Page 16 (1/2)

"You’reoffender said, showing off herfront tooth "You were mean to me then You said I was dirty"

"Oh, that was just a joke," Ereat"

When there was a lull in the line, Mrs Meriwether eerbread house and reat job," she said "Certainly better than our old Santa, anyway"

"It’s been fun," Emily answered It was true The job was a ind of activity, but it was fun to hear what the kids wanted for Christed her, like she’d asped at soirls areen dresses, striped stockings, and shoes that turned up at the toes As they passed the Santa throne, Earettes and pepperh they definitely didn’t look"Can you come here for a ht blue hair, wore a lot of uely familiar, rolled her eyes and started over The others followed One had dreads and a nose ring, another was an Asian girl with hippie braids and a tough expression, while the final girl was tiny with short hair and a tattoo of a s jester on the inside of her wrist Their eyes flickered cagily over Emily as if they didn’t like what they saw

"Girls, this is our new Santa Her name is Emily Fields" Mrs Meriwether put a hand on Eirl Santa?"

"She’s doing a very good job, Cassie" Mrs Meriwether’s voice rose in pitch "Emily, this is Cassie Buckley And Lola Alvarez"--that was Dreads--"Sophie Chen"--Hippie Braids--"and Heather Murtaugh"--Jester Tattoo "They’ll be helping you out hatever you need"

The elves chuckled and nudged one another, as if to say yeah right Eirl All of a sudden, she realized why she looked so familiar: Cassie Buckley had been on the Rosewood Day JV field hockey team with Ali But what had happened to her? She used to look like all the other field hockey girls: long, blond hair, bronzed skin, and an extensive wardrobe froh her lip and eyebrow, and she was glaring at Emily with such ani very, very wrong

"What are you looking at?" Cassie snapped, noticing Emily’s stare

E"

"You’d better be looking at nothing," Lola threatened

Elanced around for Mrs Meriwether, but she had vanished She ht as well have left Es

"And you better leave us the hell alone, Santa," Sophie rasped in a low s here," Heather growled "So don’t screw up our shit Got it?"

"Got it," Ehed raucously, linked ar cloud Emily’s heart sank to the soles of her black Santa boots What had she gotten herself into? There was no way she could infiltrate the elves It rade look easy

Chapter 4

Elves Have Feelings, Too

The following day, E kids with deep ho ho hos About a half hour into her shift, she heard the whispers

"That one’s totally going to puke on her He ate a whole bucket of Chick-fil-A while waiting in line"

"I should tell that girl in the Dora the Explorer T-shirt to pull her beard"

"I should tell her that there’s no such thing as Santa Claus"

"Girls?" Mrs Meriwether’s meek voice sounded froister?"

The four elves ee Frosty statue, pushed around ato say excuse ister Athere Thehis children in closer

"That’ll be 1995," Cassie said inat the man’s photo order

"Happy holidays," Heather said in a hissing voice she e

"Actually, can I get their picture in that frame?" The man pointed to a silver fraister It was the limited-edition Santa Land collector’s item that cost 7995 When Mrs Meriwether worked checkout, she was always pushing people to buy it

Sophie gazed at the frame and scrunched up her face "Uch, that means we have to find it in a box in the back"

"It’s really ugly up close," Cassie told the reen as soon as you touch it"

"And it was probably irl in a sweatshop who gets paid a penny a day"

"Daddy?" The littler of the two boys gazed worriedly at hi like he was about to cry