Scott's POV

It's already been 2 weeks since I've left the North Pole and I did not have much luck in finding a wife. I've had a few more dates with help from Laura and Ella, but none of them were the one I'm looking for. One kept looking at the menu and did not even look at me, then the second kept taking sips of her drink, the third kept nodding her head as if she's trying to understand me, the fourth one looked like she was going to start crying, and the last one had fallen asleep throughout. I'm still de-Santifying by the minute and I'm starting to look like my old self again.

At least I'm spending time with Ella, Charlie, and Lucy. Right now, Ella is home with me since she had a half day from her school. We were keeping ourselves busy with baking Christmas cookies as she was telling me about her day.

"So in English, Miss Peterson assigned us an extra credit assignment for our break. She told us that we can choose to read a Christmas story and write about it. She gave us a list of Christmas stories as well. Or we could watch a Christmas movie and complete a study guide and multiple choice quiz on it."

"What did you decide?" I asked.

"The film study one," Ella answered, as she rolled the cookie dough into balls. "It should be easy since we have the movie and I've been reading the book before bed."

"Which one is that?"

"Miracle on 34th Street."

"It's one of your favorites, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes. Every time I read a chapter of the book, it always reminds me of..." Ella paused.

"What, honey?"

"The first Christmas you became Santa and only Charlie and I believed in you until we convinced Mom and Neil."

Ella paused once more.

"Dad, when you hopefully find your true love, how will you tell her that you're Santa Claus?"

"That's something I'm figuring out, Ella Bella," I said. "It takes time. Once we get to know each other, I'll tell her. Got it?"

Ella nodded.

Just as we put the cookies into the oven, the phone rang.

"I'll get it, Dad," Ella offered as she quickly washed her hands. She picked up the kitchen phone and answered, "Hello? Yes, this is she. Really? No, but my Dad's here. Yes, I'll put him on."

Ella gave me the phone. "It's Principal Newman, Dad. Charlie got himself in trouble again."

As I talked to Charlie's principal, Laura and Neil walked in the door carrying grocery bags.

"Hi, sweetie," I heard Neil say to Ella. "Could you help us put these away?"

"Sure, Neil," Ella responded. "Let me clean up the counter real fast."

"Do I smell cookies in the oven?" asked Laura as she came in with the last grocery bag.

"Sure do, Mom. I put them in the oven a few minutes ago."

"Okay. Thank you. Bye," I said, hanging up the phone.

"Scott, what's going on?" Laura asked. "Who were you talking to just now?"

"Principal Newman," I answered. "Apparently, Charlie got caught spray-painting again and he ran away from a security officer."

Laura looked exasperated and so did Neil. But, I said that I'd give them a break and go to Charlie's school myself.

"May I come, too, Dad?" Ella asked after all the groceries were put away.

"No, honey. You stay and help your mom and Neil. This, right now, is between me and your brother."

"You're right, Dad," Ella agreed. "I'll see you later."

I grabbed the keys and drove over to Charlie's school. When I got there, I met him and Principal Newman in her office, then she led us upstairs.

"Are Laura and Neil on their way?" She asked.

"No, I volunteered to go solo on this one."

"Oh. You look…" She looked at me. "You've really lost weight. Are you feeling alright?"

"I was until I got this phone call," I said, while shooting a glare at Charlie.

Principal Newman stopped at a row of lockers that were defaced with graffiti. A caricature of her was sprayed on with a large speech bubble that said, 'Trim a tree, go to jail.'

I shook my head at the sight of these lockers. I am really upset with Charlie now. What is going on with him? "Charlie, you promised you weren't gonna do this again. Now, you've broken a promise. What's the matter with you, Charlie? I'm gonna have to punish ya. I'll ground him for...two months."

"I thought you were on my side!" Charlie protested.

"I'll do you one better," Principal Newman decided to add in. "Charlie, you're suspended."

"But... Dad!"

"Wait a minute. I'm as upset about this as you, but isn't there a punishment that doesn't mean takin' him out of school?"

"What did you have in mind?" Principal Newman shrugged.

"We could...Uh...ah…" It had been a really long time since I came up with a punishment. I know that Ella is trying her best in school and not get herself into trouble. She's trying to get A's or B's in every one of her classes and has been getting herself involved in every project she has done since elementary school: babysitting for the neighbors, holiday drives, volunteering...wait a minute! That's it!

"Community service?" I suggest.

"Huh. That's not a bad idea," Principal Newman agreed to it. "Okay, Charlie. I want you to start by cleaning up this wall. I want everything off of there by tonight and then clean off every mark off every locker in this hallway."

"Every one?!" Charlie repeated.

"Do as she says, Charlie," I persuaded.

"But I have homework, tests to study for," Charlie began to protest.

"Not my problem. I have a detention group on Saturday. So we will all get together at the rec centre and scrape off graffiti at 8am. See you both there. And, Charlie, we'll talk about the suspension."

With that, before I left, I told Charlie that he, Laura, Neil and I will have a serious talk with him about his punishment after dinner when he gets home.