by Linnea West
“Ah-ha,” Leon said.
He straightened up and turned so fast to face them that he overshot it and ended up doing a full circle before coming back to face them. Leon’s cheeks were still red, but his eyes were sparkling and he was breathing heavily as if he had just finished running a race.
“What, did you find someone?” Clarence asked.
He started across the room toward the computer, but this time as he got closer, Leon didn’t try to stop him. Cordelia scurried after him, trying to see around him to look at the computer screen.
“I found a culprit,” Leon said. “He was in here while I was out on my way to the toy workshop. He didn't spend much time here, but he definitely messed with the book. Watch.”
Cordelia focused on the screen. The video quality wasn’t great, but she could see an elf come in the door, walk to the desk, and open up the book. As the List spilled out onto the floor, the elf in the video jumped back, alarmed at the cascading paper flowing toward him. He stood for a moment, leaning over the List just right so that the camera couldn’t actually see what he was doing. Then the elf picked the List up off of the floor and folded it up, somehow managing to make it almost the right size and shape that it was supposed to be to fit back into the book.
“But who is that?” Cordelia asked. She squinted at the screen just like Leon had been.
“Just wait,” Leon said. A small smile appeared on his face.
As the elf on the video finished folding and shut the book, he happened to glance over toward where the camera was. Just then, Leon jammed down a button on the keyboard with his pointer finger.
“There!” he said. “See?”
There in the video, Nate, the elf in charge of technology, was sneaking back out of the List Room.
Chapter Six
“But why would Nate mess with the List?” Cordelia asked. “He doesn't have anything to do with the List making or even toy making, for that matter.”
“You’re right,” Leon said. “I have no idea why he would want to mess with the list.”
“I do,” Clarence said. “Cordelia, don’t you remember this morning when we passed by Nate?”
Cordelia thought back to Nate and his frustration with the old-fashioned keys they used. He had talked about technology and how he should be able to implement anything he could at the North Pole to automate the process and make things run smoother.
“What happened?” Leon asked.
“Nate is passionate about technology, but he has a hard time seeing why some of the old traditions should be kept,” Cordelia said, trying to phrase things as nicely as she could. “He believes that if there is a new technology that could make anything easier or faster, we should simply put it into place.”
“But the List!” Leon said. “You mean, he would want to change it?”
Leon ran to the desk and picked up the book holding the current year’s List, holding it tight to his chest as if Nate were waiting beneath the desk to jump out and grab it.
“We don't know exactly what happened,” Cordelia reminded him. “But Clarence and I are going to go right now and figure it out. Leon, you need to stay here and start putting the List back in order.”
Leon nodded, inching backward until he fell back into the big leather chair, the book still clutched to his chest. His face had gone white as if he had seen the Ghost of North Pole Future and it contained a computerized List. Clarence unlocked the door and opened it up, ushering Cordelia through it.
“Lock this door and don’t let anyone but Cordelia or I through it,” Clarence called back into the List Room.
“Not even Santa?” Leon’s voice came drifting out.
“Not even Santa.”
Clarence slammed the door shut and waited until he heard the thud of the deadbolt locking the door. Satisfied that everything was in place now, Clarence turned and looked at Cordelia.
“Lead the way, Mrs. Claus,” Clarence said.
Cordelia turned on her heel and strode down the hallway. She walked with purpose, her skirt swirling around making swishing noises as she moved as fast as she could without running. No need to alarm any of the elves by making them think something was wrong.
Nate’s office was on the opposite end of the square of hallways that ran around the large, central workshop. Cordelia and Clarence got there faster than ever before not stopping for anything, not even the frequent greetings with bows and curtsies that Cordelia received. Smiling at each elf who greeted her, she simply waved one hand and continued on. She couldn't get caught up in niceties at a time like this.
Finally, the elves arrived at Nate’s door. Unlike the heavy, wooden doors on all of the other rooms and offices, Nate’s office had a large, unfriendly metal door that was totally clear of any holiday decorations. The only thing on it was a small panel about eye level.
“Are we supposed to do something with that?” Clarence asked as he poked the panel on the door. “There’s no handle to open the door.”
Cordelia shrugged. She knew nothing about technology, which had been infinitely frustrating to Nate when he had tried to get her to start using a computer to organize her schedule and agenda. But Cordelia and Clarence had patiently sat through the four-hour training Nate had organized for them and both agreed that paper and pen were just fine, thank you very much.
Finally, Clarence used his fist to pound on the metal door. The clang rang off down the hallway as if it were a gunshot. It was an unfriendly sort of noise and one that wasn’t heard often at the North Pole. Cordelia enjoyed the sound of knocking on a wooden door, but this metal door seemed hollow and empty.
The panel on the door lit up and Nate’s face appeared on the small screen.
“Who are you?” Nate asked. “State your business.”
Clarence and Cordelia glanced at each other. As Head Elf and Mrs. Claus, they weren’t often asked their names. Turning back to the door, Cordelia answered for both of them.
“It is Clarence and Mrs. Claus,” she said. “We are here for a meeting.”
“I have no meeting in my electronic agenda,” Nate said.
The sound of typing could be heard even though there was no keyboard visible on the tiny screen. Nate leaned over, half of him disappearing out of camera range.
“Nope, nothing,” he said. “Did you send a paper request for a meeting again? How many times must I say that all requests must come through digital means?”
“There was no request,” Clarence said through clenched teeth. “This is a spur of the moment request. Open the door.”
Nate sighed a deep sigh and pushed his glasses up his nose. The sound of typing came through the small speaker once again.
“I’ll have to move a few things around, but I suppose I can take a meeting now,” Nate said.
The panel blinked off, Nate’s face disappearing and being replaced by darkness. Clarence put a fist up toward the panel as if he were going to punch it.
“He supposes he can take a meeting with us,” Clarence said. “Who does he think he is?”
“He might be the one who messed with the List, but we don't know for sure,” Cordelia said. “Now act cool or he won’t want to talk to us at all. And if he doesn't let us in, I’m not really sure how we would get in at all.”
She searched the door as they waited for Nate to let them in, wondering how in the world it opened if there was no doorknob. Cordelia was about to lean forward and start touching the door to see if she could figure out the secret when it suddenly slid up, disappearing into the top of the doorframe.
Nate was framed by the door. He was wearing a drab, gray suit with only a small Christmas tree pin to liven up the outfit. His dull outfit surprised Cordelia, who thought all North Pole elves wore jolly, red and green clothes year-round. She looked down at his feet. They were clad in leather loafers instead of the red and green, bell-laden shoes that most of the other elves preferred.
“Follow me,” Nate said.
He turned and walked into the office without greeting either of t
he elves. While Cordelia didn’t necessarily like when the elves bowed or curtsied toward her, it was odd to have an elf that didn’t greet her at all. She glanced at Clarence, whose eyes were wide in surprise.
Walking into the office, Cordelia couldn't help but notice that there was no window, which meant there was no natural light at all. The walls were lined with cords and cables, running all over so that Cordelia couldn’t even follow them with her eyes to find where they started or ended without feeling dizzy. There were electronics all over on little shelves, lights blinking red, green, blue.
The metal door slid down and clanged shut behind them and the office was quiet. Besides the low hum of electronics and a few beeps and boops occasionally, it was silent. The air was still and dead, so much so that it seemed to press in on Cordelia. She suddenly realized that it felt odd because it was the one place in the North Pole where there was no Christmas music playing.
“We won’t take long, Nate, but we had a few questions,” Clarence said.
He had somehow regained his composure while Cordelia was still marveling at the oddity that was Nate’s office. Nate sat down in the rolling chair behind his desk and gestured toward the folding chair on the other side. Cordelia settled herself down on it, the cold metal seeping through the back of her skirt. Clarence stood behind her, his arms folded.
“Sure, but I don't have much time,” Nate said. “I still have a few reports to get together for the commission tomorrow. You know, if you both would change the way technology was implemented here at the North Pole, things could run a lot smoother. Instead of me having to run all these tests and then present everything before the commission only to have them say no most of the time, you could just let me test things first and only use the commission if we need to go back to the old way. Because let me tell you, most of the time, technology will be the way to go. I’m just never allowed to show everyone that it works.”
“We’ve discussed before that when it comes to Christmas, tradition is more important than streamlining,” Cordelia said. “Which brings us to the reason why we were here. Did you, perhaps, have some ideas about revamping the List.”
Nate’s eyes opened wide and the color drained from his face. For a moment he sat still, frozen in place before he started shuffling around in the stack of papers on his desk, going between them and his computer where he started tapping buttons. Nate tried to speak, but he only managed to stammer out some sounds before he stopped, closed his eyes, and took some deep breaths. He pushed his glasses up his nose again as he puffed his cheeks out like a blowfish, letting out impatient blasts of air.
“Yes, I do have an idea actually,” Nate said as he opened his eyes. Whatever sort of strange calming technique that had been, it obviously worked for Nate. He was calm and collected now. “I don’t remember sending you any information on it, but I have an idea for going all digital.”
“Hmm, tell us more,” Clarence said.
“I’ve seen the system we use now,” Nate said. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. “It’s a mess. That book? Outdated. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The system to enter new births is ridiculous and could easily be taken advantage of by someone looking to cause a real problem.”
“Oh really? And how would digital be better?” Cordelia asked.
She could feel Clarence behind her. He seemed to be almost seething with anger. On the one hand, she didn't blame him. Nate had messed up the entire list and here he was trying to sell them on a new solution for it. This might be the way the human world ran, but it wasn’t done like this at the North Pole.
“If things were digital, they would be easily set up with fail-safes,” Nate said. “If something happened to the list, it could be restored from the previous day so only a few hours of work would be lost. It would also be impervious to mistakes because we could have bots in there checking and double-checking the List constantly.”
Cordelia heard a sharp intake of breath from behind her. She turned to see Clarence breathing so hard that his nostrils were flaring.
“That. Is. Santa’s. Job.”
Clarence accentuated each word as if he were punching the air with them. Cordelia turned back to Nate, who seemed unaffected by Clarence’s anger. He sat forward and folded his hands together on the desk in front of him.
“But it doesn't have to be,” Nate said. “If we automate, we can take some things off of Santa’s plate. Heck, we can take things off of everyone’s plate so we can all have a little more free time around here.”
“We don't do free time,” Clarence said. “We get to celebrate on Christmas Day and then we all get to take our week off sometime in the first quarter. How much more free time do you need?”
Clarence was so angry that he was practically hissing. Cordelia had never seen him this angry before. Apparently, it took breaking the sanctity of Christmas traditions to push him over the edge.
Nate, on the other hand, looked totally relaxed, as if he had expected this tirade. Of course, it was almost comforting that he had expected it. Cordelia would have been worried if he had been confused over the vitriol of Clarence’s response.
Looking back and forth between the two men, Cordelia felt like she was at a total loss on how to move forward. As her mind spun to try and figure out what to say, there was another metal clang on the door. All three elves jumped.
Nate leaned forward and pushed a little button on some electronic contraption in front of him. Before he could say anything into the camera, his eyes widened again. Cordelia didn’t have to ask who it was once she heard what came through the speaker.
“Ho, ho, ho.”
Chapter Seven
Without speaking, Nate hit another button and the metal door slid open. It disappeared once again into the top of the doorframe as Clarence and Cordelia turned to face the door.
Santa stood in the doorway, a jolly smile on his face. Many people assumed Santa always dressed in his red, fur-lined suit. But on a regular day at the North Pole, Nick preferred a red button-up shirt with green suspenders instead of a big thick jacket. The North Pole might be cold, but Nick’s jolly belly kept him warm.
“Oh ho, ho, hello Cordelia, Clarence,” Nick said.
He stepped through the doorway and took a turn to smile at each one of the elves in turn. His cheeks and nose were red and his long white hair flowed in soft waves to his shoulders. Cordelia couldn’t help but smile back at him. When she had married Nick, he had been young and vivacious, with thick brown hair and a skinny torso. But just as she gave up her youth to be Mrs. Claus, he gave up his skinny body and brown hair to take up the mantle of being Santa Claus. It didn't matter to Cordelia. She still found him just as handsome as the day she had fallen in love with him.
But right now, she needed to get him out of here. SO far, they had done a fine job of hiding the mistake from everyone. The last thing they needed was Nick bumbling right into the middle of the investigation. Nick might be jolly and friendly, but he was not a good problem solver.
“I just came to make sure Nate here was getting his reports together for the commission tomorrow,” Santa said. “I know you get turned down most of the time, but I hope you know that I always enjoy hearing about your ideas.”
Nick wagged a finger at Nate and winked, chuckling a bit as he did. Nate couldn't help but smile back. Part of the magic of Santa was that he was a friend to all, no matter how old a person was or whether they believed in Santa or not. It was also the reason Santa couldn’t be involved. If someone had sabotaged the list, they couldn't go easy on them just because Nick wanted them to. They had to take care of the problem first, then think about telling Nick about it later, preferably much later.
“Yes, I believe he is ready,” Clarence said. “In fact, he was just telling us about an idea that he had. But I don't want him to spoil it for tomorrow's meeting.”
“Oh yes, a surprise!” Nick said. His already luminescent face lit up even more with the idea of a surprise.
�
��So why don’t I walk with you and we will figure out what is next on your agenda for today?” Clarence suggested.
He took Nick’s arm and started to maneuver him to the door. Nick walked a few steps with him before stopping and turning back to face Nate and Cordelia.
“But it seems like you’re having an awfully good conversation here,” Nick said. “Maybe I could just listen in for a little while. Besides, I love spending time with my beautiful wife.”
He reached out and grabbed Cordelia’s hand, lifting it to his lips to kiss. Cordelia smiled, having to force it a little. She loved spending time with Nick, especially during this part of the year when free time was scarce. But this was not the time. She had a problem to solve.
“You are so sweet,” Cordelia said. Her mind flipped through different ways she could distract Nick and send him off. But each thing she thought of was something that Nick could easily weasel his way out of, not that he realized that was what he was doing, of course.
“Santa, I actually just thought of a message that I forgot to pass on to you,” Clarence said. “There was a message from the Reindeer Barn that the reindeer were quite restless and could use an extra visit from you. Immediately.”
“Oh my, I hope my furry babies are feeling alright,” Nick said. “I thought my daily visits would be enough for another week until I started doing them twice a day.”
Nick hooked his thumbs under his suspenders, running them up and down as he nervously started toward the door.
“Oh I’m sure they are fine, Santa,” Clarence said. “I think they just miss you.”
“Oh ho ho, I’m sure they do,” Nick said. “Those reindeer would only be fully happy if I lived in the Reindeer Barn. And those darn animals have me wrapped so far around their little hooves so much that I’ve considered it in the past!”
Nick chuckled and everyone laughed along. That tended to happen when Nick was around. It was hard to be in a sour mood with Saint Nick in the room. And Cordelia knew just how much Nick cared about the reindeer. They were hard-working pack animals, but they were also Nick’s pride and joy. They were well-trained and loved Nick because he took good care of them.