Blame it on the Mistletoe

Chapter 4

Holiday decorating at the Understudy has officially begun! Santana makes her way through the restaurant skeptically eyeing all the décor. She can definitely tell which is Kurt's and which is Rachel's handy work – both, however, are so over the top that it starts to blend together the longer she stares.

"My God, where did you get all of this stuff?" Santana asks in wonder. "Is there a line of kids wrapped around the building expecting to get their picture taken with Santa? If so, which one of you is dressing up? I suggest Rachel."

"Don't offend me. This is tasteful!" Kurt protests. "At least, this area is. I'll have to make adjustments to Rachel's side."

"You will do no such thing! I am very proud of this," Rachel says. "Look at the lights, it's magical!"

"Yeah. That's probably a fire hazard," Santana mutters at the excessive amount of string lights and garland. It's nice-looking, but entirely too much. Leave it to Rachel and Kurt to show a lack of restraint when it comes to decorating though.

As she travels deeper into the dining room, she can hear Christmas music playing over the sound system. It doesn't really fit their aesthetic and honestly, it's kind of distracting compared to the classical showtunes instrumentals they used to play.

"Who changed the music?" Santana asks when she spots Kurt and Rachel arguing over tinsel.

"I did!" Rachel proclaims. "Don't you love it? I created the playlist myself, I've spent hours handpicking each and every song. I even put them in order!"

"I thought we had the password changed?" Santana asks Kurt.

Kurt shrugs. "We did. She must've cracked the code."

"Rachelsux123 isn't very imaginative," Rachel frowns. "It's also rude."

"You're lucky I didn't go with my first choice," Santana jokes. "I would've probably ended up in HR."

"Well, say what you want but it's Christmas and that means we're playing Christmas music."

"I'm not dissing it; I love my Christmas jams!" Santana replies. "But you couldn't find a better playlist? The last thing anyone wants to hear while they're trying to enjoy a meal is the sound of high-pitched chipmunks."

"Don't worry. I'll fix it when she leaves," Kurt whispers to her.

"Thank you," Santana mouths back.

"This event is going to be spectacular!" Rachel cheers seemingly unfazed by Santana and Kurt. "Marketing has made these cute promos. We're getting in special paper for the menus that are pine scented."

"Scratch and sniff menus? Just when you thought it couldn't get any more festive..."

"Oh yes, Santana. They're also dusted with gold to resemble the flicker of Christmas lights! They're stunning. My dads said they will be sparing no expense!"

"Well, there goes my Christmas bonus," Kurt jokes.

"Yeah, mine too!"

"Well have no fear, we can reuse everything for our staff party!"

"Are we really?" Kurt frowns. "I might have to rethink some things. Are we sold on the placement of the Christmas tree?"

"And on that note, I'm gonna go. It's looking decent though, I trust Kurt will work his magic," Santana continues her way to the kitchen. "I'm going to check on Quinn. Please, don't burn anything down out here. Remember, less is more!"

\\

With the arrival of the new menu, comes the immense pressure to ensure Santana's vision comes to life. So far, she has received raving reviews from the locals – she didn't expect anything less. Her crew is a well-oiled machine and watching them work during the peak of a dinner service rush is better than watching anything on Broadway.