Bad Santa

Toys are scattered across the floor as flurries of snow can be seen through the gap between the curtains. Little Elise blinks into the darkness of her room while she clutches her teddy tightly to her chest. It is Christmas Eve and like her favourite book, not a creature is stirring – not even her little blonde puppy snuggled up at the end of her bed. Her eyes blink against the sleepy dust in her eyes and she shakes her head every few seconds to stop herself from falling asleep. I must stay awake.

Lifting her head from her pillow, Elise holds her breath as she listens intently to the stream of steady snores coming from the room next door. Good, daddy is finally asleep.

Throwing back her covers, Elise tiptoes towards her bedroom door and gently pulls it open to reveal the darkened landing. Teddy drags along beside her as she rushes across the thick carpet, his head bumping against each step as she then quietly pads down the stairs. Before she reaches the bottom, Elise pauses and yanks her pyjama pants up so that they are no longer covering her feet. Then, with a swing of her arms and her teddy, Elise jumps over the creaky bottom step and lands with a soft thud in the hallway.

Lamplight is streaming in through the glass panes of the front door, illuminating the house just enough that the young girl can see her way without bumping into anything. She follows the old worn rug down the hall and then pauses on the threshold of the lounge.

Everything is how it had been three hours ago when she went to bed except the room is now completely dark, even the lights on the tree had been turned off. Standing on her tip toes, Elise blindly reaches up and brushes her fingers against the wall until hears a click and then the room is filled with light.

Nodding her head as she stares at the empty space under the tree, Elise rushes to the little table next to it and counts the number of biscuits on the plate. There are three snowman shaped cookies on a tiny saucer with a big tall glass of milk standing proudly beside it. Good, I haven’t missed him.

Little Elise pushes her scruffy raven hair back from her face before squinting at the tree in accusation. Lights, I need lights. Crawling underneath the tree, Elise stretches out her fingers but her she just misses the switch that control the pretty tree lights. Grumbling under her breath, the young girl crawls further underneath just and her finger flips a switch. She starts crawling back out from under the prickly branches that are catching in her hair but she is startled when the little clock above the fireplace begins to chime.

A gasp escapes her lips as she pushes back under the tree just as footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs. Elise’s blue eyes widen as she peeks out from her hiding spot in anticipation. The footsteps pad along the hallway, getting closer and closer causing little Elise’s heart to beat wildly in her chest. Here he comes! Elise cuddles her teddy close to her as she stares up through the branches and waits to see the man with the red coat and the white beard. Except - .

Elise scowls as she watches her dad sleepily stumble into the room with a sack of presents dragging along the floor behind him. He lets out a yawn before he kneels down before her and upturns the bag carelessly. He pushes several boxes underneath so they jab Elise in her legs but she keeps quiet knowing her father will get angry if he spots her.

After a minute, the man rubs his eyes tiredly and lets out another yawn. Snatching the bag up off the floor, he stumbles out of the room and clicks off the light leaving Elise stuck underneath with only the twinkly lights and teddy for company. Scared of getting in trouble and disappointed that Santa is actually her daddy; Elise waits beneath the tree until it is safe.

She doesn’t have to wait long however, a tinkling sound comes from the room next door which Elise knows to be the kitchen. Her little heart thuds so loudly that she can hear it  but she dares not move in anticipation of the midnight visitor.

“Guys,” A gruff voice calls out just as a man in red appears in the doorway and the torch beam sweeps the room. “We’ve hit the jackpot.”

A short while later, a teary eyed Elise stumbles into her parents room notably teddy-less.  Rushing up to her daddy who was snoring away, dreaming of candy canes like everyone does on Christmas Eve, Elise shakes her daddy with all her might as little sobs come out of her mouth.

Startled, the man sits upright in bed with a gasp and looks around frantically. Finally his eyes land on his distraught daughter. Scooping her up into his arms, he cuddles her to his chest and strokes her hair to try and pacify her.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” he questions when her sobs finally subside.

 “I killed Santa.” She replies, her bottom lips trembles as she looks at him with glassy eyes. “He tried to take teddy and all of our presents so I told him off. You said it’s bad to steal which I told the bad Santa. He just laughed at me. And then he tripped over his shoelaces. And now he won’t wake up.”

Quickly the little girl breaks out into another round of sobs while her father sits there in confusion.

Her dad tells her she just dreamt it and sends her back to bed. However as he stands at the top of the stairs he notices the light on in the lounge. A frown creases his brow but he investigates anyway.

A yelp of surprise escapes his lips when he see three men sprawled across his carpet, all of them unconscious and dressed up as Santa and his elves.

“Merry Christmas,” he mutters under his breath as he takes in his trashed lounge and the smelly guys in costumes. “Merry Christmas indeed.”