The North Pole Challenge (Flea's Five Christmases, #1) (36 page)

             
“The decision has already been made by Santa Claus,” Niko said.

             
“Can he at least stay a little while longer?” Minko asked. “At least let him enjoy the celebration, even just a few hours.”

             
Niko slowly shook his head. “I can’t allow that. Jack Frost is a much bigger threat to us when Flea is here. Flea can’t stay because we need to halt – and hopefully push
back
– the advancing South Pole Army.”

             
“Will you at least tell me what I have to do with that?” Flea asked.

             
“All I can say is that you are a
very
important elf,” Niko said.

             
“What about my
real
family? Can’t you tell me about them?”

             
Niko looked at Minko and Rome. It was obvious that he didn’t want to say too much in front of them.

             
“This isn’t the right moment to discuss that,” Niko said.

             
Flea sighed. He had tried to remain patient and polite to Niko but Santa’s son was starting to annoy – and anger – him.

             
“If I’m about to be expelled from the North Pole forever, then when
will
be the right moment?”

             
For a split second, Flea thought he saw the hint of a smile on Niko’s face, which angered him even more. But Niko turned to Vork for this answer.

             
“The elf school will open again next Christmas season,” the teacher said. “There will definitely be a third student joining Minko and Rome in class.”

             
“And there is a chanc
e
– a
small
chance – that Flea will be allowed back to be the fourth,” Niko added. “By only
if
the danger subsides from the South Pole. I have a feeling it will take
months
to determine that, though.”

             
Flea turned to his friends and smiled, genuinely happy that they would get another chance to become real builder elves. But Rome and Minko didn’t appear nearly as happy about their brighter futures if Flea wouldn’t be there to experience it with them.

             
“Good luck, the two of you deserve it,” Flea told them.

             
When he saw tears in both of his friends’ eyes, Flea couldn’t help but get choked up himself. Minko stepped forward and Flea knew this would be one bear-hug he couldn’t avoid.

             
“Watch the shoulder!” Flea grunted in pain.

             
“Sorry,” Minko said and gently placed him down. “And don’t worry, I
know
you’ll be back next year, even if I have to go fight back the South Pole Army all by myself.”

             
Niko glared angrily at Minko, who said he was only joking as he winked at Flea.

             
“We’ll see you soon, I hope,” Rome said as she kissed Flea on the cheek (much to Minko’s dismay).

             
“Okay, Flea, you come with me,” Niko said. “Hurry up, I promised Santa to get you out of here as soon as possible.”

             
As Flea walked from the room, he glanced one more time at his best friends, trying to remember every possible detail in case he was never allowed to see them again.  The three of them had come a long way since he first arrived and it broke his heart to think that this could be the end of the only true friendships he’d ever made.

             
When Flea was alone in the hallway with Niko, he just
had
to ask about how the two of them were related.

             
“We have the same exact split ear, that has to mean something,” Flea said. “And why would Jack Frost want me?”

             
Niko stopped and faced Flea.

             
“I see you haven’t taken my advice about keeping your questions to yourself,” Niko said. “But you need to listen to me carefully and trust that I know what I’m talking about. Santa thinks you are very important to the North Pole’s future and shouldn’t take serious risks. Going after Rome was a very
stupid
move.”

             
“But Rome is my friend,” Flea said. “I knew she was walking into danger and I
had
to try and help.”

             
Niko sighed, though he didn’t look nearly as mad as Flea expected.

             
“I hate to admit it, but your bravery and loyalty are two admirable qualities,” Niko said. “I’m still very suspicious of you being here but I suppose I can understand why Santa hopes you are able to come back one day.”

“Santa really thinks that?” Flea asked, swelling with pride.

              Niko nodded and continued down the hallway, stopping in front of Flea’s open door. Niko gestured Flea into the open doorway. As Flea walked into his room, he finally had the confidence to ask the one question that was most on his mind.

             
“Is Santa Claus my real fa – ”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

A Tiny Box

Flea’s eyes snapped open and he felt fully awake. Still, he was confused by the darkness surrounding him, especially when he sat up in bed and didn’t see the bright red and green walls. It took him a long moment to recognize his old room inside Miss Mabel’s apartment. The only light came from the digital clock next to his bed, which displayed a time of 12:01.

              Flea quickly sat up and looked down at himself. He no longer wore his crazy elf outfit and when he put his hands on his head, he found the big red Christmas hat gone, too. Even the ring on his finger seemed to lack the golden glow, though it still felt stuck when he tried to pull it off. He had the sinking feeling that he’d only been dreaming, a thought that made him feel sick. But when he jumped out of bed, Flea was actually relieved when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He flipped on his bedroom light and rushed over to a mirror, where he lowered the back of his shirt to reveal a long silver scar that felt like ice when he touched it.

             
It
wasn’t
a dream,
he thought, breathing a deep sigh of relief. Since the time was now 12:01, Flea knew that Santa must’ve finished with his deliveries. He quietly sneaked into his living room – where he found most of his belongings still piled in moving boxes by the front door – and was glad that Miss Mabel wasn’t around, at least for the moment. It had been so long since he’d last seen her that Flea strangely missed her yelling at him.

He fully intended to press her for more information about his past.

              But that could wait until later, as Flea had more pressing matters at this moment. Having just learned from Niko that he had gained Santa’s respect, Flea expected to finally receive a lot of good presents under his Christmas tree. But his heart sank with disappointment when he looked at the tilting plastic tree on his coffee table without anything beneath it. Before he became too upset, though, he spotted a tiny box just behind the tree. He tiptoed across the room for a closer look and found a small card attached to the box.

             
Flea was so excited to read the card that he rushed over to the window and opened the heavy curtains, allowing the moonlight to filter into the otherwise dark apartment. Flea ripped open the envelope and read:

             
             
“
To:
Flea,

             
              Thanks for all of your hard work this year.

             
              Don’t lose this gift.

             
             
From
:
Sant
a
”

             
Flea’s heart pounded with excitement as he started to lift the lid off the tiny box. Suddenly, a light flipped on in the living room. Flea shoved the box and card into his pocket and turned to face Miss Mabel.

             
“Flea, what are you doing out of bed this late?” she yelled. “I got nervous when I heard all this shuffling out here.”

             
“I’m sorry, Miss Mabel, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Flea said. “I’ll go back to bed now.”

             
“I
know
you will,” Miss Mabel said.

             
Much to Miss Mabel’s surprise, Flea stopped and gave her a big hug on his way back to his room. Even more surprising to Flea was the fact that she hugged him back, tightly.

             
“Now go to bed,” she ordered once they let go of each other.

             
Flea rushed to his room, excited to discover the Christmas present that Santa had wrapped for him in this box…

MY PLEA TO READERS – As an independent author, it is difficult to convince readers to try my books; for that, I thank you. But to help spread the word, please leave me feedback on the web-site where you purchased this book. I’ve found that reviews are the most important determination in whether many readers will try a new author.

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Thanks for your support!

-
       
Kevin

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OTHER WORKS BY AUTHOR

FLEA’S FIVE CHRISTMASES

THE NORTH POLE CHALLENGE – BOOK ONE

THE RUDOLPH CHALLENGE – BOOK TWO

THE JACK FROST CHALLENGE – BOOK THREE

THE FROSTIE CHALLENGE – BOOK FOUR

THE SOUTH POLE CHALLENGE – BOOK FIVE

KEEPER OF THE WATER SERIES

DRINKING LIFE – BOOK ONE

RECRUITS – BOOK TWO

THE WATER QUEENS – BOOK THREE

CRYO-MAN SERIES

CRYO-MAN – BOOK ONE

ROBOTROPOLIS – BOOK TWO

LIFE, INC. – a novel

COMET CLEMENT SERIES

THE INNER CIRCLE – BOOK ONE

INTERCEPTION – BOOK TWO

THE NEW SPACE RACE – BOOK THREE

THE THREE ARKS – BOOK FOUR

EVACUATION EARTH – BOOK FIVE

FINAL DAYS – BOOK SIX

IMPACT – BOOK SEVEN

UNINVITED – BOOK EIGHT

TAKEOVER – BOOK NINE

MISSION: SURVIVAL – BOOK TEN

RELOCATION – BOOK ELEVEN

A SECOND CHANCE – BOOK TWELVE