Modern Day Santa Claus

Chapter 1 The wind was increasingly freezing. But it was nothing out of the ordinary to a flushed, young girl who stepped out of her house wearing layers of sweater after sweater, topped off with a knitted, floral scarf wrapped around her neck. She breathed out a sigh, but the scarf obscured her hot breath that still left a trail of fog in front of her. Today was Christmas Eve. She had just celebrated with her family, complete with a feast and lots of singing and laughter. Of course, there were presents, loads of them, in all different sizes situated right under their large Christmas tree. She turned back to their house, an average two-story house decorated with lights which were all around their doors and windows. A seasonal wreath was also hung outside of their door. A snowman, which she built just this afternoon with her brother, was positioned out in their lawn which completed the whole look of their average Christmas decor. She turned to the streets. Every house was adorned with similar decorations. There was a cheerful buzz in the air, something that could only be heard on a day like this. From the windows of the houses, the girl watched each family celebrate Christmas in their own ways. Satisfied at what she just observed, she started walking to the left of their house. The snow crunched under her feet and honestly, it felt as if she was alone in the world. A lone girl walking on the night before Christmas. But as she reached the house next door and rang the doorbell, all trail of the feeling vanished. She grinned brightly as the door swung open, revealing a woman dressed to go out whom she'd known for years. "Good evening, Mrs. Smith. You look lovely today," the girl greeted. Mrs. Smith laughed. "Oh, spare me your words, Camilla Jae." Jae huffed. "I thought I already told you that should call me Jae." "And I thought I already told you to call me Anne," Mrs. Smith countered, a mischievous smile plastered on her face. Jae genuinely laughed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Smith. I'm already used to calling you that." "Yes. You refused to call me Anne even when you were a toddler." She glanced inside the house, patiently waiting for her husband to show up any minute now. "How's Pauline, by the way?" "Mom's fine. She just slept really, really early tonight," Jae answered. She rubbed her hands at her shoulders, hoping to alleviate the cold, but also wanting to show the neighbor that she's freezing, standing outside the house. Mrs. Smith caught the action and immediately felt ashamed. "Oh! I'm terribly sorry. Please, come in, Jae." She stepped out of the way to let the young girl in. "It's alright. I know you were waiting for Mr. Smith." But before Jae could come in, Mr. Smith showed up. "Hey kiddo! Sorry, it took me a long time honey. The kids won't buy the story. But when they heard Jae was coming, they were ecstatic." Mr. Smith winked at Jae. "The kids love you, don't they, Jae?" Mrs. Smith said fondly. Jae humbly nodded, pushing away the annoyance she felt when Mr. Smith forgot to let her in as well. "They do, surprisingly so. They didn't like me as much when they first met me, though." "Ah yes. Eryl has told me about Sandra. That she kept kicking you for no reason," Mrs. Smith said with a laugh. That was almost a year ago, back when Jae first started out babysitting the neighbor's kids. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had five kids, two of them were sixteen (almost her age), one of them was eight, one was six and one was barely four. The youngest, who was three, hated her as soon as she was introduced to them. Firstly because she would be replacing their mommy and daddy and secondly, they hated her short hair. Her hair has grown a lot longer than it used to, as it passed below her shoulders. "It was a long time ago," Jae said, her grin suddenly becoming forced as the seconds pass by. She was freezing and couldn't they have this conversation inside the house? "Indeed. You get along with them just fine," Mrs. Smith said. Mr. Smith glanced at his watch. "The party's starting soon honey. We need to go now." Thank the heavens. Jae almost breathed a sigh of relief but managed to hold it. "Have fun, Mr. and Mrs. Smith." "Yes, we'll be back in the morning, dear!" Mrs. Smith said as the couple headed towards the car parked in front of their house. Jae stepped in the house and welcomed the warmth it offered. She waved a final goodbye to her neighbors before she shut the door. She took off the scarf from her neck and trudged all the way to the living room, where the TV noisily showed a new cartoon that started showing just a month ago. She left her scarf on top of the couch and peeked at the two kids who were silently watching. It was the twins, Eryl and Ayesha. "Hey, you two. Don't you think it's time for bed?" she asked as she observed that one of them was already dozing off and the other one was half-awake. "Hey, Jae," Eryl drowsily greeted the babysitter. She yawned. "What time is it?" "It's past midnight. Where are your other siblings?" "Probably in the kitchen," Ayesha answered, one of her eyes was half-open. Jae wanted to laugh as she found their state humorous. But she'd probably be kicked in the face for that. So instead she bit back her laugh. "Go upstairs and sleep properly." She grabbed the remote that was lying on the floor and turned off the TV. The twins lazily rolled off the couch and headed upstairs. Jae immediately headed for the kitchen and froze in between one of her steps. The three kids were eating chocolate cake. No, not eating. More like devouring. Using their bare hands. She groaned loudly enough that one of them heard her. "Hi Jae!" Sandra, the youngest of the five, cheerfully greeted her. She was so dirty. There were streaks of chocolate frosting on her face, on her clothes, on her teeth and on her hands. Jae tried her hardest not to cringe but couldn't hide it when she realized that all three of them were in the same exact state. "Hello Sandra," Jae said, slowly walking up to the three kids who were still wolfing down the cake. Did their parents know about this? Or did they only start consuming the cake when they left? Either way, Jae is still responsible for this. She'd have to clean them up before going to bed. "Jae! Jae! Here! Chocolate!" Kurt, the second youngest, started to push a handful of chocolate cake into her face. Jae leapt away before it was too late. "No thanks, Kurt. You can have that," she said, almost relieved that she stepped away in time. "Itsh delishoosh!" Megan said, her mouth was stuffed with cake. She waved a handful of chocolate cake in Jae's direction but Jae moved fast to avoid them. "I know. Just finish up so you all can get some sleep," Jae said with a sigh. "Megan, bring your brother and sister in the bathroom after you finish so you could all wash up, ok?" Megan nodded as she continued devouring the cake in her hands. Jae could only shake her head as she took off two layers of her sweater and dumped them on the couch before heading towards the bathroom. She filled the bath with hot water and lots of soap bubbles, as the children loved the bubbles. She looked down at her clothes. She should've brought some clothes. She knew she's not going out of this bathroom dry and clean. Heaving a sigh, Jae took off her remaining sweater so she could keep them dry. This made her feel colder but the steam of the hot water rushing in the bathtub did the trick. A few minutes later, the three kids showed up in the bathroom, giggling and l*****g off the last of the chocolate frosting left on their fingers. Well, at least their fingers were clean. Megan didn't hesitate to take off her clothes and then jumped in the tub. She breathed a sigh of relief and Jae couldn't help but chuckle. Kurt stood in front of Jae with his arms raised. Jae helped Kurt take off his shirt and shorts before he followed his sister into the tub. The two kids started splashing water against each other. "C' mere Sandra," Jae called the youngest. She was already dozing off on top of the toilet. "You need to wash up first." She took off the girl's dress and shoes before she slowly submerged half of her body in the water. "I'm sho tired," Sandra muttered. Jae squeezed a bottle of shampoo into her hands before she started washing the kid's hair. "You can't be tired! Santa's coming!" Kurt said, jumping excitedly to show his enthusiasm. Jae tried to dodge the splashes of water but failed miserably. "Yes, yes, Sandra! Santa's coming again tonight!" Megan said with a clap of her hands. Jae raised an eyebrow as she started to wash off the shampoo off Sandra's hair. "Again? Did Santa already visit you?" Megan nodded eagerly, Kurt following suit. "He showed up last year! Like magic! One moment, he's there, and then the next, he's not!" Megan said. "And he ate the milk and cookies that mummy placed under the tree!" Kurt added. Jae laughed. It was pretty cute that the kids still believed in Santa Claus. She wondered how they'd feel when they found out that Santa Claus was not real after a few years. She casted them a pitying look but almost immediately tried to match their enthusiasm. She's not here to ruin the kids' fun. "Really? How'd you find out?" "Kurt said he saw him! When he went downstairs, he found Santa Claus crouching beneath the tree and eating the milk and cookies!" Megan answered. "But he disappeared! Like magic!" Kurt said. "We're planning to catch him tonight!" "You can't catch Santa Claus. He knows everything." Jae chuckled until she started singing, "He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good, for goodness sake." Honestly, those lyrics were terrifying. It made Santa Claus seem like such a creep. Or worst, a pedophile. He watches children while they slept! If that doesn't make your skin crawl, then I don't know what will. "You better watch out, you better not cry!" Megan continued singing the rest of the lyrics. Kurt started to sing with her. "You better not pout, I'm telling you why!" "Santa Claus is coming to town!" Sandra finished off, her voice shrill and high. Jae cringed but let out a good laugh. "Ok, that's enough. Time for bed, kids." ____ The whole house was quiet. Jae had already finished checking up on the kids to see if they were really asleep. But they were knocked dead. Exhaustion filled her. It was time for her to sleep as well. She headed downstairs, her footsteps as quiet as a mouse. The house looked creepy in the dark. And she was alone. She rarely slept in the neighbor's house, but today was an exception. Because today, the Smith's would be out for a whole night. This meant that the babysitter would babysit the kids the whole night as well. Jae has no problem with that. Except for the fact that the living room couch was colder than her warm bed back at home. But she could survive a night. Of course she would. The Smith was going to pay her handsomely, more than what they used to pay her just to sleep overnight in their house to take care of the kids. Jae froze at the bottom of the stairs. There was a rustling sound somewhere inside the house. Her heart beat spiked up. Probably just the wind, she told herself. She started walking again but her steps were quieter than usual. There was another rustle and this time, Jae could distinguish that it came from under the Christmas tree. Probably just a rat or something, she said again. She crept across the living room, hiding behind the couch as she wanted to make sure that there really was no one here with her. At least, that was what she'd hope. She trembled slightly as she found a hunched figure right under the Christmas tree. There were no lights but she could see the faint silhouette of the person. She grabbed her phone from her pocket to dial 911 but mentally cursed when she realized that she left it in the bathroom. Too risky to go back now. Her mind wandered to the sleeping kids upstairs. There was no way in hell would she let the intruder harm the children. She'd have to make herself known. Or creep up behind him. The creeping up behind him sounds a lot riskier but it was also the risk she would take. She couldn't trust her mouth in a situation like this. She'd usually babble nonsense things until she ran out of things to say. Creeping up behind the intruder would give her the upper hand, since she has the element of surprise. She'd have to be careful not to give out that there are kids in this house. Her hands were clammy and cold, probably because of what she was going to do. This could cost her her life. No. She couldn't think like that. She'd rather let herself be in danger rather than endanger the kids upstairs. She took quiet, subtle steps towards the intruder, who was still hunched under the Christmas tree. Jae wondered what he was looking for. He couldn't possibly be... Her eyes widened as she took tiny steps nearer. It was true. The intruder... he was eating the milk and cookies that the children displayed under the Christmas tree before they went to bed. She could hear him munching down the cookies. "Damn, these cookies are good," she heard him say. But before Jae could change her mind, she tackled the person onto the ground, knocking him off his feet. They landed on the floor with a thump and Jae could feel her heart about to burst out of her chest. "I-i-i called the c-cops!" Jae wanted to punch herself for stammering like an i***t. The intruder groaned under her weight. "Ah shit... first day on the job and I already got caught," he hissed under his breath. "Pops would be very delighted to hear that." He sounded young. Perhaps he was not over 25. "Who are you?" Jae tried to keep her breathing normal, but it was hard, especially that this was the first time she tried to confront an intruder. "I-i called the cops! They'll be here any minute!" "And who are you? You're not supposed to be here," the young man retorted. "Wait. If you're here, that meant Mr. and Mrs. Smith attended the party. Hmm, you must be the babysitter." "I called the cops!" Jae said again, willing herself to be calm. The young man knew about Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He knew about her. That might also mean that he knew about the kids upstairs. Who the hell was he? "You didn't. If you did, we'd have heard the sirens minutes ago. The police station is just a block away," the young man countered. He knew. He knew this neighborhood. He knew about the police station. But he didn't sound familiar, not at all, to Jae. "W-who are you...?" Jae asked, again. The young man sighed through his nose. "If I tell you who I am, would you get off? Because honestly, you're pretty heavy for a girl." Jae tried not to sneer. She didn't answer as she waited for an answer. "I'm Santa Claus," the young man finally said, his tone was flat. Was he toying with her? He must think she's some kind of an i***t, doesn't he? Annoyance rippled through Jae. "I don't think this is a time for jokes," she said angrily. "I'm not joking. You were the one who asked. I just answered. Now please, get off." The young man tried to move but Jae only pinned him down harder. "Ow!" "I want the truth," Jae said. "I gave you the truth. And it's not like you'll find me after I gave you my name. I'll already be long gone after that." "Answer. Or I can do this all night," Jae said through gritted teeth. She doesn't even know why she wanted to know his name so badly. A flash of silver-white hair glinted under the moonlight. "Oh for goodness sake," the young man muttered before the whole house was flooded with lights. Someone turned on the lights. Jae looked around, her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to figure out who turned on the lights. The lights were right beside the door. No one was beside the door. She turned her head towards the young man pinned under her and her whole world stopped. Oh. Oh. There was a beautiful, young man with silver-white hair pinned underneath her. His eyes were filled with irritation and his lips parted, his teeth bared. He was dressed in a fine, fitted red suit. His red hat was inches away from his lustrous hair where it tumbled off when she knocked him to the floor. There was a sack with the exact same color of his suit that was placed near the wall beside them. It looked like it was filled with gifts and presents in different sizes. "Stop staring and get off."