Christmas
NEW YEAR'S EVE IN NEW YORK
Peppermint woke up face-down on concrete. Sirens screamed. Horns blared. A pigeon made eye contact, judged her, and walked away. "…This is not the North Pole."
Christmas
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 25
Peppermint woke up first. Except… she wasn’t in Elf Jail. She was in her own bed. Her own blankets. Her own pillow. Her own candy-cane socks on the floor. She bolted upright. “What—?!”
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 24
Nutcracker boots marched in the distance. Snowmen shifted like judgment in the dark. Gingerbread security clicked their candy-cane batons together like they’d been training for this moment since October. Mitch cracked his knuckles.
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 24
MORNING PANIC: THEY WOKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF FAILURE Peppermint woke up with ribbon in her mouth. For one blissful second, she didn’t remember where she was. Then she smelled it. Cocoa. Real cocoa. Kitchen-adjacent cocoa.
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 23
Peppermint stood at the edge of the courtyard watching doors she’d stared at for a century finally swing back and forth as chefs, party planners, and exhausted elves rushed in and out. Her chest tightened. “This is it,” she said quietly. “This is the window.”
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 22
Peppermint bolted. Joe ran directly into Buttercup. Buttercup slipped on a roll of wrapping paper. Mason knocked over an entire display of ribbon spools, which began unrolling at alarming speed. Nutcrackers charged. Wrapping paper wrapped.
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 21
Bob showed up at their door unannounced. That alone was concerning. He stood there in full uniform, ham baby strapped to his chest, radio crackling, jaw clenched so tight it could cut glass. “Put on your coats,” Bob said flatly.
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 20
“Today, you are being punished. You will assist in the Christmas Mail Sorting Room. Quietly. Carefully. Under my supervision.” Joe sighed in relief. Peppermint nodded. Buttercup smiled weakly. Mason squinted. “…Mail?” Bob nodded. “Mail.”
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 19
The Quietest Plan They’ve Ever Had The vent entrance was tucked inside a staff hallway no one ever used because it smelled like cinnamon regret. Joe removed the grate carefully.
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 18
The Ornament Sorting Room was massive—floor to ceiling racks of shiny, fragile spheres, each one enchanted to NOT break unless handled by someone extremely stupid. Unfortunately… The Chaos Four were exceptionally qualified.
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 17
Their skin was the color of expired marshmallows. Their fingers bent like frozen breadsticks. Peppermint’s teeth were still chattering. Buttercup’s eyelashes had icicles. Mason had turned blue (he insisted this was normal). And Joe—sweet, quiet, emotionally-fragile Joe—had reached his limit.
Christmas
Christmas Countdown Day 16
They bundled up in scarves, coats, mittens, and one suspiciously crunchy hat Mason crafted from candy wrappers. They trekked through the snow to position themselves behind a drift with a perfect view of the Christmas Kitchen door. Peppermint whispered, “This is it. Today we use patience.”