Snowflakes.// ParkerGames

d e c e m b e r . t w e n t y - f i r s t

[ a l i ]

"Ah, Miss Ali James!" Some man came up to the Santa booth, making eye contact with me.

"Um, hi?" I said, trying to continue working for Liam. "Do I know you?" I asked.

"Not particularly. But I do know you." He said. "May I talk with you?"

"Well, I'm kind of busy here..." I gestured to the Santa booth. "And plus, I don't have a clue who you are." I let a little laugh out.

"I was in charge of the inspection yesterday, and saw what a fantastic job you did here! I would love to have a word with you." He smiled.

"You do realize that I didn't do all of this, right? I had a ton of help, especially from my co-leader. And all of our friends." I informed him as I led another kid to speak with Santa.

"Well, who cares, you were in charge, so I want to talk to you." He smiled and I rolled my eyes so hard I think I saw my brain.

"Whatever, I'll talk to you, but after I help my friends." I told him.

"Great, I'll be in the food court in an hour and I expect to see you there!" He waved and walked away.

"He sounded like a dick." Someone said. I turned around to see Jessie.

"Yeah, he doesn't even care that everyone in our group did so much more than I did, yet he only wants to see me. He doesn't even want to talk to Parker!" I groaned.

"Look, Ali, you're a good person. And I know that if he insults any of your friends you will stand up for them. So, I don't think you need to worry about this guy." She smiled. "Now, I've gotta go help Ryan and Jordan with something, so, I'll see you around." She said and went on her way.

I took a deep breath and turned back to 'Santa.' "Alright kids, who wants to meet Santa?" I said and a bunch of kids in line squealed.

-----

I walked into the food court and quickly found the man from earlier. I walked over to him and took a deep breath before sitting down at the table.

"I knew you would come meet me, Ali, smart girl." He smiled.

I tried so hard not to roll my eyes. "I never caught your name. What is it?" I asked.

"Oh, right, I'm Eric Bennet." He smiled. "So, let's talk business."

"What do you mean by business?" I asked.

"Well, I saw how fantastic you did on the mall and I can tell you have potential." He said.

"It wasn't even all me. I did less than most of the people on the project...even my co-leader did more than me." I protested, trying not to get angry.

"Eh, those are just details." Eric shrugged. "I want to ask you some questions." He said.

"Go on." I said. 

"How did you manage to hire a Santa? I heard they were all booked." Eric continued.

"Well, Parker, my co-leader, called in some of his friends to help, and got three of them to work Santa's Corner." I smiled. "Parker is such a great help, and all are his friends."

"Eh, friends interrupt with business and work." Eric said. "Moving on, how long did it take for you to get everything set up?" He asked.

"Well, with everyone's help, only a few says actually. Parker called in his friends from around the globe to help after most people had dropped from the project, and they were more than happy to help. I've become great friends with most of them, it's really great to have those types of people in life." I smiled, continuing to give credit to everyone who did something.

"Right." Eric sighed. "So, have you always been interested in interior design? I heard your mother used to be a designer..." He trailed off.

"Ever since I was little I would help my mom design. It was so much fun...it was also a dream of mine. But then school got in the way and it was too expensive to pay for." I shrugged. "That's why I enjoy this project so much, I got to do something I love, with the people I love." I smiled.

I could tell Eric was trying not to make a strange face. "Yeah, totally." He said. "Well, I was contacted by a designer, Luka Williams, that she loved your work on the mall! She said you really have some talent and would love for you to accompany her on some of her work calls." Eric told me.

"Uh..." I started.

"She said she would love for you to start right after Christmas! Miss Williams even said that it could turn into more than just an accompanying later on. What do you think?" He asked me.

I thought for a second. I'll be traveling with Parker then, plus, I don't want to have to work with this guy any more, he's rude and doesn't give credit to anyone else but the person in charge. I don't know how this Luka person is but if she is anything like Eric, then it is a definite no. "I'm not interested." I told him.

"You can't make a decision that quickly!" Eric told me. "Take some time to think about it, sleep on it tonight, and I'll be back at the mall tomorrow. No need to worry about finding me, I'll find you." He smiled as he stood up and walked away.

I walked back over to Santa's Corner and went back to helping around Liam and his elves. I continued to think about this opportunity as well.

I don't think sleeping tonight is going to change my decision.

Authors note
CHRISTMAS IS APPROACHING US. IM EXCITED.

:)

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a vote!!

Keep smiling dudes because it looks great on you!! See you next chapter!

-Lilly