Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D I don't have much to say this time around, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. ^u^
~ XXXIII ~
Grow, Grow, Grow!
He was small
But he didn't mind
Until everyone started comparing height
What he lacked in size
He made up with his wit
So Jack did everything he could to grow
And he wasn't one to quit
...
Jack was small for his age, but he never troubled over it…until now.
The village children were growing older, and with age, came more observance. The children had reached the stage where they began to compare each other to their classmates. Whether it was in height, intelligence, or speed, the children of Santoff Claussen began to point out things they noticed about everyone, more often than they did before.
Now, don't feel disgruntled…they were children after all. They were inquisitive, and this behavior is common in most children. Recently, they had begun to compare each other's height and lined up everyone determined on how tall they were. Of course, Tall William was the tallest (his name was well-given). And the shortest student…Well, I'm sure you have already assumed just who that was. Our young Jack Frost was the shortest in his class, which came to be quite a shock to the winter child.
Jack never paid much attention to his height. But upon coming out last when it came to a height in his class, the young snow sprite couldn't have felt any more upset. Jack never liked coming last in anything, and nor did he like being known as the shortest kid among his classmates.
But when he was only a baby, Jack was exposed to the elements for a long time. He spent a few days out in the snow with no food or care. Such conditions did take their toll on the young snow sprite, and North had to nurse him back to normal health. Though things like his immune system or height were still affected. So Jack's slender stature and height were expected due to the conditions he had been exposed to as a child.
Jack was aware of this, but he still wanted to grow taller. Some children had already begun to take fun in teasing him for being little. Katherine stood up for him, but Jack still felt embarrassed about his small stature. He didn't like being short.
"What's wrong with being short?" asked Toothiana. The Guardians were at North's house preparing for dinner. She placed a plate in front of Jack, who was sulking quietly. "I don't think there's any problem with it. You aren't easily noticed, and you can squeeze through small spaces. Not only that, but you move faster too."
Tooth was the second shortest out of the Guardians (Sandy being the first). They didn't mind being shorter than most around them, and they had long come to accept their height just the way it was.
Jack propped his cheek with his hand on the dining table. "But I don't wanna be short," he pouted, fiddling with his fork. "It's not fun."
"There is nothing wrong with your height, moy mal'chik," reassured North, entering the room with a tray of cups, each filled with water. "You are eight years old, you still have a lot of growing left to do."
"And who knows, maybe ya'll have a growth spurt in the future," added Aster, carrying in the food. Sandy nodded.
"But I wanna grow tall now!" exclaimed Jack. The four Guardians sat down at the table, and North dished out Jack's plate for him. "Everyone says that being tall is better than being short. You don't have to ask anyone to get stuff from shelves for you, and you can see things better!"
"Yer height has nothin' ta do with eyesight, mate," said Aster. He was six-foot-one, but Tooth had far more impeccable sight than he did. And she was much shorter than him.
"I think you're height's perfect, Jack," said Tooth, sitting in the chair next to him. "As North said, you still have plenty of growing left to do."
Jack huffed."Isn't there any way I can speed up the process?" he asked.
North laughed, placing Jack's plate of mashed potatoes and vegetables in front of him. "Well, there are some things you can do to help you grow," he said.
Jack perked. "Really? What? Tell me!"
"Eatin' yer vegetables fer one," Aster said, nodding at the winter child's plate. Jack looked down at his mixed vegetables and frowned. It wasn't that he didn't like vegetables…he just wasn't fond of them. Especially carrots (you could imagine the shock on Aster's face when he first discovered this). But he supposed, if eating them would help him grow, perhaps he could eat a few…just a few. Jack poked his fork into his vegetables and spooned them into his mouth.
Tooth added, "Getting plenty of exercise also helps with growth."
"Milk helps as well," Sandy advised, a dreamsand milk bottle hovering over his head. "But don't expect results right away. These things take time."
Of course, Jack didn't take any heed to the last part of Sandy's statement. He had just learned how he could speed up his growth. How long it would take was the last thing on his mind! Implementing them wouldn't be a problem (except for eating his vegetables), but the winter child was willing to do anything—anything—to grow any taller.
"I'm gonna do them all," said Jack said determinedly. Aster, Tooth, and Sandy smiled. Jack turned to North. "Can we start a height chart? I wanna track how tall I'll grow!"
North chuckled and ruffled Jack's hair. "Of course, moy mal'chik. Now, eat up before your food gets cold."
Jack gobbled down his food and left the table, immediately implementing everything the Guardians had told him. He ran up and down the stairs, and requested a cup of milk before bed. North started a growth chart on the wall near the stairs, using tickmarks to track how tall he'd grow.
From that day on, Jack dove into the daily routine of drinking milk, running outside or up and down the stairs, and even the occasional sit-ups. He asked for more vegetables whenever they were given, and any leftovers were eaten by the boy instantly. He took carrots with him to lunch at school, and at recess, he did laps around Big Root. The village children questioned his behavior, but Jack would simply reply that he was working to grow taller. They didn't see how running, eating vegetables, or copious amounts of milk would help with growth, but the children who were disappointed about being short happily joined Jack in his "growth activities." Even the taller children came and joined them during their runs around Big Root.
Jack was extremely determined about growing as tall as he could. Unfortunately, the results didn't show as instantly as he hoped. Days and days went on with no change. North would draw a tick mark in the same position over and over. The taller children began to tease him again, leaving Jack even more frustrated with his short stature.
The Guardians noticed this and knew that they needed to do something. Jack had been sulking about his height for a while, and they couldn't bear the sight of the dejected snow sprite. So, they came up with a little plan to show Jack that being short wasn't as bad as he thought. With Jack spending most of his time upstairs, it wasn't too difficult for the Guardians to set up. Once they were finished, North called Jack downstairs. The winter child came down; he didn't seem very bright.
"Sorry to disturb you, moy mal'chik, but we need your help," began North. Jack tilted his head.
"Oh? With what?" he asked.
"We all lost a few things, and we were hoping you could help us find them," said Tooth.
"Well…okay," said Jack. He stepped down the stairs. "What did you lose? And where were you when you lost them?"
"We were all in the living room," said Aster. "I lost my glasses, North lost his ice pick, Shelia lost one of her pouches, and Sandy's missin' a charm of his."
"You guys lost a lot of stuff," remarked Jack. The Guardians couldn't help but feel amused by the winter child's statement. Jack walked into the living room. "Well, all of those things are kind of small, so we should probably search under the couch."
And so they searched. Jack had seen the Guardians sitting when he had come down for a bowl of crackers earlier. They looked through the cracks of the sofa and in the armchair. North "found" two of the listed items hidden under the armchair.
"I think I see Aster's glasses and Sandy's charm down here," he said. "But I cannot reach them…I am too big."
"I'll get them," said Jack. He walked over to the chair and squirmed underneath. Shuffling below there for a few short moments, Jack squiggled out, holding Aster's glasses in one hand, and Sandy's star-shaped charm in the other. He handed the two items back to the two Guardians, who thanked him gratefully for locating their missing things.
"Now all we have to do is find North's ice pick and my pouch," said Tooth. She fluttered over to the couch. "We were sitting over here when we last had our things."
"Things slip in the couch all the time," said Jack. He climbed up onto the cushions and rummaged his hand in between them. "So if the pouch was empty, it probably slipped down…here!"
Jack pulled out one of Tooth's golden tooth pouches, and the Tooth Fairy took it out of his hand, smiling. "Oh, thank you, Jack! I need at least nine pouches to keep all the teeth we collect at night."
Jack smiled. "Now that's left is North's ice pick…" The winter child slipped off the couch and peeked beneath it. "Ah! Found it!"
"How'd ya find it so quickly, mate?" asked Aster.
"North loses a lot of things," Jack replied. Tooth and Sandy snickered, and North shrugged sheepishly.
"Is true," he admitted. Jack handed him his ice pick. "Now that we have our items back, why don't we head outside and play a game to celebrate?"
"Celebrating finding missin' things?" said Aster.
"Everything deserves a celebration with North," said Tooth with a smile.
"What should we play?" asked Jack, bouncing on his feet. He loved a good game, and thankfully, North chose one of his favorites…hide and seek tag!
As the name implied, the game was a combination of the well-known game of hide and seek, and the even more ancient game of tag. The seeker was tasked with not only locating the hiders but tagging them before they reached the safe zone. The safe zone could be a tree, a table, or a Bear (that is…if you lived in Santoff Claussen and played with woodland creatures. This was quite normal for the children of the small village). Jack decided that the safe zone would be the fireplace in the living room. Since he suggested it, North was automatically elected as the seeker. Aster, Tooth, Sandy, and Jack quickly ran and hid.
Now, in the game of hide-and-seek tag, it was best to be small or quick. You weren't easily located, and even if you were found, your speed came in definite help. But if you had both elements on your side then, well…like Jack, you were quite impossible to beat.
Jack was either the last or second last to be found in each round. And when his hiding spot was uncovered, he'd bolt for the living room like a flash of lightning, always reaching the hearth before hands or paws could lay a finger on him. Few times was he caught, and Jack was having too much fun to feel upset whenever he was tagged.
But the game also made him realize something…His small size helped him when hiding, and his short stature allowed him to maneuver quickly through the furniture, and reach the fireplace before anyone else. Even before, when searching for the Guardians' "lost" things (he was starting to catch on to what they were doing), they hadn't been able to reach for them as easily as he had because they were bigger than him. The items were lost in hard-to-reach, small places that only his little hands or small form could access.
This revelation caused Jack to pause as he was running for the fireplace again. Aster tagged him. "Ha! Gotcha, mate!"
Jack frowned. "I wasn't even playing! I was thinking."
"And what were you thinking about?" asked North.
"That maybe…being short isn't so bad after all," the winter child said. The Guardians smiled. "I guess it isn't so bad. I can access hard-to-reach areas, and I'm really fast. I guess I can be short for a little while longer until I grow any taller."
Tooth hugged Jack happily. "Aw, Jack, I'm so happy to hear that! You forgot one thing on your list, though."
Confused, Jack asked, "I did? What?"
"It'd be a lot harder to snuggle with you if you were so tall!" Tooth said playfully, tickling the boy up and down his torso. Jack laughed, and Aster, North, and Sandy laughed as well.
…
Later that evening, Jack had just finished getting ready for bed. He came downstairs and found North working in the study. He had something he wanted to ask him.
"Um. North?" said Jack. The ex-Cossack looked up. The winter child cuddled his stuffed arctic fox close. "Could you measure me? I promise this will be the last time."
North chuckled. "I do not mind measuring you, moy mal'chik," he said. The two walked out of the study, and North told Jack to lean against the wall. Jack did so, and North pulled out a pencil and made the tick mark. Jack stepped away and turned around, expecting to find the mark North had made in the same spot. But to his surprise, he had grown a few inches! It wasn't a lot, but still! He had grown!"
"I grew!" Jack exclaimed, a smile stretching across his face. "I grew, I grew, I grew, I grew!"
North laughed and pulled Jack into a hug. "I told you you would grow," said North. "And one day, you will grow up to be a kind, fine young man, my boy. You'll just have to be patient."
Jack giggled, and he lovingly leaned into North's embrace.
Author's Note: I know Jack's pretty tall, at least when he's older, so I thought it would be interesting if he were short when he was a kid. XD
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!
Until the next chapter!
~BeyondTheMoon1203
