Beck awoke to knocking on her apartment door.
"Mmmph…"
She rolled out of bed and stumbled to the door. "Don't tell me you've decided to knock now!" She growled as it was opened from the other side.
"You know, formalities and all." Bernard breezed past her, Curtis in tow. The Number Two elf was loaded down with grocery bags, and trudged over to deposit them on the kitchen table. He turned around. Once he was facing Beck, she snarled and fake-lunged at him. He jumped and quickly made his exit.
"GottagoBernardokaybye!"
Beck smirked and crossed her arms, turning her gaze triumphantly to Bernard. She noted the large purple bruise that had bloomed on his cheekbone.
"You know, I don't care what anyone says. You're a delight!" He mocked underhandedly as Beck started sifting through the bags. "I had Curtis pick up some groceries."
"Doy. Why?" She ran her fingers through her bed head and rubbed the back of her calf with her foot, yawning.
"Because you're going to be living here?" He was losing his patience already. "Doy?" I haven't heard that word in decades.
"'Kay, whatever." Beck started to amble off.
"Where are you going?"
"To take a shower." She mumbled, scratching her belly.
"No you're not. You're going to help put all of this away." Bernard ordered, pulling some cans out of a bag and putting them away.
"I'll do it later," Beck whined.
"You'll do it now."
She scowled and stomped back to the table. Beck dumped the contents of the bags onto the counter and gave him a look as he scribbled something in his leather bound agenda.
"A day planner? Seriously?" He ignored her and sat down as she started busily shoving the groceries into cabinets.
When Beck was dressed, she met Bernard by the door. He raised an eyebrow at the top that exposed a bit of skin on her freckled midriff. "That's not appropriate for the workplace."
"What?"
"We're making children's toys. That kind of clothing is inappropriate and unprofessional."
"Unprofessional? Half the elves here wear pointy shoes."
Bernard made a circular motion with his pointer finger, signaling for her to turn around and go back. Rolling her eyes, she spun on her heels and trudged back to her room.
When Beck returned in a different shirt, the two left in a flurry of snow and bickering.
When they arrived at the workshop, the elves were still cleaning up from the party two days before. A few rooms still needed straightening up after the Christmas Eve rush, as well. Beck trudged after Bernard into his office.
"Today, we work returns."
Beck paused. "Returns? I thought this was the North Pole, not Bloomingdales."
"Commercial influence on children's lives has kind of paved the way," Bernard informed her, picking up a new stack of papers and placing them on his desk. "So after Christmas, a flood of presents bounces back at us."
"Why is that?" Beck asked, curious.
"Oh, any number of reasons. The child already has one, it's not the 'cool' new thing, or they simply don't like it. Very rarely does a toy come back due to poor workmanship." He said this last part with inalienable pride.
Very big deal, Beck scoffed inwardly. But she was troubled; why send presents back? She knew that Christmas spirit was in short supply at the moment, but this was the equivalent of slapping Santa in the face. And Bernard had just stated it matter-of-factly, as if it was a fact of life. It shocked her how holiday spirit had plummeted so fast.
Not that she cared, of course.
"Take these," Bernard pushed some file folders stuffed to bursting with papers into her hands. "You'll be cataloguing what's been returned to the Pole. Alphabetize them by region, then by toy. It's mostly for research purposes, but resource allocation is crucial as well."
Beck gave a huffy sigh and pulled out the contents of the folders before sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. Bernard sat behind it in the large, leather office chair.
Soon there came a polite knock on the door. Judy came in, carrying a silver tea service (or, in this case, cocoa service). She greeted Bernard sweetly and set the tray on the desk.
"I'm Judy! You must be Beck." She introduced herself, extending a hand towards Beck.
"Guilty." The redhead responded with a flat stare, ignoring the appendage. Judy smiled awkwardly and let her hand drop to her side.
"So," Judy began, rocking back on her heels. This was followed by an uncomfortable silence. Bernard stared off to the side somewhere and awkwardly nodded at nothing. At a loss for appropriate words, he poured himself a cup of the cocoa.
"It's a new recipe," Judy told him, jumping at an opportunity for real conversation and moving to sit in the empty chair beside Beck. Before she could, Beck loudly plunked her foot onto the seat. Judy seemed a bit perplexed by this, and stood there for a few moments, pondering a plan of action.
"Beck," Bernard barked.
Beck smiled cheekily at him. He glared at her. "Alright, alright!" she rolled her eyes and removed her foot from the chair. Judy took a seat, letting the other girl's rudeness roll off her back.
"This is good," Bernard remarked, sipping his drink. "What's in it?"
"It's a secret," The dark haired girl grinned, but checked herself; "Well, mostly because it's illegal in a bunch of countries and the FDA hasn't exactly approved it yet."
"When have you ever followed the FDA's regulations?" Bernard seemed unfazed.
"I prefer to think of them as 'guidelines.' Do you need ice for that?" She motioned to her face, indicating his injury.
"Thanks, but as far as ice goes, I think I'm set." He shot a pointed look at his sullen charge.
"I will dent your face." She threatened.
"Covered." He pointed to his bruise with a wry smile. Beck simmered.
"Anyway, the real reason I'm here is to remind you of the Legendary Figures meeting today."
Bernard looked up in shock. "That was today?" He yanked out his black book and frantically flipped through it. "I swear I would have written it down. Santa's not even here right now!"
"Apparently it couldn't wait. They want to meet with Beck."
"Oh, okay." Beck rolled her eyes, dropping the stack of forgotten work onto the floor. "They suddenly want to acknowledge my existence."
"And you're completely innocent in this." Bernard said tensely.
"It's not my fault that J-" Beck stopped herself and wet her lips. She looked as if she was struggling for a moment, then sighed and looked away, seemingly defeated.
"What's that? No snotty comeback?" Bernard asked. Judy looked back and forth between the two nervously.
"Just forget it." Beck mumbled, staring at the wall, but he persisted.
"No, I'm sure you have something interesting to say in response. I wanna hear it."
"Leave it alone." She insisted softly. Something in her voice made him stop. She fiddled with the ends of her hair. Bernard gazed down at his shoes.
Judy glanced at the clock. "I should let you know that it's in about ten minutes."
His head snapped up. "And you couldn't tell me about this earlier why?"
She good-naturedly rolled her eyes at him, smiling. "As if I have nothing else to do, besides make sure the Head Elf is constantly on the ball."
Beck snorted. "I hear that." She glanced up at Judy with a slightly less-than-malevolent gaze. Sweetness is starting to speak my language.
The Head Elf leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He stood as if it took a great deal of effort. "I guess we should head to the conference room." He said, deflated. He picked up his satchel.
"I have to get back to the kitchen to get refreshments ready for the Legendary Figures." Judy excused herself and left.
Beck and Bernard headed for the door. When Bernard lightly placed a hand on her back to guide her in the right direction down the hallway, she jerked away as if she had been electrocuted. "Sorry. Didn't realize that that was so completely out of line," He remarked. Bernard was annoyed. Why was she treating him like this? He had been completely prepared to be civil to her when he found her in New York. Okay, so maybe he hadn't exactly been the most warm, snuggly person on Earth, but he certainly hadn't been flat out vicious. That seemed to be Beck's department. She shot him a sideways glance and tensely continued walking without another word.
The two silently made their way through the labyrinth of hallways to a set of ornate wooden doors. Bernard opened the door to what appeared to be the current Santa's office. It was devoid of people at the present time, but they would soon be arriving. A long conference table had been brought in, but neither of them took a seat. Bernard stood with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting patiently, while Beck wandered the room. The gaudy puppets in the miniature theatre across the room chattered excitedly. When she passed by, they shrieked loudly, startling her, and ducked beneath the little window and out of sight.
Taking a deep breath and trying to calm the racing heartbeat that seemed to be erupting from her ears, Beck backed away from the theatre window. Then, it seemed as soon as she got her nerves under control, the doors opened again, giving her another fright. She moved behind a wide, ancient carved pillar and watched as Legendary figures began to file inside. She noticed a few small shards of glass lodged in the wood and felt a rush of unpleasant memories. She wished, more than anything, to be back in her dingy apartment in Queens, and to forget everything.
Unfortunately she still remembered, and so did the Figures who were now taking their seats at the table. "Beck," The Head Elf called her over. She moved around the pillar, running her hand over the smooth, worn wood, and watching those at the table (who were now all staring) with a guarded expression.
She pulled out the heavy chair next to Bernard's and didn't so much sit as fall into the chair. She tapped out a beat on the edge of the table for a few moments before leaning back in her chair and facing Mother Nature.
"Alright, let's get this over with."
"This meeting has been called in order to reintegrate Ms. Adler into the Pole and begin to find her a suitable position." The statuesque woman addressed the Council. She opened her mouth to speak again, just as the doors reopened with a bang.
"Honey, I'm home!" Came the smooth voice that made Beck's hair stand on end. She refused to turn around and look at him. From the corner of her eye, she watched Bernard bristle.
"So nice of you to join us, Jack Frost," Mother Nature greeted him shortly.
"I'm not so sure I appreciate your tone, Mother Nature." He placed a hand on his chest in a mock-hurt way. "And, I must say, I'm rather offended."
Cupid spoke up. "Just because we re-froze you, doesn't mean we have to like you." He told him bluntly.
"Ah, ah, ah," Jack wagged a finger at him. "While you don't have to like me, you all know you need me." He straightened his jacket with a smirk. It was true; after his failed attempt at taking over the Pole, he had to be quickly refrozen as there was no one else who was able to herald the season. In the few weeks before he was restored to his magical state, the world had been a mess. Glaciers and frozen earth melted at an accelerated pace, and widespread floods had occurred. National governments were tripping over themselves in the cleanup and humanitarian efforts, but there just wasn't enough help and money to go around. The Council of Legendary Figures had to intervene to avoid more disaster.
"You're late," Father Time reminded him.
"I was a bit preoccupied, I'll admit, but better late than never, am I right? Besides, I would hate to miss seeing an old friend." His hand closed over the back of Beck's chair. She sat stiffly, staring blankly straight ahead. Bernard watched the two of them, puzzled.
Keeping his hand on the back of her chair, he rested his other hand on the table, leaning over her shoulder and cutting off Bernard in the process. He glared at the taller man, who was rudely invading his personal space.
"Long time no see, Beck." He flashed an obscenely white smile.
"Get away from me." She told him levelly, robotically. Her small hands gripped the edge of the table in front of her.
"If you will all take your seats," Mother Nature said pointedly, looking directly at Jack, "We are ready to begin."
So. This is a tad awkward.
Hi guys! It's good to be back? I hope you haven't forgotten about me!
Wow. Things sure have changed since March. I lost fifty pounda, for one (and I'm not exaggerating! :D), and I've been accepted to three colleges so far. I feel so old!
I meant to upload this on Christmas but I'm just uploading this at 5:30AM the day after. See what I go through for you guys? Hahah.
Well, here's hoping my long bout of writer's block has begun to subside. I welcome any ideas for my story to help me along - EternalEclipse has promised to help me, which I'm grateful for because she's such a lovely writer and has great ideas. I'd like to keep a good, interactive relationship with my readers! So don't be shy, review and tell me what you think of the chapter that has given me nine months of trouble XD
Feel free to discuss ideas with me; constructive criticism is welcome!
Night! Er, morning! In any case, I'm going to pass out now!