had called out and she had to wait on their replacement. Jadyn, sure that the line would be long since they had waited so late, told her he would get in line and wait for her there. So there he was, looking like a giant dork in line to see Santa all by himself. "Thanks, nameless co-worker," he grumbled under his breath.
Ten minutes later and the line still hadn't moved. He leaned over to see what the hell was taking so long. The scene at 'Santa's Workshop' looked like chaos. Elves were running between stations looking a bit like holiday chickens with their heads cut off. "Jeez, looks like someone called out here, too," he muttered to himself. He pulled his phone out and brought a game up since he was apparently in for a long wait.
Someone tapped his shoulder. "There you are!" a red-faced woman said as he turned. "Where have you been?"
"Uh, what? I've been...here?" Jadyn said, confused. He didn't know this woman. She was dressed as an elf though, so she must be working for the mall Santa. Oookay that was clearly the wrong thing to say. Her face got even redder and she grabbed his sleeve, yanking him out of line and up toward the Workshop area.
"You should have been dressed an hour ago! We need all hands on deck here, kid, and you're just standing there like a bump on a log!" She continued to rant under her breath at him before shoving him into the Workshop. "You're lucky we keep spare uniforms for everyone here," she said and shoved an elf costume against his chest. "Get changed and get behind the camera!"
And then she was gone. He didn't even get a chance to tell her he was not who she thought he was. At least the guy was the camera elf. That, he was sure he'd have no problem doing. It took him ten minutes to get into costume, and he was thankful the bottoms were more like loose leggings than tights. Honestly, it was that much different than his fuku as Sarin and that made him snort.
Yanking the hat on over his vibrant red hair, Jadyn walked out and followed the furiously pointing finger of the woman who'd grabbed him. Behind the camera was a distressed looking kid who clearly had no idea how to handle the camera.
"Chill, dude, I've got this," he said and grinned. The kid smiled in relief and took up the empty post next to Santa, poised to give out candy canes to the kids as they hopped off his lap. The kid currently in position looked bored and Jadyn gave his mother a winning smile and bent to check out the camera.
Oh, this would be easy! It was an older model, but he had worked with this type before. With an eye on the screen, Jadyn fiddled with the settings until everything looked the way he thought it should. "Alright now, smile!" he told the family and snapped the picture. The elf handing out the candy canes directed them to where they could purchase their pictures while another elf escorted the next family to Santa.
The next couple hours seemed to fly by as he took pictures of families. Maybe next year he would see about getting a job doing this; it might be good for his portfolio. He got so into the work; helping babies to stop crying long enough for the picture, talking unimpressed teens and tweens into at least pretending to smile; that he didn't notice his sister coming up the line until she called his name.
"Jadyn?" She sounded incredulous. Jadyn looked up and around until he spotted her familiar dark red ponytail, staring at him with her mouth open. "I thought you were going to wait for me in line. What the hell happened?"
"Oh, hey, Marni," he said with a sideways grin, then shrugged. "I was in line then one of the elves grabbed me. She thought I was someone else, gave me a costume, and put me behind the camera. At least it's one I know how to work," he laughed.
Marni shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Only you, Jade," she said with a laugh. Jadyn grinned again and turned back to finish taking the current family's picture when the elf-lady who had grabbed him before tapped his shoulder again.
"I am so sorry!" she said, looking embarrassed. "I thought you were Sam, he's tall with red hair just like you."
"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm actually a photography major so this worked out pretty well!" He grinned and waved her off.
"Well, anyway, I'll make sure you get paid for the time you spent, okay? Ah...would you mind finishing the night out? It's a couple more hours, but... We could really use the help, if you couldn't tell."
"Absolutely! As long as my sister and I can get our picture taken before shop closes," he said and smiled. He was actually having a pretty good time doing this. The woman assured him that they would be able to do this, and thanked him profusely before going back to her position.
"Jade!" He turned at his sister's voice again, only to grimace as she took his picture in costume. "I am so sending this to your girlfriend," she teased.
