Greedy Little Goobers

By Amy Zielke          

Addie Thatcher was in the wrong place—according to old people, anyway.

They claimed that on Christmas Eve, every child should be asleep in their bed, but Addie found herself downstairs long before dawn. Giggling, she pointed her flashlight at the foot of the tree where an enormous gold-and-red package sat, screaming her name. After being so good for the whole year, surely it wouldn’t hurt to open just one present before morning.

Addie quietly worked the paper and lid from the box. Empty? Tipping the box over, she poked her head in. Mmm. Smells like cookies!

Footsteps creaked above her. Someone else was awake! Heart racing, she crawled inside the box. It was roomier than she’d expected. In fact, as she moved toward the package’s bottom, it turned into a tunnel.

Burying her fear and following her nose, Addie crawled farther into the box. A light appeared in front of her. Then, she fell, shrieking as she plummeted face-first toward a hardwood floor. The landing was surprisingly cushy, like falling in a bed of pillows. Rolling to her feet, she looked up and gasped. She was not in her living room anymore.

Towering balsam firs framed the room, each saturated with twinkling lights, sparkling ornaments, and silver tinsel. Candlelit wreaths covered the knotty pine walls, and plush green garlands reached up to a glass ceiling. Through the panes, she could see the night sky, which flashed with a parade of colors.

“The Northern Lights,” Addie breathed, her heart skipping a beat. Her present had taken her to the North Pole!

Across the room, a wooden door burst open and a tiny man walked in, staring down at a clipboard. Addie had never seen an elf before, but this had to be one. His uniform reminded her of Peter Pan.

“All right, delinquents. Time to get to work. My name is Eddie Twinklefluff, head elf. You all answer to me, now. You four are on toy cars. You three will be sanding jack-in-the-boxes. Miss Jenkins and Miss Thatcher, you’re on teddy bear stuffing.”

Addie glanced to her right, noticing the line of kids in pajamas. Some fidgeted nervously while others gawked at the elf.

“I don’t know how to sand,” a red-haired boy, no older than four, whined.

Eddie glanced up from the clipboard, pushing the bridge of his glasses up his nose. “You’d better learn fast, then.”

A blonde girl raised her hand. “Mr. Eddie? I wanna go home.”

“You should have considered that before opening a present on Christmas Eve.”

Addie’s mouth went dry. He knew.

“You’re all here because you almost made the nice list, but instead of being courteous and waiting for your families, you greedy little goobers opened a gift early. This is your chance to fix it. You can go home, but unless you do your time, there won’t be any presents waiting for you.”

The blonde girl burst into tears.

Before any of them could protest further, Eddie flipped a switch, and the workshop came to life. Colorful lights flashed as conveyor belts carried unfinished toys across the room. The kids scurried to their designated stations.

Addie and a girl with brown braids began stuffing the teddy bears on the conveyor belt as fast as their little hands could move. After what felt like weeks, her arms were sore and she wanted her bed.

“Mr. Eddie?” she asked. “How much longer do we have to do this?”

The elf barked out a laugh. “You’re just getting started, kid.”

Tears stung the corners of Addie’s eyes. She wanted her presents, but if she stayed here forever, she would miss Christmas entirely.

“I want to go home,” she mumbled, turning away from the conveyor belt to wipe her eyes.

Eddie dropped his clipboard. “What?”

“I want to go home,” she repeated.

“You don’t want your presents?”

She sniffed. “No. I want to sleep in my bed, and I want to be with my family.”

Eddie scowled at her. “Listen, little girl…”

At that moment, the wooden door swung open to reveal another tiny man, this one dressed in jeans and a flannel. He took in the scene, then let out an exasperated sigh. “Not again, Eddie.”

Eddie whirled to face the new elf, hiding the clipboard behind his back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fizzy McSprinkleson.”

“You pretended to be the head elf, kidnapped these poor kids, and scared them into starting on your quota for next year.”

“Why would I do that?”

Fizzy crossed his arms. “Because you’re a lazy bum. Santa will hear about this. We have child labor laws, you know.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. “Santa doesn’t need to know anything. I’m sure we can work this out.”

“We can work it out at your hearing, Twinklefluff. And take off that Peter Pan costume. You look ridiculous.” He gestured to the kids. “I’m real sorry about this. I’ll take you home.”

***

Cassie shook her little sister’s shoulder, shining a flashlight in her eyes. “Wake up, Addie. It’s Christmas!”

Addie’s eyes opened a crack. “Am I home?”

“Of course. Wanna go downstairs before everyone’s up?”

Flinching, Addie pulled the covers over her head. “No! We can’t open any presents until morning.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “It is morning, and it’s just a peek.”

“We have to be courteous. I’m not going back to the North Pole!”

Cassie stared at her sister’s lumpy form under the comforter, then shook her head and backed out of the room. Since when did Addie use words like “courteous”? I’ll just go by myself.

On her way to the stairs, Addie’s words rang through her mind. Years ago, Cassie had dreamed about opening a present early then falling into Santa’s workshop. She’d built toy trains for what felt like years so Santa didn’t take away her presents. It’d felt so real.

Cassie paused at the landing. It had only been a dream, right?

“Right.” She chuckled to herself, then turned and scampered back to her room.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Amy Zielke dreamed of being an author at age six, after watching her sister type stories on their clunky basement computer. Her first novel was about her guinea pig saving the world from an evil chipmunk, and will never see the light of day. Now she writes YA fantasy and dystopian, with too many stories in her head to write in a lifetime. Her debut novel, Gifted, is in the editing phase.

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