Did I worry about fashion sense? In my line of work, I dealt with physicists and mathematicians. If I cared, I'd have to go into another line of work. The only person who needed his suit to be perfect was Santa himself on Christmas Eve. He had a new one made every year. And every year the faux fur seemed furrier and the red velvet softer. Just as we worked hard to do our jobs well, Santa was impeccable in his role.
We reached the cafeteria where the atmosphere was bustling with activity. The scents that wafted over the room already had my mouth watering.
A growling sound came at my side. Fallon’s stomach. I chuckled. “That's proof positive you're hungry.”
Fallon put a hand to his stomach. “Everything smells so good.”
“Today's Monday. It's the faux turkey and gravy special. I highly recommend it.”
“The morning went by so fast. I didn’t realize I was hungry until now.”
“Let’s fill up.”
We got our trays and plates of food and moved to an empty table. People were looking. I always got stares because I was the boss which was why I ate in my office most days. I didn’t want my team to feel uncomfortable.
Today was about Fallon, not me. I needed to make sure he had everything he needed. Now that I had seen what he could accomplish for the team, I couldn’t afford to lose him.
5
FALLON
Keir made me a little nervous. I didn’t want to do anything wrong to jeopardize my new dream job.
As we ate the amazing turkey lunch in the cafeteria, I noticed people looking at us. Was this normal? Did the boss take everyone to lunch on their first day?
“I hope you have everything you need at your station,” he said.
“Yes, I do. Everyone has been helpful to make things easier for me.”
“Good.”
“I love the work.” I could barely hold back my enthusiasm.
“Even better,” he said. “Your work is impressive. But more than just checking through the code, I’ll soon want you to be writing it.”
Writing code for Santa’s Sleigh! “It would be an honor.”
“I'm glad you see it that way. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be having a flight test. I want you to be there.”
“On the official sleigh tarmac?”
“Yes. I call it a flight test but it's really on the ground. The actual flight test will come later. I want you at both.”
“I'll be there. I can't wait.”
My stomach rumbled, not from hunger anymore but from excitement. This was everything I ever wanted for a job.
Keir walked me back to Control even though I knew my way now. I couldn't help but notice how good he smelled. I wasn't trying to notice, it just happened. Whenever I breathed in there was this wonderful spicy Christmassy scent in the air. Like most elves, he kept his hair long. I was used to that. But there was something special about his hair; it rippled like gold ribbons to his waist as if hypnotizing me. It caught the light at every turn. The equation I would have made for how his hair refracted in the light beams could have been a poem.
I shook my head to clear it. This was not normal thinking for me at all. I might appreciate equations the way a poet appreciated words, but I hadn't thought of making them into poetry. Until now.
The next day,I stood on the frosted tarmac of Santa's Sleigh in my white parka and matching pink scarf and hat. Even with all of that, and my reindeer acclamation to the cold, the wind blew off the tundra and through the forest like an icy sword.
“It's freezing out here today,” I said to Clea and Drake who were standing nearby. “Maybe not the best day to test things out?”
“It is the best day,” Drake commented. “In December the weather is at its worst most years. Unpredictable. We need to make sure everything works even in the harshest of conditions.”
“That makes sense.”
