15
Call to Arms
‘All right, everyone,’ Ellie said, holding up her cup. ‘Hot chocolates in the air.’
A sea of steaming cups rose in a salute. Not far from Lucy, a marshmallow overflowed, making a sticky roll for freedom, only to be deftly caught in a waiting mouth. The man hurriedly replaced it with another one from a bowl on a nearby table.
‘Three … two … one … Merry Christmas!’
Ellie grinned as everyone cheered and took a sip of their hot chocolate. An older man in a suit decorated with Christmas lights appeared beside her, took the microphone and climbed up onto a chair. He gave the microphone a dramatic tap, then cleared his throat.
‘Welcome, everyone, and thank you so much for all your hard work so far. Now that the main team is all present, I thought it would be nice to have som
