Elf on the Shelf

The Gift

It was close to four in the afternoon when my younger siblings came home from elementary school. Waiting in front of the front entrance, was a medium-sized package wrapped in reflective gold wrapping paper. Smack in the middle on the top of it, there was an oversized white bow stuck to it. Of course, it wasn't addressed to myself; but to my siblings. Before she left for work early this morning, my mom told me to wrap "an early Christmas gift" for them. Engulfed in curiosity, I asked her what the heck the thing was. With a smile, she told me it was one of those Elf on the Shelf dolls. I have her a pained smile.
"Really? What on earth are Max and Maddie going to do with that?"
"I just thought it would be a fun tradition to start this year. Hopefully, you could help me by coming up with some unique things our elf could do."
"It's not a real elf, mom." I rolled my eyes at her.
"To them, it is." I was silent, staring at the unwrapped package, turning the box around slowly.
"It's not like you have anything else to do, Brooklyn. You're going to be off sick all week." I guess she had a point. I'm off school with a high fever and body aches. Not to mention, an awful sore throat as well. She swiftly kissed my forehead before walking out the door. At least I'm having the house to myself from eight till five. So, I wrapped it, and set it close by the front door. After a long day of bingeing a multitude of TV shows, the front door opened. My ten hours alone were finally over, unfortunately. An excited squeal came from the foyer. Crystal clear, and higher pitched then a flute malfunction.
"What's this?!" My third-grade sister, Maddie, yelled.
"It's a present, idiot." Max, my fifth-grade brother, said. I laughed at the heated argument they were having and turned off the TV. I hung onto some furniture and walls in order to support my shaking body, and made it towards the foyer where Maddie was consistently shaking, yet so gentle, the stupid elf I wrapped. Her face lit up when she saw me.
"Brooke! You're alive!" I laughed and nodded. Maddie's so adorable, and it's no doubt that I strongly prefer her over Max. Even though I was smiling, a wave of sadness engulfed over me as I remembered the death of my stepdad. Why did this moment remind me of him? He died of some sort of undocumented illness, with similar symptoms to the flu I have right now. Every time I'm sick, Maddie always gets super concerned. After all, Charles (my stepdad) was Maddie's birth father. I loved him like he was my real father, who I remember absolutely none of. On a much happier note, and back into the present day, Maddie ran to me and gave me a giant bear hug. I hugged her back and gave her a little kiss on her forehead. Max bent over and picked up the gift up off the doormat.
"Are we going to get to open this?" He muttered. Clearly, he was in a rotten mood.
"No, it's obviously a present for Christmas! You need to wait!" Maddie scolded him. I remained successful in not laughing, it's downright hilarious that Maddie thinks she runs the house. She's so much like my mom, bossy, yet sweet.
"Then why isn't it under the tree, dummy?" Max retorted. Ugh. Watching him until my mom gets home was the last thing I wanted to do. She gets home at six-thirty, so two and a half hours of watching him and Maddie was going to be tough. I'm probably going to put on a kid's show on Netflix and stick them in the basement, that's what I usually do. That will hopefully keep them entertained until mom gets home, but, by now, they've watched almost every kid's show available. I could also pitch them outside, but, it's below freezing out and the snow is so thick you can barely walk in it. They were obviously not taking a liking to each other today, almost every five minutes together they start to fight. Definitely, I'm going to have to keep an eye on them both today. If that means watching a sucky kid's show, so be it.
"Guys! Stop it!" I literally had to pull them off of each other. I sat Maddie on the dining room couch, and Max on a chair across form her. I walked over to the front mat, picked up the gift, and placed it on the coffee table in front of the Christmas tree. My hands on my hips, I turned around and stared at both of them. They both squirmed on the seats.
"What do you both have to say for yourselves?" I scolded. Maddie blushed and turned to Max.
"I'm sorry." She smiled at him and turned back to me. I nodded at her and looked at Max. He was staring at the ground and didn't budge.
"Max? What about you?"
"I hate everyone!" He screamed and he ran up the stairs towards his bedroom. I sighed and crossed my arms.
"Max! Get back down here!" It felt like razor blades were scratching my throat when I decided to yell, but who cares? I was determined to not let Max get away with this.
"No! You're not mom! I don't have to listen to you!" He sounded really choked up. Something was definitely going on. When I looked back at Maddie, she was clearly distracted, staring out the window.
"Maddie?"
"Yeah?"
"You know that gift you saw on front of the door?"
"Mm-hm?"
"That was an early Christmas present for you and Max. But, by the way Max is behaving, it looks like it'll be all yours." I raised my voice slightly, so Max would possibly be able to hear me. All I heard as a response was a loud groan and a little whimper. A small part of me wanted to run upstairs and comfort him, but I find that part of me so disgusting, I could nearly taste a rotten-sour flavour in my mouth.
"Wow! Can I open it now?" She exclaimed. I nodded and smiled. Excitedly, she took off the bow and untied the ribbon. Like an animal, she tore open the wrapping paper. When she saw the cheeky face of the elf, her entire face lit up. Her grin stretched from ear-to-ear, and her eyes were as large as saucers.