"Christmas is so much worse as you get older. It's like "What do you want this year?" IDK. Financial security? A career? A sense of purpose? A nap would be nice." – Unknown
Date: December 25th, 2017
Occasion:
Christmas
Yuletide
Burra Din
Noel
Countries: Worldwide
Note: The events of this chapter occur one year after the final chapter of Snow Boots, in the year 2043.
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XXXVII | Elves on Shelves
Scene I. Westerden Ski Lodge. The gift shop. The night of Christmas Eve.
Oliver and Quinn take turns grabbing boxes stuffed to the brim with ornaments, shelving them in the storage room of the gift shop. The clock is ticking towards eleven o'clock, and the stars which sprinkle the night sky signal the oncoming of Christmas Day.
As Quinn tugs a box crammed with tinsel into the room, she wipes her forehead.
QUINN
Phew! I think that's the last of it.
Oliver casts one last glance around the shop, checking to make sure that everything is in its rightful place. Though the boxes are, he does notice that the Christmas tree stood in the corner is lacking a topper. Plucking a golden star from the box, he drags a ladder towards the tree, climbs it, and carefully fixes the star on top, which glimmers in the moonlight.
Quinn watches with amused exasperation.
QUINN
You know no one's actually going to see that, right? Everyone's hiding out in their lodges. It's way too cold to go outside.
OLIVER
Well, I put that there for our own sake. To get into the Christmas spirit, see?
QUINN
If you say so. Why are you so obsessed with Christmas, anyway?
OLIVER
The giving, the receiving, a chance to meet Santa, do you want me to go on?
QUINN
You know Santa's not real, right?
Oliver gasps and claps a hand over his mouth.
OLIVER
You take that back!
QUINN
I said what I said, Twist boy. I'm heading back to Andrew's lodge, okay? We still have some packing to do before the Christmas get-together.
Andrew and Quinn, the power couple of Westerden Ski Lodge, are going to spend Christmas with Andrew's family at their home in the city. His family is friendly with Oliver, but the latter is adamant that he doesn't want to intrude on their family bonding time.
OLIVER
Sure, go ahead. I can close up shop.
QUINN
Will be you okay by yourself?
OLIVER
Of course, I'll be fine.
He's not going to be fine. He gets lonely.
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