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A few hours later, outside Holli and Tails' room: "Shh!"
"I thought we said that we wouldn't say shh! anymore." "Shh!" "Okay, fine. So, why are we here, and how do we get in?" *** "Are they outside our door again?" Tails asked Holli. "Yeah, but at least it's not the bathroom." "Wait! I have the perfect idea! We're going to let them in!" "We're gonna what? Roses and Ann would get mad at us." Tails whispered in Holli's ear. Holli laughed and got a ladder. When the girls finished their setup, Holli went to the door. "Oh boys!" she called, innocently. On the other side of the door, Roseidous and Tyrael froze. "Hey! I know you're there! Answer me NOW!" "Um...yes?" Roseidous said, hesitantly. "What are you doing?" "Just making sure the oreos are out for Santa. The special ones." "They're in our doorway?" Tails asked. "Um...no. We were just...just...um...just on our way back to our room." "Oh. Well, don't worry about the cookies, Ann put them by the fireplace." "Okay. Then, I guess we'll be going back to bed. Goodnight!" "Hang on!" Tails yelled. "Can you help me for just a minute? I got my ropes all tangled and we need some help to straighten them out." "Sure!" Tyrael said, winking at Roseidous. Roseidous looked confused. "Good! We're gonna open the door now. Come on in." Holli told them, unlocking it. The boys walked in. Holli and Tails stood in their way, preventing them from walking any further than the door. "What are you doing?" Roseidous asked them. "Yeah, and where's the rope?" Tyrael added. The girls giggled and pointed up. Roseidous and Tyrael looked above their head and saw the mistletoe. "No. Not gonna." Tyrael said. "But Ty, like you said at dinner, it IS the rules. They must be followed." Tails said. Roseidous and Tyrael sighed and reluctantly kissed each other. Holli took a picture. "NO! Give me that!" Roseidous tried to grab the camera. "Catch me if you can!" Holli yelled, running out of the room and down the hallway. Tyrael and Roseidous chased her, Tails followed them with a rope. They ran to the common room, jumped over the couch, flew around the Christmas tree with no ornaments, and stopped in front of the fireplace, the camera forgotten. Because there, on the floor, surrounded by oreo cookie crumbs, was Santa. Tails giggled. "Looks like Santa had a few too many cookies." "Wait, if Santa is down here, that means...." Tyrael thought aloud. "Reindeer on the roof! Find a ladder!" Roseidous shouted. "Hey! Don't wake up Ann and Roses, they wouldn't let us go up there." Holli warned. "Yeah, like our screaming and yelling down the hallway didn't." "Well, they're not out here, are they? Now shh!" "Don't even start that." Tyrael told her. "Hey! There's a shortcut to the roof. Through the command center!" Tails announced. "Then let's go!" Roseidous said. "Shiny buttons, here we come!" *** "Ouch!" "Watch where you're going!" "That way MY foot you stepped on!" "Shh!" "Not again." "Here's the door handle!" Tails triumphantly opened the door to the command center, flipping on the lights. They were met by shiny steel control panels, multi-colored buttons, blinking lights, and glowing computer screens. "So...Tails...which one opens the stairs to the roof?" Holli asked. "Um...I'll know when I see it. So let's look for it." "No need to look, it's over here." Stan said, bouncing up and down on his pogo stick. "Behind these computers." "Well, hey guys!" Roseidous said, walking over to the Associates. "What are you all doing here?" "Vinnie's giving us a lesson in theft. Santa's sleigh IS on the roof, after all." Murry said. Bubba quacked, Vic glared, Vinnie didn't say a word. "Vinnie! You can't steal that stuff. Those are toys for all the children of the world! Santa has to deliver them!" Holli said. "I'm ashamed of you!" "But isn't Santa unconscious?" Tyrael pointed out. Roseidous got a strange look in his eye. "Yes....he is, isn't he...." "Yay!" Tails and Holli squealed at the same time. Tyrael smiled. "I hope no one gets airsick." *** Ann and Roses were in the kitchen making breakfast when the Junior Tri-Leaders dragged in around noon. "Morning!" Roses said cheerfully. "Shut up." Holli told her. "And don't you all just look tired? Didn't sleep well?" "Actually, no, we went----" Tyrael began before Tails clamped her hand over his mouth. "We were so excited for Christmas, we didn't sleep hardly at all." Tails said innocently. "Oh, I see." Roseidous came in next, hopping, using Stan's pogo stick as a crutch. "What happened to you?" Ann asked. "Well, his foot got stepped on when he tried to pet Rudo---ow!" Tyrael said as Holli elbowed him in the ribs. "He fell in the shower this morning." Holli told them. "It's all our fault. We shouldn't have put the last of the explosives in his shampoo bottle." "You did what?" Roseidous asked, sitting down at the table. Roses and Ann stared at everyone. They all attempted to look innocent, but it wasn't working. Ann and Roses looked at each other and laughed. "Don't worry, we know exactly what happened." "Who told?" "Santa." "Oh." Santa walked in, sat down at the table and started eating some eggs. "Good morning Santa, you can have this back now, I don't need it anymore." Roses said, handing him Rudolph's leash. "I don't need it either. I'm converting to Judaism." Roseidous looked horrified. "Then who will deliver all the presents?" "I'm going to help the elves do it." Vic said, walking in with what seemed to be a female elf. "Guys, meet Vicky." "Um...nice to meet you Vicky." Roses said, glancing at Ann. "Yes, want some eggs?" Ann asked her. Al's heads looked at each other and laughed. Murry, Billy Jo and Stan laughed with him. Vinnie even managed a smile. Bubba was too busy eating. *** "Christmas was fun this year." Roses said, as she and Ann prepared the spaceship to go back home. "It was. And there were no Unfortunate Incidents and my moonbase did not explode." "Which is a miracle in itself." They watched as Holli and Tails climbed aboard. They were dragging Tyrael, once again tied up and wearing lipstick. They paused under the mistletoe in the entrance to the ship and both kissed him before climbing into their seats and fastening their seatbelts. "Hey! Look at this one!" Tails said, pointing something out in her new book. "Oooooh." Holli said, reading the page. Roseidous appeared in the doorway of the ship. Bubba arrived at the same time. Everyone looked up. Roseidous sighed. Bubba kissed him. Passionately. "Okay, let's go home." Ann said, turning the key. "And next year? Let's do it again!" Holli suggested. "Yeah, it's always lots of fun to have Chrismas at the moonbase." Tails said, settling back for the trip. "Okay, but Roseidous is absolutely forbidden to bring any mistletoe whatsoever. None." Roses warned him. Tyrael agreed. "Amen." "Yeah," Roseidous said, hopping with his crutch/pogo stick to his seat. "Amen. And God bless us, every one." THE END Back to the Library |
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