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Noelle woke up late morning and it was early June, she headed downstairs and found her father pacing the living room however, he seemed to have gained more weight and his facial hair had become white overnight. "I've seen the doctor and he says that I'm perfectly healthy," Scott rambled to his daughter as she leaned on the counter, she turned her head and furrowed her brows spotting the light sprinkle of glitter upon her rosy cheeks bringing a smile to her face, she thought it was adorable.
"Well, if you're healthy, isn't that what's important?" Noelle asked her father. "Of course but still... This look isn't the best for me and you know why," Scott replied to her as he sat down on the couch, Noelle frowned knowing that her father's new appearance was only building more tension between him and her mother. "Well, uh, Charlie has a soccer game today and he wants us there," Noelle reminded her father hoping that would ease him. "Right, let's get ready then," Scott instructed before the two did so.
The father-daughter duo sat on a bench giving them the perfect view of Charlie's game, Noelle cheered for her little brother as a little girl approached them. Scott attempted to ignore her while Noelle sent her a sweet smile that she got in return before the little girl climbed over Noelle's lap and tapped Scott's shoulder. "What?" Scott asked her once he turned back to her. "I want some ballet slippers," She said as she sat on his lap, Noelle grinned as more kids moved to line up. "Well, the only way you can get what you wish for Christmas is if you are on the nice list. Have you been nice?" Noelle asked the girl.
"The nicest!" She cheered before Scott moved her off of his lap only for another child to climb on and begin telling him what they wanted for Christmas. While the two Calvins were distracted by the new lineup of children wanting to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas, Laura and Neal arrived at the game only to spot them. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God," Laura exclaimed as Scott spotted her. "Oh no..." Scott whispered catching Noelle's attention, she turned her head and frowned. "This won't be good," Noelle whimpered before turning to the children, "Alright, kids, Santa has something to take care of but remember to be very good."
The two walked away from the kids towards Laura and Neal who were staring at the two with disbelief. "Hi, hey. This probably looks pretty odd, doesn't it? These kids lined up all by themselves and Ellie suggested we entertain them to prevent them from getting upset," Scott tried to reason. "Scott, I think it's safe to say you're taking this Santa thing to an unhealthy level. Here's my card. Call me," Neal expressed as he pulled his card from his wallet, handing it over to Scott who frowned slightly.
"Scott, I really have to tell you that this is beginning to scare me. I never in my wildest -- well, no, okay, maybe my wildest -- But certainly never in my normal dreams... But then this is Scott we're talking about--" Neal cut Laura off, "Laura, the point." Noelle had wrapped her arms around herself and the frown on her face caused the children around her to be upset. "I never thought you would stoop to changing your physical appearance in order to make Charlie like you. Nor would I expect you to drag Noelle into this with the sparkly cheeks and pointy ears!" Laura scolded making Noelle furrow her brows as she felt her left ear, the slight point made her smile slightly.
"Do either of you have any concept of how dangerous this is to a little boy?" Laura asked sternly making Noelle's smile fall, she looked toward the ground and shrunk in on herself the same way she used to when her parents would fight. "Whoa, whoa. How dangerous?" Scott questioned in confusion. "Mom, what's the matter?" Charlie asked, he frowned seeing the lone tear fall down Noelle's cheek. "Come on, Charlie. We're going home," Laura told him as she grabbed his wrist. "But we just started," Charlie whined. "You let him stay. We'll go," Scott quickly stated.
"If you don't get your acts together, Scott, so help me..." Laura trailed off leaving the warning in the air. Noelle sniffled as she watched Laura lead Charlie to the car, they got in and her little brother stared back at her and their father until they disappeared down the street. "Ellie?" Scott's voice was soft as he turned to his daughter, she simply turned away from her father and began the long walk back home. The moment she got there, she went straight to her room and crawled into her bed hoping to sleep the misery she felt away; maybe tomorrow would be a better day.
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The ringing of the doorbell woke Noelle from her sleep, she groaned quietly before padding out of her room and down the stairs to answer the door. "Hello?" Noelle greeted as she rubbed her eyes. "Hi. I got a delivery for S.C. You S.C?" The mailman asked. "Uh, Scott Calvin's my dad. Am I able to sign for him?" Noelle asked, the man looked at the clipboard to check. "Are you Noelle Calvin?" The mailman asked. "Yes, I am. I'll sign," Noelle replied to him before taking the pen and clipboard, she signed on the dotted line as instructed.
"All right. I'll get your packages," The man informed her. "Packages?" Noelle asked with furrowed brows. "Yeah. There's quite a few of them," The mailman explained to her. "Oh, I'll leave the door open. Just leave them inside here," Noelle instructed him before she made her way back inside and up the stairs, she could hear the shower which told her where her father was. Noelle walked into her room and reached for her outfit of the day when she noticed her hearing seemed to be better, she turned to her vanity and took in the new shape of her ears. "Elf ears, huh?" Noelle muttered before shrugging.
After getting changed into a blue sweater and some jeans, Noelle made her way downstairs where a bunch of red boxes were filling up the foyer. "What is this?" Scott asked as he stepped out, Noelle bit her lip and shrugged. Scott walked over to one of the boxes and pulled free two letters, one was for him while the other was signed for Noelle. "A letter for you," Scott said as he held it out to her. Noelle took the letter from her father and opened it, she smiled immediately at the neat writing and the clear idea of who it was from.
Dear Sweets,
I do hope you are enjoying the time before your new life in the North Pole. I couldn't help but notice we've had a few snowstorms that happened to connect to you. I would come visit but we are beginning to get busy and I must ensure the Elves are getting their work done before Santa's return. I just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking of you and whatever tough time you're having, it will pass. Smile, Sweets. Christmas is coming.
Sincerely,
Bernard, Head Elf of the North Pole
Noelle bit her lip as she held the letter to her chest, she hadn't even noticed her father rushing out to the front yard until he walked back inside. "It's the naughty and nice list, isn't it?" Noelle asked her father. "Yes, it is," Scott replied through gritted teeth before he stormed out with his coat and keys, slamming the door behind him making Noelle flinch. After all the times her parents slammed the door, she thought she'd be used to the sound by now and yet it still made her flinch. Noelle sighed before she walked downstairs to move the boxes into her father's study.
As she was transferring the boxes, her mind trailed back to the horrified and accusatory looks on her mother and stepfather's faces at Charlie's game. She was conflicted knowing that they couldn't understand their perspective because they didn't live it but at the same time, she hated that they didn't even give them a chance to explain. It was cruel how they assumed but never questioned further and Noelle knew it was only a matter of time until her mother did something drastic that would change everything for them; Noelle wasn't prepared for what was to come.
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Rosemary Speaks
Oh, our sweet Noelle... Everything will get better.
See you in the next chapter!